I'm a little late posting, but better late than never.
I had the hunt of a lifetime for my first elk hunt in October of '19. A good friend of mine turned 50 and asked if I'd go on a bucket list hunt with him and I got suckered into it.....
We trained for 4-5 months but it was not enough for the rugged, tough country we hunted in. The guides had horses but a lot of the terrain could only be traversed on foot when it came to the actual hunt itself. Add a bunch of snow on the ground into the mix, coupled with single digit temps (thank God for the wall tent and wood burning stove), and it was tough!
Unbelievably, I shot this bull on opening morning (October 1st) at 9:15AM. We left camp at daylight, on foot, and as soon as we reached the first ridge we bugled and this boy started talking to us. We were on him immediately. We followed him and his herd for a few hours and finally decided to work our way around them to maneuver ourselves right into them. The plan worked. We had the entire herd come over the ridge and surround us. I had cows/spikes/calves within 5 yards. It was exhilarating. The herd cow knew something was up, and our bull hadn't presented himself yet, so we had to stay frozen for almost 25 minutes (talk about severe cramping). She watched us, and watched us, and watched us.
Finally, the herd started to keep moving and my bull presented a forward facing shot at 35 yards! It was the only shot I had and the herd was ready to bust out when I raised my rifle for a shot. I nailed him in the chest and he fell backwards down the ridge, stopping 20-30 yards. For months I trained at 200-400 yards and I shot him at 35.... Just can't make this up.
Rifle: Remington 700 Sendero .300WM
Bullet: 200 gr Hornady ELD-X
Silencer: .30 cal Silencerco Omega
Location: Crowheart, WY (Fitzpatrick Wilderness, above the Indian Res)
Outfitter: Bugling Winds Outfitting
Truly a hunt of a lifetime. The Hankins family (guides) were top notch--I could not have had a better experience.
I had the hunt of a lifetime for my first elk hunt in October of '19. A good friend of mine turned 50 and asked if I'd go on a bucket list hunt with him and I got suckered into it.....
We trained for 4-5 months but it was not enough for the rugged, tough country we hunted in. The guides had horses but a lot of the terrain could only be traversed on foot when it came to the actual hunt itself. Add a bunch of snow on the ground into the mix, coupled with single digit temps (thank God for the wall tent and wood burning stove), and it was tough!
Unbelievably, I shot this bull on opening morning (October 1st) at 9:15AM. We left camp at daylight, on foot, and as soon as we reached the first ridge we bugled and this boy started talking to us. We were on him immediately. We followed him and his herd for a few hours and finally decided to work our way around them to maneuver ourselves right into them. The plan worked. We had the entire herd come over the ridge and surround us. I had cows/spikes/calves within 5 yards. It was exhilarating. The herd cow knew something was up, and our bull hadn't presented himself yet, so we had to stay frozen for almost 25 minutes (talk about severe cramping). She watched us, and watched us, and watched us.
Finally, the herd started to keep moving and my bull presented a forward facing shot at 35 yards! It was the only shot I had and the herd was ready to bust out when I raised my rifle for a shot. I nailed him in the chest and he fell backwards down the ridge, stopping 20-30 yards. For months I trained at 200-400 yards and I shot him at 35.... Just can't make this up.
Rifle: Remington 700 Sendero .300WM
Bullet: 200 gr Hornady ELD-X
Silencer: .30 cal Silencerco Omega
Location: Crowheart, WY (Fitzpatrick Wilderness, above the Indian Res)
Outfitter: Bugling Winds Outfitting
Truly a hunt of a lifetime. The Hankins family (guides) were top notch--I could not have had a better experience.
Attached Files
Comment