I took this bull on opening morning in Wyoming in a general unit. I was hunting with my brother and his son. This was their first elk hunt. We saw him at first light, working his way towards us. He was 200 yards out, unaware that we were there. I got my nephew set up for the shot and told him to put one in the chamber. At that point he remembered that he had not put any rounds in the magazine. As he dug through his pockets for shells, the bull worked into the timber to our right. After getting a few rounds in the magazine we hustled down the ridge we were on. We were able to catch glimpses of the bull in the trees as he made his way around the ridge. The bull out paced us and we eventually lost sight of him. A few minutes later the ridge exploded with elk. A few small bulls, cows, calves and the bull we had been trying for started busting from the timber and back towards were this bull had come from. The big bull was the second to last in the line. We tried to get my nephew setup for a shot but by the time the bull settled down he was 440 yards out and Nate did not feel comfortable with the shot. I was proud of him for this decision. After Nate declined I got a good rest on my pack and one shot later he was down. The peak in the upper left of the photo is where we were located.
A spike was bringing up the rear and when the bull dropped the spike stopped to see what was the problem with his buddy. My brother went to put a round in the chamber of his 7mm Rem mag but it jambed. I switched guns with him and told him where to hold and he made a clean one shot kill. Turns out what spooked the elk was an outfitter and his two hunters were riding through the pass that this herd was moving through. Great guys who even helped pack half of my bull back to the truck for me the next morning.
A week later I went back to this area with two friends from school, Mark and Jason both Missouri boys. This was their second time hunting elk with me in Wyoming. Hunting was much tougher the second week. Fresh sign and animals were few and far between. However, as always we had the mountains to ourselves. From the peaks we coud see herds several miles away but out of reach from three guys on foot. On day two Mark missed a bull as we worked through the timber. On day three Mark hunted by himself lower down the mountain and got a nice fat cow. Jason and I hunted the higher country trying to cut tracks in the fresh snow. We followed a big bull track up and over this ridge. We gave up after it dropped into another unit.
On the last day we make a final effort in a basin that has always produced for me but is a 3.5 mile hike to get to so we set a time limit of 11:00 am to knock one down. When we crested the ridge we saw a small 4 point feeding in the basin. We ranged the bull at 310 yards. Jason had a solid rest but after a few shots was not able to connect. The bull ran off into the timber. Even after a tough miss Jason was able to keep a smile on his face.
This basin has been a consistant producer of bulls. A few years earlier Mark missed a great 6 point bull in this very spot.
We let things settle down for a while then we tried still hunting the timber that the bull went into. With the wind in our face we could smell the elk before we even entered the timber. About 5 minutes in I saw this guy bedded down. Jason made a great shot at 50 yards and had his first elk on the ground with an hour to spare. At the shot, several elk, that we had not seen, jumped out of their beds. Including the bull Jason had missed earlier and what looked to be a nice 6 point bull.
And yes it is a spike. When I first looked at this bull through my binos all I could see was the top of his head. At first it looked like it had 4 ears. The unit is an any elk unit and at this point Jason was content with any elk so he took the shot. I told him I thought it was a spike but was not sure. Turns out his spikes were about 4 inches long and covered in very long velvet almost like strands of hair. I had never seen anything like it. Between the three of us we were able to de-bone and each take a full pack. We had the bull back to the truck by 2:00 pm. Jason's spike had a red metal ear tag from the Wyo G&F. Jason called the G&F and they let him know that they had captured this elk, as a calf, the winter before at a nearby feedground for brucellosis testing.
A spike was bringing up the rear and when the bull dropped the spike stopped to see what was the problem with his buddy. My brother went to put a round in the chamber of his 7mm Rem mag but it jambed. I switched guns with him and told him where to hold and he made a clean one shot kill. Turns out what spooked the elk was an outfitter and his two hunters were riding through the pass that this herd was moving through. Great guys who even helped pack half of my bull back to the truck for me the next morning.
A week later I went back to this area with two friends from school, Mark and Jason both Missouri boys. This was their second time hunting elk with me in Wyoming. Hunting was much tougher the second week. Fresh sign and animals were few and far between. However, as always we had the mountains to ourselves. From the peaks we coud see herds several miles away but out of reach from three guys on foot. On day two Mark missed a bull as we worked through the timber. On day three Mark hunted by himself lower down the mountain and got a nice fat cow. Jason and I hunted the higher country trying to cut tracks in the fresh snow. We followed a big bull track up and over this ridge. We gave up after it dropped into another unit.
On the last day we make a final effort in a basin that has always produced for me but is a 3.5 mile hike to get to so we set a time limit of 11:00 am to knock one down. When we crested the ridge we saw a small 4 point feeding in the basin. We ranged the bull at 310 yards. Jason had a solid rest but after a few shots was not able to connect. The bull ran off into the timber. Even after a tough miss Jason was able to keep a smile on his face.
This basin has been a consistant producer of bulls. A few years earlier Mark missed a great 6 point bull in this very spot.
We let things settle down for a while then we tried still hunting the timber that the bull went into. With the wind in our face we could smell the elk before we even entered the timber. About 5 minutes in I saw this guy bedded down. Jason made a great shot at 50 yards and had his first elk on the ground with an hour to spare. At the shot, several elk, that we had not seen, jumped out of their beds. Including the bull Jason had missed earlier and what looked to be a nice 6 point bull.
And yes it is a spike. When I first looked at this bull through my binos all I could see was the top of his head. At first it looked like it had 4 ears. The unit is an any elk unit and at this point Jason was content with any elk so he took the shot. I told him I thought it was a spike but was not sure. Turns out his spikes were about 4 inches long and covered in very long velvet almost like strands of hair. I had never seen anything like it. Between the three of us we were able to de-bone and each take a full pack. We had the bull back to the truck by 2:00 pm. Jason's spike had a red metal ear tag from the Wyo G&F. Jason called the G&F and they let him know that they had captured this elk, as a calf, the winter before at a nearby feedground for brucellosis testing.
