First off, thank you again for the help several members offered us. It is appreciated. Here is a rundown of the hunt....
We left home Sunday afternoon and had a few hours of travel to Farson. We made good time and after heading into the unit for about 20 miles, we found a decent campsite for my trailer.
Opening day was interesting to say the least (as I said earlier). We started off driving to look at some different areas. Or first area went ok as we saw over one hundred elk. However, they were along way off and were on the run. My dad had postponed foot surgery for this hunt and would have a tough time going a long distance.
We moved to a different area and immediately saw a herd of about 25. They were a bit closer than the previous herd but like the first, they were wary and on the move. We looked at some other areas and did not see anything. We returned to where we saw the small herd and to our surprise, they were bedded. Without going into a lot of detail, we had to return to camp for a few minutes and then we would return to make a move on the elk. We were on our way back to the elk and my tired shredded. We got out and changed it and by the time we got to the elk they were gone!
We went out that evening (Monday) and we were going to try a new area. 5 minutes into the drive, another flat tire. We had decided to stay on the main road(s) to prevent this but it did not work. Fortunately, as I said earlier, a nice couple stopped and gave us a ride to camp.
My son arrived that evening and we had a better truck, with better tires. We returned to the area where we had been hunting and my son immediately saw some elk. It looked as if there were two solid bulls. However, they were a few miles away. My dad was going to through caution to the wind and go for it. I knew he likely would not make it and was fortunately able to talk him out of it.
We dropped my dad off at camp and headed to Rock Springs. Les Schwab was a 1 1/2 hour wait for tires and the other shops had similar, if not worse wait times. We had no choice but to wait. To their credit, they did what they could and we were finally headed back to camp.
We got to camp and told my dad to get in and we were going to try to make something happen. We decided to try the same area(s) where we had seen elk. We only had about an hour and a half of light so we were not expecting much. My son immediately spotted a smaller herd of elk with what looked like a smaller bull. However, we were not quite sure. Me and my dad decided to make a stalk on them and came up with a decent plan. My son stayed behind to watch the herd. We found a ravine/wash that was perfect to keep us hidden. When we were about halfway there, I decided to get to the top of the was to take a look and get a good bearing on our position. I slowly looked up. To my surprise, there were a few cows feeding and were about 300 yards away. I could not believe the herd had moved that far. I then thought that maybe the herd had split up. We waited but never saw a bull. I thought that we could bump the cows and head for the other herd as there was a small hill between us and the other herd. However, we decided against this and sat there waiting.
All of a sudden a bull appeared. I looked at it and I thought that it was a five-point but could not tell. I asked my dad if he wanted to take it. I could tell he did but after some coaxing he said he did not want to let me and my son down by shooting a smaller bull. I told him it was his decision and that if he was happy, I was happy. I set up the shooting sticks we had made (a six-foot tripod) and got him a great rest. At 75 years old, it's tough for him to shoot prone so this was the setup (standing) that he was most comfortable with. Every time that he would get ready to shoot, a cow or calf would walk near the bull. Then, the bull would turn.
I kept telling him to wait until it was perfectly broadside. After several minutes, he finally had a great shot. I had ranged it and after it moved a bit estimated it was about 275 yards. I told him to shoot center, right behind the shoulder. At the shot the herd took off running. I thought he might of missed. However, the bull slowed from the herd after 30 or so yards and dropped. It was a perfect shot and we found a hole through the heart. I was relieved as I did not need to call Bess to come up and help track!
We quartered the bull and backed out back straps and neck meat. We went there the next morning (this morning) and of course, there was a truck parked there. We glassed for a minute and saw a guy looking at elk, elk that were close to where my dads elk was. We had a dilemma as we did not want to ruin a guys hunt yet we did not want to wait too long with the meat there and temperature rising. We decided to back off and go put the tire on my truck. It was about 30 miles away. Fortunately, we had the meat quartered and it would be okay.
We returned and the guy was gone. Me and my son made two trips and had the quarters packed out. My son took a hind quarter and front shoulder the first trip. He is tougher than me!
Thoughts on the hunt.... It is a great area but very different. Hunting elk in the desert is something that we have never done. The hunt was perfect for my dad and could not have been better. I am not sure if I will burn my max points on it but I might.
Here are the pics:
