After waiting 9 years of building priority in Alberta, I was lucky enough to draw a tag in a new prairie unit that is known to hold some great bulls. I hiked daily for the week before the season, scouting and locating several herds of elk. On the day before the season, a long hike revealed 24 different bulls and 1 big herd bull tending to 15 cows. We made a plan to make a move on him in the morning on opening day.
Early in the morning, we rose and strapped our packs on, ready for a long day of hiking the prairie hills. We spotted the herd from the night before and made a play on them. In the end I decided to pass on the bull and continue looking, as the day was young and I had plenty of time in the season.
Moving on through a low coulee the wind picked up very strong. It was probably the strongest wind I have ever hunted in southern Alberta and it was starting to take its toll on us. It was around 11:00 when we walked down another depression and I looked back to see that 2 bulls … READ MORE >
