I just returned from my January cow elk hunt. Once again I had to pay my dues in order to be successful....as it should be. I had spent 6 weeks in WY this fall and filled my bull tag during the archery season, and after some fishing ventures attempted to fill my limited cow/calf tag when the rifle season opened. No luck, so I returned home and waited for a report from my friend about when the elk returned to the winter range. He told me in mid Dec. that the time was right, but severe weather delayed things until recently.
I drove 1,380 miles in two days, and saw nothing but thick fog where the elk were supposed to be. The next morning was still foggy, and I was trying to glass thru it when my bud came out to do some ranch chores and told me that his neighbor could see some elk on the mountain behind his house. After a short drive, I was looking at 4 bedded elk that were in enough fog that I couldn't range them. An hour later I had climbed up to where the elk had crossed over the top (two feet of snow & 800 feet or so up), and they were now bedded 324 yards on the next ridge. BOOM, ?????? I couldn't see her now after the other elk ran off, so it was down the mt. & up again....another hour of huff, puff, sweat, swear, foggy glasses, etc.
I finally got to where the cow had been and saw no blood or a dead elk. What the heck?? Then I spotted the wounded cow as it stood up on the next ridge. 340 yards this time. BOOM! Flop. Great, except hat meant another long hike and a real beast of a pack=out.
Just then my friend roared up in his mountain sled (I had called him after the first shot), and he was able to ride up to the cow and drag it all the way back to his trailer. It still took me about 1 1/2 hours to get back to my truck. So now after four days of driving and one day of hunting I am back home and starting to work on four frozen elk quarters. Life is good.
I drove 1,380 miles in two days, and saw nothing but thick fog where the elk were supposed to be. The next morning was still foggy, and I was trying to glass thru it when my bud came out to do some ranch chores and told me that his neighbor could see some elk on the mountain behind his house. After a short drive, I was looking at 4 bedded elk that were in enough fog that I couldn't range them. An hour later I had climbed up to where the elk had crossed over the top (two feet of snow & 800 feet or so up), and they were now bedded 324 yards on the next ridge. BOOM, ?????? I couldn't see her now after the other elk ran off, so it was down the mt. & up again....another hour of huff, puff, sweat, swear, foggy glasses, etc.
I finally got to where the cow had been and saw no blood or a dead elk. What the heck?? Then I spotted the wounded cow as it stood up on the next ridge. 340 yards this time. BOOM! Flop. Great, except hat meant another long hike and a real beast of a pack=out.
Just then my friend roared up in his mountain sled (I had called him after the first shot), and he was able to ride up to the cow and drag it all the way back to his trailer. It still took me about 1 1/2 hours to get back to my truck. So now after four days of driving and one day of hunting I am back home and starting to work on four frozen elk quarters. Life is good.