In July, I was traveling and received a call from a friend. He informed me that the South Dakota draw results were out. I pulled into the next gas station and got online to see the results. My wife couldn’t figure out what I was jabbering about but finally figured out that I had drawn a Custer State Park bull elk tag. Later that night, an email arrived from the state to make it official.
We vacationed in the Black Hills in July and became familiar with the park roads. I also visited the park a week before the season with my good friend and hunting buddy, Bruce. We spotted a couple of bulls but nothing that had the “Wow” factor.
With the season opening on Saturday, I wanted to arrive a day and a half early to get settled in and make a plan for opening morning. Thursday night, I met up with my good friends, Dave and Gene. Bruce also arrived that night from a successful bow hunt for elk in Wyoming.
On Friday, we scouted but didn’t see much. Opening morning, Bruce and I went for a long walk in the rain, fog, and drizzle. We called in one young bull, but it was pretty uneventful. Saturday afternoon, Bruce and I went for another long walk and set up on a vast meadow near sunset. Again, we didn’t see or hear anything.
On Sunday morning, we saw and stalked a nice 6-point bull, but I couldn’t bring myself to squeeze the trigger. This was a once in- a-lifetime tag, so I wanted to make the most of it. Sunday night, we located a huge herd that we estimated at 200 head. There were at least six mature bulls with them, but it was just too dark to get a good look at them. We made plans to set up Monday night.
As sundown approached on Monday, we started to hear bugles. It was go time. We went after them but just couldn’t catch up.
At 4 a.m. the next morning, we headed into the same area to try and locate the herd. When it was still too dark to see, we started hearing bugling. With the wind in our favor, we went after them. We crept over a hill with a sheer drop below and waited. A bull stepped out, and I said I was on him. He turned his head, and Matt and Bruce got a good look at him. The only thing I heard was, “Shoot him now!” I shot but didn’t hear the sound of a bullet hitting home. He never flinched. As I racked another one in, he stumbled and went down. The celebration began!
As we worked our way down, I got my first good look at him. The bull was a typical 6-point on his left side. His right side had five points, and he had mass all to the tips. His G2 on the left side was 36" long, and the circumference of his right base was 11 1/2".
I want to thank my friends, Dave, Gene, Bruce, and Matt, for helping me with this fantastic hunt. I can only hope that one of them draws this fantastic tag and is willing to let me go along before we are all too old to hunt. I also want to thank my lovely bride of 39 years, Connie, for putting up with my addiction that seems to be getting worse the older I get.
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