Wyoming Elk 2026

I was fortunate enough to pull a tag in the random draw for a hunt area I’d burned 14 or so points on two years ago. That successful hunt had left me with good intel and private land contacts that I could hunt on as well as pass through to access public.
I arrived a couple of days early and met up with the ranchers for an access slip and got busy scouting. I found a great bull the first morning as well as two other nice bulls that were fighting. I wasn’t happy with the low flying Cessna that was spooking the bulls. I tried a few other spots and finally turned up a herd of forty with a large bull on the eve of the opener. Two guys walked up behind me and one said, “I’m going to shoot that bull”. I said that the season opened in the morning. He informed me that he had a veteran tag that allowed him to hunt five days early. I told him to go get him, but what a surprise. I was looking at presents under the tree and then they were gone. He shot, but I couldn’t tell if he hit anything, as it was getting dark.
Opening morning found me going to the spot to find the airplane bull. As it turns out, two trucks were there. They’d spent the night in there trucks, in hopes of getting a 13 year old girl a shot at the herd bull. I spoke with them and we coordinated that I would get on the ridge above the valley and cover any bulls they kicked out. I heard a lot of bugling as I slipped down the ridge. First light showed a valley full of elk. Maybe 200 in all scattered over a mile or so. She shot and dropped a great bull, but the herd went away from me. I watched elk all morning across the rolling sagebrush hills, but nothing was close and there was no getting ahead of them.
I went into the same area the next morning, but the elk were gone. The fear was that they’d moved onto a ranch that I, and many others didn’t have access to. Sure enough, I found them about five miles away. I made about a fifteen mile buggy ride to get on a point of BLM that overlooked the herd. There was at least 100 head and they were 200 yards on the wrong side of the fence. Nothing to do but watch and a storm line blew in. Then I got a break. A hunter came up on the private and shot. No elk were harmed, but they slowly moved my way. They went to my right and I set up for a shot with the 3” spartan bipods on my 300 WBY. I ranged one at 440 yards and I had a 30 mph crosswind. There were around 30 bulls, but I couldn’t be picky as they were all bunched together. I found one a little way from the others, put the crosshairs on his hindquarter, and touched it off. The plan was for the wind to put the 170 grain hammer in the vitals. That worked, and I double lunged him. And the best part was I got my buggy right to him.
Thanks for reading along. Just an old retired guy trying to enjoy my remaining healthy years. Solo DIY.