Just got back from the eastern edge of 54 yesterday. Opening weekend was a zoo, people everywhere. Saturday night and Sunday morning had some snow, just a skiff, but it helped at checking for fresh tracks. Our worst problem was the wind, within 5 minutes it would blow from 3 different directions.
Grazing permits must of been moved around some this year, some of the areas we'd hunted in the past were grazed bare, others hadn't been touched. Guess where we found the most elk sign.
Son-In-Law got a freak bull, 5x2, skull was broken just behind where the pedicile(sp) comes off and it had a 2 foot spike with a 18" drop, both hanging in front of the eye. Biggest bodied bull he's gotten. Shot it at 30 yards in the thick timber. Makes 6 years straight for him, and most have been at close range.
I had a chance at a small bunch in a meadow but that fickle wind switched and that was that. My Son had his usual encounters with spikes, 4 point minimum in this unit, but over the last few years he's had several spikes in bow range.
