Michigan's December Elk Hunt Goes Well

Joe Zupancic has been applying for the popular Michigan December elk hunt for the past 20 years. This year was his lucky year, he was one of the 77 out of 32,000 that got an elk tag through the elk hunt lottery.

Michigan's elk population is estimated between 800-900. They have two elk hunts annually, one in August/September and one in December. 63 hunters came home with an elk from the August/September hunt and another 62 hunters brought an elk home from the December hunt. The elk management plan may be getting an overhaul though, as more people move into the wooded areas, and elk lose their habitats and begin foraging on farms and having more run-ins with people, the 800-900 herd may be too large for sustainability.

Zupancic went out the first day with his son and guide Bob Whitney. Whitney suggested driving out to see where the herds were first thing opening morning. Zupancic was hoping for a bull elk, but size was not the biggest element to his hunt. Whitney knew the area well, they saw lots of elk but never had a clear shot. There were heading back to the cabin when a bunch of cow elk crossed in front of them. Whitney spotted the bull and Zupancic got out of the vehicle. From 60 yards using his Browning A-Bolt 7 Mag he hit the bull in the shoulder, it went about 70 yards before laying down.

Zupancic was pleased with the 7 by 6 bull elk. "I told my wife it would look good over the fireplace. And she said 'Yeah, and you will be on the other wall,'" Zupancic said chuckling about his new trophy.

He has taken it to the taxidermist, Mark Hiner, to get a chest mount that he will display in the basement. "It’s a tremendous bull. For free-range elk it’s about as good as it gets. This is the best Michigan elk I have seen," Hiner said. "Joe was worried whether taking that shot first thing in the morning was the right thing to do. I said ‘Trust me. It was the right thing. You weren’t going to see one bigger.’" From MLive.com.