- Details
- Category: Elk
- Published: Wednesday, 16 October 2024 11:40
- Written by Greg
Youth Spike Elk
Utah has a program where a youth under the age of 18 can purchase one of the unlimited-number of spike elk tags. So this year the elk hunt would be all about Daxton, my grandson, where he’d be the one trying to fill a spike elk tag.
The night before the beginning of the hunt we were miles up the canyon driving along the dirt road hoping to find a sufficient camp site given our late start. As we passed camp after camp I started to worry that all good spots were taken until at last we found a suitable place to setup our tent. Without much time before our alarm clock would ring, we got camp situated and hit the sack.
Nice camp spot in the pines
Opening morning arrived and our adventure began. With headlamps affixed to our heads we proceeded to a preplanned rock outcropping that would provide a great vantage point overlooking a vast canyon below. It seemed like we’d have a great chance of locating elk feeding somewhere in the valley below and hoped that the hillsides would not be covered with the fluorescent orange blobs of fellow hunters. It turned out that we saw plenty of hunters. There were several perched along the ridge above us while others trekked across the hillside below. The area was crawling with hunters, but fairly typical for the opening day of a general season hunt. However, at one point that morning we did get a glimpse of a spike elk 830 yards away but within 20 seconds it was gone, much too quickly for us to set up for a shot . And then later in the morning, after all of the hunters had cleared out of the canyon, a 6 point bull walked into an opening 250 yards below us, an awesome sight. As we headed back to camp for lunch we were in high spirits since we knew a spike elk was hanging out somewhere in this canyon.
Vantage point from rock outcropping Mature bull appeared after pressure subsided
Sometime later in the afternoon and then again on Sunday morning, we hunted the same spot hoping to find the spike but never saw another elk before it was time to head home. But it wouldn’t be long before we’d return to hunt for an elusive spike since school would let out for fall break in a few days. Hopefully this canyon was the place that the spike we'd seen once considered home.
The following Wednesday we were back but this time we approached the canyon we had hunted previously from a couple of miles to the north. And wouldn’t you know it, we spotted a herd of 30 elk feeding below the rock outcropping where we had sat the weekend before. So as fast as possible, we drove our 4 wheeler down around the mountain and hiked to the rocks and arrived about 15 minutes before dark. But much to our surprise, the hillside was bare except for a couple of hunters several hundred yards away. We ended up talking to those hunters who told us they had taken a shot and missed a bull in the herd of 30, therefore the reason we failed to see any elk lingering on the hillside.
Daxton doing some mid-day duck hunting Fun encounter with a badger
On Thursday evening after hours of intent glassing, we finally spotted the spike! We had heard bugles earlier and knew there must be elk in the timber somewhere in the vicinity. And then across the canyon we spotted the spike bull along with a couple of cows feeding through the timber 700 yards away. The bull played peek-a-boo with us for about 15 minutes, only giving us momentary glimpses as he slipped through small openings in the trees. Finally the bull stopped giving Daxton a clear shot. When the shot rang out, my heart instantly sank as my view through the spotting scope saw the bullet hit a couple of inches high nearly grazing the spike. In an instant the bull ran off and was gone. Daxton was extremely frustrated and disappointed. Misses are a part of hunting, a hard lesson to accept, especially with his recent miss at a bear just a couple of short months ago. But we would keep at it.
First time experiencing the Northern Lights Aurora Borealis illuminating Daxton
Fast-forward to Sunday morning, the last day of our hunt. We had tried hunting several spots over the past few days, including the rock outcropping but hadn’t seen a single elk since Thursday. However, we knew that we had seen a spike elk twice in one particular canyon over the past week, so back to the rocks it was. The morning had been completely quiet, different from other mornings where we had at least heard distant bugles that gave us some measure of hope. But not today, the only animals spotted were a few deer. Our opportunity for an elk was quickly dwindling and we both knew it. The idea of packing it up and calling it a day was discussed, but we had previously committed to stay until 9:30 or 10:00 and it was only 8:20 a.m. so we decided to give it a little more time. At this point we had become quite dejected, so the hour and a half since first light felt more like we’d been sitting for twice that long. Only ten minutes had passed since we last looked at the clock when we both heard a bugle down the canyon to the south, our first glimmer of hope. Aggressively we began glassing the canyon’s hillside a half mile away. About a minute later I spotted a couple of elk pouring into the bottom of the canyon. To the south was a knoll 600 yards away that would provide a better view into the canyon bottom, but we wisely decided that we didn’t have time to make that trek. Now all that we could hope for was that the elk would funnel up the canyon in our direction with a spike amongst them.
Spike in spotting scope coming toward us!
About 5 minutes later I spotted elk coming through the aspens! “A spike…and it should pop out first” I whispered. Daxton grabbed the gun. A minute later the elk began to emerge from the trees. Daxton was on them but said the first elk was a mature bull. Through the spotting scope I verified that he was right, had I misidentified the elk as a spike through the obscurity of tree branches? Shortly thereafter five or six additional elk followed the mature bull into the open and were now walking towards us with no spike among them. They had cleared the timber by 100 yards when Daxton suddenly exclaimed “there’s a spike way back coming out of the trees!” Quickly I swiveled my spotting scope and now had the bull in view, he was right! The young bull was 500 yards away and coming. For several minutes we watched as all of the elk slowly fed in our direction. The spike periodically stopped for what could have been a shot opportunity, but Daxton was shaking with excitement and could not hold still. At one point Daxton put down the gun and said he needed to calm down. He spent 15 – 20 seconds, which felt like minutes, taking deep breaths as he tried to regain his composure.
At last the moment arrived, the spike bull momentarily paused at 392 yards and Daxton let a bullet fly – whack! “He’s down” I exclaimed. But all Daxton could see was fleeing elk and replied in disbelief, “really?” I assured him the bull was down and immediately the excitement overwhelmed the both of us, what an emotional moment -- he had redeemed himself! And what an accomplishment for this young hunter! We relished in the moment although knowing that another difficult aspect of the hunt was ahead of us, be we welcomed that challenge/opportunity!
A big spike and his first elk! Took all day, packing out last load at 6:00 p.m.