rwilliamson1
Member
Well it took me 20 days of hunting sun up to sun set this year. But after many miles walked and days of learning new areas and studying game trails I managed to fill my elk tag late in the season. there were many days that I didn't see anything. but this year I would not let myself give up I found the areas in Wyoming that were open late for general tags. and on my last day that I would be able to hunt I woke up around 3am and started down the road to hunt the Kelly guard station above Cokeville WY. I arrived there around 7 am roughly 10 or 15 minutes from sun up. I walked in knee deep snow till about noon and didn't see any sort of sign that there were elk in the area. after the morning hike i decided enough was enough. I made the long walk back to my truck. as I descended from the mountains back to Cokeville I battled with my self trying to decide if I should go try some were else for my last 5 hours of hunting. I made my way to Kemmerer WY were I gave my girlfriend a call to inform her that I was going to head home. she then surprised me and asked me why I would call it quits with only 4 hours left in my final day of hunting for the season. I took a minute to think about what she said and agreed with her and drove into the mountains above kemmemer. I tried to make my way up some narrow roads into the lower mountains where I figured the elk would be due to the snow in the higher mountains. once I realized I would not be able to make it up any 2 tracks I decided to get back on the main road and head up to an old burn site I had discovered earlier in the season. while navigating up the slick icy dirt road I spotted them. in an instant 2 cow elk were on the move about 700yds up hill from me. I raced down the road and found a place where I would be able to set up and catch a shot on the 2 cows when they passed in front of me. when the cows crossed my path they stopped 450yds from me. they were still up hill but I was confident that I would easily make the shot. I had my 338 lapua mag with me.. I know its over kill but I wasn't taking any chances of loosing and animal. I tried to calm my self down and establish a steady rest on one of the cows. the cow that presented a shot to me was quartered away from me. it was a risky shot but I decided to take it. after firing the shot I waited eagerly hoping that the cow would show me a sign of being wounded. after a couple seconds she attempted to walk and I saw her sway and stagger for 2 steps on the 3rd step she dropped and did not get up. I made my way over to her slowly and quietly making sure she did not get up and attempt to run. after a short walk I was standing over a beautiful majestic cow elk. I took a moment to take every thing in and look back to the opening day of the season and the heart break and aggravation of so many consecutive days of hunting with out seeing an elk, and that in an instant just 2 hours from the end of my last day of the hunt I was able to harvest in my opinion one of the most beautiful animals in the world.
just thought I would share my story. thanks to anyone who reads
Robert.
just thought I would share my story. thanks to anyone who reads
Robert.
Where you from? We've hunted the Devil's Hole and Sam's Creek area for years (or did when we had horses). Used to ski Pine Creek a lot as a kid too.
