Bukslayr
New Member
Did I bring home an Elk??
Unfortunately No....
However I had a great time.
But I do have memories that will last me a lifetime!!
Sarah,Klaire and I left on August 28th and drove to Mitchell, SD to stay the night and visit Cabelas the following morning before going on to Gillette, WY. Once we arrived in Gillette I had to go to the local sporting goods store to get my Archery Permit. I was awarded a Cow Elk tag in the drawing but in order to shoot it with the bow you have to buy an over the counter Archery permit and a Conservation Stamp. When I arrived at the sporting goods shop they advised me that the Wyoming Game and Fish Licensing server was down state wide. <u>WHATTTTTTT?????</u> I was bummed to say the least. There were 15 other guys standing in line to get their permits too. Finally they told me I could go to the Ace Hardware store and they could issue me a written one with a stamp. Thank goodness I got over to Ace Hardware first They only had 5 written permits left on hand.
Saturday morning My family and the Outlaws (i mean Inlaws) started our 6 hour trek to Lander, WY via the Bighorn Mountains. Along the way we decided to stop in Thermopolis to visit the Dinosaur Museum. They had a 106 foot dinosaur skeleton in that museum. Klaire was ecstatic!! We actually got to go outside and look for Fossils. and found a few but nothing spectacular.
After the Museum we continued our trip through the Bighorns down to Lander. Once we arrived at my Brother In-Laws (Dave) house we packed up the truck, loaded up the 4 wheelers, and headed up to the mountain to the camper. After we set up camp Dave and I headed out to scout out some of the terrain on the 4 wheelers. By the way the area we hunted is public land and is the Shoshone National Forest in the Wind River Range of the Rocky Mountains. The Shoshone National Forest covers nearly 2.5 Million acres of public land. While out scouting we seen some Moose but could not find the Elk.
Opening morning came and it was a cool 32 degrees and was snowing outside the camper at 5 o'clock in the morning. We decided that we couldnt shoot them from the camper so Dave and I headed out in the rain and snow. Once we arrived at our first meadow we walked in and spotted a cow feeding about 80 yards in front of us. Too easy right!!! As I was ducking behind a rock to get my bow ready she picked her head up and seen us and then bolted. I guess that is why they call it hunting and not killing. We didnt see an elk for the rest of the day or the following day. However on the following day my wife and father in law went with Dave and I up the mountain to the meadow that we call the Hole. It is a 2 mile hike uphill. Straight lung burner. We ended up at 9500 feet. If you have never been to the mountains, I will warn you there are rocks everywhere.
Dave's father told me the following: "God built the Heavens and the Earth in 6 days and took the left over rocks and piled them all over Wyoming" I thought that was funny!!
I was so excited that Sarah got to go up on the mountain with me and she was loving it too. She is now wanting to start drawing for an elk tag. The bad part was that we didnt see any elk that evening when she was there.
The following morning we hiked back up to the same spot and glassed the meadow and noticed elk coming out to feed. We ran out to some big boulders to give us cover. Once we got there we pulled out the cameras and started snapping pictures and then I started to get my bow ready. They were feeding twards us at the time and then all of the sudden something spooked them from back in the woods. Wouldnt you know it all of the sudden an earth shattering bugle from about 120 yards in front of us next to the timber edge let out. The bull was making his way to the meadow and was running the cows around. He had his nose in the air and next to their butts checking their scent. Then Mr. Bull decided to move his harem back away from us. Once all of the heads were down we made a B line for some boulders in front of us. We got to 60 yards away and as I drew my bow all I could see was butts moving into the timber. I was so close to sealing the deal. (I felt the Texas Heart shot would probably be a bad move)
We hunted our brains out over the next few days and seen approx 30 Elk. But could never seal the deal. We had a great trip and I even though I didnt fill my tag I have memories for a lifetime.
Hey Thomas (THA4) I want to thank you for instilling in me the importance of Photos. I have always been bad about taking pics. I bought Sarah a new 8 Megapixel Canon camera and I still have a 6 Megapixel. We took over 450 pics on our trip this year. Thanks again Thomas for the advice.
Enjoy the pics!!
Family pic by Meadow Lark Lake
Klaire at the Dinosaur Museum
View at 10,500 Feet!!
Here we are at camp
Here are some Elk
Ever seen an Elk Rub??
Walked up on a Porcupine (that was Close)
I would love to hunt these animals someday. I better be in better shape if I do though!!
Thanks for looking!!
By the way I had budgeted some money for processing and shipping meat back to me. Well I didnt need to use it so I bought Sarah a new set of Mossy Oak Tree Stand Camo and myself a new set of the same camo and finally bought my first Lone Wolf Treestand.
Unfortunately No....
However I had a great time.
But I do have memories that will last me a lifetime!!
Sarah,Klaire and I left on August 28th and drove to Mitchell, SD to stay the night and visit Cabelas the following morning before going on to Gillette, WY. Once we arrived in Gillette I had to go to the local sporting goods store to get my Archery Permit. I was awarded a Cow Elk tag in the drawing but in order to shoot it with the bow you have to buy an over the counter Archery permit and a Conservation Stamp. When I arrived at the sporting goods shop they advised me that the Wyoming Game and Fish Licensing server was down state wide. <u>WHATTTTTTT?????</u> I was bummed to say the least. There were 15 other guys standing in line to get their permits too. Finally they told me I could go to the Ace Hardware store and they could issue me a written one with a stamp. Thank goodness I got over to Ace Hardware first They only had 5 written permits left on hand.
Saturday morning My family and the Outlaws (i mean Inlaws) started our 6 hour trek to Lander, WY via the Bighorn Mountains. Along the way we decided to stop in Thermopolis to visit the Dinosaur Museum. They had a 106 foot dinosaur skeleton in that museum. Klaire was ecstatic!! We actually got to go outside and look for Fossils. and found a few but nothing spectacular.
After the Museum we continued our trip through the Bighorns down to Lander. Once we arrived at my Brother In-Laws (Dave) house we packed up the truck, loaded up the 4 wheelers, and headed up to the mountain to the camper. After we set up camp Dave and I headed out to scout out some of the terrain on the 4 wheelers. By the way the area we hunted is public land and is the Shoshone National Forest in the Wind River Range of the Rocky Mountains. The Shoshone National Forest covers nearly 2.5 Million acres of public land. While out scouting we seen some Moose but could not find the Elk.
Opening morning came and it was a cool 32 degrees and was snowing outside the camper at 5 o'clock in the morning. We decided that we couldnt shoot them from the camper so Dave and I headed out in the rain and snow. Once we arrived at our first meadow we walked in and spotted a cow feeding about 80 yards in front of us. Too easy right!!! As I was ducking behind a rock to get my bow ready she picked her head up and seen us and then bolted. I guess that is why they call it hunting and not killing. We didnt see an elk for the rest of the day or the following day. However on the following day my wife and father in law went with Dave and I up the mountain to the meadow that we call the Hole. It is a 2 mile hike uphill. Straight lung burner. We ended up at 9500 feet. If you have never been to the mountains, I will warn you there are rocks everywhere.
Dave's father told me the following: "God built the Heavens and the Earth in 6 days and took the left over rocks and piled them all over Wyoming" I thought that was funny!!
I was so excited that Sarah got to go up on the mountain with me and she was loving it too. She is now wanting to start drawing for an elk tag. The bad part was that we didnt see any elk that evening when she was there.
The following morning we hiked back up to the same spot and glassed the meadow and noticed elk coming out to feed. We ran out to some big boulders to give us cover. Once we got there we pulled out the cameras and started snapping pictures and then I started to get my bow ready. They were feeding twards us at the time and then all of the sudden something spooked them from back in the woods. Wouldnt you know it all of the sudden an earth shattering bugle from about 120 yards in front of us next to the timber edge let out. The bull was making his way to the meadow and was running the cows around. He had his nose in the air and next to their butts checking their scent. Then Mr. Bull decided to move his harem back away from us. Once all of the heads were down we made a B line for some boulders in front of us. We got to 60 yards away and as I drew my bow all I could see was butts moving into the timber. I was so close to sealing the deal. (I felt the Texas Heart shot would probably be a bad move)
We hunted our brains out over the next few days and seen approx 30 Elk. But could never seal the deal. We had a great trip and I even though I didnt fill my tag I have memories for a lifetime.
Hey Thomas (THA4) I want to thank you for instilling in me the importance of Photos. I have always been bad about taking pics. I bought Sarah a new 8 Megapixel Canon camera and I still have a 6 Megapixel. We took over 450 pics on our trip this year. Thanks again Thomas for the advice.
Enjoy the pics!!
Family pic by Meadow Lark Lake
Klaire at the Dinosaur Museum
View at 10,500 Feet!!
Here we are at camp
Here are some Elk
Ever seen an Elk Rub??
Walked up on a Porcupine (that was Close)
I would love to hunt these animals someday. I better be in better shape if I do though!!
Thanks for looking!!
By the way I had budgeted some money for processing and shipping meat back to me. Well I didnt need to use it so I bought Sarah a new set of Mossy Oak Tree Stand Camo and myself a new set of the same camo and finally bought my first Lone Wolf Treestand.
