Ever since I was a kid, my father and I exercised and hunted together. I cut my teeth on hunting with my dad for squirrel, quail, dove, duck, and whitetail deer. He has been and continues to be my hero and a Godly example to follow in my life. His trophy wall always represented something that I aspired to replicate, but as I got older, I knew it would take more than just luck to harvest big game trophies as my father had done many years ago. One of the trophies I hoped to obtain was a bull elk that would score over 320”.
I was fortunate enough to start gaining preference points for elk in Wyoming the first year they were offered. After 10 years, I put in for a unit 61 - type 2 elk tag and finally saw the "SUCCESSFUL" that all of us Huntin’ Fools desire to see on our computer screens. After doing researching through local taxidermists, Wyoming Game and Fish, Wyoming Outfitters Association, other outfitters in the area, and past Huntin’ Fool members who had drawn the tag, my dad and I chose Wood River Ranch. We knew this would be the last “big hunt” that Dad would be able to do as he is not the “young whipper-snapper” he used to be.
Plans were made to hunt October 27-31, 2017 for five days, but we had to get there first. After a 1,200-mile drive from College Station, Texas to Cody, Wyoming, we visited the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, then we drove back south to our destination, the Wood River Ranch located near Meteetsee, Wyoming, on the afternoon of October 26th.
Day 1 – “Socked In & No See’em” – Right out of the gate, we saw five bulls, and then we were completely socked in by fog and snow. We were unable to see further than 100 feet for the remainder of the day.
Day 2 – “Big Herds – Little Bulls” – We got within 400 yards of a group of 140 elk, but none of the bulls were big enough. That afternoon, we badly wanted to go try to get a shot at a particular bull that was in a herd of 500 elk, but the wind just was not quite right.
Day 3 – “A Glorious Sighting” – We went to the top of the Carter mountain range to get above the large herd we had seen the day before. It was quite the adventure getting there via the side-by-side four-wheeler all the way up to 12,300 feet. We saw about 100 head of elk as well as a grizzly that was running from us, but we did not find the herd of 500. As we descended, we spotted about 15 big bulls that were holed up miles back into a remote drainage. We logged this for later, knowing it would take a full day of hiking and horseback to get into that area.
We spent the afternoon in a drainage on the opposite side of the mountain range called “Hell Hole.” Ironically, this was where glorious things began to happen. We hunkered down behind a large rock, waiting for elk to come over the mountain from their bedding area in the trees for their evening meal. We spotted them as they appeared just 80 yards above us. We watched as the herd of 60 elk eased off one way and two bulls appeared on the other side of us as they pushed and shoved each other. It was at that point that I gave my guide the “look.” He responded that I would be disappointed with myself if I shot one of those bulls because they were just not big enough. As we left our hiding place, we glassed six more large bulls, but the problem was still the same. They were holed up so far back in the mountains, away from the large herds of elk, and it would take enormous effort to reach them. Finally, while we were descending the “Hell Hole” drainage with very little light, we came upon a glorious sight - two big bulls that we could easily access the following morning.
Day 4 – “Close the Deal” – After listening to elk bugles all night while attempting to sleep, it was finally time to go get ’em. After easing into the area where we had spotted the bulls, we began to glass. Though there was barely any light, my guide, Bruce Bolli, found the bulls below us in the forest. As we hastily moved into position with the wind in our favor amongst a lot of fresh bull elk tracks, we got into position. At 330 yards, we spotted the big bull elk along with two other bulls. Knowing that the sun was about to break over the horizon and be directly in our eyes, we moved in on the three elk. When we were within 172 yards, Bruce placed the shooting sticks in front of me. It was at that point while looking through my scope at the beast that I could not control my breathing. Yes, I was experiencing elk fever. I attempted to gather myself as Bruce whispered, “Control your breathing.” I never reached complete control, but I took the shot anyway and the big guy immediately dropped. I was so excited and relieved to know he was down. There would be no chasing all over the mountain.
At that point, the other two bull elk ran off and an even bigger fourth bull elk appeared from a valley and stared at us. He had been between us and the elk that I had just shot. He would live another day. Five seconds later, I could not see through my riflescope as the sun had topped the horizon and was blazing directly into my scope. The timing was meant to be. My bull elk was down, and he was all mine! Bruce scored him at 330”. Wow, my goal was met!
What a privilege it was to be able to share this great adventure with my dad. Although this is probably the last big hunt I will be able to share with my dad, I still have a lot more trophies to obtain before my wall looks like his. Thank you to my mom and dad for helping make the trip possible, to my guide Bruce for his long hours and never-quit attitude, to his wife, Amy, for great food and amazing service in an awesome environment, to my family for putting up with my hunting addiction, and most importantly, to God for creating the outdoors for all of us to enjoy.
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