Fall 2007

Now to the story behind the elk. While in the back country the snow wouldn't stop. On Friday we decided to start packing camp out. My friend Bo and his dad that were hunting had not returned from the morning hunt yet. So me and my dad hauled out camp on our fat cat motorcycles. On our last trip out we found them at the trail with a set of antlers. Bo had shot a decent sized six point up on a ridge. The next morning we went back up into the back country to haul out the rest of his meat. They had to leave that afternoon so it worked perfectly. After getting two tires fixed on our four wheelers we drove around hay fields in the low country spotting elk. We saw several herds with some small bulls but none on public land all on private. With an hour of dark left I spotted a herd of 14 with a small 5 x5. They were on the edge of some hay fields close to some public property. They were pretty spooky so I just walked up the wooden pole fence stood up on it and waived my hat. They spooked, jumped the fence on to public land. After making sure it was public land with a local landowner and friend I made ready to shoot. The herd was about 300 yards away in the open sage brush. I got a good rest on this wooden fence. But I had the fever, it wasn't a big bull but I was so excited I was shaking. So I took my first shot and missed by a mile. The herd spooked and the bull stopped another 50 yards away. This time I took my 2nd rest and I wasn't nervous, I was solid as a rock. At 350 yards I took my second shot aiming right at the upper 3/4 part of the shoulder. I heard it hit him, he ran about 50 yards and dropped. The land owner with us called a couple of friends and helped us load it into the truck. Not the biggest set of antlers but he had a good sized body. But the main goal I had with this hunt was to fill the freezer I had just bought about 2 weeks before the season. It worked out perfectly.