Congrats fellas. Can't wait to read the full story.
The next best thing...WY Elk
- Thread starter AT Hiker
- Start date
Congrats to both of you, great job! Nothing like laying with it until you get it done! Looking forward to the story.
Congratulations to the both of you!
wjohnson1983
Well-Known Member
So I'll take a break from cutting meat while drinking coffee and type up my day by day version. I'll go ahead and get one thing out of the way and this is definitely not a gripe though it may sound like it. This unit from all the hunting websites, magazines, etc. was supposed to be elite. Look over multiple bulls to find one 320 or bigger, multiple call ins during archery, elk everywhere. That definitely wasn't the case. Not sure we saw a bull over 300 the entire trip. Know we didn't see anything in the 320+ caliber. With that said, I couldn't be happier with my first elk and a 270 euro mount is still going to look good. Hopefully one of these days I will have another elk tag in my possession.
There's also a spot on the map that I'm just going to refer to as the honey hole for this story instead of using names. I will say I also marked this as the #1 spot for e-scouting as well. This unit has 2 tracks everywhere, so there really isn't a large "roadless" area. Especially when the locals don't abide by the 2 tracks on BLM anyways
We also did not see an elk on their feet between 1000 and 1700 except for the day it was cloudy and cool. The wind was also crazy on this trip with all of the terrain features. We had the wind checker go 3 different directions within 10 seconds of each other some days.
Day 1: Arrived ~0800 after driving straight through from TN. Get camp set up and start making a breakfast/lunch. ~1000 a local drives into camp and asks what we're hunting for. Elk. "There's 200 elk in honey hole having a rut fest, bugling their heads off. A 6x7, a 340 class 6x6, and multiple other 6x6 elk" We load up and head to honey hole. No elk, no bugling. Drive the unit to learn the areas and passable roads. See a cow bedded in some junipers ~1700, get everything ready, and set up for a calling session. No responses or elk show. Return to honey hole about 1800. ~40 elk come out into honey hole that evening, but no "large" bulls.
Day 2: Arrive at honey hole before first light and start glassing elk as daylight approaches. Check the wind up top and start to make a play. As we descend, wind changes directions and we hang back ~800 yards while waiting on constant wind hoping to put the elk to bed close. Something spooks them from a different direction and we watch them run about a mile up the drainage and up into the junipers. Again drive the unit to learn more. See a nice bull and some cows from a county road ~1.5 miles away in the wide open. No play with the bow. Keep moving and glassing. Drive back by with about 10 minutes of shooting time left and elk are close to the road in some folds. I will shamelessly say that I jumped out of the truck with my bow and crawled on a stalk. 101 yards from the bull, but the cows fed up on a rise 125 yards away. No way to move and get closer. Wait until dark and crawl back out.
Day 3: Driving out from camp on a 2 track and ~2 miles away a 6x6 and some cows cross in front of us before shooting light. We drive to a different area than the honey hole just trying to find elk in more than 1 spot consistently. No elk glassed from this area. For the midday play, we started going to possible bedding areas and glassing into those. ~1300 we glass into some aspens and there's an elk 100 yards away laying down. We're trying to get a better view of him, wind swirls and there goes a decent 6x6. That evening we see elk in honey hole, but too late to drop off in there and make a play. Start driving roads just to hope and catch some elk at last light. See another decent 6x6 on a knob. Wrong side of unit boundary heading away ~1900.
Day 4: We watch multiple elk bed in the honey hole that morning. Check the wind and can't drop off after them. Have to make a stalk to come in from a different direction that is ~2.5 miles. The last ~100 yards are steep, but once up top it's a 30 yard shot down to the elk. We get to within 200 yards of the group we're stalking and downwind of them. Elk start busting everywhere, but running "towards" us. 3 cows go out the bottom and cows, 6x6, and a spike go out the top. Was that the elk we were stalking? What spooked them? In case it wasn't the same group of elk, we finish the stalk. Nothing home. Did the elk move from the original bed and get down wind of us or something else? We'll never know. From this stalk location, we can see multiple elk bedded ~3/4 mile away, but we have to circle about 2 miles to get the wind right and come in from the top. There's one decent 6x6 up top by itself, ~100 yards from the crest. Let's make a play. We start making this loop to come in and an elk starts bugling in a different area. (~1200). Put binos up and it's a decent 6x6 and a smaller branch antlered bull. He's fired up, so change of plans for stalk. Check the wind and make a loop to come in and call this elk. At the end of the loop and ready to enter the trees. Check the wind and it's the complete opposite direction from when we start the stalk. 2 options, Back out and circle about a mile to change the wind or try and skirt the bottom with a marginal crosswind. We decided to try and skirt with a marginal crosswind. Almost in position and the smaller bull sees me walk across a gap in tress ~100 yards away. Wind swirls again and I see what I thought was the 6x6 running back and forth in the junipers ~200 yards away looking my direction every time he stopped. Then ~30 elk rush out of the trees and up over the hill. That evening we see the same bull from Day 2 about ~ 2 miles away. He takes himself and his ladies back into a canyon on private land.
There's also a spot on the map that I'm just going to refer to as the honey hole for this story instead of using names. I will say I also marked this as the #1 spot for e-scouting as well. This unit has 2 tracks everywhere, so there really isn't a large "roadless" area. Especially when the locals don't abide by the 2 tracks on BLM anyways
We also did not see an elk on their feet between 1000 and 1700 except for the day it was cloudy and cool. The wind was also crazy on this trip with all of the terrain features. We had the wind checker go 3 different directions within 10 seconds of each other some days.
Day 1: Arrived ~0800 after driving straight through from TN. Get camp set up and start making a breakfast/lunch. ~1000 a local drives into camp and asks what we're hunting for. Elk. "There's 200 elk in honey hole having a rut fest, bugling their heads off. A 6x7, a 340 class 6x6, and multiple other 6x6 elk" We load up and head to honey hole. No elk, no bugling. Drive the unit to learn the areas and passable roads. See a cow bedded in some junipers ~1700, get everything ready, and set up for a calling session. No responses or elk show. Return to honey hole about 1800. ~40 elk come out into honey hole that evening, but no "large" bulls.
Day 2: Arrive at honey hole before first light and start glassing elk as daylight approaches. Check the wind up top and start to make a play. As we descend, wind changes directions and we hang back ~800 yards while waiting on constant wind hoping to put the elk to bed close. Something spooks them from a different direction and we watch them run about a mile up the drainage and up into the junipers. Again drive the unit to learn more. See a nice bull and some cows from a county road ~1.5 miles away in the wide open. No play with the bow. Keep moving and glassing. Drive back by with about 10 minutes of shooting time left and elk are close to the road in some folds. I will shamelessly say that I jumped out of the truck with my bow and crawled on a stalk. 101 yards from the bull, but the cows fed up on a rise 125 yards away. No way to move and get closer. Wait until dark and crawl back out.
Day 3: Driving out from camp on a 2 track and ~2 miles away a 6x6 and some cows cross in front of us before shooting light. We drive to a different area than the honey hole just trying to find elk in more than 1 spot consistently. No elk glassed from this area. For the midday play, we started going to possible bedding areas and glassing into those. ~1300 we glass into some aspens and there's an elk 100 yards away laying down. We're trying to get a better view of him, wind swirls and there goes a decent 6x6. That evening we see elk in honey hole, but too late to drop off in there and make a play. Start driving roads just to hope and catch some elk at last light. See another decent 6x6 on a knob. Wrong side of unit boundary heading away ~1900.
Day 4: We watch multiple elk bed in the honey hole that morning. Check the wind and can't drop off after them. Have to make a stalk to come in from a different direction that is ~2.5 miles. The last ~100 yards are steep, but once up top it's a 30 yard shot down to the elk. We get to within 200 yards of the group we're stalking and downwind of them. Elk start busting everywhere, but running "towards" us. 3 cows go out the bottom and cows, 6x6, and a spike go out the top. Was that the elk we were stalking? What spooked them? In case it wasn't the same group of elk, we finish the stalk. Nothing home. Did the elk move from the original bed and get down wind of us or something else? We'll never know. From this stalk location, we can see multiple elk bedded ~3/4 mile away, but we have to circle about 2 miles to get the wind right and come in from the top. There's one decent 6x6 up top by itself, ~100 yards from the crest. Let's make a play. We start making this loop to come in and an elk starts bugling in a different area. (~1200). Put binos up and it's a decent 6x6 and a smaller branch antlered bull. He's fired up, so change of plans for stalk. Check the wind and make a loop to come in and call this elk. At the end of the loop and ready to enter the trees. Check the wind and it's the complete opposite direction from when we start the stalk. 2 options, Back out and circle about a mile to change the wind or try and skirt the bottom with a marginal crosswind. We decided to try and skirt with a marginal crosswind. Almost in position and the smaller bull sees me walk across a gap in tress ~100 yards away. Wind swirls again and I see what I thought was the 6x6 running back and forth in the junipers ~200 yards away looking my direction every time he stopped. Then ~30 elk rush out of the trees and up over the hill. That evening we see the same bull from Day 2 about ~ 2 miles away. He takes himself and his ladies back into a canyon on private land.
wjohnson1983
Well-Known Member
Day 5: Weather Change! Cloudy and highs in the 30s. Elk close to the road in the honey hole. Put on a stalk, but only get 99 yards away before running out of available features. This is a 6x6 that probably would have gone 300+ if his whale tails weren't busted off. Wind is bad and we want to find elk in more than one spot. We leave honey hole to go to some canyons a local told us about where "you only have to get off the road a few hundred yards. Nobody goes there because it's close to the road and there's no 2 tracks". We start hiking in and glassing. Tons of elk sign, but no elk. About a mile in we set up and call. Nothing but rubs on the ridges all over the place. 2 options: hike back the way we came or hike up and over into the next canyon to see a new area. We decide on the up and over. Get to the top and ATHiker says you should call from up here. I rip off a bugle without the tube. "Did you hear that?" We both did, but both pointed different directions. Wait a few minutes and rip off another bugle. Immediate response and closer. We start heading to the bull and probably close 100 yards and I rip off another bugle. Immediate response and he seems 200 - 300 yards away still but definitely has closed the gap. Here's where I make a rookie mistake. We go towards the bull instead of getting setup. We didn't go directly towards the bull, and I was trying to get downwind enough as I skirted his way. He was charging in hard though and saw me cross a gap about 100 yards away. He calms down gets behind some trees, and I make a move to get set up. Ultimately I couldn't get setup far enough downwind away from the calling location. I see antlers coming through the junipers 40 yards away and start to draw my bow. Elk stops, catches the wind and busts out of there. Needed 3 more steps. We hike out of the canyon and drive to an overlook to eat lunch. I rip off a bugle while at the overlook and get a response. The elk is on private. We drive around to get closer to where the elk bugled from and come in from the top. Wind is all wrong and we have to go around and come in from the bottom. We start hiking in and I bugle some. Get a different elk to respond. We got set up on the edge of the private and called for 30 - 45 minutes with 2 elk responding, but both on private. We just weren't close enough for them to peel away to check us out. Hiking out a small branch antler bull is 300 yards onto the private on a knob staring into the calling location. That evening we're still looking for a consistent location besides the honey hole. We decide there was too much elk sign in the canyons for 1 elk to make, so approach from the top. We glass for a while with no elk and no elk bugling. Decide to hike in a ways bugling just to see if we get a response. We see the elk I called in at midday staring into the calling location from ~1/2 mile away on a high knob. No other elk spotted or heard. We did see some driving in/out of this area at last light not too far away.
Day 6: We see elk in the honey hole, but decide not to blow them out before rifle the next day. Drive to find other elk and see 3 different bulls in a location we had glassed twice before with no elk. They are too far away to judge antlers even with the Zeiss 85mm spotter, but one has the biggest body we've seen. Mark them on the map and keep looking for the rifle opener. During the day we kept hitting different locations, hiking in, and calling, but no responses today. That evening the elk from the morning have come closer to the county road, but still ~1.5 miles away and on private land now. Can see 2 nice bulls on the spotter that are probably slightly bigger than what we've see so far, but can't confirm. We leave here to check honey hole before the next morning. We see ~120 elk spread out up and down this canyon in different areas, but they're all still the ~260-~290 class animals we've been seeing. Dilemma for opening morning: Go to where we've seen elk every day and slightly smaller bulls or go to plan B for something slightly larger, but we've only seen them there the day before.
Day 7: Rifle opener! We decide plan A with a slightly smaller bull is a safer option and I'm ready to fill a tag at this point. We met up with our new friend Gerry 30 minutes before shooting light and discussed sitting together this morning or splitting up. I decided we should split up. He was a super nice guy, but I didn't want to run into an issue of a 320+ elk magically appearing and then having to have that conversation. He got an elk at first light as I was putting a stalk on a different group. They went down a different draw than expected and out of our lives for the moment. We spot group 3 further down the canyon. Make a play on them and think we'll pop out on them at ~200 yards from the top of this knob. Pop out and the rangefinder reads 650. Back out and re-stalk. Get as close as possible and it appears that they are now bedded for the day. We start seeing cows pop out of the junipers looking different directions and I start ranging. 325 - 400 yards. I'm not entirely comfortable at this range, but have practiced it and have a turret to dial. We hang tight in case the bull pops out and a helicopter flies over somewhere. The elk didn't like this and come running out of the bedding area! Cows come out the bottom and run to ~275. Sweet. Now cows come out on top and there's the bull. 350. Dial and shoot. Bull runs over the top. ATHiker was watching in binos and didn't think I hit it. I hustle over with the rifle and see a bull with ~8 cows 2 ridges over. No way to tell if its the same bull, but cow count is about right and they are boogying out. Look for blood and other sign for ~1.5 hours with nothing. Assume a miss and the elk I saw getting out of dodge is the same. We went into town for lunch, wash clothes, and regroup. That evening we only spot 5 elk in the honey hole, but about a mile or so away from where we've been seeing them. Decide its just too late to make a play and keep glassing hoping for something closer. Nothing.
Day 8: What do we do? Are they completely blown out of honey hole? We decide to head back to honey hole because there really wasn't a better option in our minds. No elk, no elk bugling. Keep glassing. There's a bugle, but can't find them. Finally see the elk in the bottom of honey hole and decide we need to come in from a different direction. The rest of this story is pretty embarrassing, but I'll just tell it like it is. I took the clip out of my gun to drive to a better stalking entry. We get there and trucks are parked and glassing, but you can't see the elk from this location. Head back to the original spot to stalk in. Grab everything out of the truck and book it down hill. Get about 600 yards from the elk and I go to jack a round in. No clip in the gun. ATHiker goes "it's ok it only took 12 minutes to get down here." I quip back "Yeah and 50 to go up" (This was from previous experiences in this location). Well ATHiker takes off jogging uphill to the truck, and I start plodding up. At some point I hear elk bugling closer and decide there's no point in me killing myself getting uphill too. Turn around and see an elk. I sit down and there goes a 6x6 and some cows across an opening at 300 yards with me having no bullets. ATHiker gets back and says let's go. I say yeah they just crossed at 300 yards and start stalking. He says the elk are still down there (pointing at original location) and I said no they just crossed going this way. Well there was 2 groups of elk at this point of varying distance. The original group and the group I saw cross. Made the play on the closer group, and I can see the bull heading uphill to me. The angle down is so steep I can't get a prone shot. Something spooks the bull a little bit, and he turns and starts fast walking downhill. Get setup in a sitting position on the tripod, and don't think I have time to range. I think it's 250 and shoot. No sign of hit. Elk stands looking around. Shoot. No sign of hit. Elk trots a few yards away behind a tree. ATHiker says something about the elk standing there, but I can't see it from where I am. Range and the tree is 187. Dial scope down and shoot when the elk steps out. Elk take off running different directions, and I lose track of the bull I shot at. I'm standing trying to see the elk that I shot at, and then I see it tip over in the bottom. I would like to say that I hit it more than once in 3 shots, and I don't know that a 250 to 200 dial would make a difference on an elk. I would think not, but at the end of the day, I finally notched a tag on my first elk. Took 6 hours to break down and pack out in 3 trips. ~1/2 mile with ~450 ft elevation gain back to the truck.
Day 6: We see elk in the honey hole, but decide not to blow them out before rifle the next day. Drive to find other elk and see 3 different bulls in a location we had glassed twice before with no elk. They are too far away to judge antlers even with the Zeiss 85mm spotter, but one has the biggest body we've seen. Mark them on the map and keep looking for the rifle opener. During the day we kept hitting different locations, hiking in, and calling, but no responses today. That evening the elk from the morning have come closer to the county road, but still ~1.5 miles away and on private land now. Can see 2 nice bulls on the spotter that are probably slightly bigger than what we've see so far, but can't confirm. We leave here to check honey hole before the next morning. We see ~120 elk spread out up and down this canyon in different areas, but they're all still the ~260-~290 class animals we've been seeing. Dilemma for opening morning: Go to where we've seen elk every day and slightly smaller bulls or go to plan B for something slightly larger, but we've only seen them there the day before.
Day 7: Rifle opener! We decide plan A with a slightly smaller bull is a safer option and I'm ready to fill a tag at this point. We met up with our new friend Gerry 30 minutes before shooting light and discussed sitting together this morning or splitting up. I decided we should split up. He was a super nice guy, but I didn't want to run into an issue of a 320+ elk magically appearing and then having to have that conversation. He got an elk at first light as I was putting a stalk on a different group. They went down a different draw than expected and out of our lives for the moment. We spot group 3 further down the canyon. Make a play on them and think we'll pop out on them at ~200 yards from the top of this knob. Pop out and the rangefinder reads 650. Back out and re-stalk. Get as close as possible and it appears that they are now bedded for the day. We start seeing cows pop out of the junipers looking different directions and I start ranging. 325 - 400 yards. I'm not entirely comfortable at this range, but have practiced it and have a turret to dial. We hang tight in case the bull pops out and a helicopter flies over somewhere. The elk didn't like this and come running out of the bedding area! Cows come out the bottom and run to ~275. Sweet. Now cows come out on top and there's the bull. 350. Dial and shoot. Bull runs over the top. ATHiker was watching in binos and didn't think I hit it. I hustle over with the rifle and see a bull with ~8 cows 2 ridges over. No way to tell if its the same bull, but cow count is about right and they are boogying out. Look for blood and other sign for ~1.5 hours with nothing. Assume a miss and the elk I saw getting out of dodge is the same. We went into town for lunch, wash clothes, and regroup. That evening we only spot 5 elk in the honey hole, but about a mile or so away from where we've been seeing them. Decide its just too late to make a play and keep glassing hoping for something closer. Nothing.
Day 8: What do we do? Are they completely blown out of honey hole? We decide to head back to honey hole because there really wasn't a better option in our minds. No elk, no elk bugling. Keep glassing. There's a bugle, but can't find them. Finally see the elk in the bottom of honey hole and decide we need to come in from a different direction. The rest of this story is pretty embarrassing, but I'll just tell it like it is. I took the clip out of my gun to drive to a better stalking entry. We get there and trucks are parked and glassing, but you can't see the elk from this location. Head back to the original spot to stalk in. Grab everything out of the truck and book it down hill. Get about 600 yards from the elk and I go to jack a round in. No clip in the gun. ATHiker goes "it's ok it only took 12 minutes to get down here." I quip back "Yeah and 50 to go up" (This was from previous experiences in this location). Well ATHiker takes off jogging uphill to the truck, and I start plodding up. At some point I hear elk bugling closer and decide there's no point in me killing myself getting uphill too. Turn around and see an elk. I sit down and there goes a 6x6 and some cows across an opening at 300 yards with me having no bullets. ATHiker gets back and says let's go. I say yeah they just crossed at 300 yards and start stalking. He says the elk are still down there (pointing at original location) and I said no they just crossed going this way. Well there was 2 groups of elk at this point of varying distance. The original group and the group I saw cross. Made the play on the closer group, and I can see the bull heading uphill to me. The angle down is so steep I can't get a prone shot. Something spooks the bull a little bit, and he turns and starts fast walking downhill. Get setup in a sitting position on the tripod, and don't think I have time to range. I think it's 250 and shoot. No sign of hit. Elk stands looking around. Shoot. No sign of hit. Elk trots a few yards away behind a tree. ATHiker says something about the elk standing there, but I can't see it from where I am. Range and the tree is 187. Dial scope down and shoot when the elk steps out. Elk take off running different directions, and I lose track of the bull I shot at. I'm standing trying to see the elk that I shot at, and then I see it tip over in the bottom. I would like to say that I hit it more than once in 3 shots, and I don't know that a 250 to 200 dial would make a difference on an elk. I would think not, but at the end of the day, I finally notched a tag on my first elk. Took 6 hours to break down and pack out in 3 trips. ~1/2 mile with ~450 ft elevation gain back to the truck.
Last edited:
DoubleRidge
Well-Known Member
Great read...thanks for sharing....that's real life....things don't always go as planned ...but you two stuck with it and got it done.... congrats!!....thanks again for sharing your experience.
Great story, could see it all playing out in my mind! 270 class first bull is nothing to sneeze at, you'll be reminded of hunt everytime you look at him, plus all the great meat your putting in freezer. Am sure the drought affected the quality somewhat but you were still in elk every day. Job well done I'd say!!
TJS209
Well-Known Member
Congrats! Nice write up. Think I'm going to have to pull the trigger on one of those kodiak flex bows.
congrats to all
I'm tired just reading that. Big congrats on sticking with it and making it happen!
Thanks for sharing the story and letting us poor saps in on your hunt via the Internet. Did you get a hiking mileage total for the hunt?
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2011
- Messages
- 766
Congrats on your first elk! Sounds like an eventful hunt!
wjohnson1983
Well-Known Member
I didn't get a total mileage on mine. I forgot to turn my onx half the time. In all honesty the mileage was probably only in the 20ish range. Definitely less than 30 I would say. Unit was covered in roads and two tracks. I couldn't believe how many people thought they could drive on the two tracks and get an elk though. We typically parked and find a spot for calling at least .5 mile from the 2 track
Dean Parisian
Well-Known Member
Excellent recap of a great week hunting! Congratulations to both of you on an excellent hunt and topping it off with some tasty eating! Team effort for sure!!
double browtine
Well-Known Member
That sounds like a great hunt! Congrats on a great bull!
backyardtndeer
Well-Known Member
Thanks for posting for us to follow along. Congratulations.
wjohnson1983
Well-Known Member
Tooth age came back from Wyoming fish and game at 5.5 years old.
AT Hiker
Well-Known Member
Elk Tongue tacos! After we got back in early October I seasoned with garlic, cumin and some dried chili's then vacuumed sealed it.
Pulled it out of the freezer last week, let it thaw in fridge and "marinade" for a few days (probably didn't do anything ) then sous vide at 170 around 28 hours. I didn't have time to peel the membrane off so in the fridge It went, next day for dinner I pulled it out and got a pot of simmering water, turned off the heat and put the sealed tongue back in for about 30 minutes. Then proceeded to remove the outer layer, diced it up and did a quick sauté in some butter.
My daughter, who is in a Spanish immersion school, told me these are Wapiti Tacos de Lengua. No clue how accurate she is but these tacos were superb.
Big Johnson needs to draw another tag!!
Pulled it out of the freezer last week, let it thaw in fridge and "marinade" for a few days (probably didn't do anything ) then sous vide at 170 around 28 hours. I didn't have time to peel the membrane off so in the fridge It went, next day for dinner I pulled it out and got a pot of simmering water, turned off the heat and put the sealed tongue back in for about 30 minutes. Then proceeded to remove the outer layer, diced it up and did a quick sauté in some butter.
My daughter, who is in a Spanish immersion school, told me these are Wapiti Tacos de Lengua. No clue how accurate she is but these tacos were superb.
Big Johnson needs to draw another tag!!
wjohnson1983
Well-Known Member
I mean out of the 900 applications every year, the odds are in our favor for another tag right 
