Congrats on you first bull, very exciting moment! I cannot comment on the score, but I have noticed this as well on elk. I will update with some pictures later, but I have found younger bulls bases are higher off the skull and old bulls bases are closer to the skull.
My daughter has shown a lot of interest in hunting since I can remember . She’s 7 and asks me often how old she has to be to get a tag. She’s helped me gut deer and elk and has no problem getting up early to go for a day hunt with dad. Get them in the woods when they are young.
A basic rcbs rock chucker starter kit will get you what you need to reload. You can buy a kit or piece one together. Once you start going through the process, you will find there are things you would like to upgrade to save time or make things simpler.
There are still trail restrictions that are established by the forest service. Not every trail is open to bikes. Some are also seasonal. Check the map provided above and see what the situation is for your area.
Yes, depends on the animal and the type of bike you have. I had a old Yamaha BW 200 with racks front and rear. I could get a whole deer out one trip elk, I would make two minimum.
I have had nothing but issues with the rands on my Kenetreks. I would send them back in for repair asap and hope that fixes the problem. I have sent mine in for warranty work to address the issue, that only lasted a couple trips before they started separating again. I then had them fully...
You made the right choice. Anyone who would pay $10k just to be on bulls bugling and 1 pack of ramen is lying. If anyone wants to prove me wrong, Ill get you on bugling elk for $10k. Ill even give you 5 packs of ramen and a jet boil!
I know its a popular unit, some years are good, some years suck. Not sure how long you are planning to spend there, but sometimes scouting during season will give you a lot of info. Maybe take a day or two to glass and see where the pressure is and how to use that to your advantage.