Wyoming Bound in the Morning! - Good Hunt - 5x6!

[Elkbane]

Heading out for an Elk trip tomorrow morning. Man, am I stoked. Been working hard with almost no time off this year, so this one is really special. Hope to be able to provide a good report middle of next week!

Weather should be good, clear with low 30's in the morning and upper 50's to low 60's mid-day. Maybe some rain/snow on Sunday. We'll be 50 miles south of Rawlins along the western edge of Medicine Bow National Forest, between Encampment and Savery on (mostly) private land.


Elkbane

[DGD6MM]

Right down near Aspen Alley, beautifull place. I worked out of Rawlins for about 3-4 months a few years back. Have a blessed and safe hunt.

[Elkbane]

I shot a nice 5x6 bull Sunday morning. Here's the story and pictures, more to come after I get some off my buddy's camera.

The first day was a bust as most of the elk were on the South end of the ranch, and there were people everywhere for opening day, so elk were moving and not settled into a fixed routine. The owner caught 4 trespassers opening morning, and is prosecuting. A little more of the same second day, but the pressure on the National Forest put about 200 elk onto the ranch where we could start honing in on them.

Third morning, we launched a plan that had me hunting higher ground while the others hunted lower, trying to catch them coming uphill. After a mile and a half hike, I caught up with a herd that had two bulls bugling before daylight (7:00) at a watering hole – probably 40 elk. I couldn’t get above them because of the wind, so I waited until they moved uphill and they split into two groups each following drainages that joined above the pond. The wind was right for me to split the middle and go straight uphill with the wind in my face. I could hear the elk moving up slope on both sides of me. I moved as slowly and steadily as I could, occasionally stopping to get my breath. I topped out in an open meadow at about 8:00, just in time to see the last 3 elk from the group to the south clear the meadow. I went ahead and set up in some cover waiting for the group to the North. Then the wind switched, so I had to relocate to the other end of the park, where I had a panoramic view of the whole hillside. About 8:30, I heard an elk bugle below, then saw some cows and a small 5x5 cross an open rocky ridge, pretty far below me, crossing into deep cover beyond the ridge. I relocated my shooting sticks and convinced myself that I could shoot that location if anything more interesting came out. Ranged the mid-slope at 359 yards. A few minutes later, I saw a large bodied elk clear cover, and when I got my glasses on him, I knew he was a shooter. I finally got steady with the 400 yard cross hair on the bottom part of his chest just before he topped the ridge, and when he paused, I squeezed off a shot. I thought I heard the bullet hit, but he went over the ridge, so I marked the spot, gathered my gear and went over to look for sign.

Here's where I shot from - at the tree line just to the left of yellow bushes in the open, right of mid-scene:
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h28/elkbane/Elkhunt2010001.jpg

I worked my way over to where I marked the shot; couldn't find any sign of a hit here:
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h28/elkbane/Elkhunt2010004.jpg

So I crossed the ridge and found a game trail parralelling the slope; hunted around a bit and found a kick mark where it looked like something went down the hill. Looked down with the binocs and could see a piece of antler!
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h28/elkbane/Elkhunt2010007.jpg

Got my gun up and slid down a little ; covered him to make sure he was dead:
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h28/elkbane/Elkhunt2010008.jpg


Yes! Nice bull, big body (around 800 lbs), decent 5x6 rack. Made a good hit on him 4th rib from the back exiting under the offside shoulder. The 180 grain Accubonds from my Savage 300WSM did the rest. We ended up having to cut him in half at the waist and skid him up top with a 4-wheeler, then 4-wheel him down in 2 pieces. Man, can those Wyoming guys run a 4-wheeler!
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h28/elkbane/Elkhunt2010009-1.jpg

He's heading home in a truck right now, boned out in a cooler. Actually in two - this one wouldn't fit in one. I'll post better pics when I get them.

Elkbane

[stuball]

VERY nice elk and sounds like a good hunting experience.

Chad

[borg]

That sounds like a picture perfect hunt.

[dcloco]

Awesome!

[Knappy]

Awesome bull and great story/pics. Thanks for sharing.

[wal0001]

Just curious what shooting sticks worked for you..

Thanks.

[Stockrex]

nice, thanks for details, how long did it take to bone it out?

[Elkbane]

If it's hanging (which it was) and chilled, I can bone one out in about an hour. First time you do it allow a couple of hours.

We use some heavy mil contaminant and chemical- free bags that a buddy of mine in the janatorial supply business gives us to "group" the bags meant into steak, roasts, and burger/suasage. Then when we get home, there's no confusion with the meat cutter what gets cut into what. If the meat and coolers are cold, it only takes a few bags of ice to keep it cold on the way home.

Next trip is October 14th, a month away. Can't wait.
Elkbane

[savageboy]

Nice, I bet you did a "high 5" w/ yourself when you found it down in the hole! Sweet!