Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Wyoming Antelope Hunt With Fellow Campfire Member (pic heavy!)

Here is PART III

After getting the antelopes butchered and wrapped, one of the ranch hands said he was going elk hunting. Naturally our ears perked up and Okanagan and I looked at each other, already trying to calculate a way to get an invite to tag along. Okanagan has impeccable social graces and would never invite himself along on another man's elk hunt. I, on the other hand, am somewhat less reserved about such things. So, I made a subtle overture that went something like, "Elk hunting?! Cool! Can we go with you??!!" The ranch hand was a perceptive young man and managed to discern that my backhanded beat-around-the-bush question meant that we would accept an invitation if asked ( ). So he agreed to take us along and off we went. We drove several miles to some "canyons" (they were more like medium sized hills to anyone from the Rockies or Cascades). Regardless, it was absolutely stunning terrain! Here's a shot of Okanagan and the ranch hand glassing:


And here's a couple views of the countryside:




We decided to split up to cover more territory (and probably give the ranch hand some peace). Okanagan and I took one radio and went down one slope into a small draw and the ranch hand went over the other side. We agreed that we'd all work in the direction of the same ridge line up ahead and then would all angle in the same direction. That would leave the ranch hand behind us, but he said he'd just walk fast to catch up when it got dark.

In the draw we were working, Okanagan and I came across a bull with a very nice rack, but...he was already dead. We couldn't really determine what killed him but we saw that the top two tines of his left side were busted off. Otherwise he would have been a fairly heavy 6x6 instead of a 6x4:






Interestingly, a magpie took a fancy to me and started following me. As I walked up a slope he would bounce from tree to tree, landing in limbs that were right at eye level to me. Finally he landed about 4 feet from me and started squawking. I asked he if wanted me to take his picture and he squawked "yes." So he posed for this shot:
[img]http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn21/WadeSamuelson/Wyoming%202009/IMG_1780.jpg[/img]

Ultimately, we didn't get an elk. The ranch hand saw a 4x4 bull but he "didn't want to shoot a small one." He is looking for the herd bull and has until December to seal that deal.

And for no particular reason, I'll add a pic of some geese that I took with my camera pressed up against my binoculars. The geese are over 900yds away:
[img]http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn21/WadeSamuelson/Wyoming%202009/IMG_1737.jpg[/img]

Anyway, that's about it. Again, it was an absolutely FABULOUS trip and Okanagan is about the finest hunting partner on the planet. I can't wait to try some of his calling techniques--both varmint and blacktail!