W
Woodbutcher
Guest
I'll bet you're looking for another big bull picture, right?
Just because you live in Wyoming, does not mean instant success.
In the area where I live, we simply don't have a large population of elk. The warm dry weather sure played a big part in this years hunt for me. I hunted for 7 days from sun up to sun down. I went to all the places I've hunted in the past, where I've harvested before, and where I've seen critters before. This year I saw very little sign, and zero elk. Hunters were simply not finding elk.
As the season progressed, I hiked deeper and deeper. Finally I found an area that has some elk sign. I shot a full sized cow, (the only elk seen) but with the terrain and wind, my shot was not perfect. I tracked that cow for 5 1/2 hours, sometimes on my hands and knees. No matter what, I was going to recover her.
I did find her and the 3 backpack loads to the truck 'bout killed me. I'm not a large man, 51 years old, and not in the best of shape. It was only about a mile and a half, but through very steep downfall timber the first part.
I earned this elk meat the hard way, when others just give up. I talked to our local game warden and he said that it would not surprise him if the success ratio for this area was less than 5%.
I love seeing all the great bull pictures posted on these hunting sites, and congrats to all who are lucky. This year again, I will have quality meat for my family, this is my 21st elk. My cow is a trophy. ;-)
Just because you live in Wyoming, does not mean instant success.
In the area where I live, we simply don't have a large population of elk. The warm dry weather sure played a big part in this years hunt for me. I hunted for 7 days from sun up to sun down. I went to all the places I've hunted in the past, where I've harvested before, and where I've seen critters before. This year I saw very little sign, and zero elk. Hunters were simply not finding elk.
As the season progressed, I hiked deeper and deeper. Finally I found an area that has some elk sign. I shot a full sized cow, (the only elk seen) but with the terrain and wind, my shot was not perfect. I tracked that cow for 5 1/2 hours, sometimes on my hands and knees. No matter what, I was going to recover her.
I did find her and the 3 backpack loads to the truck 'bout killed me. I'm not a large man, 51 years old, and not in the best of shape. It was only about a mile and a half, but through very steep downfall timber the first part.
I earned this elk meat the hard way, when others just give up. I talked to our local game warden and he said that it would not surprise him if the success ratio for this area was less than 5%.
I love seeing all the great bull pictures posted on these hunting sites, and congrats to all who are lucky. This year again, I will have quality meat for my family, this is my 21st elk. My cow is a trophy. ;-)
