my wyoming elk hunt
my wyoming elk hunt
Sorry for the delay, I’m waiting for a kid to be born any day now.
We just got in this last Friday from are WYOMING elk hunt and I do have to say it was the best elk hunt I’ve ever been on!
Are hunt started with a 16 hr kamikaze drive out to WYOMING. We left at 5:00 p.m. and was pulling in to LARAMIE WY at 9 or 10:00 a.m. Wednesday morning. After a quick fuel filter change, getting are conservation stamp, and getting are maps, we were ready to get to are hunting spot!! We got the wall tent set up in time to make a quick run up the mountain to check out the country. One thing I never heard about that place is the wind blows constantly!!! I mean 40 mph is regular with gust of 50 being common. Well after glassing for an hour or so my buddy spotted a heard of 40 head of elk. It had 5 or 6 bulls in it that were all 5 and 6 point bulls. What a start.
DAY 2: we went to the backside of where we seen the elk the night before and started hiking. We split up, I think the only day we did hunt separately, I seen 4 cows on the private land border and my buddy got right in on 2 bulls. 1 4x4 and a 4x5. It was very hot for elk hunting, 75-80 degrees, but we couldn’t complain. We were seeing elk.
DAY3: we went back to a main trail head that we’ve been seeing and hiked in. It was 2 miles in to a rock bluff that we named “ windy point” this ended up being are main glassing spot that we would get to every morning. You could see for miles but man would the wind blow! It was very hard to dress for the hunt. When you hiked in through the timber it was no breeze and you would get hot in a hurry. As soon as you hit the top the wind would be ripping through your close so if you dressed to light you would freeze your butt off.
Any way right off the bat my buddy spotted 2 bulls feeding about a mile away. 1 good 6x6. He insisted it was my shot first.[ no arguing-no coin flip-nothing!] So off we went. We jogged the mile and got where we thought we should be. Soon enough we spotted a bull at 270 yards. So down we went for me to get ready for a shot. Perfect rest, bi-pod set up and a log to lean up against, I felt good. The bull that was there was the 5x5 that was with the 6x6. After waiting for a few minutes and no big bull we figured the big bull had already went through. So off we went to get around them. After getting the wind right and moving in where we thought they should be we came around a corner and there they were. It ended up being 3 bulls 2-5 points and the big 6 point. Now when I mean big 6 point I’m talking about a bull that is deffinatly over 300", this bull was that easily. I had them at 80-100 yards. A got down and was ready. First the 5 point, then the big bull. He was walking away from me then turned broadside and I pulled the trigger.
Not to say I’m a master reloader or anything, but I’ve reloaded my own shells since I was 18 on my own and me and my dad did it since I can ever remember. I’m 31 now and have never had a missfire in all the yrs of reloading. I go to the extremes of whereing latex gloves in every part of the process and I use a priming tool so I never need to touch my primers.
ALL THAT B.S. EXCUSES ASIDE..................
My gun went CLICK!!!!!!
I reloaded fast but there was no time for another shot. Done my chance at a big bull was done. We did track them for a couple hrs and got on them again[ with no snow] but are next shot we could have killed both smaller bulls but the big one stayed in the back and was to smart for us.
Needless to say I was pretty bummed. For us to kill 2 good bulls I really needed to put that one down.
DAY 4: we went to are glassing spot, “windy point”, and didn’t see anything. We glassed for a couple hrs and nothing. We decided to hike out and try another area.
After talking to some guys from Minnesota , we tried a spot they had told us about. We left the truck and walked about 200 yards and I heard a big stick break. The wind was howling so you never know what it could be. We looked up to see a good 6 point bull trying to get away. As much as we tried we couldn’t get any good shot off at him. Off he went!
DAY 5: back to are “windy point”. The wind was howling again. We glassed a while and I spotted 2 bulls right below us. A 4 point and a 5 point. Now I don’t want to make any excuses at all cuzz I’m completely happy with my bull. But after thinking about “clicking” on the 6 point for 2 days, and knowing I set us back for killing 2 good bulls, I said” lets get him”!I dropped off the point and moved in. I got to 340 yards and laid down. My first shot smoked him. Deffinatly right behind the shoulder in the lungs. I wasn’t going to shoot again but he just stood there. So I shot again. Same thing, great hit but he just stood there , locked legged, a taking it like a stud! So I put the next one top of his shoulders and he was lights out. All in all I was pretty stoked! He was a nice 5x5 that I was happy to put my tag on. You can really only ask for 1 shot at a big bull per hunt [ usually ] and I already hosed myself out of that shot. So to take a nice bull like this I was happy! And to share it with a buddy that I’ve known since we were little kids was great!
We spent the rest of that day packing my bull 2.2 miles [ on a G.P.S.] it was great.[ on a side note: after taking 5 trips on the same trail, with no guns, the last trip we busted 2 bulls 50 yards bedded right next to the trail!!]
DAY 6: we hiked way in on a trail and my buddy spotted 2 bulls in the trees. One of the best spots I’ve witnessed. These bulls were a mile away and he literally was seeing the tips of there horns! He’s a spotting fool! Anyway he went up to get closer and I stayed back to spot for him. 2 minutes after he left the fog rolled in and my part was over. I built a nice little fire and ate lunch. After a little while longer the fog locked him in and he was done to. Were hunting at 8,000 ft elevation so this type of weather can hose you fast!
We headed to a good rock and started glassing. The fog had lifted so we were good to go.
After a half hour or so I spotted a bull. He was a toad!!! we figured he was from 320 to 340. All by himself up on a rock and sunning himself.[man the weather sure changes fast.................]
After showing my buddy where he was at he took one look at him and was ready to run! Off we went. This bull was a couple miles away so it took an hour or so to get where we wanted to be. Then when we get to the hillside we wanted to shoot from, about 400 yards, we think, from the bull, the fog rolled back in and it starts snowing! We’ve been begging for snow all week but of all the worst times!!! We sat for 2 hrs trying to se through wet, foggy, glasses. And had to bag it.
It was very hard to walk away from that bull, knowing he was right there somewhere and there was nothing we could do about it!
DAY 7: It was crunch time now. If we were to kill another bull in time for my buddy to make it back to Oregon and see his daughter[ which was a must! Now that’s having your priorities strait!]
We had to get a bull today. we had some snow now and the elk seem to be moving. Right off the bat wee seen a nice 5x6. We were going to get on him but after seeing so many bulls my buddy wanted to look around for a few more minutes. A little later he spotted a 300+ 6x6 that we were of and ready to kill!
After a mile or 2 we were where we wanted to be. No bull. We cut his tracks in the snow and tracked him and another bull for a bit. Finally we caught up to them and he had a shot at 150-200 yards.. It’s hard to say what happens under the heat-of-the-moment but 2 shots and that bull ran away un-scathed........... Boy that sucked! We tracked the bull for 700-1000 yards=/- and there was not a pin-drip of blood. This from a guy who is a very meticulous shooter. He has spent a ton of money on his gun for bedding stocks, drop compensating scope, all to have a shot at 140 yards, go hay wire! Well after tracking the bull for a ways we looked over to another ridge and seen another group of 6 bulls ! So we went after them. We got to 400 yards and started waiting them out. We had the 2 bigger bulls bedded but could just see there heads. After about an hour we kinda was moving around to look for another shot and got busted. The bigger bull was smart and gave no shot. He just got up and ran to the thick stuff.
We decided to get back on the tracks of the first bull. After tracking for a couple hours my buddy thought we were getting close to the private ground. We figured we better check. So we stopped and I took out the map. The noise of me taking out the map made the bulls blow out!, they were bedded at 15 yards. Right below a rimrock! Boy that sucked. We had bulls at 15 yards and we decided to look at a map.....
We headed back to “windy point “ to glass for the evening. After a while I spotted a group of 3 bulls. Well being a former running fool in cross country. He runs the 1.1 miles trying to beat the dark. It was getting close to crunch time for a shot and I heard the “bang” soon on the radio he called to say he killed a nice 5x6. I got over there and we quartered and hung the bull.
The next day we packed him out. It was great!
After all was said and done we seen 30 bulls in 6 ½ days of hunting. All but 4 or 5 of them were 5 and 6 point bulls. We have noone else but are selves to blame for not coming home with 2 300+ 6x6 bulls. You need to make those shot when you get them!
We had a blast and it was the best hunt I’ve been on myself. Hopefully we can draw the tag again someday. But time spent with best of friends is memories I wont ever forget. They say “ the trophy is in the eye of the beholder” To me even though we should have killed bigger bulls, these are “ TROPHIES” among trophies!!
We just got in this last Friday from are WYOMING elk hunt and I do have to say it was the best elk hunt I’ve ever been on!
Are hunt started with a 16 hr kamikaze drive out to WYOMING. We left at 5:00 p.m. and was pulling in to LARAMIE WY at 9 or 10:00 a.m. Wednesday morning. After a quick fuel filter change, getting are conservation stamp, and getting are maps, we were ready to get to are hunting spot!! We got the wall tent set up in time to make a quick run up the mountain to check out the country. One thing I never heard about that place is the wind blows constantly!!! I mean 40 mph is regular with gust of 50 being common. Well after glassing for an hour or so my buddy spotted a heard of 40 head of elk. It had 5 or 6 bulls in it that were all 5 and 6 point bulls. What a start.
DAY 2: we went to the backside of where we seen the elk the night before and started hiking. We split up, I think the only day we did hunt separately, I seen 4 cows on the private land border and my buddy got right in on 2 bulls. 1 4x4 and a 4x5. It was very hot for elk hunting, 75-80 degrees, but we couldn’t complain. We were seeing elk.
DAY3: we went back to a main trail head that we’ve been seeing and hiked in. It was 2 miles in to a rock bluff that we named “ windy point” this ended up being are main glassing spot that we would get to every morning. You could see for miles but man would the wind blow! It was very hard to dress for the hunt. When you hiked in through the timber it was no breeze and you would get hot in a hurry. As soon as you hit the top the wind would be ripping through your close so if you dressed to light you would freeze your butt off.
Any way right off the bat my buddy spotted 2 bulls feeding about a mile away. 1 good 6x6. He insisted it was my shot first.[ no arguing-no coin flip-nothing!] So off we went. We jogged the mile and got where we thought we should be. Soon enough we spotted a bull at 270 yards. So down we went for me to get ready for a shot. Perfect rest, bi-pod set up and a log to lean up against, I felt good. The bull that was there was the 5x5 that was with the 6x6. After waiting for a few minutes and no big bull we figured the big bull had already went through. So off we went to get around them. After getting the wind right and moving in where we thought they should be we came around a corner and there they were. It ended up being 3 bulls 2-5 points and the big 6 point. Now when I mean big 6 point I’m talking about a bull that is deffinatly over 300", this bull was that easily. I had them at 80-100 yards. A got down and was ready. First the 5 point, then the big bull. He was walking away from me then turned broadside and I pulled the trigger.
Not to say I’m a master reloader or anything, but I’ve reloaded my own shells since I was 18 on my own and me and my dad did it since I can ever remember. I’m 31 now and have never had a missfire in all the yrs of reloading. I go to the extremes of whereing latex gloves in every part of the process and I use a priming tool so I never need to touch my primers.
ALL THAT B.S. EXCUSES ASIDE..................
My gun went CLICK!!!!!!
I reloaded fast but there was no time for another shot. Done my chance at a big bull was done. We did track them for a couple hrs and got on them again[ with no snow] but are next shot we could have killed both smaller bulls but the big one stayed in the back and was to smart for us.
Needless to say I was pretty bummed. For us to kill 2 good bulls I really needed to put that one down.
DAY 4: we went to are glassing spot, “windy point”, and didn’t see anything. We glassed for a couple hrs and nothing. We decided to hike out and try another area.
After talking to some guys from Minnesota , we tried a spot they had told us about. We left the truck and walked about 200 yards and I heard a big stick break. The wind was howling so you never know what it could be. We looked up to see a good 6 point bull trying to get away. As much as we tried we couldn’t get any good shot off at him. Off he went!
DAY 5: back to are “windy point”. The wind was howling again. We glassed a while and I spotted 2 bulls right below us. A 4 point and a 5 point. Now I don’t want to make any excuses at all cuzz I’m completely happy with my bull. But after thinking about “clicking” on the 6 point for 2 days, and knowing I set us back for killing 2 good bulls, I said” lets get him”!I dropped off the point and moved in. I got to 340 yards and laid down. My first shot smoked him. Deffinatly right behind the shoulder in the lungs. I wasn’t going to shoot again but he just stood there. So I shot again. Same thing, great hit but he just stood there , locked legged, a taking it like a stud! So I put the next one top of his shoulders and he was lights out. All in all I was pretty stoked! He was a nice 5x5 that I was happy to put my tag on. You can really only ask for 1 shot at a big bull per hunt [ usually ] and I already hosed myself out of that shot. So to take a nice bull like this I was happy! And to share it with a buddy that I’ve known since we were little kids was great!
We spent the rest of that day packing my bull 2.2 miles [ on a G.P.S.] it was great.[ on a side note: after taking 5 trips on the same trail, with no guns, the last trip we busted 2 bulls 50 yards bedded right next to the trail!!]
DAY 6: we hiked way in on a trail and my buddy spotted 2 bulls in the trees. One of the best spots I’ve witnessed. These bulls were a mile away and he literally was seeing the tips of there horns! He’s a spotting fool! Anyway he went up to get closer and I stayed back to spot for him. 2 minutes after he left the fog rolled in and my part was over. I built a nice little fire and ate lunch. After a little while longer the fog locked him in and he was done to. Were hunting at 8,000 ft elevation so this type of weather can hose you fast!
We headed to a good rock and started glassing. The fog had lifted so we were good to go.
After a half hour or so I spotted a bull. He was a toad!!! we figured he was from 320 to 340. All by himself up on a rock and sunning himself.[man the weather sure changes fast.................]
After showing my buddy where he was at he took one look at him and was ready to run! Off we went. This bull was a couple miles away so it took an hour or so to get where we wanted to be. Then when we get to the hillside we wanted to shoot from, about 400 yards, we think, from the bull, the fog rolled back in and it starts snowing! We’ve been begging for snow all week but of all the worst times!!! We sat for 2 hrs trying to se through wet, foggy, glasses. And had to bag it.
It was very hard to walk away from that bull, knowing he was right there somewhere and there was nothing we could do about it!
DAY 7: It was crunch time now. If we were to kill another bull in time for my buddy to make it back to Oregon and see his daughter[ which was a must! Now that’s having your priorities strait!]
We had to get a bull today. we had some snow now and the elk seem to be moving. Right off the bat wee seen a nice 5x6. We were going to get on him but after seeing so many bulls my buddy wanted to look around for a few more minutes. A little later he spotted a 300+ 6x6 that we were of and ready to kill!
After a mile or 2 we were where we wanted to be. No bull. We cut his tracks in the snow and tracked him and another bull for a bit. Finally we caught up to them and he had a shot at 150-200 yards.. It’s hard to say what happens under the heat-of-the-moment but 2 shots and that bull ran away un-scathed........... Boy that sucked! We tracked the bull for 700-1000 yards=/- and there was not a pin-drip of blood. This from a guy who is a very meticulous shooter. He has spent a ton of money on his gun for bedding stocks, drop compensating scope, all to have a shot at 140 yards, go hay wire! Well after tracking the bull for a ways we looked over to another ridge and seen another group of 6 bulls ! So we went after them. We got to 400 yards and started waiting them out. We had the 2 bigger bulls bedded but could just see there heads. After about an hour we kinda was moving around to look for another shot and got busted. The bigger bull was smart and gave no shot. He just got up and ran to the thick stuff.
We decided to get back on the tracks of the first bull. After tracking for a couple hours my buddy thought we were getting close to the private ground. We figured we better check. So we stopped and I took out the map. The noise of me taking out the map made the bulls blow out!, they were bedded at 15 yards. Right below a rimrock! Boy that sucked. We had bulls at 15 yards and we decided to look at a map.....
We headed back to “windy point “ to glass for the evening. After a while I spotted a group of 3 bulls. Well being a former running fool in cross country. He runs the 1.1 miles trying to beat the dark. It was getting close to crunch time for a shot and I heard the “bang” soon on the radio he called to say he killed a nice 5x6. I got over there and we quartered and hung the bull.
The next day we packed him out. It was great!
After all was said and done we seen 30 bulls in 6 ½ days of hunting. All but 4 or 5 of them were 5 and 6 point bulls. We have noone else but are selves to blame for not coming home with 2 300+ 6x6 bulls. You need to make those shot when you get them!
We had a blast and it was the best hunt I’ve been on myself. Hopefully we can draw the tag again someday. But time spent with best of friends is memories I wont ever forget. They say “ the trophy is in the eye of the beholder” To me even though we should have killed bigger bulls, these are “ TROPHIES” among trophies!!
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Last edited by killerbee on Tue Oct 28, 2008 9:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: my wyoming elk hunt
i kinda messed up the order but oh-well.
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Re: my wyoming elk hunt
SWEET ive been waiting great story and nice elk
Re: my wyoming elk hunt
AWESOME BRIAN!!! CONGRATS to you and your buddy. Sounds like one heck of a hunt and a real blast to boot.
I hear ya on the missed opportunities....but I think we've all been there before. You still took home a couple really nice bulls my friend! Again, CONGRATS!
I hear ya on the missed opportunities....but I think we've all been there before. You still took home a couple really nice bulls my friend! Again, CONGRATS!
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basingater
- 2 point
- Posts: 270
- Joined: Sat Aug 04, 2007 7:12 am
- Contact:
Re: my wyoming elk hunt
Great bulls and the story is a solid
Re: my wyoming elk hunt
Congrats on the bulls and the hunt. I sent ya a PM , I pretty sure I Know the burn you were in
I know my spellings bad!
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MuleyMadness
- Site Admin
- Posts: 9997
- Joined: Thu Oct 10, 2002 9:34 pm
- Location: St. George, UT
- Contact:
Re: my wyoming elk hunt
Very nicely done, I'm impressed! 
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sneekeepete
- Monster
- Posts: 1757
- Joined: Tue Sep 23, 2008 1:15 pm
- Location: Utah
Re: my wyoming elk hunt
Great story!! Awesome pictures too. Sounds like you had a blast killer!
Awesome pictures too. Sounds like you had a blast killer!SNEEKEEPETE
OIF Vet.
Sgt Petersen USMC
Colossians 1:27,28
OIF Vet.
Sgt Petersen USMC
Colossians 1:27,28
Re: my wyoming elk hunt
Congrats on two fine bulls. Looks like you guy had a blast.
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proutdoors
- 3 point
- Posts: 368
- Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2007 7:52 am
- Location: Tooele County, Utah
Re: my wyoming elk hunt
Sounds like it was a great HUNT where memories were made and freezers were filled. Congrats! 
The Mind can only serve one Master, either gratitude or despair--but not both.