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Although we weren’t successful in harvesting an elk for my 12-year old son, Hunter, it was a great time and a great learning/bonding experience. All totaled, we spent twelve nights in the back of the suburban over deer and elk season. Now, each weekend, he asks if we can just drive to the mountains and spend the night!
“Never again”. These were the words running through my head after 17 hours of hiking - and we still had a minimum of 2 hours to the truck. I guess you could say I am a very slow learner since I can remember at least once a year for the past six years saying that very same phrase. Read the rest of this entry »
Well, after months of deliberating and research, I decided on the form I wanted to use to mount my 390″ bull from Arizona. Now the only issue was to decide what taxidermist I wanted to use. After visiting with several taxidermists and checking out their work, I made the decision…my Dad, Rockie Jacobsen. This was a once in a lifetime bull for me, and I wanted to make sure that the elk turned out exactly like I wanted. I knew my Dad could make it happen. It would require adding some girth to the neck as the form was too skinny for my liking, as well as extending the back of the form to add more shoulder. We spent Christmas at my parents house where my Dad surprised me with one of the coolest Christmas presents ever…
Pictures don’t do justice for the size of the bull or the quality of the taxidermy, but here he is!
“Ah yes, 2009. This season was going to be the best ever! I finally have these elk figured out, their secrets have been exposed to me over my last 20years of bugling big bulls…….”
These were the thoughts of a naive elk hunter (me). If I have learned anything in the last 20 years, it has been that elk have many predictable habits when calling them in, & they also have twice as many unpredictable habits. My son Austin was turning 12 on September 24th, he would accompany me every chance he could this season until he was able to legally carry a bow. I had been dreaming for the last 12 years about the stellar season my son & I would have! Read the rest of this entry »
After a frustrating 2008 archery elk hunt I made a resolution to find some un-pressured wapiti for 2009. I worked hard last year, hunting 16 days straight from dawn to dusk. I had a limb deflection on a nice 6 point and cleanly missed a 7×7 with 15 cows. The elk had been pressured early by hunters and were difficult to work. On the way home from that trip I was already planning this years hunt. I knew where I would be the second week of September and knew that it would take some preparation to make it happen.
The one drainage where I found some relaxed elk herds was several miles from roads or quad trails. I knew I would have to be in better shape to bivy hunt the steep terrain. I began the summer walking a local golf course usually played with carts, due to the hilly terrain and distance to tee boxes. I added about 10 pounds to my golf bag and would walk 27 holes 4 or 5 times a week. In May I started bear baiting. To stay in shape I carried bait a couple miles 5 times a week, instead of using the quad trail. I began the P90X workouts following bear season, and by August was feeling confident that my cardio was up to par for elk season. Read the rest of this entry »
My lovely wife rolled her eyes as I seized one of our spare bedrooms for the 2009 Archery Elk Hunt staging area. It begins in July as I start putting my gear together for the backpack Archery Elk Hunt. Everything is laid out and accounted for so that when September rolls around I am not scrambling for gear. Some people call it OCD, I like to call it well prepared.
I made plans with my brother, Ryan Bonner, and my cousin’s husband, Ryan Davenport, for the big hunt. The unit we hunt holds some nice bulls if a guy knows where to look. I hit camp 3 days early (OCD) and did some hunting/scouting by myself before the other two arrived. I located a big group of elk with 8 bulls and 30 cows. One bull caught my attention immediately through the spotting scope and was named ”Big Boy”. He pushed the other bulls around and had an impressive set of antlers. Over the first three days I passed on 3 younger 5 and 6 point bulls. One evening “Big Boy” passed by my setup at 65 yards, dogging a cow, not offering a good shot. He was truly an impressive sight up close. Read the rest of this entry »
Dusty Powers of Sandy, Utah, sent in his story and several pictures from his Utah archery elk hunt. Congrats on an AWESOME bull Dusty, and thanks for the great story! Dusty will receive an Elk101.com prize package for his story.
“After putting in for 6 years I finally drew the Utah Wasatch Elk Tag. Even though this is not a premium hunt the big bull opportunities are certainly good in this limited entry unit. This is one of Utah’s largest management zones and produces 350+ class bulls every year and occasionally homes the coveted 400 class elk. However, growing up in Northern Idaho and accustom to the thick alders and head high huckleberry brush the Utah landscape and elk population would pose some additional challenges for me as I started my quest for a mature bull. Open buck brush and pockets of park like timber produces some spectacular views from above.
Scenery from Dusty's elk unit
Great looking elk country
I had been eying a unit in the southern part of the state the last 5 years, but turned to the Wasatch unit after bugling in some mature bulls the last couple years. Being able to hunt after work was appealing and the quality of elk that I had been seeing was enough to convince me to put in for the Wasatch unit. After drawing the tag I began scouting and doing some research on the local front. My first order of business was to get some trail cameras out in the areas that I had been frequenting. (If you haven’t used trail cams you are missing out!) I got some great photos of elk that I would have never gotten without them.
Tom Lindley of Yreka, California, sent me this picture of his Extreme Arizona Bull from archery season. Tom was hunting with Chappell Guide Service’s guide, Spencer Porter, when he killed this 375″ bull. Tom will recieve an Elk101.com prize package for his photo. Congrats Tom!
Tom Lindley's Big Arizona Elk
Greg Busch, from Bismark, ND, had a GREAT DIY elk hunt in Arizona this fall, and killed this awesome 6X6 bull. Greg will receive an Elk101.com prize package for his photo’s. Of the hunt, Greg wrote:
“I am attaching pics of my bull. I got him on Sept. 17 after many close calls. We got lots of great footage for Randy Newburg’s show. Randy and the camera guys could only hunt the first six days before leaving to film a CO sheep hunt. Of course, I killed him on the seventh day by sneaking in while he was bugling his head off! Two quiet cow calls pulled a couple of his cows over the hill to investigate and out of his sight. He went crazy and came charging over the hill to bring them back. 37 yard shot, both lungs and on the ground within 100 yards. Thank you for everything. I truly appreciate all of your help!”
You can follow Greg along on his hunt by clicking here.
Greg Busch's Big Arizona Bull Elk
Congrats Michael, on a GREAT Oregon bull!
“I just wanted to share a picture of my first elk. It’s an 8×7 that I shot here in southern Oregon. I took what I learned from your class this summer and explained it the best I could to a buddy of mine who I had calling from me, and we were able to call this bull in to 20 yards at first, but I was set up behind a little tree (like you taught us not to do) and didn’t have a shot. The bull then circled around me still going toward the call and I was finally able to shoot at about 60 yards. He went about 200 yards down the hill where we found him dead. Thanks again for everything.”
Michael Krouse's Oregon elk
Congrats to Mike Allen on another public land, DIY, Idaho archery bull. This one has a pretty cool story to accompany the pictures… 
“The first pic is me with my elk… The second one is a lightened/zoomed shot of that shiny dot above me to the left…. It’s blurry but you’ll be able to make out his face!!! That shiny dot is the right eye of a bear in the camera flash!… Gotta love butchering an elk in the dark!!!”
Mike Allen's Idaho Elk
Zoomed in shot of the bear!
Congrats to Rodney Graves on his great Idaho elk! It’s great to see the next generation of hunters out there experiencing the thrill of the hunt!
“September archery DIY elk hunt in central Idaho. Good times with my 10 year old son Ben. Lots of thanks to my brother-in-law for great calling and Chad Schow for getting me in shape with his daily text messages and reminders.”
Rodney Graves' Idaho Elk
Tom Lindley of Yreka, California, sent me this picture of his Extreme Arizona Bull from archery season. Tom was hunting with Chappell Guide Service’s guide, Spencer Porter, when he killed this 375″ bull. Congrats Tom!
Tom Lindley's Big AZ elk
Good friend Russ Meyer shot this incredible archery elk on public land in Idaho this fall. Russ is great elk hunter, consistently taking big bulls on public land, DIY archery hunts. Congrats on the great elk Russ!
Russ Meyer's Idaho elk
Here is a great bull that Anthony Andrisek shot during archery season this year.
“Hey Corey, here is a pic of my bull from this year. I got him on the 4th of September. He is a 7×7 and called him out of a wallow. You can see all the mud on his body, face and antlers in the pic.”
Anthony Andrisek's Big Elk