Heres a bit of a story behind my elk and pronghorn hunt.
The trip planning started way back in late 2014. I spent a lot of time researching and importantly understanding the hunting regulations for a few of the elk hunting states i.e Utah, Montana, Colorado, Oregon and Wyoming. Wyoming seemed like the best bet as it didn't have OTC tags, which I liked as I thought it would keep the hunter numbers down a bit, and I knew the scenery was fantastic.
After winning an elk and pronghorn tag my trip plans were finalised. A cheap flight took me first to Brisbane and then to LA and finally to Salt Lake City. SLC is a great place, not too big and surrounded by beautiful desert and mountains. I took my time driving to Wyoming to meet a mate that I would be hunting with. I spent a couple of days visiting Grand Teton National Park and saw bear, elk, fox, moose and some very impressive mountains. No need for an alarm clock as the wolves woke me early and I was not sleeping in after knowing they were looking for breakfast haha
I spent the next 4 days trying for a pronghorn with my bow. Many people had told me this would be difficult and they were right! I would have averaged 3 stalks a day with out success. Pronghorn have incredible eye sight and they continuously rotate their head so basically have 360 degrees covered. So with a bow they easily see you when you get close, range, draw and shoot.
I did find a spot that provided good cover. A dry 4 meter deep drain / creek allowed me to sneak undetected to a regular feeding spot. One evening a saw a lone buck out feeding (single animals make getting close much easier!). He was one that had eluded me previously at the exact same spot. I got to the point in the creek that would allow me to pop up and be 30 yards from the feeding buck. This time the plan worked and I looked over the lip (at full draw) and he was head down feeding. I made a good lung shot and he walked 20 yards and lay down. I left him there until morning.
I got back at first light and he was at the same spot frozen solid. I gutted him and chucked him in the back of hire car, luckily no blood on the seats haha. I took him back to my mates place and we butchered him.
The elk hunt started on the opening day for archery. My American mate was a fantastic host. We set up an awesome camp which include the iconic canvas tent and a corral for the horses. First light of opening day we took the horses an hour from camp. We then heard 3 bulls bugling which was definitely a trip highlight. We called in the first bull and got him to 30 yards. I messed up the stalk and he saw movement and took off. While a little disappointed I was hoping the next bull would be bigger. He looked like a fairly young 5x5 bull.
A second bull was bugling hard out so we decided to go take a look. My mate stayed back and did a prefect job to bring him into bow range. He was moving quickly and I could see him coming in so I drew my bow. Then he stopped behind a tree at 30 yards. I couldn't get a clear shot so waiting with the bow at full draw, may be a minute later he stepped out and I took the shot. He was shot and headed straight down the hill.
Now this is were the horses come in. Once we got to the bull we got a few photos and butchered the bull and loaded up the horses. I enjoy the carry in New Zealand but this bull was huge. Also at 10,000 feet the air is bloody thin. It was a great experience using the horses and highly recommended if you get a chance. My knees were also grateful for the light load back to camp.
I'm getting both the bull and buck shoulder mounted in the US and sent back to NZ.
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