NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.
Issue link: https://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/377644
48 NEBRASKAland • OCTOBER 2014 evin Hennecke traveled more than 470 miles from his home near Panama, Nebraska, to the far northwestern corner of the state for a special opportunity in Harrison. It was opening day of elk season and Hennecke was one of the 33 hunters carrying a 2013 bull tag in Nebraska's Hat Creek Unit – an area known for its pine-studded buttes and sweeping grasslands. There was a time when Hennecke would have considered this Nebraska hunt merely a dream. "I remember reading about an elk hunt in Boys' Life magazine when I was a kid, and thinking, 'Man, wouldn't it be great to travel to another state someday and have an experience like that?'" he said. "I didn't imagine that I'd be pursuing big elk in Nebraska someday." As European settlers took residence across the nation without hunting regulations in the 1800s, elk were extirpated from 90 percent of their historic range, including Nebraska. Those that didn't get shot took refuge in the mountains to the west. But thanks to a new spirit of conservation throughout the nation in the 20th century, elk began moving back into the state. Evidence of elk began appearing in the state in the late 1960s. Now, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission wildlife officials estimate a healthy population of more than 2,000 elk in Nebraska, where a hunting season has been in place since 1986. Hennecke's mind started turning to elk hunting in his home state when one of his former high school students studied elk as a conservation technician for the Commission in the 1990s. Hennecke began applying for permits and his name was eventually drawn. Then came his next challenge: Finding a guide and access to private land. While it is possible to kill an elk on public land in Nebraska, most hunters seek the help of local guides. After all, drawing a bull tag in this state is considered to be a once-in-a- lifetime opportunity and hunters figure it's best to improve their odds any way possible. Hennecke and his guide arrived at a promising hunting area northeast of Harrison well before sunrise that Saturday. The hunters exited their truck to take a listen. Not many minutes went by before they heard the sound – the majestic bugle of an elk. It was enough to get the blood pumping. After a morning of hiking through the rugged canyons of Sioux County, Hennecke and his guide, while returning to the truck, discovered a wallow in the dirt. The guide told Hennecke that the big indention in the soil was a sure indicator an elk was there that morning when they arrived, just out of sight. Although it was Henneke's first time hunting elk in Nebraska, it wasn't his first attempt at elk. He'd been unsuccessful in attempts to bag an elk in Colorado and Wyoming. He was beginning to wonder if this hunt would have the same fate. The hunter continued to scout the entire weekend without having a bull to show for it. On Monday morning Hennecke and his guide began pursuing the tracks of 15-20 elk that had crossed a road the previous night. After an hour and a half of tracking, through four canyons, they caught sight of the herd, with two bulls, and set up within 200 yards. Then they crept within 90 yards. As one of the two bulls finally opened itself up to a possible shot, Hennecke raised his rifle. But the would-be shot was soon interrupted by the sound of movement on the rocks to his right. When Hennecke turned, there was a sight to behold. What was obviously the dominant bull of the group, known commonly as the herd bull, was moving in to get a look at the cows. The hunter's attention, and his firearm, turned from the smaller satellite bulls to this giant. "I raised my rifle and waited for him to appear in an opening in the timber between us and him," Hennecke said. "About 10 seconds later he was clear and I shot him from a standing position Hunt of a Lifetime Story and photos by Justin Haag One Nebraska hunter began dreaming of elk hunting when he was a boy. Little did he know that dream would be fulfilled in his home state. Hennecke tries to get a bull's attention by using a cow elk call.