When Bill Barefoot signed up with Cabela's Outdoor Adventures to hunt elk in Utah, he knew he had to get in shape. After working his way back up the first mountainside, he wished he had started his exercise plan earlier.

Author: Frank Ross

Bill Barefoot and his trophy Utah elk.

"You better be in good shape -or stay out of the canyons," he said. "You don't realize how deep they are when you're walking down because it's so easy on the way down. We went into the first canyon in a few minutes, and it took an hour and forty-five minutes to get back up to the rim. My guide carried my backpack part of the way. He took real good care of me," he said.

Bill has hunted whitetails and mule deer all over the west since 1983, but according to him, nothing compares to the beauty and splendor of the Hell's Canyon area. It was his first trip to Utah, and his first elk hunt. "The scenery was beautiful, and very remote. "You won't see any houses, trucks or anyone other than the people in your party, and that's what you're looking for," he said. "We had a great group of guides as well as the members in our party. There were 6 of us from all over the country. We had a great time, because the guides took real good care of us" he added.

Distances, especially across canyons can be very deceiving if you're not used to judging distance in the mountains. "I bought a range finder from Cabela's before I went, and I'll never go on another hunt without it. On our third day of the hunt, we spotted a huge bull on a far ridge. We worked our way in closer, crawling on our bellies for 60 yards. When we got into position my guide, Chuck, said that I had better take the shot. He was afraid that if we tried to move again the elk would spot us and be gone over the ridge," he said.

"I checked the distance with my range finder, and it gave me a reading of 420 yards. I was shooting a 30-06 and thought, man, there's no way I can make that shot. I asked if he couldn't call the elk to us, or find a way to get closer. We backed down on our bellies and made our way around some rocks until we were closer. I took another distance reading. We were at 325 yards, that's where I took my shot," he said.

"I bought a new 300 Weatherby before the trip, and mounted a Leupold scope on it, but I couldn't get it to shoot as tight a group as my 30-06. I have been using it for years, so I decided at the last minute to take it instead. I was using Winchester Fail Safe ammunition with a 180 Gr. FS bullet, and it did the job," he added.

From his position below a large rock formation, Barefoot used a Harris bipod to steady his shot, and held the crosshairs just over the bull's shoulder. "When I shot the first time he didn't even flinch. I shot again and he turned back as if to see where the noise was coming from, and then turned to walk down the other side of the ridge. I thought I had missed him, and he had gotten away. It was warm for September, there wasn't any snow, and when we started making our way over to try and locate him, I started stripping off clothing. I had on several layers, but by the time we got there I was down to a tee shirt. With the adrenaline pumping, I was plenty hot," he said.

Upon arriving at the area where they had first sighted the massive bull they began to track him toward the trees. "We found him just at the edge of the trees. He had only traveled about 50 yards toward the trees, and down a steep incline, before dropping. It took two guides to get the rack back up the incline. My two shots were only about 2-1/2 inches apart, just behind the front leg, but a little higher than I would have liked to have seen, but it was definitely an effective placement," he said.

While the two guides dressed his animal, Bill assessed the rack. "I will get the rack back in a couple of months. I'm having a shoulder mount created and will wait until it gets back to have the rack officially scored, but Chuck estimated it will score in the 330 range. I have pretty big hands, and I couldn't reach around the 48-inch beams where they forked. The most unusual aspect of the rack is the 19-inch brow tines," he said.

Regardless of the total score, there's little doubt that this is one mount that will occupy a prominent place on his trophy wall as well as his cache of hunting memories. If a trophy elk is on your list of future hunts, check out this trip on Cabela's Outdoor Adventures Website.

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