ElDudarino
Active member
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2022
- Messages
- 23
I’ve been going “Out West” from Wisconsin since I was 12 years old. I honestly don’t even hunt back home because private lands and tree stands just don’t tickle me.
In 2022, I shot a really nice bull in a very hard to draw unit in Wyoming. After I got home, I was talking to my kids about when they would be old enough to go. My wife, who had never expressed any interest in hunting, jokingly said, “When are you taking me?” I said, next year works. I immediately bought her some points in MT and WY.
2023, we drew Elk tags in MT and hunted a general unit. We were within 100yds of 40 cows 1 hour into our first day. She decided to hold out for a bull…. Those were the last elk we saw that trip despite averaging 15 miles of hiking per day. Despite all that, she decided she loved it.
2024, we drew WY general deer tags. About a month before we left, I found out I was being given a national award in my industry during the last few days of our hunt. We decided to cut the hunt short, and fly out of Denver to Detroit for my conference and then fly back for the drive home to WI. We only had 3.5 days of hunting and it was HOT. Tag soup again. She was feeling like bad luck.
2025, I applied for a CO cow tag with the intention of buying her an OTC bull tag. Her union went on strike in July and we were seriously questioning the trip or buying her bull tag. I buckled down and figured out how to make the money work.
We arrived mid day Thursday before the opening of 2nd Rifle. We spent that afternoon just confirming all the access points I had on my OnX. Friday, we scouted all day, saw where camps were and never saw an elk.
Opening morning we were on a glassing knob when I went to pee. When I came back, she was waving to me. There was a herd that had walked within 40 yards of her and ran out into a sage field. I saw what I thought was the whole group and didn’t see a Bull. I took aim at a cow at about 250, shot and no reaction. The heard all mixed up and I wasn’t sure which cow or if I had hit her. As they ran off, I saw a nice bull with them that hadn’t ever made it into the sage…. Looking at my gun, I realized that my dial was still on the 100yd zero. I normally carry it around 1 mil high that gets me out to about 320 but I have to hold a little low at 200-250. When I held low, plus the 100yd zero, I shot right under her.
I was LOW. Not only did I miss, but I messed up an opportunity to get her a bull. This was 0830 on Saturday. We wouldn’t see another elk til Wednesday.
For the next few days, we put on MILES and hours in the glass. I was getting discouraged. She never had the slightest complaint. Just kept working. Fortunately, me and her are pretty good at having type 2 fun together.
Wednesday morning, we went to a spot that was outside my Cow zone but I had killed my first Bull there in 2019. There is about an 800ft elevation gain from the truck over the first 1/2 mile. Then you are on what I call the “travel ridge”. I wanted to go left on “travel ridge” but we ran into a group of 6 guys ahead of us. So we turned around and went the other way.
We went out on a finger and saw some cows moving away from us over a ridge about 400yds away. As we were watching them, we heard a bugle. 2 legal bulls showed themselves as they crossed the ridge but they got over before my wife could find them in the scope. (Another time I thought we missed our chance)
We went back to travel ridge and walked out to the last place we saw the elk. Across to the next ridge between 450-500 we saw the cows. As we watched them, they started bedding! Below them was thee thickest oakbrush ever and I knew the bulls were down there.
We set up with the plan to sit there all day till a bull showed himself or someone bumped them out. This was about 9am. While we waited, she tried several shooting positions and dry fired on cows. We settled on seated off the bipod with her pack in her lap for rear support. We had her dialed with multiple openings ranged.
We cooked in the sun until about 1pm when the herd started moving. One bull went over the ridge before we could get on him. Then a bigger bull, a 6 point stood up broadside at 480. I had binos on the tripod and watched as she drilled him. All the elk started clearing out and he ran onto the ridge and was standing facing us at an angle where the top of his head and antlers were blocking the rest of his body. I watched all the other elk run out into the private and keep going. The bull didn’t move. I couldn’t see blood but he had to be hurt. He had to turn to go anywhere so we waited. It was definitely no less than 30min. The whole time I was waiting for him to tip.
Finally, he took a couple steps forward and bedded in the oakbrush where we could only see the tips of his antlers. I just knew he would tip over. Then after maybe 20min he stood up, broadside. My wife shot and smoked him both lungs and dropped him. He disappeared into the oakbrush but was clearly down. We heard a bugle/scream as his lungs filled up and he tried to breathe.
I locked the binos on where he fell in the tripod so I could walk around the ridges to him and my wife could walk me in on him.
When I got over in the area, she texted that I was in the binos. I could smell him but not see him. I had to make circles till I finally found him and sent her a pic.
She made her way around and we had him quartered just before dark. I think she enjoyed that part more than the shooting. She is in the medical field and really liked the “guttin-n-gillin”. We decided the thick oakbrush wasn’t ok to pack in the dark so we left him. Luckily it was in the 20s that night and he was on a north slope.
It took us all day Thursday to shuttle him the .6 miles and 550ish feet up to “travel ridge” and we brought the fronts out with us in the dark. Friday, we shuttled everything else back to the truck and completed our pack out at about 2pm, 49 hours after she shot.
Coming down with the head, I think she thought I was falling behind because of fitness…. Really, it was to dry my eyes. Watching that woman pack out her first elk, and first kill of any kind was one of the moments where I really knew I’ve won life. Part of it was how hard she worked for that bull, part of it was having a partner that I can enjoy this with and partly it was that I had been able to make it work financially despite her being on strike for 4 months.
In 2022, I shot a really nice bull in a very hard to draw unit in Wyoming. After I got home, I was talking to my kids about when they would be old enough to go. My wife, who had never expressed any interest in hunting, jokingly said, “When are you taking me?” I said, next year works. I immediately bought her some points in MT and WY.
2023, we drew Elk tags in MT and hunted a general unit. We were within 100yds of 40 cows 1 hour into our first day. She decided to hold out for a bull…. Those were the last elk we saw that trip despite averaging 15 miles of hiking per day. Despite all that, she decided she loved it.
2024, we drew WY general deer tags. About a month before we left, I found out I was being given a national award in my industry during the last few days of our hunt. We decided to cut the hunt short, and fly out of Denver to Detroit for my conference and then fly back for the drive home to WI. We only had 3.5 days of hunting and it was HOT. Tag soup again. She was feeling like bad luck.
2025, I applied for a CO cow tag with the intention of buying her an OTC bull tag. Her union went on strike in July and we were seriously questioning the trip or buying her bull tag. I buckled down and figured out how to make the money work.
We arrived mid day Thursday before the opening of 2nd Rifle. We spent that afternoon just confirming all the access points I had on my OnX. Friday, we scouted all day, saw where camps were and never saw an elk.
Opening morning we were on a glassing knob when I went to pee. When I came back, she was waving to me. There was a herd that had walked within 40 yards of her and ran out into a sage field. I saw what I thought was the whole group and didn’t see a Bull. I took aim at a cow at about 250, shot and no reaction. The heard all mixed up and I wasn’t sure which cow or if I had hit her. As they ran off, I saw a nice bull with them that hadn’t ever made it into the sage…. Looking at my gun, I realized that my dial was still on the 100yd zero. I normally carry it around 1 mil high that gets me out to about 320 but I have to hold a little low at 200-250. When I held low, plus the 100yd zero, I shot right under her.
I was LOW. Not only did I miss, but I messed up an opportunity to get her a bull. This was 0830 on Saturday. We wouldn’t see another elk til Wednesday.
For the next few days, we put on MILES and hours in the glass. I was getting discouraged. She never had the slightest complaint. Just kept working. Fortunately, me and her are pretty good at having type 2 fun together.
Wednesday morning, we went to a spot that was outside my Cow zone but I had killed my first Bull there in 2019. There is about an 800ft elevation gain from the truck over the first 1/2 mile. Then you are on what I call the “travel ridge”. I wanted to go left on “travel ridge” but we ran into a group of 6 guys ahead of us. So we turned around and went the other way.
We went out on a finger and saw some cows moving away from us over a ridge about 400yds away. As we were watching them, we heard a bugle. 2 legal bulls showed themselves as they crossed the ridge but they got over before my wife could find them in the scope. (Another time I thought we missed our chance)
We went back to travel ridge and walked out to the last place we saw the elk. Across to the next ridge between 450-500 we saw the cows. As we watched them, they started bedding! Below them was thee thickest oakbrush ever and I knew the bulls were down there.
We set up with the plan to sit there all day till a bull showed himself or someone bumped them out. This was about 9am. While we waited, she tried several shooting positions and dry fired on cows. We settled on seated off the bipod with her pack in her lap for rear support. We had her dialed with multiple openings ranged.
We cooked in the sun until about 1pm when the herd started moving. One bull went over the ridge before we could get on him. Then a bigger bull, a 6 point stood up broadside at 480. I had binos on the tripod and watched as she drilled him. All the elk started clearing out and he ran onto the ridge and was standing facing us at an angle where the top of his head and antlers were blocking the rest of his body. I watched all the other elk run out into the private and keep going. The bull didn’t move. I couldn’t see blood but he had to be hurt. He had to turn to go anywhere so we waited. It was definitely no less than 30min. The whole time I was waiting for him to tip.
Finally, he took a couple steps forward and bedded in the oakbrush where we could only see the tips of his antlers. I just knew he would tip over. Then after maybe 20min he stood up, broadside. My wife shot and smoked him both lungs and dropped him. He disappeared into the oakbrush but was clearly down. We heard a bugle/scream as his lungs filled up and he tried to breathe.
I locked the binos on where he fell in the tripod so I could walk around the ridges to him and my wife could walk me in on him.
When I got over in the area, she texted that I was in the binos. I could smell him but not see him. I had to make circles till I finally found him and sent her a pic.
She made her way around and we had him quartered just before dark. I think she enjoyed that part more than the shooting. She is in the medical field and really liked the “guttin-n-gillin”. We decided the thick oakbrush wasn’t ok to pack in the dark so we left him. Luckily it was in the 20s that night and he was on a north slope.
It took us all day Thursday to shuttle him the .6 miles and 550ish feet up to “travel ridge” and we brought the fronts out with us in the dark. Friday, we shuttled everything else back to the truck and completed our pack out at about 2pm, 49 hours after she shot.
Coming down with the head, I think she thought I was falling behind because of fitness…. Really, it was to dry my eyes. Watching that woman pack out her first elk, and first kill of any kind was one of the moments where I really knew I’ve won life. Part of it was how hard she worked for that bull, part of it was having a partner that I can enjoy this with and partly it was that I had been able to make it work financially despite her being on strike for 4 months.
