“The bulls bugled all night, making it practically impossible to sleep,” said Mark Sullivan, VP of marketing for The Sportsman’s Guide, a popular website for discounted hunting gear. “Several herds were moving through the high country and we could barely wait until daylight to move on them,” Sullivan said.
Like public-land elk everywhere, calling is usually a last resort, and Sullivan knew that position would be key to success. After a few wet days, the predawn sky was finally clear of rain clouds. By first light, the group had their packs and sleeping bags rolled and packed from the soggy evening’s stay in a spike camp at 10,000 feet. The herd moved from the timbered side of the mountain over a narrow ridge and began to move down the southern side, where Sullivan and company were waiting. More than a dozen cows passed their location within easy range, yet where was the bull? Suddenly, not one, but two antlered elk emerged, one stopping 30 yards from John Dumars (shown below), who passed the shot and later revealed that he had a 3×4 bull on the wall at home and wanted a bigger one. While the smaller bull should have been counting its blessings, the big herd 5×5 was not so lucky, and Sullivan ran a shaft through its ribs from 53 yards away.
Many of the products viewed in this series of Teton Tested posts are available from Sportsman’s Guide at a substantial discount from MSRP. Anyone can sell outdoor goods, yet is says much about the company that its officials are out in the wilderness testing the products they sell. Congrats to Sully on his great elk.
