2006 Elk Hunt Story & Video

Click on the yahoo video link below to see the video......
[url]http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vi...o%3Fei%3DUTF-8[/url]

Here is the story my hunter put together......

2006 Kentucky Elk Hunt

Scouting
September 9th 2006
Only 30 seconds after stepping out of Sam’s truck this cool September morning we were greeted with a very distinctive bugle, the kind that makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck! As the fog began to slowly recede back into the hollow, Sam cow called softly, to see if he could get a response. The bull responded immediately, and began to move toward our position overlooking the grassy hollow fill below. Within a few minutes the bull had closed the distance, his heavy framed, sweeping beams rose above the shoulder of the bench below us. There standing only a few hundred yards away was the first bull elk I had seen in the wild. To say that I was excited would be an understatement, because in a little over a month I would be hunting these majestic animals for the very first time in an area not far from where I was raised. After applying each year for the Kentucky elk quota hunt and every year experiencing the disappointment come August 20th, when the results are posted on the KDFWR website, I was blessed to be drawn for a zone-at-large bull permit.

On the road to Elk Country
October 6th 2006
Fast forward to the first weekend in October, after all of the planning and preparation had been made, the time was at hand. My father and I were headed to elk country! Shortly after a arriving in Prestonsburg and checking in to our hotel, I called Sam to let him know we had made it into town. Late that evening, after dinner, we headed to Wayland to meet up with Sam. Soon after, we drove to one of the areas Sam had scouted earlier in the week to get a look at the area we would be hunting the next morning. While glassing the hollow fills and hillsides Sam’s son, Cain, spotted a bull approximately 350 yards to our right. He was a Shooter! High and wide with a solid frame, definitely a shooter! Leaving the mountain that night I was riding high in the saddle, and very optimistic of what the morning would bring.

Early Saturday Morning
October 7th 2006
Sleep did not come easy Friday night, nor had it the week leading up to the hunt. The 4:00AM wake-up call had us springing out of our beds wide awake and ready to go. I made a last minute check of all my gear before heading out. After a quick stop at McDonalds in Martin, we made our way to Wayland to meet up with Sam and his “Elk Undertakers.” My good friend Marty Denny (mcdenny) would be calling for me on my hunt and my father would be the camera man. Kentuckyhunting.net forum members Scott (Big Nasty) and (Parker’s son), James, who also were blessed with Kentucky at-large-bull permits, would be hunting on the same parcel of land. With the entire group of family and friends assembled in a circle at the Chevron Station, we bowed our heads to pray and give thanks to the Good Lord for the many blessings he had bestowed upon us. We loaded the convoy of trucks and headed to the mountain and on to the staging area.

The Hunt
October 7th 2006
The forecast was right on target, clear and cool, with a slight southwest wind. It was perfect for the area we had planned to hunt. Just as dawn was breaking across the mountain Marty spotted a lone cow on the ridge above. “Right there to the left of that autumn olive, see?” he whispered. I strained to make out the form of the cow through the early morning light. Just then, the familiar sounds of four-wheeler’s coming across the strip road. As their lights kissed the edge of the elk’s back, one lone cow became 3 then 6 elk busting across the rise just ahead. (The guys on the four-wheelers were local guys just doing some recreational riding and elk viewing. Both were wearing blaze orange and very helpful through out the day. Soon after our brief encounter, we eased up to the edge of a hollow fill. Marty cow called and we spotted a bull breaking up the point toward the flat we were on. Marty called again, this time he slammed on the breaks and gave us a good look. Heavy beams with 7 points on the left, but the right side looked weak, Marty said,” I think we can do better” I agreed and we moved on to glass another area. We carefully glassed across the flat as we neared the timbered knob that would allow us a panoramic vantage point of the entire area. Clearing a small rise, “ok, here we go!” Marty said. We both glassed a herd of 15 to 20 cows across the hollow. A few cow calls later, a bull answered with a deep growling bugle. There he is! The bull sky lined as he rose above the edge of the point! He was high and wide but, at 700 yards we could'nt tell just how good of a bull he really was. Still not convinced that this was the bull we were after, we quickly put together a game plan and began to work our way across the knob to get a better look. The 100 yard assent up the 70 degree steep was grueling. Winded at the crest I calmed my breathing as we inched our way cautiously across the timbered ridge. As we neared the center of the knob, a lone spike bull spooked and crashed down through the timber not 20 yards in front of us. Busted! Although he left in a hurry he didn’t bark. Hopefully the herd would still be there. We were close now, just a few more yards and we would be in a good position to glass the herd. What happened next can only be described as mystical. Just as we cleared the edge of the timber and just out of sight, a deep growling bugle let us know just how close we were. I froze as Marty cow called to coax him into the open. The bull responded with another deep bugle and charged out onto the open shoulder of the bench below and gave us a good look. It didn’t take a second look to know. YEP, he’s a Shooter! Marty said,” Right here, get ready.” I dropped down, propped the shooting sticks. I had the bull centered and was about to shoot when a 6x6 satellite bull caught his attention. Lunging to intercept the small 6x6, trying to circle to Marty’s cow calling, the bull was now behind thick cover and no longer presented a clear shot. We quickly repositioned 10 yards to the right. The Cows had spotted us! They were leaving and it was going to be now or never. Resting on the shooting sticks, I flipped the safety of my Remington Model 700 as the bull emerged from cover. Centering the cross hairs just behind his right shoulder, he bugled defiantly as I touched the trigger. I could tell by the bull’s reaction that he was hit hard and wouldn’t go far. Marty said, “Good shot, good shot!” We eased up, more like ran, to the edge of the flat and there he was, right by the road! After the whoops and hollering and congratulations we headed down to get a better look at my first Kentucky bull elk.

I couldn’t be more satisfied. The heavy 7x7 sweeping fame has nearly 10 in bases, great mass and is very symmetrical. The bull grosses 307 B&C with a 54in right beam and a 49in left beam. The hunt was made even more special because I was able to share the experience with my dad who was able capture the hunt on video. What a mystical morning! I have truly been blessed!

Sam Taylor

Sam Taylor is the man with the plan when it comes to Elk Hunting in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky. He is extremely knowledgeable about every aspect of elk hunting. From scouting and locating high quality bulls to stalking and calling them in close, Sam is relentless. He knows how to make it happen! Thanks, again to Sam, his wife Jennifer, their friends and family for being wonderful and gracious host to me and my dad.

Marty Denney

Your turkey hunting skills help us seal the deal buddy!

“Undertakers”

You guys are some mean elk skinning machines!

Thank You ALL,

- David