Longtime blogger Matt “Flatlander” Cheever writes in about his recent elk hunt:
Hey Mike, just got back from Colorado on a DIY public-land elk hunt and what an awesome experience it was. I enjoy nothing more than a good whitetail hunt, but I have to say elk hunting is pretty amazing. We hunted in groups of two and three, chasing bugles and traversing the mountains. The altitude definitely is a gut check to how hard you are willing to push it to succeed, but the feeling of success afterward is like nothing else.
I was blessed to take a nice mature 5×5 and had a few buddies to help pack it out. Most avid elk hunters said, “You’ll never be content with a whitetail hunt again.” I disagree. Elk are fun, and the incredible amount of meat and antlers is amazing, but I’m still a BIG DEER junky at heart. It’s pretty hard to top the feeling of a big old whitetail coming through the fog to a doe decoy, and then the battle of controlling the breathing and nerves and making the shot.
Regardless of the species of deer, I am super excited for another season to be upon us. I look forward to sharing in it all through this blog, and hearing everyone’s stories and experiences. Good luck to you all…and may Mike get a giant drop tine buck this fall!
God Bless, Flatlander
Great post Matt, and killer public-land bull, way to go man.
Nice Job Flat. That a great bull! I haven’t done it yet but hope to in the future. Hope you can put down a big ol whitetail now. Good luck and congrats!
Congrats Flatlander on the DIY hunt! I hope to get drawn here in Arizona next year, a few weeks ago scouting for Muleys in unit 10 I had a 400″ bull about two hundred yards away from me and man was it an awesome experience. I’m enjoying chasing new game here in Arizona, but like you guys Whitetails have my heart and I can’t wait to fly back home and hunt some big whitetail bucks this winter.
WTG on the nice bull! I’ve hunted a lot of animals all over the world but none gives this old deer hunter a case of the shakes like a whitetail buck trying to slip past me on opening morning of rifle season here in Pa.
Congrats on the Bull !! I totally agree. I’ve killed 2 bulls with my bow. It is pretty awesome to have them screaming in your face at 40 yards. But, it wasn’t quite the same adrenaline rush as coming to full draw on a whitetail. It was still a rush, but not quite the same. Hard to explain. Congrats again on the bull.