Local hunter takes huge elk in Mineral County
<p>Wyatt O'Day with an enormous elk he recently took with his bow in Mineral County.</p>
SUPERIOR – A local hunter may have peaked in his career at the young age of 14 after he recently took a massive, seven by seven elk somewhere in Mineral County.
Wyatt O’Day, 14, took the enormous trophy on a recent hunting trip with his father, Mark, who has been hunting and guiding the woods of Mineral County for years. It was also the first elk Wyatt has successfully harvested.
O’Day said, while he has only been bowhunting for a few years, he has been walking the woods with his father since he was a young boy.
O’Day said he didn’t get the elk the first time they saw him on the first day of the season in early September. He said it wasn’t until the second time he caught a glimpse of the animal that he had a clear shot.
“The first time, it was too thick and I couldn’t see him,” O’Day said. “On the third day, we went into the same area and we knew he was there. He wasn’t answering the bugle so finally we popped up over this ridge and I could hear movement. We looked and saw his antlers moving. I drew, shot and got him at about 40 yards.”
O’Day said he and his father knew they had a large animal on their hands but it wasn’t until they got close that they realized just how massive the animal was. O’Day said the time from letting his arrow fly to his first up close look at the animal was tense.
“I was a little nervous,” O’Day said. “I didn’t think my shot was very good but it turned out to be perfect. The elk didn’t go 30 yards before he fell. I couldn’t believe it.”
“This bull he took is bigger than any I’ve seen in Mineral County,” O’Day said. “I’ve guided in Montana and Idaho for many years and I’ve killed a few (elk) myself and this one is bigger than any of mine but it wasn’t by accident. This is all he does. He practices everyday. He was due.”
O’Day said the elk taken by his son was unique in the configuration of its antlers. In addition to being a rare seven by seven rack, the left brow tines of the antlers close to the skull on one side are angled downward instead of the typical upward configuration.
“The bull had an injury to its skull at some point possibly from fighting,” O’Day said. “You never see them like that so that’s pretty unique.”
Wyatt said he plans on trying to become a professional hunter when he gets older. He said in order to top his Mineral County trophy, he may have to travel out of the area to places where the elk are even bigger.
“I’d love to get paid to hunt and travel the world,” O’Day said. “I ‘d love to be a professional hunter with maybe a TV show.”