Huntin' With My Boys: Youth Elk Hunt

OK, this blog is about hunting with my boys, but I had this written up already so it was an easy post. Recently, I had the great opportunity to help some good friends, Kayd and Kevin Falslev on a youth elk hunt in September (my favorite month). Here's how it went:

After considerable trouble trying to find a location to hunt Kayd's special permit, we ended up gaining access to hunt on private land on the new Montezuma Creek unit in San Juan county from a couple of great farmers down there. The elk come off the BLM land and really cause the farmers a lot of crop damage. The elk take one bite from a sunflower head and it kills the whole plant. The bull elk thrash the crops with their antlers, causing more damage.

So the farmers were more than happy to allow some kids to take elk off their property. I say "some kids" because there were 3 other groups hunting in the same area.

I was working in the area the week before the hunt (odd coincidence, huh?) and so I got to know the area and scouted it out. Only one problem, I couldn't see any elk. I could find tracks but couldn't get to see elk. It was hot and the bulls had not started bugling yet. I was getting nervous. The Utah DWR had been spotlighting and shooting cow elk in farmers' fields every week for a month and I was afraid the elk had high-tailed it or had gone totally nocturnal. But the tracks were huge and fresh so I thought I had a plan.

Kayd and Kevin, Kade's dad, showed up on Friday and we camped at our friends' place near Monticello. Ervin and Holly Walker, along with their great kids, are wonderful people and really took great care of us. Thanks for the hospitality and great food!

Kayd and Kevin were like kids on Christmas Eve. The trademark Falslev giggle seemed ever-present. We visited the hunt area and farmers and decided to set up where I had seen the big tracks. The other hunters looked to be hunting elsewhere so I thought it was a good plan. We arrived early and saw Orion the Hunter shining down on us. I told Kayd that was a good sign. As dawn broke, we saw empty fields and cedars, and no elk. But there were fresh tracks in. Thinking we had just missed them, we set up an ambush in the burn along the rimrock of a large canyon which bordered the mesa where the fields were located. Kayd and Kevin spread out to see if they could identify where the elk were and make a move.

That night I dropped into the canyon and set up the spotting scope to see if I could see the elk moving out of the cedars in the canyon to the burn where Kayd awaited.

The night came and went and no elk were seen, but just after pitch black I could hear an epic battle of bulls further up the canyon. Branches breaking as antlers collided sounded like rifle shots as the bulls dueled.

So the next morning we moved up the canyon trying to find the bulls I had heard fighting the night before. The head of the canyon turned out to be excellent mule deer country but not elk-friendly. We saw several great bucks and one giant that was pushing 190 inches! Here is one of the smaller bucks that still got me excited.

After the morning hunt, we made our way back to the burn where Kevin and Kayd had set up the night before. Sure enough, giant elk tracks were over our tracks from the night before! We knew we would find that bull if we were patient.

Later that morning, we took on a pretty hefty hike through the canyon to see if we could find water or wallows. The canyon turned out to be bone dry. (I'm sure there's water there, but we couldn't find it). Kayd and Kevin were starting to get a little down. I told them elk hunting is as much a mental test as physical. The canyon did prove productive though. I found an area where a bull had brutalized an innocent juniper and stripped off a good portion of his velvet (which I saved for Kayd for luck).

As we were hiking, Kayd called on the radio, " I just found a six-point shed! It's HUGE!" I called back for him to start circling and he might find the other side. Not ten seconds later he called back, "I found the other side!" Both Falslevs were stoked. Now they were back in the game.

But now I had a problem. I had to be to work the next morning and with a 400 mile drive ahead of me I headed home after lunch and a few words of encouragement. All the way home and the next morning I was going crazy thinking about the hunt. At about ten after eight, Kayd called screaming, "I got one, Jason! He's a 7x6 and he's huge!" I was almost as excited as he was.

Kayd and Kevin had stayed with the plan, setting up in the burn. The bull had moved through the burn, pushing his cows ahead of him. Kayd made a great free-hand shot. The monarch bolted but turned back when Kevin cow-called. Kayd took a second shot and the bull was his. After multiple calls and text messages about how to cape and care for the meat, they loaded the bull with Ervin's help and headed for the taxidermist and butcher. Now they had a couple of days to see the beauty of southeastern Utah while the meat was being frozen. What a cool experience for a father and son!