# Wyoming Elk 2021



## waspocrew (Nov 26, 2011)

Hey everyone! I realized it had been quite some time since I had last visited the site and posted.

I recently returned from my annual trip out to WY for archery elk and had a blast. My family owns some property that the elk tend to frequent. With fellowship applications and other residency responsibilities, I didn't have as much time as I was hoping to shoot my compound bow this year. I ended up hunting with my brother's Ravin R20 (crossbow) instead.

It was definitely warm, but luckily, the smoke had cleared out of the area so we could actually glass. My brothers and I were able to get into quite a few elk Sunday morning and evening, but didn't encounter any super mature bulls.

Unfortunately, my brothers had to get back to school Monday morning, so I went out by myself. I perched myself about 30 yards from a fence line the elk tend to cross in the morning. Sure enough, once it was light enough to see, I could see elk heading my direction. 4-5 cows and a raghorn came right up to the fence line and jumped across 50 yards from me. I could hear a bull bugling in the distance and it seemed like he was getting louder every few minutes. 10 minutes later, a nice bull pushed another 8-10 cows up to the fence line. All of the elk jumped the fence (except the bull) about 80 yards from me. The bull then began to walk to fence line towards me. 70 yards, 60 yards, 50 yards.... then he turned and trotted off without offering a shot! I sat there for another 30 minutes waiting for him to return, but I didn't see him again.

The elk really like to feed in and hang out around our alfalfa fields, so I decided to see if any elk were still in the area. When I arrived to the field, I could see there were two mature bulls keeping their cows close by. I used the terrain to sneak in and noticed one of the bulls had incredible fronts. There were a lot more cows and spikes in the group than I had originally thought, so I got busted a couple of times sneaking in, but the bulls didn't seem to care. After playing cat and mouse with the herd for about 20 minutes, I found myself in perfect position with the elk crossing the ridge in front of me. I could hear the bull in the back, so I waited for him to step out into the clearing.

I confirmed he was the better bull of the group and when he stepped into the clearing, I let out a soft chirp. He stopped and I sent the bolt his way. He stepped at the shot and unfortunately, I watched the bolt sink right into his hip. My stomach sank immediately, the last thing I wanted to do was to wound an elk and track him in the heat all day. Surprisingly, he only took a few steps and stopped. Blood was pouring everywhere. As I tried to reload the Ravin, I watched him slowly go up and over the ridge.

I took some time to gather my gear and slowly advanced to where he stood at the shot. The blood trail was definitely impressive - by some miracle, I had luckily hit the femoral artery.

















A short while later, I found him piled up in the junipers. It was another hot day, so I snapped a few pics and got to work as fast as I could. It took me a couple of hours to break him down and pack him out myself, but it was well worth it. Can't wait for the jerky and salami heading my way! Happy hunting and best of luck this season!


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Wow!!! Congratulations!!!


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## KRH (Jul 27, 2015)

waspocrew said:


> Hey everyone! I realized it had been quite some time since I had last visited the site and posted.
> 
> I recently returned from my annual trip out to WY for archery elk and had a blast. My family owns some property that the elk tend to frequent. With fellowship applications and other residency responsibilities, I didn't have as much time as I was hoping to shoot my compound bow this year. I ended up hunting with my brother's Ravin R20 (crossbow) instead.
> 
> ...


Congrats.


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

Congrats on the great bull - thanks for sharing!


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## flyfisher20 (Aug 5, 2011)

Sounds like a blast to me, congrats!


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## 2full (Apr 8, 2010)

Very nice. Congrats.


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## silentstalker (Feb 19, 2008)

Great bull!


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## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

Great bull! Good to see you back on the UWN!


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## waspocrew (Nov 26, 2011)

wyogoob said:


> Wow!!! Congratulations!!!





CPAjeff said:


> Congrats on the great bull - thanks for sharing!





flyfisher20 said:


> Sounds like a blast to me, congrats!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk





2full said:


> Very nice. Congrats.





silentstalker said:


> Great bull!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk





colorcountrygunner said:


> Great bull! Good to see you back on the UWN!


Thanks gents! I'm extremely happy with the bull and super relieved I was able to recover him, despite a less than ideal placed arrow.


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

Gorgeous! Nice to see you again


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## waspocrew (Nov 26, 2011)

johnnycake said:


> Gorgeous! Nice to see you again


Thanks! 

I'm thinking of heading out for a couple days of rifle deer - if the opportunity presents itself, I also have an antlerless elk tag and wouldn't mind a tasty calf again! Hope you've been doing well!


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## DreadedBowHunter (Sep 22, 2021)

Sweet bull! I hate when a bad shot makes you pick your stomach from off the floor and try to stuff it back in. Glad it wasn’t too hot for you to completely recover the majestic animal. Congrats.


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## DIRTYS6X6 (May 19, 2021)

very nice.


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## AF CYN (Mar 19, 2009)

Man, that is a great looking bull. Congrats!


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## cdbright (Aug 24, 2016)

those fronts are impressive !!! good job


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## dadams41 (Jul 9, 2013)

Nice job!


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## waspocrew (Nov 26, 2011)

DreadedBowHunter said:


> Sweet bull! I hate when a bad shot makes you pick your stomach from off the floor and try to stuff it back in. Glad it wasn’t too hot for you to completely recover the majestic animal. Congrats.





DIRTYS6X6 said:


> very nice.





AF CYN said:


> Man, that is a great looking bull. Congrats!





cdbright said:


> those fronts are impressive !!! good job





dadams41 said:


> Nice job!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks all!


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## MWScott72 (May 23, 2011)

I'd say that's a REALLY GOOD blood trail...and nice fronts! Those are my two takeaways here. Congrats!!


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