I've received so much help from this website, I want to try to contribute something. Here's my 2022 elk hunting story. I'm 10 months out from this tag and hunts. My perspective is a little clearer. To cut to the chase, I didn't kill an elk.
I've hunted cow elk twice on late season public land hunts and was successful, so I thought I was ready to try a bull elk hunt. I like doing research and learning, so I wanted to go DIY to start. I used a lot of points to hunt a well-known unit in east-central wyoming. I don't think it's common for your first hunt to be a limited entry unit, but I have a young family and it's not easy to be gone. A connection at conservation banquet led me to a ranch to rent with a friend and my Dad. It was a very reasonable cost for a week, just nice ranchers that prefer first hand references to their place. Private Land? How hard could it be?
I liked the area because I wanted my Dad to join me and he is 72. This area has lower elevation and more gentle terrain. We rented a pull-behind RV and pulled it up into the mountains. It was kind of a hassle. If I would've known the weather was going to be perfect and we had a great campsite out of the wind I would have preferred an outfitter tent.
Try #1 - Sept 23-30 2023
We saw elk every day. We had some success calling. A lot of my western hunting experience has been spot and stalk mule deer hunting and I tried several times on bedded elk and small herds. I listened to all the podcasts and studied the ElkNut app like it was my job. It is really hard to understand the emotional component to elk calling if you haven't heard them before. Elk calling is just plain hard. We weren't messing it up as much as we just weren't confident.
We had several close encounters on herd bulls and satellite bulls. I completely understand why people get addicted to elk hunting during the rut. A member from Rokslide was giving me some great advice throughout the hunt and it was super helpful. He had the same tag and hunted the week prior. This forum is amazing.
We went home without even firing an arrow, except one unlucky blue grouse. We had bonfires every night with stars that can't be described. It was an absolute success.
Trip #2 -
My tag was still good for rifle season and I really wanted to make it count. I got connected with Pat Ginder at At-Ease Hunting. My wife, kids,and MIL decided to join me and hang out in town while I hunted. Yes, I drove a minivan elk hunting and my kids were able to hike, fish, and sight-see. We rented an Airbnb that was really cool.
This was my first ever guided hunt and the two guides (Pat and Zac) picked me up in the dark and we drove out to start hiking. His cost was pro-rated as I only had 3 days to hunt. (PM me if you want more info). This area has a ton of tags and we weren't going to be alone on the mountain. 30 minutes into the hike we spotted a mature bull and I lined up for a 300 yard shot.
I tried to settle in on Pat's pack. My crosshairs were bouncing bad. I adjusted and took some box breaths. "He's relaxed, take your time" said Pat. I put the crosshairs on his shoulder and fired. "You dropped him!" said Zac (other guide). The elk was lying dead still and he was flat to the ground. Then I notice him moving. "He's moving a little, get ready for another one," said Pat. The bull's rack rocked back and forth. I could make out all six points on both sides. I aimed and shot again. Wa. He started crawling to our right. There was an opening in the trees. He was only using his front legs and got into the gap. I fired again. It missed.
"High". Said Pat letting me know I missed. "He's a dead bull".
"No Way!" I blurted out in astonishment.
We gathered our stuff and took a bullet out of the chamber. My right leg was bouncing uncontrollably. We agreed I'll have to shoot again, but we had some cover to get through between us and the bull. Zac went up high to look while Pat and I walked directly at him. Zac motioned that he heard a crash behind us and we changed course. The mix of pines, rock, and deadfall made it tough to see. We fanned out several times and looked before going up to where he was at. A crumpled sage brush and whipped up dirt showed where he crawled. There wasn't any blood. Pat thought it through and we fanned out again. My heart was dropping by the second. I had hope, but it was fading fast. The sun was up and shining while the temp rose. I spent a couple hours alone searching different spots. I was amazed at how many spots could be available to hide a dead bull. The area was frequented by elk with tons of tracks and droppings. That made it hard. I found some deep tracks that I kept circling back to. They had to be that bull, but they kept leading to nowhere.
We searched for two full days and gave up. Having a guide through something like that is really helpful to understand elk behavior. I can't say enough about Pat as a guide. It was an amazing first guiding experience. The only two elk I've shot dropped in their tracks. He recruited two more guys to help search the next day and we spent 7 hours on the mountain looking for any sign and it turned up nothing. They visited the area several times over the following weeks to look for birds with no luck.
I spent the last day of that trip with my family and I'll admit I was a little heartbroken. I've thought about that shot over in my head no less than a thousand times and I still can't give a good answer on what happened. My best guess is I hit high and stunned it and it regained the use of its back legs. No doubt it ended up dying
Trip #3
Yes, I drove from Minnesota to Wyoming 3 times. My wife's support was losing steam but it was still there. I had a hard time getting over wounding that bull and honestly wanted to pull the plug. The rancher from the trip in September emailed me and invited me back to hunt their place now that their family was done hunting and it left the last weekend of the rifle season open. Two friends offered to jump in and help. We stayed at the same Airbnb from October. Using 12 points to draw a tag definitely has its drawbacks. I felt a lot of pressure to come home with something.
It was -10 on this trip. We pulled up to the ranch and immediately spotted 6 bulls on their hayfields. We started a stalk and everything was going perfect until we saw another truck chasing the same bulls. Turns out the rancher has a buddy's kid with a tag left. They spooked the bulls and they ran over the ridge. We glassed hard for 2 more days and did one long track job in the snow. We came super close, but the thermals caught up to us. Again, it was an amazing time with my friends and a chance to be in elk country.
I learned some hard lessons:
1) Elk calling is hard with no experience
2) If I was willing to fork over the money for a guide first, i probably would have been successful and learned way more along the way
3) You can never practice shooting enough.
The best thing I learned is:
No matter what hunt you are on, if you can go with your Dad or friends it is going to be amazing. I didn't lose anything and it was a fall to remember
Please feel free to to critique my writing. I like to journal hunting stories and I took an abbreviated version for this post.
Thanks for reading.
I've hunted cow elk twice on late season public land hunts and was successful, so I thought I was ready to try a bull elk hunt. I like doing research and learning, so I wanted to go DIY to start. I used a lot of points to hunt a well-known unit in east-central wyoming. I don't think it's common for your first hunt to be a limited entry unit, but I have a young family and it's not easy to be gone. A connection at conservation banquet led me to a ranch to rent with a friend and my Dad. It was a very reasonable cost for a week, just nice ranchers that prefer first hand references to their place. Private Land? How hard could it be?
I liked the area because I wanted my Dad to join me and he is 72. This area has lower elevation and more gentle terrain. We rented a pull-behind RV and pulled it up into the mountains. It was kind of a hassle. If I would've known the weather was going to be perfect and we had a great campsite out of the wind I would have preferred an outfitter tent.
Try #1 - Sept 23-30 2023
We saw elk every day. We had some success calling. A lot of my western hunting experience has been spot and stalk mule deer hunting and I tried several times on bedded elk and small herds. I listened to all the podcasts and studied the ElkNut app like it was my job. It is really hard to understand the emotional component to elk calling if you haven't heard them before. Elk calling is just plain hard. We weren't messing it up as much as we just weren't confident.
We had several close encounters on herd bulls and satellite bulls. I completely understand why people get addicted to elk hunting during the rut. A member from Rokslide was giving me some great advice throughout the hunt and it was super helpful. He had the same tag and hunted the week prior. This forum is amazing.
We went home without even firing an arrow, except one unlucky blue grouse. We had bonfires every night with stars that can't be described. It was an absolute success.
Trip #2 -
My tag was still good for rifle season and I really wanted to make it count. I got connected with Pat Ginder at At-Ease Hunting. My wife, kids,and MIL decided to join me and hang out in town while I hunted. Yes, I drove a minivan elk hunting and my kids were able to hike, fish, and sight-see. We rented an Airbnb that was really cool.
This was my first ever guided hunt and the two guides (Pat and Zac) picked me up in the dark and we drove out to start hiking. His cost was pro-rated as I only had 3 days to hunt. (PM me if you want more info). This area has a ton of tags and we weren't going to be alone on the mountain. 30 minutes into the hike we spotted a mature bull and I lined up for a 300 yard shot.
I tried to settle in on Pat's pack. My crosshairs were bouncing bad. I adjusted and took some box breaths. "He's relaxed, take your time" said Pat. I put the crosshairs on his shoulder and fired. "You dropped him!" said Zac (other guide). The elk was lying dead still and he was flat to the ground. Then I notice him moving. "He's moving a little, get ready for another one," said Pat. The bull's rack rocked back and forth. I could make out all six points on both sides. I aimed and shot again. Wa. He started crawling to our right. There was an opening in the trees. He was only using his front legs and got into the gap. I fired again. It missed.
"High". Said Pat letting me know I missed. "He's a dead bull".
"No Way!" I blurted out in astonishment.
We gathered our stuff and took a bullet out of the chamber. My right leg was bouncing uncontrollably. We agreed I'll have to shoot again, but we had some cover to get through between us and the bull. Zac went up high to look while Pat and I walked directly at him. Zac motioned that he heard a crash behind us and we changed course. The mix of pines, rock, and deadfall made it tough to see. We fanned out several times and looked before going up to where he was at. A crumpled sage brush and whipped up dirt showed where he crawled. There wasn't any blood. Pat thought it through and we fanned out again. My heart was dropping by the second. I had hope, but it was fading fast. The sun was up and shining while the temp rose. I spent a couple hours alone searching different spots. I was amazed at how many spots could be available to hide a dead bull. The area was frequented by elk with tons of tracks and droppings. That made it hard. I found some deep tracks that I kept circling back to. They had to be that bull, but they kept leading to nowhere.
We searched for two full days and gave up. Having a guide through something like that is really helpful to understand elk behavior. I can't say enough about Pat as a guide. It was an amazing first guiding experience. The only two elk I've shot dropped in their tracks. He recruited two more guys to help search the next day and we spent 7 hours on the mountain looking for any sign and it turned up nothing. They visited the area several times over the following weeks to look for birds with no luck.
I spent the last day of that trip with my family and I'll admit I was a little heartbroken. I've thought about that shot over in my head no less than a thousand times and I still can't give a good answer on what happened. My best guess is I hit high and stunned it and it regained the use of its back legs. No doubt it ended up dying
Trip #3
Yes, I drove from Minnesota to Wyoming 3 times. My wife's support was losing steam but it was still there. I had a hard time getting over wounding that bull and honestly wanted to pull the plug. The rancher from the trip in September emailed me and invited me back to hunt their place now that their family was done hunting and it left the last weekend of the rifle season open. Two friends offered to jump in and help. We stayed at the same Airbnb from October. Using 12 points to draw a tag definitely has its drawbacks. I felt a lot of pressure to come home with something.
It was -10 on this trip. We pulled up to the ranch and immediately spotted 6 bulls on their hayfields. We started a stalk and everything was going perfect until we saw another truck chasing the same bulls. Turns out the rancher has a buddy's kid with a tag left. They spooked the bulls and they ran over the ridge. We glassed hard for 2 more days and did one long track job in the snow. We came super close, but the thermals caught up to us. Again, it was an amazing time with my friends and a chance to be in elk country.
I learned some hard lessons:
1) Elk calling is hard with no experience
2) If I was willing to fork over the money for a guide first, i probably would have been successful and learned way more along the way
3) You can never practice shooting enough.
The best thing I learned is:
No matter what hunt you are on, if you can go with your Dad or friends it is going to be amazing. I didn't lose anything and it was a fall to remember
Please feel free to to critique my writing. I like to journal hunting stories and I took an abbreviated version for this post.
Thanks for reading.
