D.Camilleri
Well-Known Member
Another Wyoming Elk opener has come and gone and luck was on my side again. I headed out to my standby elk hunting spot near Dubois for general license since I didn't draw a limited quota tag (pretty sure Tikka Mike got my tag, good for him). I had three friends with me on this hunt, Randy W., Randy S. and Glen S. and we had four horses. We left camp at about 5:30 am and headed to my honey hole. I had spotted several bulls and some cows the night before from about 4 miles in my spot, so I felt good there would be some elk there. About two miles up the trail, Glen's saddle rolled off of his horse's back and he ended up on the ground. At almost 70 years of age it was lucky he didn't get hurt. We continued on and tied up our horses and Glen and his son Randy headed up a far ridge and Randy W. and I headed up the near ridge. The terrain is very steep and the climb was slow trying not to get out of breath in the event of a shot. About half way up the ridge I was on, I heard a bugle. I answered with a cow call and the bugle came back. Then another bugle from a different bull. Oh yeah this is going to be fun. I kept cow calling an the bugles kept coming back and when I got to a good vantage point I set Randy up for a shot if the bull came in. I kept working the bull and he seemed to get closer, and then snow fog set in and it started snowing pretty hard and the bull seemed to get further away. I told Randy W. we needed to move up the ridge. We went about 50 yards and I picked out the bull through the fog and ranged him at 621 yards, but he wasn't staying still and I lost him in the scattered trees on the steep slope. I continued moving up the ridge. Soon I saw several cows skylined at the highest point of the ridge that an elk could climb to. Above where they were standing were vertical walls of rock. I cow called again and the bull answered, but I couldn't see him. I kept climbing up the steep ridge and looked once again and now the cows were gone, but the bull was looking right over the ridge in my direction. I moved over to get a rest on a rock and got a quick range of 315 yards. I tried to control my breathing and touched off my 338 rum with a shot to his neck, the only thing I could see. Miss, crap! The elk turned and I had a perfect broadside shot and I let another 300 grain Berger OTM fly. I saw the bull drop at the shot and Randy told me, you hit him hard. I saw the bull trying to move forward and I sent an insurance shot and the bull was out of sight. I told Randy, I sure hope he is down, because if he made it down on the other side of the ridge, we are in trouble, because it is so steep he could go down hundreds of yards in seconds. We made the hike up to the top of the ridge and I found blood where I first hit him in the snow and then relief set in when I saw his body lying eight feet away after crashing through a small pine tree.
We quartered the bull and each took a ham and a shoulder and I put the backstraps and tenderloins in my pack and carried the antlers. We got down the ridge about 600 yards and we were both beat. Randy took a hard fall and crammed mud into his rifle barrel and tweaked his knee. My left knee wasn't feeling real good either and as I write this, I have an ice pack on it because it has gotten worse. I told Randy let's go get the horses and pack out from here. I was finally able to reach Randy S. on the radio and he told me he and Glen were heading back to camp, because they were beat up also from slipping in the mud after making a steep climb. They had seen around a dozen elk and Randy passed on a 700+ shot on a bull.
Randy W. and I made the trek back down the ridge to our horses and led the horses back to where the quarters were laying without incident. My little mustang mare packed out yet another whole elk including my rifle and pack. When we got to the main trail I told Randy to just lead my horse back to camp from his horse and I would follow on foot and then he could come get me so I wouldn't have to get wet crossing the creek at camp. I made it to the creek crossing at camp and didn't see Randy with my horse, so I just crossed the creek and headed into camp. I saw the meat and horns on the ground, but no horses. I put the meat away and waited. Finally Randy came riding back into camp after going almost all the way back to where we started. We figured out that I took a short cut through the trees off the main trail at the same time he was coming to get me and we missed each other by seconds. Anyway, another great hunt. FWIW another one shot kill with the 300 grain OTM and again, no exit. I didn't bother to try and dig out the bullet, because it did what it needed to do.
We quartered the bull and each took a ham and a shoulder and I put the backstraps and tenderloins in my pack and carried the antlers. We got down the ridge about 600 yards and we were both beat. Randy took a hard fall and crammed mud into his rifle barrel and tweaked his knee. My left knee wasn't feeling real good either and as I write this, I have an ice pack on it because it has gotten worse. I told Randy let's go get the horses and pack out from here. I was finally able to reach Randy S. on the radio and he told me he and Glen were heading back to camp, because they were beat up also from slipping in the mud after making a steep climb. They had seen around a dozen elk and Randy passed on a 700+ shot on a bull.
Randy W. and I made the trek back down the ridge to our horses and led the horses back to where the quarters were laying without incident. My little mustang mare packed out yet another whole elk including my rifle and pack. When we got to the main trail I told Randy to just lead my horse back to camp from his horse and I would follow on foot and then he could come get me so I wouldn't have to get wet crossing the creek at camp. I made it to the creek crossing at camp and didn't see Randy with my horse, so I just crossed the creek and headed into camp. I saw the meat and horns on the ground, but no horses. I put the meat away and waited. Finally Randy came riding back into camp after going almost all the way back to where we started. We figured out that I took a short cut through the trees off the main trail at the same time he was coming to get me and we missed each other by seconds. Anyway, another great hunt. FWIW another one shot kill with the 300 grain OTM and again, no exit. I didn't bother to try and dig out the bullet, because it did what it needed to do.
