elkhunterUT
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Back in May, we were pretty excited to find out that my 14 year old boy got lucky and drew a Wasatch mid-season LE Elk tag with 2 points. I knew the hunt might be pretty tough, having to contend with an army of spike elk hunters, but I figured the odds were good to draw and it would be a great first bull elk hunt for him.
He is such a good kid and I told him if he kept his grades up, he could miss the first full week of school for his hunt. He kept his end of the agreement, so we found ourselves headed for elk camp on Friday, October 6th, planning to stay until October 14th, if needed. A very gracious friend offered up his cabin for us to stay in, which was amazing and certainly made the overall experience more enjoyable for my boy. My brother also joined us for the hunt.
Opening morning started with plenty of anticipation. We heard lots of shots and saw a decent 5 point that my son opted to not pursue since it was so early in the hunt.
The next couple days we covered a lot of country/miles and produced just a couple of additional bull sightings, but no shot opportunities. We did hunt near the boundary of a CWMU on Monday morning and although we couldn't hunt many of the bulls we saw and heard, my boy loved hearing the sounds of the rut with bulls bugling and chasing cows. I think he caught the bug a bit - he told me he wants a mouth diaphragm call now so he can practice his elk sounds ?
Monday night, we set up in an area we knew held elk and glassed up several large herds on private property. Just before dark, my boy and I decided to head one ridge over to the east to see if we could see anything over there, while my brother stayed put at the glassing spot. Just minutes after we left, a nice 6 point bull stepped out at 260 yards. My brother tried to catch up to us to get us back to shoot him, but we ran out of light. That was deflating, but we figured the bull would be in the same area in the morning, so the plan was to be right back at that glassing point at first light
Tuesday morning came with one of the most epic sunrises I have ever seen. The sky appeared to be on fire - hopefully a good omen.
We got set up in the glassing spot from the evening before and soon heard what we thought were elk moving towards us in the thick oak brush. Moments after, I caught a spike bull and two cows breaking out of the oak brush and then heard a bull bugle behind them. The adrenaline kicked in for all of us, and my boy prepped the gun in the shooting sticks. A decent 5 point bull appeared in the thick brush, but did not present a shot. We knew he would follow the cows into the open, so we just held tight for a few minutes. Eventually the bull worked toward the cows, presenting a 220 yard shot. My boy pulled the first two shots right over the bulls back (a little bull/buck fever always adds to the experience!!
), but the bull didn't spook. He looked the other direction and my boy placed two good bullets in the bull. He slowly walked about 10 yards and tipped over. We all hooped and hollered and celebrated my boy's first bull. I couldn't be prouder of him - he killed his first bull and also fully embraced "the suck" of packing out a bull in a deep hole.
The pack out was not long, but definitely steep and the weight was felt for sure. My brother and I both took a front and a rear quarter out, while my son packed the head and hide and a buddy helped with the backstraps, loins, and neck meat. Hard earned is the best way!!
The hunt was tough with the crowds of other hunters, but we kept at it, worked hard, and got it done. A good lesson I am glad my son got to experience and one of the reasons I love hunting so much. The fire has been lit!
He is such a good kid and I told him if he kept his grades up, he could miss the first full week of school for his hunt. He kept his end of the agreement, so we found ourselves headed for elk camp on Friday, October 6th, planning to stay until October 14th, if needed. A very gracious friend offered up his cabin for us to stay in, which was amazing and certainly made the overall experience more enjoyable for my boy. My brother also joined us for the hunt.
Opening morning started with plenty of anticipation. We heard lots of shots and saw a decent 5 point that my son opted to not pursue since it was so early in the hunt.
The next couple days we covered a lot of country/miles and produced just a couple of additional bull sightings, but no shot opportunities. We did hunt near the boundary of a CWMU on Monday morning and although we couldn't hunt many of the bulls we saw and heard, my boy loved hearing the sounds of the rut with bulls bugling and chasing cows. I think he caught the bug a bit - he told me he wants a mouth diaphragm call now so he can practice his elk sounds ?
Monday night, we set up in an area we knew held elk and glassed up several large herds on private property. Just before dark, my boy and I decided to head one ridge over to the east to see if we could see anything over there, while my brother stayed put at the glassing spot. Just minutes after we left, a nice 6 point bull stepped out at 260 yards. My brother tried to catch up to us to get us back to shoot him, but we ran out of light. That was deflating, but we figured the bull would be in the same area in the morning, so the plan was to be right back at that glassing point at first light
Tuesday morning came with one of the most epic sunrises I have ever seen. The sky appeared to be on fire - hopefully a good omen.
We got set up in the glassing spot from the evening before and soon heard what we thought were elk moving towards us in the thick oak brush. Moments after, I caught a spike bull and two cows breaking out of the oak brush and then heard a bull bugle behind them. The adrenaline kicked in for all of us, and my boy prepped the gun in the shooting sticks. A decent 5 point bull appeared in the thick brush, but did not present a shot. We knew he would follow the cows into the open, so we just held tight for a few minutes. Eventually the bull worked toward the cows, presenting a 220 yard shot. My boy pulled the first two shots right over the bulls back (a little bull/buck fever always adds to the experience!!
), but the bull didn't spook. He looked the other direction and my boy placed two good bullets in the bull. He slowly walked about 10 yards and tipped over. We all hooped and hollered and celebrated my boy's first bull. I couldn't be prouder of him - he killed his first bull and also fully embraced "the suck" of packing out a bull in a deep hole.The pack out was not long, but definitely steep and the weight was felt for sure. My brother and I both took a front and a rear quarter out, while my son packed the head and hide and a buddy helped with the backstraps, loins, and neck meat. Hard earned is the best way!!
The hunt was tough with the crowds of other hunters, but we kept at it, worked hard, and got it done. A good lesson I am glad my son got to experience and one of the reasons I love hunting so much. The fire has been lit!
