Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting itty-bitty plains bull...

Finished up my chores and went up the hill to glass the ranch for deer. Late Plains deer opens the first, and I'm keeping an eye on stuff until then. Seen a couple whitetail does starting to filter out into my corn stubble a little earlier than the last few days, as it was a lot colder this weekend. Looked over the creekbottom and didn't see squat. Looked back in the corn and a elk had made it into the field. Season runs from Sept 1st to Jan 31st, and a tag is good for any elk, calf, cow, spike or bull.
I grabbed my stuff and jumped in the feed truck and took the long way around the creek. Thatta way the truck is hidden from anything in the farm field. I parked and left the dogs in the pickup so they wouldn't blow my stalk. Only had to walk about 400 yards, up outta the bottom and follow a weedy fenceline up to the field. Once there, I could see the bull about 250 from the gate. He had come closer, almost 300 yards from where I last seen him. I rested on the fence, and let Percy bark. The bull folded like a cheap tent. Went back and got the truck and drove out to him. He was still alive but paralyzed, so I put a finisher right behind his little trophy-sized head. This is the kind of bull that when you see him up close, the only thing you can say is 'WOW'. Not because of ginormous size, but because this the absolute smallest branch-antlered bull I ever kilt. He had a wad of netting and barbwire wrapping one horn. I drove back to the house to get the tractor so I wouldn't have to work so hard cranking him up on the flatbed with a come-along.
It was getting pretty dark by the time I got back out to him. That makes 2 consecutive years I was able to plunk a bull and get him home whole with a tractor. I've bought a plains tag every year for the 13 I've been here, and this only the second elk seen during the long season, most times we only see them in the spring.
It was nice to get one this year, as I went up first season to hunt, and had to come home as my ticker couldn't handle the altitude again. Just might be relegated to whomping them out on the prairie, from here on out...