wyoming red desert

Great bull! It certainly is a different unit, more like your typical antelope hunt than elk! Super hard tag to get even as a resident, congrats.
 
Thanks everyone. It's not really that big. It represents to me or us that an average hunter can travel across the country, spend some time studying maps and other aids and have a successful hunt. A special thanks to Randy and Leupold. I had won an awesome pair of bino's in last years giveaway, they made the difference.

I was following a smaller bull when I heard a bugle to my left. Across a level plain of scattered short sage brush I spotted a larger bull and some cows. He was probably a half mile off, maybe further. As the cover was nonexistent and the critters spookier than all getup, I wondered how this could ever work out. The sun had just risen, the bright orange ball directly at my back. The wind was blowing left to right. I stooped over and started walking at the small herd thinking that the suns brightness would prevent them from making me out. The bull started to really crank up the bugles and I thought I could see another herd behind the first group. The second herd was larger and was moving to the right of the first group. Both herd bulls were now screaming and false charging each other. All heads were turned to the new herd, and this let me slip into range. The cows and the bull had now moved behind a small rise. All I could see was less than half of the bulls body and the heads of the cows. Two more bulls, both 6 points appeared behind and to the left of the group I was stalking. I was now moving again trying to get closer when a cow sounded off with an alarm bark. All eyes were on me as I sighted on one of the 6 points. The rifle scope looked clear but I was concerned that the low sagebrush was going to be an issue . I missed 2 shots or the sage brush deflected the bullets. Either way the elk were now running to the right and up a near vertical bluff well out of range. One off the bulls decided not to try the climb and started walking back but moving away also. As he went out of sight I quickly moved forward with a stalk, and entered a small stand of head high sage brush. I was keeping an eye on the bull and was closing in. The bull must have heard me moving around was now doing the elk stare-down. I had left my cow call in the truck so I whistled my best imitation. The bull bugled back and went back to feeding. I moved to my right toward an opening then fired offhand at a range of about 100 yards. The whole episode only took about an hour and felt like 2 minutes but I was totally drained as I walked to the dead bull.
 
Beautiful bull ! Cool hunting in the tall sage forest, amazing how it can hide an elk herd.
 
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