The official 2025 Wyoming elk hunt for Dave N thread.

[Hilljackoutlaw]

Awesome job everyone. Elk were spotted, elk were not harmed happens to all of us. Elk were spotted and couldnt get to them also happens to all of us. Thats just the nature of the beast. Good effort and sounds like it was good times! I selfishly wish you guys could of stuck it out longer at Gregs place so I could of joined in on the fun and I really wanted to meet the wonder dog! Haha
Best of luck with the doctors Dave.

 

[Addicting]

Awesome job everyone. Elk were spotted, elk were not harmed happens to all of us. Elk were spotted and couldnt get to them also happens to all of us. Thats just the nature of the beast. Good effort and sounds like it was good times! I selfishly wish you guys could of stuck it out longer at Gregs place so I could of joined in on the fun and I really wanted to meet the wonder dog! Haha
Best of luck with the doctors Dave.

The weather broke the day after we left. RJ is hunting out near there and seeing bulls. But he was in the same boat. Seeing them but hard to get to them. But with the SxS down we were not going to be getting Dave up to even have a reasonable chance to have an encounter. The chance at running into one where it would be accessible needs a major snowstorm in that country. The migratory elk were still 5-6 miles away up high. They won’t push into where we can get till snow pushes them down.

 

[rjthehunter]

The weather broke the day after we left. RJ is hunting out near there and seeing bulls. But he was in the same boat. Seeing them but hard to get to them. But with the SxS down we were not going to be getting Dave up to even have a reasonable chance to have an encounter. The chance at running into one where it would be accessible needs a major snowstorm in that country. The migratory elk were still 5-6 miles away up high. They won’t push into where we can get till snow pushes them down.

It has dried up fairly quickly here. I've had 2 close encounters and 1 really close encounter that included almost getting run over by 2 young bulls. Since the weather got nice, they're no where to be seen. Even called on a few pieces of private, but no dice. Met some really cool people out here too.

A side x side is dang near a necessity out here. At least to get reasonable access to alot of areas.

 

[WyoCoalMiner]

It has dried up fairly quickly here. I've had 2 close encounters and 1 really close encounter that included almost getting run over by 2 young bulls. Since the weather got nice, they're no where to be seen. Even called on a few pieces of private, but no dice. Met some really cool people out here too.

A side x side is dang near a necessity out here. At least to get reasonable access to alot of areas.

Go further north and use those feet.

 

[gburk]

Wow! Just awesome to see guys coming together like this.
Thanks for the write up Dave. Real and raw. All the best to you on the health front.

 

[Caseknife]

@Dave N, even though you think you disappointed all your supporters on HT, you didn't. You gave it your best shot and in doing so found out it isn't easy to kill an elk. My partner and I have determined that general hunts are real tough for NR hunters without having hunted the unit prior. I had a general elk tag a few years ago and research told me that the second unit you hunted was a no brainer, rut-any elk-over population, easy-peasy.......if we had a sxs. Didn't get an elk, but saw new country, unique geography, hunted hard and in our minds had a successful trip. That is how we classify out of state hunting as successful. If we get our elk, so much the better.

 

[Irrelevant]

My appointment isn't until December 2nd. I'm on the list for early openings. I'm thinking I'm good with calling it a day. No regrets.

You may never be in as good a shape as you are now, and I believe that tag is good through the end of the year? Take some time to recover, then keep up you training, you may find you keep improving, and even if not, it's a helluva lot easier to stay in shape than to get in shape.

But that WY wind doesn't stop and temperatures drop substantially.

As others have said, you're an easy guy to root for, glad you made it west and made some lasting memories if nothing else.

 

[Dave N]

Guess I'll update what I can. Initial doctor appointment was last Tuesday. Sucked half of my blood out and ordered a handful of tests. Did some Thursday and some today. Chest X-ray, EKG, thoracic echocardiogram, stress test and CT scan. Still waiting on some results but so far nothing jumps out. Bloodwork came back all good except my cholesterol is high. I'm on meds for that now. I also listened to @hank4elk and requested a PSA test since they were sucking me dry and it's been 10 years since my last one. PASSED! Number was higher but still very good. I have a lung function test scheduled for a couple weeks from now and got sent home from my testing today with a heart monitor stuck to my chest for the next 30 days. I feel like a crash test dummy! Now you folks are caught up as much as I am. I'll add more when I get more results back.

 

[F250]

Thanks for the update Dave. You have a lot of friends here who are concerned.

 

[Hammsolo]

Guess I'll update what I can. Initial doctor appointment was last Tuesday. Sucked half of my blood out and ordered a handful of tests. Did some Thursday and some today. Chest X-ray, EKG, thoracic echocardiogram, stress test and CT scan. Still waiting on some results but so far nothing jumps out. Bloodwork came back all good except my cholesterol is high. I'm on meds for that now. I also listened to @hank4elk and requested a PSA test since they were sucking me dry and it's been 10 years since my last one. PASSED! Number was higher but still very good. I have a lung function test scheduled for a couple weeks from now and got sent home from my testing today with a heart monitor stuck to my chest for the next 30 days. I feel like a crash test dummy! Now you folks are caught up as much as I am. I'll add more when I get more results back.

Prayers up Bro

 

[44hunter45]

Beans in chili have shart-circuited many an unshanked tightey whitey...or so I suspect.

Good luck fellas.

My next signature line...

 

[Dave N]

Now I know why I don't like going to doctors. Insurance is starting to deny a lot of my claims. About $10K denied so far. Screw this.

 

[CRJR45]

Now I know why I don't like going to doctors. Insurance is starting to deny a lot of my claims. About $10K denied so far. Screw this.

Reminds me of the Jack Benny skit -

As far as the insurance , they always deny at first , you have to stay on top of them . Don't let them push you around .

 

[mevertsen]

Now I know why I don't like going to doctors. Insurance is starting to deny a lot of my claims. About $10K denied so far. Screw this.

Are they denying the claims, or have they just not paid them yet, and you're seeing the total cost?

What insurance do you have?

I have to deal with doctors alot, for a lot of stuff. I've had 2 claims denied in the last year (over hundreds of thousands of dollars of claims). They were just simple errors, and got fixed easily enough.

More importantly, what's the diagnosis?

Being alive for your daughter and granddaughter is more important than the cost.

Edit. Also let the doctord worry about the claims crap. They ordered the tests. If they want to get paid, they'll send the proper documentation.

 

[Addicting]

Now I know why I don't like going to doctors. Insurance is starting to deny a lot of my claims. About $10K denied so far. Screw this.

Pretty normal, your DR office will bill it correctly.

 

[Dave N]

Pretty normal, your DR office will bill it correctly.

Can't get ahold of the billing department but I have the impression that all of the denials are from no prior authorization. I went from the doctor's office right down the hall to the hospital part and got some testing done right away. They covered the blood work but that's it. Hell, they even denied the office visit as a yearly checkup. I made them aware and filed an appeal. Guess I'll be back at it on Monday. The office DID say my test next Tuesday was approved. Makes me lean more towards the prior authorization thing. Hopefully it will get straightened out.

So far nothing jumps out being wrong. They said part of my thyroid is enlarged and I have ANOTHER test for that next month. When my insurance resets to zero. Then in May I go on Medicare and start AGAIN! Sheesh.

 

[hank4elk]

You have a Dr.? I've tried to get a PC for 16 years...still no luck.
But I have advocated for myself. Daily. You have to.
You will breathe easier once your on Medicare. Look into catastrophic as a supplement.
You will be in same situation if you choose a Medicare additive from the TV...denials and waiting.
M of O has denied me nothing and Medicare has covered 99% of the rest.

Walk daily, some, and clean up your eating habits.......lol.
Stay on the bright side.
Maybe I'll get some extra tags next year, one might have your name on it Dave.....

 

[Dave N]

You have a Dr.? I've tried to get a PC for 16 years...still no luck.
But I have advocated for myself. Daily. You have to.
You will breathe easier once your on Medicare. Look into catastrophic as a supplement.
You will be in same situation if you choose a Medicare additive from the TV...denials and waiting.
M of O has denied me nothing and Medicare has covered 99% of the rest.

Walk daily, some, and clean up your eating habits.......lol.
Stay on the bright side.
Maybe I'll get some extra tags next year, one might have your name on it Dave.....

Never really had a doctor. Never needed one. Don't get very sick if ever, and used work comp when I got hurt at work. Stubborn farm boy.
Signed up for my wife's doc because she was nice and we both liked her. Still took 2 months to get in.
I've been TRYING to watch what I eat with the occasional cheat day thrown in. Changed a couple things because of the high cholesterol. If I have a cheat day I'll eat a salad for lunch to try and balance it out. I could kill for some good fried chicken! Been a while. Very rarely have any Tillamook ice cream. Bummer.
I hit the elliptical for a while and do some push-ups. Winters here are tough staying active. Being alone doesn't help.
I've heard about the supplements and what to stay away from. My current insurance is actually very good so this problem is strange. I'll get it figured out. Just makes me panic a bit seeing numbers thrown out that I "owe".
Patience, grasshopper.

 

[CUElk]

It may be as simple as the doctor needing to resubmit with a different code. My wife has had intestinal disease for years and my son was in a bad accident a few years ago. We have received many bills just like you did. A phone call to the doctor and sometimes to the insurance company and it was taken care of once resubmitted. Don’t worry about it, it will work out.

 

[Wildabeest]

My ankle replacement was $225,000. Surgeon’s office called insurance company weeks before the surgery so they could give me an “out of pocket” estimate. Fortunately, the insurance company came back with “it’s all covered except for $25 co-pay”. A month after the surgery, I got a notice from the insurance company saying they were denying the claim because it utilized 3-D printing which they considered to be experimental. Quick call to the surgeon’s office and they got it all resolved with BCBS.