My first Iowa bull elk
Contributors to this thread:Elk
From: Scrappy
16-Feb-18
Well kinda, I found him today while out shed hunting in western Iowa. Dnr officer didn't have any knowledge of one in the area. Got a salvage tag, I have no idea what I'm going to do with it. Anybody want to estimate age and score.
From: Rut Nut
16-Feb-18
This is a joke, right????
From: Pigsticker
16-Feb-18
235 gross
From: Scrappy
16-Feb-18
Nope no joke. I drove all the way to Montana last September and spent all that money on a non res elk tag not knowing i had one right here in Iowa.
From: COHOYTHUNTER
16-Feb-18
I think they are protected in Iowa.. I've heard that when they are spotted its usually after they escape from a private "elk farm".. they are considered "alternative livestock" .. a buddy of mine saw one up by Ames a few years back..
From: SBH
16-Feb-18
Thats bad ass! I was thinking it was a farm bull too but what do I know?
From: t-roy
16-Feb-18
Anybody can find the big antlers! The little ones are the challenge!
Nice find, Scrappy!
From: Scrappy
16-Feb-18
Officer said there is no elk farms close but who knows where he came from.
He did kinda stick out a little T-roy. I did find this little piece of an antler today as well, just saying.
From: Shaft
16-Feb-18
I'll bet that was a surprise!...Nice find for sure!...Probably have some well fed coyotes in the area.
From: IdyllwildArcher
16-Feb-18
230, 3 years old.
From: cnelk
16-Feb-18
I’d say it scores pretty high for Iowa :)
From: Scrappy
16-Feb-18
Cnelk maybe I got me an iowa State record.
From: cnelk
16-Feb-18
“maybe I got me an iowa State record”
Enter it. You’ll be on the short list
From: Ned mobile
16-Feb-18
One was seen near Missouri Valley last fall
From: Franzen
16-Feb-18
225 net. You going to measure it?
From: Treeline
16-Feb-18
Too cool! Congratulations on a great find!
From: Dotman
16-Feb-18
Wonder if it came from the herd out of Fort Riley, KS.
From: Empty Freezer
16-Feb-18
In 1978m we had an elk walk across Northwestern Iowa. Game warden followed him for 5 days to make sure he was safe. Then he walked into Missoueri
From: KsRancher
16-Feb-18
That's pretty awesome! Any idea what killed it/died of ? I did the same thing, drove 700miles to Colorado elk hunting. And when we get back, a neighbor comes over with a trail cam pic of a 5x6 bull. 6 miles from my house.
From: TrapperKayak
17-Feb-18
I'd say 3.5 to 4.5 yo. Pretty easy to rough score it. Put a tape on it. Should have been a healthy bull overwintering just fine, what with no competition or mates to spend all his energy reserves on. Someone probably shot it and left it or lost it. Once in a lifetime Iowa find I'd wager. Nice! Do the Euro! Dig out and keep the ivories seperate, drill holes through the roots and string 'em on a cord, or you'll lose them.
From: Grubby
17-Feb-18
I know they have made it pretty far south in Minnesota before. I’ve been seeing this one for about 10 years now, no women to bother him so he just stayed here I guess.
From: Rob in VT
17-Feb-18
I have a buddy in Union Country that has seen several elk over the years.
From: Kodiak
17-Feb-18
My brother said there was a bull down around the Winterset area for a few years. He's got hunting land there. Several people supposedly got pics of it.
From: Kodiak
17-Feb-18
Grubby, where was that pic taken?
From: lineman21
17-Feb-18
There’s elk in Nevraska where the Missouri River meets the Niobrara River. That’s not too far from Iowa.
From: Eagle_eye_Andy
17-Feb-18
Cool find! There was a really big bull roaming around the hills near Verdigre NE this fall. Also heard one got poached a little east of there.
From: Grubby
17-Feb-18
My pic was taken between Warroad and baudette
From: t-roy
17-Feb-18
I’d forgo the euro mount and make a set of rattling horns. On second thought, maybe that’s not such a good idea. Your decoy will take a worse beating than he did last year!
We’ve had a few moose, bears, and even an occasional mountain lion come through Iowa a few times over the years. The lions are not considered a game species here, so it is legal to kill them. There are quite a few people that raise elk in Iowa as well. Don’t know if that’s where that guy came from, but I’d wager the chances are pretty high that he did.
There are some wild elk running around several places in western Oklahoma besides the Wichita Mountains. My buddy that lives there, sent me a pic of a really nice bull that was killed (legally I believe) somewhere on the S. Canadian River. I also saw a big Aoudad running around west of Clinton, Ok. back in the late 80s.
From: Scrappy
17-Feb-18
Not a bad days haul.
From: Scrappy
17-Feb-18
And all loaded up.
From: Scrappy
17-Feb-18
T-roy Maybe I should mount the antlers on my decoy. Then I wouldn't have to keep getting down to put his head back on.
From: midwest
17-Feb-18
Great find Scrappy!
From: Nick Muche
17-Feb-18
That's awesome! Congrats on that find man.
From: The last savage
17-Feb-18
Way to go scrap!! Cool story ,,,about 25 years ago here in Maryland,,Christmas morning,,my cousins,a set of twins,and 2 years younger a set of triplets,,yeah my uncle had 5 girls in 2 years,,,they were about 6 or 7or so,, ,,,they all ran to the window,snow fell over night,,a guy had 4 elk locally,,,3 of them were feeding thru my uncle's yard,,,escaped. ,they were all squealing,,,its Santa's reindeer!!!! Priceless...
From: 6x6 bull
17-Feb-18
He might have traveled up from the Missouri herd. A twelve year old girl shot one in central MO this deer season!
From: Kodiak
17-Feb-18
As I recall, the dnr confiscated that elk. What a bunch of killjoys!
From: MarkU
17-Feb-18
When I was going to school in Fargo back in the mid seventies, I used to hunt fox out of a super cub, and one day I found a spike bull elk in with a herd of deer southeast of Moorhead. Knew what it was cause I'd already shot a couple elk in MT.
From: Scrappy
17-Feb-18
People in iowa are rude. Everybody was just starring at me as i was driving.
From: Mark Watkins
17-Feb-18
Scrappy,
You Da Man!!! What a day!!
Mark
From: Grubby
17-Feb-18
I’d leave it on your grocery getter!
From: ELKMAN
18-Feb-18
That's the new state record...JS
From: t-roy
18-Feb-18
There will probably be several whitetails that will outscore it at the Deer Classic this year. Non typical of course ;-)
From: jingalls
18-Feb-18
I believe it. Kansas has them all across the state. I'm sure there are more in IA than people realize.
From: Scrappy
18-Feb-18
Total haul for the weekend 18 sheds and one bull dead head. Way more bucks still carrying both sides.
From: t-roy
19-Feb-18
That’s a good haul for the year, let alone a weekend! Did you have any encounters with any of those bucks during the season?
From: Scrappy
19-Feb-18
I didn't recognize any, I rarely do find the ones I passed during the season. I did find one year before last from one that I had at 37 yards and couldn't get a shot at. I really wanted that guy. It's the one in the front that dwarfs all the rest of them.
From: Iowawhitetail
26-Feb-18
Iowawhitetail's Link
Nice find - this does looks familiar though ... I believe this is the same bull that was caught on the trail cams ? Also I'm certain I saw you parked off of 34 on our way home from ice fishing 12mile. https://www.iowawhitetail.com/forum/threads/sc-iowa-elk-on-camera.56842/
From: The last savage
26-Feb-18
Sure looks similar,,,same area iowawhitetail??
From: 6x6 bull
26-Feb-18
Someone asked what he died from? It's been found that a lot of the MO herd are dying from brain worm. Seems the deer carry it without problems but it is fatal in elk!!
From: DL
26-Feb-18
Hope you got the ivories too. If you have access to a pressure washer you can blow a lot of that junk off. Wear a face shield. Exciting find.
From: snapcrackpop
26-Feb-18
Grubby, you know MN has 2 different resident elk herds, right?
