5 of us on this hunt, with 2 elk tags, and 3 mule deer tags. This hunt put us to the test and we were prepared.
To say it was cold is a understatement.
First day of the hunt was 10/15, we are on the mountain at 4:45 am, conditions 10" of fresh snow, 8 degrees and 35 mph NW winds, basically a white out. With these conditions we are the only group on the mountain, pickups, wheeled atv's aren't moving through the snow. By 9 a.m., 2 buddies are tagged out, 4x4 mule deer and 5x5 elk are on the ground.
We have them boned and packed out by noon. At 4 p.m. another buddy is tagged out with a 5x5 mule deer, we bone and pack the deer out. By the end of day 1, I am the only one left with 2 tags to be filled.
Day 2 it continues to snow, by the time the weather breaks on day 3 we have 20" inches of new snow.
View from base camp, we are the only hunters making it over the top of the mountain.
Tracked ATV's, horses or mountain sleds are the choices.
The coulees that were holding plenty of elk and deer a few days before, with the snow and conditions the migration is in full swing and the hunting is becoming tougher, with less animals each day. The wintering grounds in this area are in Montana and out of our hunting area, we see many migration trails covered with tracks moving north.
Early on day 4 we cut tracks of a herd of about 20 elk moving north, we get in front of the herd and try to close the distance, only to see them go over the top of a ridge in front of us, out of range. We do this several times throughout the day, only to be out manuevered. As the sunsets over the mountain, we come over a ridgetop and on top of the herd. We spot each other about the same time, the herd scatters, 3 elk split off and travel down a steep ravine below us. My buddy quick calls out the range, 382 yards. Bull is in the back, calf, and lead is a cow. I have a cow tag for this hunt, identify the lead cow, and squeeze the trigger, the cow drops. We both start the celebration, and high 5, with in seconds my buddy hollers, the cow is heading for cover. Quickly I settle in for a followup shot, and squeeze the trigger just as the animal goes into heavy cover, all this happens in less than 30 seconds. It takes us about 2 minutes to followup the shot in waist deep snow, we follow the track about 50 yards into cover and the animal jumps up and takes off, we decide to back out and follow up the track in the morning.
Day 5, all 5 of us follow up on the track. We find the bed from the night before and have a solid blood trail to follow. Expecting to have to follow up with a shot on a wounded animal, we move very slow. After following the track about 150 yards, we spot the rear end of the elk sticking out of a deadfall. Moving slowly I come around the deadfall, expecting to finish this off......Holy Crap....buddy says What?......it's a Bull.
We have all had that sinking feeling when something goes wrong.....tell you guys what, I almost puked. We all discuss what we are going to do now, one of my buddies says, "they can confiscate all of our guns, gear and vehicles". Think about this for a moment. And tell my buddies I'm just going to turn myself in and if they help bone and pack the bull out. I will stand up to whatever happens and make it straight. But i also tell my buddies, I know that the first shot was on the lead cow, and we have another animal down. And sure enough, we followup the other track, and within 70 yards, we find the dead cow. Now we have 2 elk to pack out, tell you guys what......that is alot like work.
When we get back to base camp, I call the Wyoming hotline and report myself. The local game warden returns my call within a few minutes, I tell him what has happened and where our camp is located. Within a hour he is at our camp, I tell him the story and what happened. He asked quite a few questions, checks all of our licenses, animals, kill tags, guns everythings is in order. I have explained to him that this is my responsibility and will deal with the consequenses and didn't want anything to happen to any of my buddies. At which point he explains to me all the things that he could do in this situation, most of which aren't to pleasant. Then with a big smile on his face, tells me that he is not going to do these things, but he is going to consficate the bull and write me a ticket for "over possesion" being that I was honest and turned myself in. So he writes me a ticket for over possesion, the meat he is going to donate to a family where the husband was hurt and been out of work, so the meat will not go to waste. Then he gives me a unexpected compliment. He said. "In all the years of being a game warden, 95% of the hunters would have either walked away from that bull, or tried to sneak out the meat and get away with a illegal animal, and the other 5% would have turned themselves in, but would have told him where the animal was laying, but he had never had someone bone and pack a illegally taken animal out and turned themselves in, because it is alot of work." I replied " It is alot of work" Then he says, " by the way, 400 yard, steep down hill shot on a running animal with low light, that's a heck of a shot, you could've missed" Said to him " yes I wish I would have, but I didn't" We all started laughing at that point.
