Elk Hunting in Kentucky

[Icemancometh]

Here are some pics of the 5x5 Elk that I took on the opening day of elk season in KY. My guide estimated the weight at 800 pounds. I took him with a 250 yard shot from a Weatherby 300 Magnum. Right after the impact he raised up on his back legs, turned and laid down. The only problem we had was that he was atop a 2200 foot hill. As you can imagine it was NOT fun getting him of the hill. Luckily some other guys came by and helped us load him up. We left the guides cabin at 6:50 am and the Elk was on the ground before 7:30 am. The guide was awesome. He had told me in phone conversations that he would take me right to them and he didn't lie. He knew exactly where they would be. The afternoon prior to our hunt he took me on a scouting run and we saw about 36, mostly cows, but some impressive bulls as well, one being a huge 9x9. The last picture is of my Dad and I. Without him I wouldn't have been there. He had entered me in the Elk Lottery draw. Thanks Dad.

[pocomoonskyeyes]

Awesome!! Congratulations Iceman! You gonna' tan that hide I hope.

[crashdive123]

Mighty fine looking animal you got.

[Icemancometh]

Awesome!! Congratulations Iceman! You gonna' tan that hide I hope.

Poco, actually I left the hide with the guides daughter in law. She was interested in making a rug out of it and I have so many deer hides around here that I never did anything with. I am having a skull mount done.

[panch0]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing.

[Rick]

Very nice. I had no idea there were elk in Kentucky.

[Icemancometh]

Very nice. I had no idea there were elk in Kentucky.

Ky has the largest herd east of the Mississippi.

[crashdive123]

Ky has the largest herd east of the Mississippi.

Yep - both of em.

[pocomoonskyeyes]

Poco, actually I left the hide with the guides daughter in law. She was interested in making a rug out of it and I have so many deer hides around here that I never did anything with. I am having a skull mount done.

Ok then tell me you saved the teeth then ...right? They are the only Ivory that you can legally Harvest now.

[doug1980]

Ky has Elk???? Huh who woulda thunk it.

[FVR]

Ky has been doing the elk hunts for a few years now. This was the first year I had not put my name in the lottery.

You really can't beat it, even with the cost of the out of state license, travel is not that far, the cost is way cheaper than a trip to New Mexico or Colorado. LOL, unless you live there.

The success rate is considerably high also.

Congrats on the elk. Good eating and lots of tools.

[Icemancometh]

Ky has been doing the elk hunts for a few years now. This was the first year I had not put my name in the lottery.

You really can't beat it, even with the cost of the out of state license, travel is not that far, the cost is way cheaper than a trip to New Mexico or Colorado. LOL, unless you live there.

The success rate is considerably high also.

Congrats on the elk. Good eating and lots of tools.

FVR-Guide cost me $500, with his "no kill, no pay guarantee", in state permit was $30, plus meals and gas.

Fish and wildlife claims about 97% success rate.

[Icemancometh]

Poco, I did save the teeth. Actually the whole head is laying in my garage

[pocomoonskyeyes]

YES!!! Way to go!! I remember reading about the fact that Elk teeth are the only Ivory(I may be mistaken on "only")you can get from a North American land Mammal,from a book by Bradford Angier. I read this as a teenager,but don't recall exactly which one... Maybe "how to stay alive in the woods". He suggested using a Hardwood (like hickory) whittled down to a blunt rounded tip for extraction,and a hammer or stone. If I recall correctly it is only the rear molars that are Ivory. I could be wrong, it has been over 30 years ago that I read that, but should be fairly easy to find out.

[Icemancometh]

Poco,

Getting the teeth out was the hardest part. I think it was less work skinning and quartering him.

[pocomoonskyeyes]

I'm sorry it was such hard work!! But at least you have some legally harvested Ivory!!

[Rick]

http://fwp.mt.gov/wildthings/brochure_elk.html

I thought you might be interested in seeing an Ivory Teeth dress.

http://newsdesk.si.edu/images_full/i...identity_6.jpg

[DOGMAN]

nice bull!

[Icemancometh]

Thanks to all. This will probably be a once in a lifetime deal for me. Ky only gives out 1000 permits a year (250 bull, 750 cow) and usually have 40,000+ applicants. My dad has been entering for years and has never gotten drawn. The guide I used says that he had heard that the # of permits will be going down, due to overhunting. According to him the locals harvest them year-round, as it is a very poor area.

[COUESAZ]

Way to go. We are headed up next weekend to enjoy some of the Rut. Noe Elk tags for us this year. And we no longer guide. But we make sure that we spend a few days up listening to the bugles of the rut each year. My boys are getting good with the calling.