Live for the season...

Dear Elk Hunter... (Part 3)

Saturday morning (Oct. 2nd) found Jeff & I up well before daylight.  After a quick bite of breakfast, we were off to meet up with our guide Chris.   Once again, we loaded up onto Chris' Polaris Ranger & took off in the direction of where we had last seen the elk the night before.

I'm not sure how many acres were in the area we were hunting, but it was pretty big - a mixture of private, public, State, and Coal Company land.  Chris took Jeff & I back in on the side where the elk had been the night before.  Chris' buddy Darin took another hunter in camp (a bowhunter) to the same property, but they came in from the other side.  We had seen & heard so many bulls the night before, we were hoping that they would be spread out enough for us both to have some action.  

Unfortunately, the only bugles we heard as daylight was breaking came from the bowhunter's side.  We felt pretty much helpless as we were forced to stand back & listen to the sounds of bulls bugling & fighting for over 2 hours while the bowhunter did his best to close the distance.  By 9:00, Jeff & I were getting VERY frustrated with the situation.  We didn't fault the bowhunter - it wasn't his fault that the elk just happened to be on his side that morning - that's just hunting.  However, it was terribly difficult to be that close to "my" elk & not me able to go after him!

FINALLY, after being skunked several times, the bowhunter & his guide finally gave up & came out to regroup.  We got back on the Ranger & circled around to meet up with them.  They had been really close to several bulls a number of times, but just couldn't close the deal before the main herd moved off down toward some thick timber.  As we were standing there talking, I noticed a bull & 2 cows about 1000 yards below us pop out into the open.  As soon as I put my binocs on him I knew it was "my" 6x7 from the night before.  Once again, Chris, Jeff, & I jumped on the Ranger & closed the distance.  After we drove just as close as we dared, Chris crept up to the edge of the draw while I was getting my gun loaded.  I knew we were in good shape when Chris started pointing excitedly & mouthing "he's right there!!!".  

I threw Jeff my video camera, grabbed my shooting stick, and crawled up to the edge.  Sure enough, he was standing with a cow at the bottom of the draw.  The rest, as they say, is history... 1 shot from the .300 Ultra Mag at about 150 yards.  I couldn't believe it... I had just killed an elk... and he was HUGE!  

I don't feel like my words have done this hunt justice.  Once again - I feel very fortunate, not only to have drawn a "once in a lifetime tag", but also to have killed an awesome bull!   Statistically it is possible for me to draw this tag again - not likely, but possible.  For now I'll be content to eat my 397lbs of elk meat fresh from the processor & relish the memories of my "once in a lifetime" experience! 

   

Dear Elk Hunter... (Part 2)

After I spent many hours on the phone during the Summer, a friend of a friend called in a favor & I finally found myself speaking to one of the National Directors for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.  He in turn put me in contact with one of Kentucky's Wildlife Commissioners who coincidentally just happened to be the man responsible for getting the Elk Restoration Project started.  This gentleman was gracious enough to share his knowledge about the upcoming hunt as well as the KY elk herd in general.  He went out of his way to answer all of my questions and then to top it all off, he even set me up with a local guide!  This just proves once again that Outdoorsmen & women are just good people!

From the day I drew the tag, my buddy Jeff had volunteered to go on the hunt with me.  He has elk hunted several times before so he knew what to expect & offered to help scout, glass, pack-out meat, or whatever else was needed - and he told everyone he was gonna keep me from shooting a small bull by putting my shells in his pocket & only giving me one when we found a big enough bull :)).  Seriously though, I think he knew what a special deal it was for me to have drawn that tag & just wanted to be there to share the experience as a friend.  It did mean a lot to have him along plus it helped to have him there to keep me calm during some of the  more intense moments!

Fast forward to Sept. 30th  - me & Jeff were in the Dodge headed to Hazard, Kentucky.  We got into Hazard late Thursday night & then met our guide early Friday morning to do a little scouting.  For the most part, the elk reside on reclaimed coal strip mines.  After the coal supply is depleted, the coal companies come back in & "reclaim" the land - filling the mines back in & replanting native vegetation. These areas are beautiful & make perfect wildlife habitat.  The terrain reminds me a lot of some Western States.

 

 

 

The first morning the guides took us to a spot where they had been seeing some small bulls every day.  Of course it's hunting so you never know what might show up, but I really think they knew we wouldn't be hunting this spot & just wanted to show us some elk.  Sure enough, I spotted my first KY elk shortly after sunrise - 3 small "raghorn" bulls.  Pretty exciting, but not exactly what we came for!

After lunch & a short nap, Jeff, I, & our guide Chris all loaded up on Chris' Polaris Ranger & headed up the mountain to another area where they had been seeing elk pretty regularly.  This area was a lot more open than where we had been that morning, again it reminded me a lot of out West.  We drove to the top of a rise & just as soon as we turned the Ranger off, we heard it...  A BUGLE... CLOSE!  We all pointed out binocs in that direction & quickly spotted a herd of elk coming out of the timber.

After making out 1 definite shooter 6x7, a wide 5x5, & several smaller bulls & cows, we got back on the ranger to get a little closer.

As we were watching the main herd, ANOTHER 6x7 topped the hill to our left!

We followed the herd & watched from a distance until dark.  To say that I was a little excited is an understatement!  Needless to say I didn't get a whole lot of sleep that night!  



 

Dear Elk Hunter... (Part 1)

An elk hunt has been on my long range "list" for several years now.  Seriously, what hunter hasn't had a dream about chasing these 800 lb beasts through the snow-capped Rocky Mountains?  I actually had a Colorado pack-in elk hunt tentatively planned for 2001, but that was before we found out about the little miracle named Elizabeth that would be joining our family in June of that year.  Since then, an elk hunt has always been one of those "maybe in a few years" kind of thing for me.

However, there are two elk tags that I have been applying for the last couple of years.  One is in my home State of Tennessee.  Tennessee reintroduced 201 Elk over a period of 8 years, beginning in the late 1990s.  When the heard had grown to just over 300 head, plans were made for the first TN elk season in over 150 years.  5 permits were issued for 2009 & again for 2010.  Sure it's a long shot, but it's free for a resident Sportsman's license holder to apply & you just never know...

Another elk tag I have put in for since 2009 is my neighboring State of Kentucky.  Like TN, KY started reintroducing elk in the late 1990s.  They released over 1500 elk at 8 different sites.  The KY herd has thrived - reaching the target population of 7400 11 years ahead of schedule.  For 2010, 800 permits would be issued - 600 cow, 125 antlered bull, and 75 spike.  Again a long shot, but a little better odds of drawing than TN.

I had applied for both tags sometime in April & then quickly forgotten about them.  I think it was the week after we had gotten back from South Dakota when my buddy Tim stopped by my office & asked "KY elk results are out - have you checked yours?".  Well I hadn't, but I quickly got on their web-site & entered my info.  It took a moment for the words to register with me - "Congratulations..... successful..."  I actually think Tim was more excited than I was - I think stunned would have better described me than excited!  Of course I made a few phone calls to share my good news, but honestly it really didn't sink in until I got the official letter in the mail:

Not only was I getting to hunt elk - in Kentucky - I drew a bull tag - for the first season!!!  The more research I did, the more I realized what a big deal it was.  Somewhere around 50,000 people had applied for this coveted tag & I had 1 in my hands!  EVERYONE I talked to (guides, wildlife officials, hunters, etc.) told me exactly the same thing - "you are going to kill a BIG bull".  Yep, it was starting to sink in & I was starting to really get excited!