A class act in Wyoming
Elk
Contributors to this thread:
I feel compelled to say a few words about my elk hunt in Wyoming. I drew a very limited type 1 tag and bought the archery stamp to bowhunt the month of Sept. During an early summmer trip to Cody/Yellowstone I stopped in and did a quick check of the unit. I met a ranch family that had a guest house that they rented to me for 17 days. I've never met better people in my life.
From the time my buddy (who came along to help) and I arrived until I left 17 days later, every single person we met went out of their way to help me get onto elk. A lot of the guys either had a tag, or had a family member who had one and were scouting for rifle season. I would get a text, or someone would stop by the ranch to tell me where they had seen a good bull. A family member of the ranch, who had a tag and was bowhunting, showed me his honey hole and told me to hunt it. I eventually killed my bull there. Another bowhunter invited me to his camp and grilled me a steak that came from his family's beef ranch. Damn that was good. He was very knowledgeable about the unit, and gave me some pointers as well.
I probably met a dozen people who in one way or another were in the area to hunt or scout, and not once did I get the cold shoulder that is so prevalent in most competitive hunting situations. Thanks Wyoming for a fantastic experience, and teaching me a valuable lesson on how to treat fellow hunters. I'll try to pass it on.
That's very cool!!
Nice report but how about some hunt details and pictures ?!?!? :)
G
Really is nice to hear positive stories like this...thanks and show us your bull!
That is awesome! Glad you had a great hunt & met some great folks, now you'll have to extend the courtesy on down the line sometime! (grin) Good stuff!
ElkNut/Paul
Great story. I had very similar experiences in WY with residents last year.
There are a lot of helpful ranchers and hunters out there.
Cool story - thanks for sharing!
I’ve found people you meet in the field, or in person, are often more helpful and friendly than people you “meet” on the internet.
Good stuff. Thanks for sharing
I had a good experience with some folks in Creede this season as well. They kindly invited me to stay at their cabin when they heard I was going to sleep in the back of my truck that evening. It's nice to know there are good people out there!
You can't post up a story like that, and then not add the picture of your bull. Hit edit, and add that photo buddy.
What goes around, comes around most often. Thanks for the story. my best, Paul
Very cool! I hope to have a good experience like you when i hunt WY.
Congrats on your bull. Hope To hunt Wyoming elk soon. Happy to hear nice people helping nice people
Great to hear there are still wonderful people in the world these days and you had a great experience!
That’s awesome. I decided quite a while back to save my WY elk points and start putting my son in when he was eligible to get youth points. I told him I would keep them going while he was in college and we would share those points when he got out. I hope I can find us something like that in a couple more years.
Let’s see that elk!
Very nice post. My Wyoming experiences have been very similar. Great state and great people.
I've been the beneficiary of some great people myself and am deeply indebted. I try to pay it forward whenever I can. Congratulations on your hunt! I agree though, we'd love to hear the rest of the story.
Great people in Wyoming. One of the reasons I retired here.
Yep, you guys are right, I should have added a pic. I tried to edit it in to my original post but I keep getting an error message so I'll try it here. I apologize for the crappy picture. At the time I shot him on day 15 my buddy had gone home and I was by myself and it was getting hot quickly and he had died in the sun. I was in a rush to get him into game bags and in the shade. The flys and bees were on him instantly. I will do a full story on my hunt later I promise. A lot of stuff happened, so it will take a while to tell.
Congrats on the bull. Great to hear about all the kind people you met. Really makes the hunt more meaningful.
Nice bull and great story. Thanks for sharing. Way to go WY.
I hunted Wyoming from the central Bighorns to the southern Bridger-tetons, spanning from 1975 to 1999. I had nothing but great experiences with all the residents I encountered.
In particular, on a summer scouting/fishing trip with my Wyoming buddy, I had THREE flat tires on Whitherspoon Pass high on the Lander cutoff, miles off pavement. This was the summer after the Broncos beat the Packers in the Super Bowl...I had a Green Bay Packer sticker on my rear bumper near my Wisconsin plate.
We blocked it up and my buddy ran me into LaBarge to hunt down a shop. The manager chuckled when I told him my dilemma, and found a used rim when I asked for four new tires. He OWNED me! He could have gouged the bejeezes outa me, and I'd have no recourse but to grin and bear it. I handed him my credit card and he gave me the break of a lifetime! He was great! Discounted the tires and wanted to toss in the rim for free...I thanked him profusely and insisted on paying a fair price for the rim.
When we got back and pulled in behind that Wisconsin plate and Packer sticker sitting on blocks, I said, "I'll bet that got some chuckles". John said, "There's probably been some pictures taken of that!" Lol.
Absolutely some of the best people you will ever meet in Wyoming.
I have never had a bad experience up there. I was amazed my last elk hunt up there when I had problems with my truck and then my trailer how willing they were to help out and get me back on the road.
I also had a massive amount of help from a Bowsite regular the night I killed my bull. Think he may have saved my life that night. Then he spent the next day helping pack out of a horrible spot when he could have been home relaxing. Can’t thank you enough, Ron!
I keep up my membership with Bowhunters of Wyoming to continue to support the local bowhunting organization in one of my favorite states to hunt.
+2 Treeline. I have not had a negative encounter in 3 elk hunts. Last years hunt was 3 weeks. I had locals giving me all kinds of intel. (I don't know if it was because they didn't think I was a threat! Or I wouldn't draw the unit again.) It was a combo! I too belong to BOW. A great cause in a great state.
Every Wyoming resident I've met has been helpful and friendly. I'm a BOW member as well.
Awesome to hear! Well done Wyoming!