# Back from Ky Elk hunt



## wildlands (Oct 6, 2008)

My self and several others from around the south went up to Ky to provide tracking dogs for the bull elk hunt. We had a blast and got to track a few elk. My track was not a good one with only about 7 drops of blood, never did recover that one. Had one go over a mile with the tracker finding a wound bed where the elk had been and got up on its own. They keep tracking and found him high up on a ridge. He got up and bolted when they got to within 70 yards or so of him. Never had a clear shot on him. It did not appear that he was hit hard as he was moving very good and no longer bleeding. The third track was a little bit more exciting. Tracker tracked up to the elk which was still alive. The hunter and guide could not keep up. The dog holds the elk at bay for 45 minutes. Guide decided to cut the elk off instead of coming to where the dog was. The dog got kicked and after waiting so long the elk finally broke and left. He was not hurt bad enough to die so he was left to fight another day.

Here are a few pictures from the check station.
First one is a 6x6 green scored 346 net.


















Here are some more.














7x6 killed by a 16 yr old.


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## LJay (Oct 6, 2008)

That's some nice looking Bulls.


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## Jim Thompson (Oct 6, 2008)

man they fill up a truck bed!


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## Nitro (Oct 6, 2008)

That is cool. Folks around here think Deer are "big game"..........


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## Stan in SC (Oct 6, 2008)

I would dearly hate to HAVE to drag one of those out of the woods.

Stan


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## Mwaldrop (Oct 6, 2008)

whosever dog bayed a 800lb animal by himself deserves a biscuit or 2. even a spot in the front seat!!! thats amazing


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## shdw633 (Oct 6, 2008)

Isn't that a lottery drawing that is only $10.00 to register?  Also are the elk on public land or private?


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## wildlands (Oct 6, 2008)

Stan that is why they allow you to bring 2 friends. Might not be firends by the time you have them help you get it out of the wooods. Really most of the elk were shot close enough to a rd to allow a four wheeler to get to them and drag them out. I did hear of one being shot right at the end of shooting light. It rolled 400ft down and inbankment and had to be cut up and hauled out. They did not get finished until 1 or 2 in the morning.

The dog that bayed the elk was a Verein Deutsch Drahthaar.


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## ForestNinja (Oct 6, 2008)

That is a nice elk, wouldn't want to attemp to drag one of those.


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## wildlands (Oct 6, 2008)

shdw yes it is a draw. I have never put in for it but I will next year. Some 40000 put in for 100 bull and 300 cow tags. The land is a mix of public and private. Mostly old reclaimed strip mines.


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## SGaither (Oct 7, 2008)

Ok, I have a hard enough time loading a deer into the back of my regular 1500 by myself, how in the world does someone (or group of someones) load a full grown elk into the back of their truck without a backhoe or other type of excavator?


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## Chippewa Partners (Oct 7, 2008)

Did they have the WalMart parking lot full of bulls again this year?

Great pics.   They are growing them right in KY!    Thanks for sharing your trip. 

Should Georgia  reconsider an elk reinroduction?


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## seaweaver (Oct 7, 2008)

Heck I'll put in for that draw. Even if not picked that is Good money going to a great thing!...Heck I know where Kentucky is and have driven there!
We need a program in GA!!!!

cw


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## returntoarchery (Oct 7, 2008)

Nice bulls.

I was watching an episode of "Elk Chronicles" and apparently the Ky elk are getting bigger racks and heavier weight than the Western States elk due to low hunting and predator pressure and the nearly ideal grazing habitat on the reclaimed mines. They are getting forks on the year old bulls where most of the time out west they are only spikes at that age.

Would love to draw one of those tags.


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## BASS1FUN (Oct 7, 2008)

Thats What I'm Talking About. Thats Going To Be My Main Pursuit After This Year And Hopefully Every Year Until The Rapture.


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## Piney Woods Rooter (Oct 8, 2008)

lots of great eating, it does fill up the back of a truck


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## secondseason (Oct 8, 2008)

That is awesome!  Thanks for sharing!

Satchmo and I put in for the draw but didn't get it this year.  We'll keep trying.


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## Jetjockey (Oct 8, 2008)

Come on guys... Packing out an elk is half the fun.  Thats how its done in elk country.  Notice I didn't say dragging out an elk...  Most elk hunts consist of quartering the elk up and packing it out on a backpack.  Thats what makes elk hunting elk hunting...  Unless you have a Stihl chainsaw with a reduction unit on it and a couple hundred feet of rope...   Funnier that heck watching someone try to ride an elk up out of a valley while holding onto the horns.  Once the rope stops stretching and goes tight you better hold on for the ride...  Now you can just buy one with cable instead of rope..  These things are wonderful in elk country.   Or for Mule country as well if you have to drag a big deer out of a deep hole...





This is just like the one my dad had...


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## Hawken2222 (Oct 8, 2008)

That is awesome.  I have heard nothing but good things about Kentucky, and it's elk hunting.


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## KY Red (Oct 8, 2008)

*I drew a tag last year!!!*

I drew a bull tagl last year in Kentucky. I killed nice bull. I bow hunted a couple of days, the strip mines are very open fields surrounded by timber and ended up using a rifle. Passed a nice bull with the bow, but seen bigger ones during scouting. Plenty of "help" after the kill. DNR, game wardens, biologists, they had a truck with a winch on the rollbar. Winched the elk into their truck, then backed my truck tailgate to tailgate and pulled it on over. I ended up with about 435 pounds of boneless meat. Down to my last couple packs of elkburger. Very tasty. They run a class operation with the elk in Kentucky!


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## GA DAWG (Oct 8, 2008)

KY Red said:


> I drew a bull tagl last year in Kentucky. I killed nice bull. I bow hunted a couple of days, the strip mines are very open fields surrounded by timber and ended up using a rifle. Passed a nice bull with the bow, but seen bigger ones during scouting. Plenty of "help" after the kill. DNR, game wardens, biologists, they had a truck with a winch on the rollbar. Winched the elk into their truck, then backed my truck tailgate to tailgate and pulled it on over. I ended up with about 435 pounds of boneless meat. Down to my last couple packs of elkburger. Very tasty. They run a class operation with the elk in Kentucky!


How long did it take you to get drawn?


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## KY Red (Oct 8, 2008)

*Well........I got lucky*

I only applied once, last day to apply


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## GA DAWG (Oct 8, 2008)

KY Red said:


> I only applied once, last day to apply


Dang, I heard it took years..I'm applying next year


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## KY Red (Oct 8, 2008)

*It's a lottery*

It is not a preference point deal. Send in your 10 bucks and your name goes into the hat.


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## Smokepoler (Oct 8, 2008)

I put in for the draw also. No luck, but will keep on trying.


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## Old E. (Oct 8, 2008)

really cool pix!

Do you know what breed that dog is in one of the pics?  Is it a wirehaired pointer, or some type of griffon?  I love those wirehaired dogs.


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## wildlands (Oct 8, 2008)

Some people have put in from the start in 2001 and have never been drawn and then there was a guy last year the got drawn for a cow tag and had been drawn the previous year for a bull.


The dog is a Deutch Drattar a versitile hunting dog. What a wirehaired pointer is suppose to be.


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## Old E. (Oct 8, 2008)

Seen those but wouldn't have guessed that.  Thanks.


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## ambush80 (Oct 8, 2008)

Stan in SC said:


> I would dearly hate to HAVE to drag one of those out of the woods.
> 
> Stan





ForestNinja said:


> That is a nice elk, wouldn't want to attemp to drag one of those.




You don't drag them.  You quarter them and put them on mules or pack them out on your back.   There's a thing called a pack frame that we don't need to use here out East.   Nice bull.   They need too much room to roam to be reintroduced in GA.


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## ambush80 (Oct 8, 2008)

wildlands said:


> Some people have put in from the start in 2001 and have never been drawn and then there was a guy last year the got drawn for a cow tag and had been drawn the previous year for a bull.
> 
> 
> The dog is a Deutch Drattar a versitile hunting dog. What a wirehaired pointer is suppose to be.



Drahthaar. Good dogs.


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## Luke0927 (Oct 8, 2008)

Old E. said:


> really cool pix!
> 
> Do you know what breed that dog is in one of the pics?  Is it a wirehaired pointer, or some type of griffon?  I love those wirehaired dogs.



Looks like GWP or DD.

Wow that would be fun and KY isnt to far....So 2 bulls were lost? were they bow hunting?


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## tinytim (Oct 9, 2008)

Wow....great story.

Can you share how one would apply for this hunt?


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## Robust Redhorse (Oct 9, 2008)

Does Elk hunting in Kentucky necessitate a guide service, or would an out of stater with a couple of days to scout have a decent chance?


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## KY Red (Oct 9, 2008)

*Elk are everywhere*

You don't need a guide, scout the area you get drawn for. Elk are everywhere in the hunt zone. I practiced calling before hand, I cow called the bull I shot from over 500 yards to 80. The deadline has been moved up to end of April. When the sign ups begin, you can do it online.


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## GA DAWG (Oct 9, 2008)

KY Red said:


> You don't need a guide, scout the area you get drawn for. Elk are everywhere in the hunt zone. I practiced calling before hand, I cow called the bull I shot from over 500 yards to 80. The deadline has been moved up to end of April. When the sign ups begin, you can do it online.


Where did you find the land to hunt? Was it public?


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## KY Red (Oct 9, 2008)

*They tell you*

When you draw a tag, it is for a specific hunt unit.


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## turk2di (Oct 12, 2008)

Awesome! Glad u enjoyed Ky!


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## Fish Bear (Oct 12, 2008)

Growing up out west, elk hunting, my dad used to say, once you shoot one the fun is over and the work begins....  I always laughed, until I shot a small bull, and it took us 2 days to pack that bugger out of the hole I found him in.  I was so sore for a week, from 120 lbs of meat on a pack frame and trying to climb up out of that canyon for 2 days, that I could not hardly raise up my arms to put a T shirt on.

Last 2 years, we have had to pack em out on our backs for 4 miles to get to the truck.  

Those are awesome elk, and Ky is finally getting noticed big time... SC may be next.


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## Six million dollar ham (Oct 13, 2008)

Nice pictures.  

BTW - the dog got kicked?  This by a person or by the elk?


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## wildlands (Oct 13, 2008)

By the Elk


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## Big Kuntry (Oct 27, 2008)

For press reasons i will keep this man, a great buddy of mine name undisclosed. But my buddy got drawn for Elk in Ky and took the company camera man with him. They were in North Eastern, Ky. While packing into the back country they encounted a couple of "guys" on atv's whom passed by them and stated"you are are not gonna kill any $%^^& ##$%%^^ elk. Later that evening as they were returning back to camp they encounted a hail storm of bullets. And yes, the bullets were intended to hit them. They ran and took cover for their lives. Once they reach safety they notified the "local" law enforcement department and informed them about what happen. Needless to say, the Officer/s told them they shouldn't have been back in those mountains. Guys, if any of you get an elk tag next year-please be careful. Those "boys" up in those hills still grow that Good Wacky Stuff among other things. As a result, My buddy ended up havesting a elk that score 372 inches. Thus far, we beleive it may be the State Record, and it's the best filmed hunt our company has film in it's many years.


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