The day we had dreamed, planned, and wished for after 12 years of applying finally came true! After my three sons, Todd, Chad, and Tanner, and I drew four Wyoming non-resident archery elk tags, the long-awaited preparation began. I called Huntin’ Fool to obtain a list of hunters who had hunted the unit before. After numerous phone calls, in-depth planning, anticipation, and excitement, the day arrived.
With the truck packed to the brim and our newly redone trailer installed with a generator driven freezer, we were on our way to bag some elk. We left our hometown in western Washington and embarked on the 18-hour drive to arrive at our destination on September 8, 2018. After driving in our unit, we finally spotted the ideal site to set up camp with a well-used fire pit, water across the meadow, and a place to park our truck and trailer.
Monday, the 10th, was a slow day exploring the unknown territory and we all came back to camp empty-handed. Tuesday evening, the action began for Todd and Tanner. Todd called in a nice bull, and as he made his way towards the crest of the hill, the bull stopped at 40 yards, allowing Todd a small window to thread a perfectly shot arrow in the kill zone. Instantly, the bull ran towards the top of the hill and fell over. What a shot!
The next three days were a blast hiking 10-15 miles daily, scouring the area, enjoying the great outdoors, and spending priceless time with my boys, even though the elk sightings were somewhat slow.
Saturday, the 15th, arrived and Chad decided to go on a hunt by himself while Todd, Tanner, and I spent the morning in a different direction. After a couple hours of calling and sighting one nice bull, the three of us sat down for a snack break. As we were sitting, a text came from Chad that he had harvested a 6-point. Todd went to give Chad a hand in packing out his elk. Tanner and I hunted our way back to the truck to wait for the other two to arrive with the second elk.
The following week was exciting, and it was fun to spend time with my boys hunting, hiking, and cooking up frozen meals, packed and ready to heat up. How does food taste so good outdoors over the fire? I had a couple opportunities of close encounters with elk coming in but wasn’t able to seal the deal.
Thursday, the 20th, came, and we split up again into pairs to hunt. Todd and I spent the morning calling in a bull without success. We decided to head back to camp to wait for Chad and Tanner to show up. It wasn’t much longer when we got a text from Chad that Tanner had arrowed a nice 6-point. We were able to pinpoint where they were located, and Todd and I got our packs ready and hiked three miles to help out with the third pack out.
Friday morning, we spent the first half of the day dismantling camp and packing up to head back to Washington. What an awesome two weeks spent in the backcountry of Wyoming doing what we all love to do! The camaraderie and closeness of being on a hunt together with my three sons is definitely one of the experiences I will cherish the rest of my life. Seeing my sons bag three spectacular elk was frosting on the cake.
Wyoming Elk Hunting
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