First Elk!

Made the trip to central Wyoming last week on my first outfitted horseback elk hunt. It was an amazing experience with the bulls still bugling and fighting and the cows calling like crazy each day. The snow, rain and fog made conditions tough and we only had decent weather about a day and a half of the 5 day hunt, but we made good on the chances we got. Long shots were the norm, so using good tripods along with anything else available, whether it be rocks or backpacks, to stabilize your arms really helped. My buddy Mike let me shoot first and we got on a large herd on day 2 midday. They were bedded on the backside of a fairly steep hill with a couple bulls bedded where we could make a move. We got to about 400 yards when they got up and the whole group fed up over the rise right out in front of us. It took what seemed like forever before I had a clean shot without the risk of hitting a cow. Final distance was 360 yards. Hit him good on the first shot thankfully.

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Day 3 started with rain turning to snow as we got higher. We didn’t make it to where we were going to set up glassing and we could hear them bugling and calling at the top of a pine filled ravine. We got off and snuck up through the trees. Bulls were fighting and carrying on and we got right to the edge of the pines where Mike took a really nice 6×6 at 130 yards.

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COngrats! Some nice ones! I had a buddy out there last week too. I havent heard back from him yet to see how they did.

Sean’s bull. This was day 2 also. This bull was in the same herd as mine and I actually tried to get on him but was never given a decent shot. The top on his left side is teal distinct. 370 yards.

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Eric held out until the last couple hours of the last day. 375 yards.

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More pics of the country.

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We had one major accident on the trip. Not a member of my group. We had rain and fog on day one. The next morning a horse slipped going down a fairly steep grade. Fell over and landed on the hunter. Broken femur. Crushed pelvis. Internal bleeding. The guides and camp jack immediately got him as comfortable as possible and out to where a heli-flight could pick him up. A couple surgeries and he is on the mend with a long recovery ahead.

And a shout out to Randy W. I picked up the rifle for this hunt last January. Tikka Veil Wideland in .300 WSM, topped with a Vortex Viper HS 4-16×44. He went through what he does with a new rifle and gave me some recommendations for loads. I’ve ran about 120 rounds through it now, which with today’s ammo and components market wasn’t easy to do. The gun really shoots and I’m sure would do even better for others.

Nice, that’s a helluva trip even with a guide! Did you need an extra trailer to bring all the meat home?!? Congrats again! And sorry to hear about the other hunter, that’s a nightmare.

Congratulations. Nice post.

Wow! Looks and sounds like an experience you’ll never forget. Congratulations!

Great post and photos !

Thank You for sharing !
tweed

Great bulls all of them,congrats.

Thanks everyone! We got them processed at Pat’s in Mills. They did a really nice job. Cost was about $200 a piece. Vacuum sealed and froze. A little over 200# of boneless meat each. Some of the hides were dropped at a local taxidermist for tanning or we wouldn’t haven’t gotten everything in the coolers we had along. The guy that drove bought a huge rack that bolted to his topper. The racks were strapped to that for the ride home.

Great story, great hunt, and great photos. I’m from the Wausau area also, between Little Chicago and Athens.

I’m the guy that bought your Lund Ed! I love it!

wow those are some great bulls the country looks awesome may I ask what outfitter you used would like to do another elk hunt in more open country. thanks enjoy those steaks!!!!!!!

Congrats!

What area of WY were you hunting?

Pete

We were in Unit 48. South of Ten Sleep. Northwest of Casper. SNS outfitters. It took around 5 points to draw a bull tag.

Awesome pictures congrats!

Congrats on the great bulls! Sounds like a fantastic trip! Would like to see a picture of the truck with all the racks strapped to the roof.
Sorry about the hunter. That is a tough break.

Looks like an awesome trip, Bob! Like mxskeeter, hoping to see a picture with all the hardware on top of the truck!

Did you see many mule deer/pronghorn in this area? I just started buying preference points last season for deer/antelope and beginning the research for a unit to target for next season. Only have (1) point for elk so that trip is many years out.

As soon as he asked about a truck pic I was like oh crap! We never took one! Dang it! As far as deer, we saw quite a few muley does from camp and one buck while out hunting. According to the guides though, the deer herd is really down on both quality and quantity. Pronghorn were around and we saw some from camp and on the trip back to our vehicles. The guy at the check point where we parked was after a good buck they knew was in the area. Other than that, I didn’t hear much about them.

Congratulations! Looked like an awesome trip!

Thats awesome Bob! Congrates.

Great story and pictures. Congrats on a great hunt.

CONGRATULATIONS.

niceeee – got my 1st WY Elk about the same time as you!

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Nice job Caleb, congratulations as well.

Congrats Caleb that is a great bull!