Formidilosus: Congratulations on your Elk Hunt and the Elk harvest! You have earned my praise and admiration. I am 66 years old now and have had some Hunts long ago that would rival yours as you recounted it - although my toughest Hunts were for Mt. Goats! The picture of the big Bulls all in the round (gutted but not quartered!) in the back of the truck indeed occurred in my home town - I saw that truck full of Elk there at Sparky's Garage Restaurant the day you photgraphed it. Those Elk were killed not 3 miles from that restaurant on table flat ground out of a herd of over 1,200 Elk! The Elk were loaded whole onto the flatbed truck with a front loader - so the "Hunters" did not get to enjoy the rewards of packing their meat on their backs like you did. The Elk in question had been on that ranch for more than 75 days when those "Hunters" "made the grade" (paid!) to shoot them (tresspass fee is rumored here to be VERY substantial there!)! The resulting fracas of stampeding Elk caused much fence damage and many Elk being shot from public roads as they ran near or across them! The local Game Warden headed past my house with lights and siren in use (VERY unusual!) heading for this firing line/gauntlet situation where upon he wrote several citations and took MANY blood and DNA samples for further investigation. Word is that the Game Warden wrote his next door neighbor a ticket for shooting from the burrow pit as the stampeding Elk ran past him. Word had apparently leaked out in advance that a "Hunt" was going to happen on this ranch and many "Hunters" sat up their "hides" along public roads and at places they had no tresspass permissions, in anticipation of the stampede! Sad situations those, compared to your true sporting accomplishment! Those 1,200 Elk come out of their normal haunts (where you were Hunting!) and take refuge there each year now (since the Canadian Wolves were transplanted hereabouts)! Again I commend your efforts and results. I think I recognize one "skyline shot" in your story and I will keep that area confidential. Again good on you and I hope you had some luck on the Deer portion of your Hunt. If you are still in the area of that restaurant DON'T pay another night for a motel - call me at 406-683-6888 and stay for free at my place! I hope your Deer Hunting was less precarious and difficult than your Elk "odyssey" was and am anxiously awaiting to here of it - win, lose or draw. Hold into the wind VarmintGuy
