I want to thank Wyoming disabled hunters for giving me the opportunity to go out on an elk hunt. When I found out that I got one of the few “any” tags for elk, I was ecstatic. With my equipment needs, I knew that I would be driving down to the Cody area, so not a lot was needed planning wise other than ensuring that the hotel met my needs. My hunt was in late September, so I figured I would get comfortable cool weather during the hunt and avoid the snow and freezing temperatures. I avoided the snow, but the weather was anything but cool. I wasn’t prepared for the 90° heat wave of the week, so we had to stop and get additional warm weather hunting clothing at Cody Walmart. The Cody Legacy Inn, where we stayed, was a no-frills hotel but our room had two beds and a roll-in shower. My guide for the hunt, Neil, kept in contact with me leading up to the hunt. We were slated to hunt a private property that was used in previous years and generally had elk activity throughout the day. We woke up at 4am to meet Neil and Caleb outside of the hotel at 5 AM so we could travel 45min to the hunting location. I’m glad that WDH has a 4×4 sprinter van available because the road leading to the hunting blind was rough! After the first day, I bought a neck travel pillow to wear as we traversed that section, trying to minimize the amount of bouncing in the van. I could use the track chair, but getting to the blind only required going about 20 feet, which wasn’t difficult in my chair. With the blind, we were able to get set up and ready before shooting light began around 6am. The mornings were very cold, but we were able to run a buddy heater inside the blind. The blind was much more comfortable with the heater running. Neil and the other companion hunters would occasionally pop in to see if we needed anything and adjust to warm themselves up a bit. With the minimal activity going on, and the early mornings, we ended up alternating taking naps. With the blind, the 92° afternoon weather was fairly comfortable as we were shaded and getting a breeze. Neil had packed lunch for everyone, so we munched on sandwiches and snacks he had picked up from Walmart.
At the end of the first day, I think it was apparent that this property held no elk, but the other properties that were prearranged also had no activity. We would end up leaving the first day around 7:30 without seeing or even hearing elk. It was apparent we needed to move spots on the second day, but Neil was having difficulty finding a property which had opportunities. We went back to the same property the second day, seeing nothing but white tail, turkeys and cows. I think at this point, Neil was enlisting everyone he knew to find an alternate property. On the third day, we started at the same property again, but we were given access to another promising property. Neil and Gerry took time to vet these properties and to make a game plan before deciding to move.
The new location was off a large farm field where groups of elk had been visiting with great consistency. There was already a hunting blind in place, shed style. Since I couldn’t get my chair in that, we opted to shoot from the vehicle using the sprinter as my blind. Rather than trying to shoot out of the back, we lowered the lift, and I lined up facing out of the doorway. It was a great option and comfortable. The wind was perfect. Eventually, two spike elk appeared approximately 200yards. The land manager had said that there were three elk in this group, but considering it was the final hour I could hunt, I wasn’t risking tag soup to wait for the potential 3×3. Had this been the second day, I would have waited longer. At 165yds, I made the shot, and my hunting companion and I continued shooting until it dropped. The volunteers were able to easily handle field dressing with their custom trailer. Given this was the final day, I needed to extend my hotel stay an extra day to allow time for the processor to process and freeze it. I heard from Neil and the other volunteers that typically hunters always filled their tags the first day. While I wasn’t planning on staying the extra day, it did give me time to go to Yellowstone.
One thing that we were not expecting is that everything in Cody closes early. Getting back into town on hunting days, the only food option was McDonald’s, which still closed at 9 PM. After field dressing the elk, the only store open with food was Walmart so that is where we got dinner on the final hunting night. Overall, it was a great experience, getting to spend time with my brother hunting. As someone that is essentially paralyzed and utilizing a ventilator, there aren’t many opportunities to do these things, which makes what WDH does so important. Hopefully I can return in the future for an antelope hunt.