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...

Awesome......

Love it.

Nice!

Sorta reminds me of elk hunting here around home. It ain’t like chasing them in the mountains, but it sure beats not chasing them at all.

Nicely done! Tough to beat that pack out! Congrats

Gotta like that hunting opportunity.

Shoot a good eater bull. Get a tractor on it, then back to the shop to undress it. Done deal.

What chambering is Percy?


🦫

Congrats! Love your barn!!

Yep… pretty awesome!

Todd

6.5 PRC and 147's

Very nice!

X2. Pretty place

That's the way to do it! Love those John Deere retrieves.

Good deal!

Well doesn't get much easier than that. Congrats.

A tractor certainly helps a lot.Sure beats the hell out of packing one out.Enjoy that good tender bull.

Don, it looks like you have also decided that if "Johnnie" does the lifting - your back doesn't hurt!
Congratulations on the full freezer, he ought to be tender as heck.

Nice work on every aspect. That's a nice place you got there to hang that bull in and keep a few other things. I hunted with some friends that live in Colorado north of Vail a few years ago and and kidded them about getting a tractor with a loader for chores. One of my friends here in Missouri, construction guy, used to haul and 40 horse Kubota with a loader on it to where he hunted.

Congratulations!

Gotta agree with everyone else hunts , well done. But what I want to know is where do the dogs ride on the JD?.mb

Pretty cool, Huntsman.
Regardless of horn size, nothing like elk roast after a good day of work.

Don. Great elk. I know what you mean about altitude. Same here.This past season I had my battery O2 pack with me, but had no tractor for my elk.

I drew a plains deer hunt for the last of October. I was able to drive up to it, winch the deer up into the bed on ramps of old landing panels, and using a chain com-a-long.

Right on, Don !!

My first (or second) year in Wyoming I saw one nearly identical at the local processor’s shop! It was taken by an out of state hunter somewhere in the Bondurant area of Wyoming! memtb

Outstanding! Congrats on your bull.

No need for every hunt to be a lung-sucking, back-breaking hunt. You did well.

Regards, Guy

Nice work, Percy!

… and you, too, hunts…


FC

Good job Don, that's the way i try to pack them in, put a winch on a 16' flat bed that we pull with a John Deere with a Bucket loader.



Picked this one up with my Jeep drove to the nearest 2 track road they brought the trailer to the road and I dropped him on it, he was to heavy for me to bring back 20 miles with my Jeep.

I built a plywood platform for the mutts. They go everywhere with me, whether on the skytrack, quad, tractor, or trucks.....






they even go mowing....

Hell ya, Congrats.

You never see:

"Front End Loader"

On the "Gear List" from any elk outfitters. However, I have yet to hear from someone who denies the use of same when possible.

Congrats on the bull and the extraction method. Way cool!

Very nice.

Corn fed elk should be tasty!

Good job!

I have been lucky enough to have mechanized help when loading a few elk, as well as one fair-sized bull moose taken in Alberta. Don't mind such help at all...

Went to the feedstore and grabbed another tag this morning, in case another one blows thru.... I have 2 more months of season.

Should have guessed you had made provision for the dogs on everything, well done hunts sure appreciate your pics..mb

that's what I'm talking about. No reason all "hunts" need to be hard. I like an easy peasy kill every now and then too.

Perfect.

Congrats Hunts, on getting some winter meat and the hunt continues!!

My favorite elk hunts were Ranching For Wildlife hunts when the ranch hands would snake the carcass down the hill and load them in my truck!

The whitetail here on the farm get the tractor treatment but it's not the same as living in the west...

I went with a retired buddy on his first elk hunt (RFW) where he shot a cow. He was amazed with the size of a mature elk and grateful for the ranch hands loading it in his truck too.

Your dogs are smart enough to drive, maybe they could just follow you with the tractor!

Pretty darn swanky

Didn't you read, you can not kill anything with a match bullet. I mean hornady calls it a MATCH bullet........jeez......



(Obviously I'm joking, the "m" in eldm stands for murder)

Nice work Don,
I grew up in that area. Throughout most of my early years it was news when we'd see elk around. Now it's a common occurrence.

Cool beans Hunts!!! Ok who's truck in the background of the shop?? Dam cool shop what's up the stairs??? Sorry I'm nosey!!! GWPGUY. 🐾👣🐾👣🇨🇦

Nice job and cool story.

Great pictures. That’s too cool.

it is better to be lucky than good any day , tractor over your back is best congrats

Well done, Don!!!!

Just saw this, nice Don, bet he'll eat good. Glad you're finally getting to use your plains tags.

Nicely done Hunts

Nice to have your pack with you.

Great Job Hunts! I see the Gerber with the carpet hook, used mine and both bucks this year! So easy, think of you when I use it., I put a couple togather and gave then to friends, don't think they use them tho! There loss.

👍. Your truly blessed to live there and experience that from your house.

Very cool! Congrats all the way around.

Awesomeness

Congratulations

I'm surprised the JD had enough power to lift the bull....

And for Christ's sake, clean the 'barn' up a little before taking pics!

Hard to beat bagging an elk in a place that you can drive to him. Sounds like good planning. 😁

Congratulations, my theory for several years now has been that "any elk is a good elk". He is a nice looking young bull that will eat well. Enjoy

Man, that is one heck of a set-up you have there. I guess as far as elk hunting goes, it doesn't get any easier than that.

Congrats brother, wish I could have been there to lend a hand. Lori Darling is looking good!


Frog---OUT!

Good job! You did everything Buzzh wouldn’t do…

Any elk is a great elk. Congrats Don!

Good deal Don - those itty-bitty ones eat better anyway!

Yep, that is why I personally concentrate on shooting small deer and small moose!

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

/John

Yep, this is definitely in my wheelhouse, too !

No kidding, what a mess! 😂. Cleaner than my living room.
Perfect way to get your elk to the house. 👍👍

I love this, congrats!

The huntsman22 at it again. Nice job, the PRC works well on elk!

For Sam(and the others) bishing about my barn maintenance skills, I'll have you know that I swept up the hay chaff and hosed down/scrubbed all the blood and hydraulic fluid off'n the concrete today. The floor is back to being clean enuff to eat off of.... And it got up above 50 degrees, so it will be all dry by Oh Dark Thirty, with the end doors open and breeze coming thru. Should still be looking shiny on Friday, when my late season deer hunters show up....

Wow, what a great “barn”. Those rocking chairs look very inviting. 😎

Cool story and bull, huntsman!

The barn is pretty cool. Would like to see an outside view of it. Are there living quarters upstairs?

just a loft. not even a toilet......

Quite a place you have there.

And congrats on the elk.

The elk was nice but that barn really shines! Great job on that.

Building this place was my last good construction job......

Thanks for the story and pics & congrats.

Last good construction job? Looks like a Cabelas store. I'm only familiar with moose. Would a mature bull elk provide more meat and just as good eating?

Thanks for the pictures of the barn. It’s super. I thought maybe you renovated an old one.

Awesome stuff, Don. I hope all is well!

Should be a good eating bull, I’ve never seen an antler recipe so that’s a non issue. Good freezer meat right there.

Very cool looking! 😎

He really got himself wrapped up though. Any idea where that fencing came from?

It looks damn nice

Congrats on the bull and the barn.

Well Huntsman, like ya said last year , " It aint Roundoak quality, but I'm happy". Are they expanding their range?

I guess the two I killed out here were.....

1) the barn look awesome!!

2 ) great harvest. though not very big in size, still nice eating right there!!!

The problem with living down here in Texas is you don't have any open public land. Unless you own property or have a lease, it is near impossible to be able to hunt!

Just awesome Don!!!
S.

Barn, tractor, dogs and a dead rag-horn make for a pretty good story.

Great story and barn Hunts. Be Well, RZ.

Damned fine barn! I’ve got a bunch of stuff I’d love to park in there......
Oh yeah, really nice bull too 🥃 !

Cool hunt. Cannot beat that recovery.

-Jake

Kurt and Kyle hand-delivered my 'massive trophy of a lifetime'(grin) skull yesterday. And even picked up the deer head while they were out. Can't beat friends like that..... We also spent the day shooting steel and pistols and grilled brats for lunch. Figgered to toss up a pic. Set him on the deer pile in the house. There are bucks bigger than that bull in the pile....

I love that barn.

huntsman22 what do you attribute the size of the rack to, a 5X5 but so tiny, an old bull diminishing or the lack of nutrients on the plains vs the Mts.? Any clues?

nah. he was just a tiny 2 year old.

Pretty cool, Don!

Glad you and the gents got to ring some steel together.

And I thought I was lucky being able to use a 4 wheeler to drag out one of our little whitetails

That is the smallest 5x5 I have ever seen. a really neat little gut!

Also, elk in the flats sounds amazing!

I agree with Brad.

Plus the closer they are to where you can get a vehicle to them, the better. Having packed out far too many on the wrong side of a mountain, I am all for itty bitty bulls, or better yet cows!'' Cows that are straight uphill from my rig. Shoot 'em, quarter 'em and get them into a sled headed down the mountain right towards a pickup.


Congrats on the meat for the winter!

Those are some pretty neat/unique antlers.

Your right Mackay. For about 20 years my late wife and I had a spot we hunted after work. The elk came out just before dark. We had to hike up the mt. for about 200 yards and and there we had a rock for a rest. The elk always rolled down hill toward us. I could skid them right down to the truck if I didn't get off the trail. Good times.

Congrats!

Just saw this as well Hunts… awful good eating. How did the second tag play out for you?

Osky

Plains season goes to Jan 31st, few more days.... Ain't seen another out here since the bitty. But hope springs eternal... grin

Damn you killed the last one.

Get ‘em if you can.
The cow/spike season runs deep into Feb in Montana. Full bulls are done. With the incredible warm winter the elk are not down in the meadows as normal, not hitting plains nor food stubble just staying up.
Good luck.

Osky