Thanks for the offer PLUVIUSWAPITI to hunt on your land! I was able to get access to some private land based on information from a wildlife biologist and bullkiller. Thanks for the insights bullkiller!
I was successful in my quest to kill my first elk. The hunt was a lot of fun and capped off with a very nice cow elk.
Here is the story for those interested.
I went out the Thursday-Sunday before Christmas. I figured most of that time would be figuring out where the elk were at and patterning them. That's exactly how it went. By Saturday evening I had a pretty good idea where I needed to be. I setup in a field on one of the dairy farms off Elk Prairie road. While I was waiting I saw a herd of about 30 come of the timber on the North side of the road. I headed across the road and thought I could get across a creek on one side and ended up wasting a bunch of time trying to get to them. Ran out of shooting light by the time I got close enough for a good shot. Sunday morning, I setup where the herd of 30 fed the night before. I was the south side of the creek and a herd of about 12 showed up. I got set up on an elk, but not enough light to really be sure if it was a cow. The cow walked over to what turned out to be two calves. One of the calves started feeding until shooting light. Of course, they headed butts to the timber when feeding time was over. That was the end of the first part of the hunt. Close, but things didn't quite line up for me.
Originally, I had planned on a 5 day hunt after Christmas. However, we ended up buying a house and have been busy moving. Between that and the holiday activities with the family I wasn't confident I'd be able to dedicate that much time. However, given how close I'd come I decided to go out at least the Saturday after Christmas. I figured I'd try the same spot that morning. There had been so much activity there I figured it was worth a shot. Sure enough, I took the same walk along the south side of creek and spotted a herd of about 30 on the far west side of the same field. I moved to the west until I had a comfortable shot. Unfortunately, the closest elk was a very nice bull. I good distance beyond the bull, I found a cow. Felt pretty steady and squeezed off a good shot with my 7mm-08. Needless to say I was pretty excited when it finally went down. Worth every ache and pain plowing through the mud and packing it out solo!
Thanks to everyone who provided insight, helped or was simply interested! I hope I can return the favor.
