The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting American Big Game Hunting Report on ELK hunt in Wyoming Area 100Go | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
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Spent years trying to draw a tag for an Area 100 Wyoming elk hunt (~6 years). This is a famous Wyoming elk hunt area. Just got back. Abundant elk are present and running around the sage & grass covered prairie acting more like antelope than elk. Although back before the “white man” showed up, I’m told elk were more prairie animals than mountain denizens. I scouted two days ahead of time and then shot my bull by 9 o'clock opening morning - just like a Wyoming antelope hunt. During this 3 day period, I saw roughly 300 elk and about 40 bulls including 10 herd bulls with cow harems of circa 30 each. Thus, I believe I saw the dominant and largest bulls around, and they are not B&C bulls. I shot the largest I saw during the 3 days, and I estimate its rack size of ~250 inches. He was the only complete 6x6 that I saw. The gun is a .375 H&H Ackley Improved, and the distance of the shot was 345 yds. My policy is to keep shooting until the elk drops, and this bull took three 300 gr Sierra Gamekings before he finally dropped. Elk don't die easy. One bullet passed clear through him, and the other two were caught in the hide on the opposite side. I found two of the bullets - one mushroomed perfectly the other broke up but passed through the animal. I was able to drive the SUV up to the bull for cleaning. This was an easy and fun elk hunt, but the bulls are not super big. Talked to many locals who reported that a 300 bull is extraordinary – even very rare. Because these elk roam the wide-open prairie and are quite vulnerable to pre-hunt scouting, the bigger bulls do not survive long. Warning - if you get rain or snow, expect the red clay roads to turn to grease and your truck to turn into a moving mud clod, and this mud is heavy and like cement when it dries. Avoiding getting big-time stuck in the muck was very hard. Skill at driving on slick muddy roads is needed. Otherwise access is very good, and you'll have the place to yourself. Only a limited number of permits are issued. The last picture, for comparison, is an average Arizona dominant herd bull (measured 330"). Regards, AIU P.S. Also threw in a sunset just before opening day. Those of you who know Area 100 will recognize the buttes in the background.    [  | ||
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This is what happens when you lose control on Area 100 muddy roads, even when they're flat!!Also, expect it to always be windy - in the 20-30 mph range. The second picture is of the two 300 gr. .375 Sierra Game Kings I recovered from under the hide opposite the entrance wounds. Note that the one on the left had broken up and the lead core had separated from the copper jacket. The second bullet on the right mushroomed perfectly. The third bullet passed completely through the elk, likely intact.   | |||
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no pics Mike Legistine actu quod scripsi? Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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That's better "The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry" - Robert Burns | |||
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Finally got the pics straight. | |||
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Well...I wouldn't pass up that bull...nice hunt... Mike Legistine actu quod scripsi? Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue. What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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Great report...congrats a mill. ________________________________________________ Maker of The Frankenstud Sling Keeper Proudly made in the USA Acepting all forms of payment | |||
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Nice Bull,Both of them.I have had good luck in The Gumbo with chains on all four tires. | |||
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Nice bull. I would be tickled to see that guy with tag and rifle in hand. Congratulations. | |||
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AIU Sorry to rain on you're parade. However, I wanted to bring it to you're attention that in the state of Wyoming it is illegal to drive you're vehicle off maintain roads (check with the BLM). Steve | |||
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Steve, even on private land? Much of Area 100 is private, especially within 20 miles of I80. AIU | |||
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AIU More than 90% of area 100 is BLM. There is some checkered board property down along I-80 as you mentioned. On deeded property landowners can do as they please. Steve | |||
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Congratulations on a nice bull. Yes, you hit that bull three times with a .375. But I think more important is where did you hit him. I have seen deer that were shot up to 6 times that still needed a finishing shot. Later examination showed that the bullets did not hit any vital organs or major blood vessels. Just curious where he was hit? | |||
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Steve, for this report we should get the laws straight. The following is posted on the Wyoming G&F website: "ASK THE GAME & FISH 10/6/2007 Q. "Can I drive my 4-wheeler off road to haul my game out?" A. It all depends on where you are hunting. Regulations on off road use to retrieve game vary by the particular national forest, but if you encounter a road closure sign, that also pertains to ATVs or four wheelers. Off road travel to retrieve game is allowed on most Bureau of Land Management lands, as long it does not inflict resource damage. All motorized travel is off limits on national forest and BLM wilderness areas. Vehicle use on state school trust lands is restricted to established roads. Off road travel is prohibited on all Game and Fish habitat areas, hunter management areas and walk-in areas. On private land, vehicle use is totally up to the landowner. -WGFD" There is nothing special about BLM land in Area 100. The Rocksprings, WY BLM office states that one can go off road to retrieve game (currently considered a "necessary task") as long as one stays within 300 feet of the road. But, this may change in the future, wherein retrieving game may not be considered a "necessary task". Finally, the Rocksprings office stated that ~52% of the land in Area 100 is BLM, the rest private, especially in the strip 20 miles north of I80 where every other section is private. I find the 52% hard to believe, and would estimate BLM land in Areas 100 to be more like 60%, but the maps may not be up to date. It is important, that these OHV rules do not apply to private land. What a hunter does on private land is between the hunter and the land owner. Regards, AIU | |||
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AIU The BLM states as you mentioned "if it does not inflict resource damages". A BLM law officer out of Worland said that if caught or turned in for driving off maintain roads they can and will procecute you in the court of law. He mentioned that everytime driving off roads, you are inflicting resource damage and that holds up in the courts. I did'nt mean to hijack you're post with my statement of concerns. Congradulations on you're hunt. That bull should eat very good this winter. Steve | |||
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The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting American Big Game Hunting Report on ELK hunt in Wyoming Area 100
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