Jordan says her hunt was a, "really cool experience."
The 2009 Fourth Annual Bugle for Kids was won by two very lucky individuals, Jordan Moody of Big Timber and Kelly Juvan from Livingston. Kelly has graciously given his ticket to Becky Bergsing and her son Gunner both Livingston residents.
Both Gunner and Jordan shot their elk over the Halloween weekend at the Twelve Springs and West Boulder Ranches. Jordan was able to make the hunt successful with only one shot while it was Gunners first time to shoot an elk.
During his hunt, Gunner saw a, "big black wolf chasing a cow."
We want to thank all those involved and in support of the Bugle for Kids 2009 Raffle. Thanks to Yellowstone Gateway Sports in Livingston, and The Fort in Big Timber for selling tickets. We really appreciate all the contributions, especially the generosity of Ron and Susie Dollens, Denny and Susanne Ware of the Twelve Springs Ranch, and Tom and Meredith Brokaw of the West Boulder Ranch. Without them, this event would not have taken place and had such impacting moments in the lives of these two youth.
The Hunt
By Jordan Moody
“My hunt that I went on Friday, Oct. 30 was a really cool experience. I was guided by Lonnie Clark from the 12 Springs Ranch. We started out at about seven o’clock and were driving up the road when he spotted about 200 elk in a barley field below, we decided to go up on top of the ridge above the elk so we could glass and see how many bulls there were. Once we got there we saw a lot of really nice bulls and some spikes and other smaller ones. The wind was blowing very very hard making it difficult to hold my binoculars steady and so most of the time I had no idea what Lonnie, my dad, and Harv were talking about when they were pointing out various bulls. Finally the wind slowed down a little and I could see a bunch of them! The elk started making their way up the hill toward us so we moved into a good position a short distance away from their trail. I was very nervous as the first spike, the first elk of the bunch, came slowly up the hill. They had told me the one I wanted to shoot was the third one to come up into sight. I began looking through the scope of my gun and saw the one I wanted. Suddenly the bull caught our scent and held its head up looking around, everyone thought it would run away but it began walking more and more up the hill then stopped in the perfect position for me to take a shot. I squeezed the trigger. I then asked my dad if I had hit it and they all replied “NO.” I was very disappointed so I jacked another shell in the chamber and as I went to aim again, he collapsed, I had hit it on the first shot! My dad used his range finder and ranged the shot at 68 yards. As we walked up to it, we saw the bullet hole, my 25-06 had managed to make it in one side and out the other. After we gutted it and moved it down to a place where Lonnie could get it with the tractor, and finally got it home, Lonnies wife Laura Lee cooked us a very good breakfast and we headed home.”
Elk Hunting
By Gunner Bergsing
“First we went up on this hill and waited for awhile looking for elk and then we drove passed the hay barley field and they were there. So we went to this other hill and the elk usually come to this draw right next to us. So then we waited awhile watching them. They were acting weird so Lonnie started up the CAT so they would get moving. They ran farther away from us into this patch of trees. So we went and watched them by the road. Cody was watching them and he saw a big black wolf chasing a cow. The elk was going to cross the fence so we got out. My first shot was right below its shoulder. I shot it two more times but missed. It ran off and we chased it for like a mile or more. We could not catch up to it, we had a heard less than 70 yards away from us walking. The bull took a different route up this steep mountain, so we chased it another mile as it ran into some trees. We followed its trail to find it. It is pretty big 4-4. Thanks so much for this opportunity and thanks Doug and Lonnie for guiding me and helping me shoot my first elk.”
