Ep. 513: 10 Days of Archery Elk in Wyoming (Big Bull Down) w/ Tyler Martonik & Derek Testerman

Bonus episode from Wyoming elk camp. Beau Martonik sits down with his cousin Tyler Martonik and cameraman Derek Testerman at the end of a 10 day archery elk hunt on general tags.

The plan for day one was to take it easy and acclimate. By 4:30 that afternoon, a cow walked to within five yards of Tyler, he looked over and said “bull, Beau, bull,” and Beau had a 6x6 coming around the knob. What followed was a five hour trip out in the dark through blowdowns and a thunderstorm, and another full day to get the rest of him out.

From there it’s Tyler’s hunt. Learning one drainage over most of a week, waiting for thermals to settle before moving on bedded bulls, a wallow found on LiDAR, close calls at 80 yards, and wolves in camp at 3 AM.

In this episode:

Burning seven points on a Wyoming general tag

Acclimating without sitting in camp: camp low, hunt high

The cow at five yards and the bull behind her

Butchering a bull on a slope he kept trying to roll off

Five hours of rain, cliffs, and blowdowns on the first trip out

Why bugles are closer than they sound in thick timber

Waiting for thermals to settle before moving on bedded bulls

A wallow that only showed up on LiDAR