Recently finished up with my first elk hunt. I planned on elk hunting in Idaho before I found out I'd be moving...and then fortunately was drawn for a surrendered tag...at the last minute...in the middle of moving to Utah.
It's been hectic but the hunt was fun, tough and challenging to say the least. The Utah season is early and the temps were hot.
I was finding good bulls and had some very close encounters early in the hunt but hunting pressure and blown stalks from them meant I needed to spike camp much further in. Here is my home away from home.
We heard four different bulls and were figuring out which one to go after. Wind was bad for the giant I was after all week. His bugle was distinct and I knew where he was.
This back-up bull sounded good and the wind was perfect. I was on him earlier in the week but he kept stepping through my shooting lanes. Anyway, we dropped down and stalked as close as we could just as it was getting light. We setup 100 yards from the bull and 30 yards apart.
My buddy started cow calling but he initially stayed at 100 yards trying to call us to him. At that point my buddy behind me changed it up and started simulating a cow being harassed by a small bull (breaking branches and thrashing sounded great too).
When we didn't go to him, curiosity got the best of him and he went from hung up at 100 yards....to curious at 40 yards...to dead. Tough blood trail but we found him not even 200 yards away.
I was on all fours looking for spots of blood when I heard my buddy say "hey guys there's a dead elk over here".
Congrads on a job well done, nice photo's and story!!!
-Yes, this was a do-it-yourself limited entry hunt on all public land. I hunted the Wasatch mountains which are managed for hunter opportunity...quality if you are a machine or not afraid to hike in. I drew the tag with four points...at the last minute to boot.
-Elevation: I hunted between 7,800ft and 10,300 feet. This bull died at 8,300. Most of the miles I put on (chasing the bigger bulls) were right at the 8,500 mark.
-I just moved from WI to UT. So far it's been great. Pretty much unpacked now. Reserved a spot on the wall for this bull! My WI whitetails will have a larger cousin to keep them company.
Next I'll be hunting an over-the-counter unit in Idaho. Going in without much prior scouting so I hope they are vocal to help me out! One more tag punched would be icing on the cake.
Good luck the rest of the WI season! Keep the reports coming in.
jealous for sure.
I love Elkmeat , I enjoy hunting them , but Every Elk you haul out of the mountains takes a year off your life , ;-]
