Long story of a successful Utah elk hunt!

S

sledboy

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LAST EDITED ON Sep-29-05 AT 11:20AM (MST)[p]I don't normally do this, but I will explain a little about myself and my situation. I grew up in Wyoming with parents that loved the outdoors. My dad is still an avid hunter and fisherman. However, when I was 17, I crashed on a motorcycle and broke my back. I have been in a wheelchair ever since.

After high school, I moved to Utah to go to college and married a beautiful and wonderful girl. She graciously put up with my attempts to continue one of my passions, hunting. But after four years of pointlessly chasing big game from a vehicle and competing with Utah's massive road hunting population, I reluctantly gave it up.

Then three years ago, while watching an archery hunting video, my wife made the comment that it looked like fun. Well, I jumped at that opportunity and got her outfitted with a new bow and all the essentials. She wanted to hunt elk and I was going to do all I could to ensure her success. My dad was more than happy to guide her. As it turned out, she did not get one that year but she got a shot at a large 5 or 6 point. The arrow narrowly missed the elk after glancing off a limb in the thick timber.

Her experience rekindled my interest and love for hunting big game and decided to buy a deer tag. I did a lot of planning and picked a remote area that was still accessible by vehicle. At 4:00 am opening morning, I woke my three oldest boys up and off we went. Luck was with us and I got my first mule deer in over 15 years. It was also my first 4 point and it was down before the sun peaked over the eastern horizon. Man was I pumped. And my boys witnessed the whole hunt (all one hour of it)!

The next year (last year) took me a little longer. I had an even larger 4 point down at 9:45 am opening morning. I was able to share this experience with the same three sons as well as my dad! I have truly been blessed with two very memorable and successful hunts!

So this year rolled around and I noticed a change in the Utah laws. Persons in wheelchairs can now actually hunt the general elk areas during the youth elk hunt, smack in the middle of the rut! This presented me with a real possibility of getting an elk. I had never elk hunted in Utah because of the near zero chance of seeing anything from the road. The pressure from the masses keep the elk pushed back into the heaviest timber. It was pointless!

So four months ago, with the help of a loving father and good friends, we planned my elk hunt. Because of limited time, I would be able to hunt the weekends and only one week day.

On the opening day, I saw 9 cows but no bulls. But my serious hunt did not begin until the following Friday and Saturday in an area 4 hours from where I live. Friday proved to be an exciting day. Just after light, we got a bull to answer our bugle. We were able to drive into the park where he was bugling from, but we never saw the bull. We saw several of his cows take off into the timber, but never got a chance to see him. However, we spent the next 20 minutes cow talking and bugling to him trying to pull him out of the timber. He never came but it was awesome listening to him answer every time we bugled. This was actually the first time I had heard an elk bugle in the wild. It was awesome! We don't know how big he actually was, but he was a mature herd bull.

We only saw a cow and calf the rest of the day. Just after dark, we hooked up the trailer with the four wheeler on it and headed home. As we came around a sharp corner, we were greeted with a small 5 point standing in the middle of the road. I couldn't believe it as it was only 5 or 10 minutes after legal shooting time. Even if we had elected to take a shot, we would not have been able to because as I got the truck stopped, he hopped off the road into the darkness of the timber and night. What an experience that was! As we stopped, he was literally 10 feet from the hood of the truck!

The next day was the last day that I was able to hunt. Sadly, the day ended without seeing a single elk.

I was bummed as I realized that I would not get an elk. But I was grateful for the experiences that I had.

After I got back home, my wife suggested that we go out after work on the day before the season closed, one last small attempt. I eagerly agreed. She and all four boys picked me up after work and we headed to an area relatively close where we had seen some cows on opening day. Our plan was to get to a watering hole about an hour before dark and wait for something to come in.

About half a mile from the watering hole, I stopped the truck abruptly when I spotted an elk across a canyon about 250 yards away. I poked the gun out the window and tried to locate antlers on this lone elk. It was standing behind a skeleton of a burned tree so it was hard to make certain it had antlers. It looked like it did but I couldn't tell if it was branches from the tree or antlers. We all sat there quietly for about a minute waiting for him to move his head to see if the branches (antlers) moved with his head. This was good because it gave me a little time to calm my nerves! Finally, his head moved slightly and I could see his antlers moving with him. There was a clear spot about a foot in diameter in the tree that allowed me to see his shoulder/chest area. I told the kids to plug their ears as I took aim, hoping to thread my bullet through this opening. At the shot, he lunged forward and headed around the hill and out of our sight.

Several seconds later, we heard a crash. At the same time, five elk came into view from the same area the bull had just gone. I looked closely at each of them and could not see antlers. Curiously, as they made their way to the top of the hill, they kept pausing to look back in the direction we last saw the bull. Finally, they topped the hill and were gone.

The shot had felt good, we had heard the crash and we had not seen the bull emerge from around the hill. My hopes were high! There was no way to drive or get the wheelchair through the canyon below us, so my wife and all four boys headed out to see if they could find any sign of him. After searching for a good half hour, my wife?s voice over the radio finally confirmed, "We found him!"

I had hit him square in the chest with my .270 WSM. It destroyed the top of his heart and bottom half of his lungs. He only went 40 yards before piling up! The hunt was finally over! Here is a picture of my spike elk and my four boys!

2005Elk.jpg


A couple of calls and the calvary was on it's way! First on the scene was my brother-in-law, Kerry who located him in the dark. I also called Mitch (my neighbor and good friend) and he was eager to help. Several minutes later he called me back and said he was on his way with two of his high-school buddies. They got it packed out and back home by 3:00 am. What a day! A big thanks to Kerry, Mitch and his two buddies, Taylor and Justin.

It would have been nice to get a bigger bull (when isn't it), but I am not disappointed at all. It is my first elk and, once again, my whole family was there with me! Doesn't get much better than that!
 
Brian,

Congratulations on a very successful hunt for your Elk, and the fact that your boys were with you is even more rewarding.
Without a doubt, this is the best story I have read in a very long time and wish you much more success in the future.
I'm sure your "boys" are so proud of their Dad too.

Brian
 
Brian
Great story and congratulations to you and your family. I too was injured in a motorcycle accident 22 years ago and know the trill of taking that first animal. I have lobbied for 5 years to get some help for disabled hunters. MTM hunting played a huge part in making this happen. This was an exciting year for me to get out with family and friends even though I didn't get to pull the trigger.

Where do you live? I'm in Roy, UT

Yelum(Larry)
 
Awesome story and pics, the fact that all your boys and wife could be there makes that a record elk in boy book, thats the type of thing that you boys will remember forever. Congrats.

Jake
 
Thank You so very much for sharing your hunt with us. Happy to see your passion for what we also love.

Congratulations on a successful hunt and on a great family.

Chef
"I Love Animals...They're Delicious!"
 
A great story, loved it. Congratulations on a nice elk. The picture is awesome, your kids' expressions say it all!
 
Congratulations!! It's story like that, that make this site so enjoyable. Thank you

Glen
 
Thank you so much for posting such a great story. Keep up the good work and effort. Despite the challenges you have to face, I would say that you have been blessed with a great family and friends. My hat is off to you.
 
That's an awesome story. Thanks for sharing it with the rest of us. That's a pretty cool bull too!:)
 
Brian,

Congratulations on a successfull hunt! Sure you are once again hooked, good luck next year! Also thanks for the inspiring story.
 
That is exactly what hunting is all about. It is truely inspiring to hear your story. Keep up the hard work! I can only imagine what kind of men your boys are going to grow up to be with a great example like yourself in their life!
 
Great story and glad your kids were with you. I hope they inherit the same genes for hunting you and wife have.
 
That is a memory you will all share forever...a great story congratulations on a nice bull.
 
Great story and hunt. Thanks for taking the time to write up your story and share it with the rest of us hunting addicts.

RockyMtnOyster
 
I will never forget the times when my dad took me out when I was the age of your boys in the pictures! That is what hunting is all about. Killing an animal is the least important part of a great hunt but it is a nice bonus as well. Congrats on what really is a hunt that will provide memories that will last you and your family a lifetime!!! Good Job

Cody
 
Fantastic story. I love the picture of the elk and your boys.
Thank you for sharing the story and picture.
elwood
 
Hey great story, any time your are fortunate enough to have your kids with you in the field is awesome! I have been fortunate enough to have had my 11 yr old daughter with me 2 years ago and call in a nice 5 point bull to 150 yards and was able to fill that tag with her. I also have a 16 year old daughter who last year killed her first deer and actually wanted to prove she could clean it herself, what could make a dad prouder? Last week she was able to see her first bull elk in the wild as we called in a great 5 point bull to 70 yards and i was able to fill that tag with her by my side. She is looking forward to trying to kill her first cow elk this weekend. Isnt life great!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Wow what a cool story and a huge spike, what did he score he has got to be a record, haha. Tell those guys that helped that they are STUDS! And tell us how the rifle deer hunt goes.
 

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