I wanted to jot down a few thoughts about my experience while hunting with your organization September 25-28, 2024. In short, wow! It was a trip of a life time. What you have given me, as an amputee that hunts from a wheelchair, was access to dreams otherwise that would be unrealized
I found WyomingDisabledHunters.org (WDH) a very professionally managed group, starting with great communication (website, emails & phone calls). I knew what to expect throughout the entire process. I arrived in Cody on Tuesday, the day before I would meet my guides, to rest and prepare. I had just drove 36 hours over three days to get to Cody from Southeastern Virginia.
Wednesday Mike Harlow and Matt Elliot, my guides, met me at the Cody Legacy Inn early afternoon. We drove out of town to shoot my gun to make sure it was still true after the trip. Two bullets through the same hole at one hundred yards I think gave Mike & Matt a little more confidence our hunt might be successful. After a couple hours with them I felt like I had known them for years. Their knowledge of the elk hunt that lie ahead gave me confidence I was with the right people. “No horns right?” I chuckled and said yes, I know I have a cow tag. Matt said just pick out the darkest cow you can find. That will be a blue cow, an older cow and the best eating. We made plans for the next morning, the first day of the hunt.
5:20am I was outside the Cody Legacy Inn ready to go, Mike pulled up at 5:25am (we were to meet at 5:30am). Mike got me, my rifle, backpack and wheelchair loaded into the truck. Matt pulled up and we were off to Mooncrest Ranch. The excitement in me built as we left the parking lot and headed out of Cody – I couldn’t believe it was really happening. We pulled onto the gravel road that led to Mooncrest Ranch just before 6:00am, it was a very dark morning. It wasn’t long before we stopped the truck, rolled down the windows and turned off the truck. Large shadows were passing in front of us and to the left side where there was a hay field. They were at times no more the 30-40 yds from the truck. It was bull elk chasing cows bugling and the cows answering back. That was my first time hearing elk in the wild. I was soaking it all in wanting it to never end. As light turned the shadows into images the elk were beginning to cross a creek on the other side of the hay field. We watched as the bulls chased the cows. It was still too early to shoot. They we 200-250 yds away at that point, a shot I am very comfortable taking; it was just too early. We watched as they headed North up the valley on the other side of the creek. Mike started up the truck, we too headed North along the ranch road. It was now legal shooting time. Two times we came upon a small herd of about twenty elk that were on our side of the creek a couple hundred yards away. Mike would stop the truck, the three of us would hop out, Mike would throw his jacket on the hood as Matt and I got out and I hopped to the front and laid my rifle on the hood of the truck. Matt’s hand was on my shoulder, I heard a calm voice say, “Pick out the darkest one” and the hand gently lifted off my shoulder. By the time we got out, set up on the hood and I got the elk in my reticle, they had crossed the creek and were moving at a good clip up the hill on the other side. Mike was calling yardage, “425, 475, 500…” I didn’t feel comfortable at that distance with them quartered away moving up a hill. Back in the truck. We sat for a moments after the second time, Mike and Matt were talking. It was Mike’s first-time hunting on Mooncrest Ranch, Matt had been there several times before. Matt said let’s keep doing what we’re doing and drive on another half mile or so. Mike slowly made his way North up the ranch road. As we crested a small hill a new herd of elk were grazing under some trees about two-hundred yards from us. Mike said, “It looks like five bulls are in the herd.” I never saw a horn. I was concentrating on the darkest cow I could find.
We did our pit maneuver once more, jacket on the hood, hand on my shoulder, and a calm voice, “Darkest cow you can find.” As before, the herd crossed the creek ahead of us and were walking straight away on the other side of the creek. They all disappeared behind the foliage of the trees and then began showing themselves above the trees. I found the darkest cow I could identify; she was in my crosshairs. She was moving straight way from us up a hill. I’m think to myself, by this time they have to be at least three-hundred yards away. Just then she took a step to the left and was quartered away. I let out my breath, paused and pulled the trigger. The first thing I heard was Matt, “She’s down, great shot, you got yourself an elk.” Mike said something to the effect, I didn’t think you were going to shoot, and then the gun went off. She got up and stumbled two more times, not going more than twenty yards. It was 6:57am. My heart was pounding… A successful hunt.
Now for the hard part, at least for Mike & Matt. As we drove up the ranch road a hay field was still to our left, then the creek and a steep hill side. Matt got out and walked in the general direction of my shot as Mike and I looked for access into the field with his truck. Mike and I made our way into the field and headed in Matt’s direction; he was standing there. We got out of the truck, Matt said, “Do you see her?’ as he glanced up the hill. There she was about twenty yards up a steep hill, a dark brown ball sticking out above the rocks and brush. Mike and Matt cross the creek and made their way up the hill, not ten feet from the edge of the creek. They took a few pictures and used what was given to them, a steep hill. They pushed the cow down the hill with their legs, she slid down the hill to the creek’s edge. They then used some rope, tied it to the cow’s front legs and pulled her across the creek with the truck onto flat ground. That is when we got an idea of her size. Matt estimated she was easily between 500-600 pounds, a big blue cow – just like we had hoped – good eating. After field-dressing her the three of us looked at each other and said, “How are we going to get her in the bed of the truck?” I had said I wanted to cape her and have the hide tanned. That meant keeping her whole. Two men and a guy in a wheelchair were just ready to attempt the impossible when we heard the rumble of a pick-up coming up the draw. (Mike had called Wes Dunn, Ranch Manager at Mooncrest Ranch to let him know we had a cow on the ground shortly after I shot her.) Wes came up with his daughter to see how things were going. He
couldn’t have come at a better time. Ten minutes we had the elk, whole, in the bed of the truck. I felt fortunate to get to meet Wes.
We headed back into Cody and dropped Matt off at his truck in the hotel parking lot so he could follow us to the processor. Mike and I headed North to the processing station to drop off the elk. The wife/husband team at the processor were wonderful. The wife and I talked about how to process the meat while the husband and Matt began caping the cow. It wasn’t long before the elk was quartered and I had the hide. It was 10:30am Thursday, the processor said I could pick up the meat butchered, wrapped and flash frozen first thing Saturday morning. That is unheard off. Again, a great relationship between WDH and the community. That comes with years of respect from the Cody community for the mission and the way in which WDH conducts itself and its staff/volunteers. I said my good-byes to Matt, then Mike and I headed to the taxidermist to drop off the hide. By now it was close to 11:30am. I’m saying my good byes to Mike resting in my hotel room. It was a six-hour whirlwind of an adventure.
Terry, I went into such detail to make sure you and the entire Board at WDH understand the lifetime memories you create for hunters like me. I know they are memories cherished more deeply, because without organizations like yours, I would be in my recliner at home watching TV. WDH gave me the ability to dream to do more than I would have otherwise thought possible. In the future I will re-apply for maybe an antelope or deer hunt and keep my fingers crossed that I am fortunate once again to be drawn for a hunt from the hundreds of applicants.
I have but one comment to possibly improve upon the experience. The Cody Legacy Inn was nice, I loved the history and the accessible bathroom was great. The room itself was difficult to manage. The spacing between the furniture and beds was extremely tight, barely wide enough for my wheelchair. While I appreciated the rustic log bed frames, it was very difficult to get out of. The mattress and bedding sunk well below the log siderail. Lastly, carpeting is not recommended for accessible rooms. I am not sure what else is available in Cody for accessible lodging. If I am fortunate to come to Cody again for a WDH hunt, I won’t complain about being put up at the Cody Legacy Inn. If there is another option that addresses my concerns that might be preferable.
My best to you, the entire Board at WDH, and especially to Mike Harlow and Matt Elliot. They created a memory that is burned into my brain. I have relived that morning over and over, the sights, the sounds, the smells, the excitement, the experience and mostly, three guys that loved what we were doing spending time together. That’s the hunt. You don’t have to put something on the ground to takeaway what I will from the hunt. The blue cow was a bonus.