October 26, 2020 – Hartford, WI – Bow hunter Nathan Heinritz of Hartford said he and his wife had to watch the trail camera footage about 10 times because they couldn’t believe what they were seeing.
“That is a 4×4 wild bull elk,” said Heinritz. “We’ve seen turkey and whitetail deer and all of a sudden a giant elk… we couldn’t believe it.”
After binge watching the 20-seconds of video Heinritz called the DNR and it confirmed the bull elk is tagged and comes out of Jackson County, WI.
“The tag number is 323 and this bull elk along with a cow elk have been moving down south in search of other elk,” Heinritz said. “The rut for the elk is September through October.”
The elk came ambling through an area near Holy Hill and Highway 164 on Tuesday, October 20 at 11:44 p.m. The video shows some precipitation and the grey and white elk moving directly toward the camera.
“I pulled the camera the next day and that evening my wife and I were looking through the video and we couldn’t believe our eyes,” he said. “We didn’t even know there were elk in this area.”
Heinritz grew up in Pewaukee and his wife in St. Lawrence.
“We have a lot of family who are hunters and nobody ever mentioned elk. We didn’t even know it was possible… it was just crazy.”
Heinritz, 31, returned to the trail and found monster hoof prints left by the elk.
“Matter of fact you can see the elk’s breath at the end of the video and its antler or nose flipped open the cover of the trail cam and you can hear that in the video,” he said. “When I checked the camera, I wondered why the cover was flipped open but it was the bull elk tampering with the trail cam.”
As far as the size and weight of the bull elk, Heinritz said he could not even estimate but the DNR said the herd is doing well.
“There is a herd in Jackson County called the Black River herd of elk and they were released a couple years ago and they’re all doing very well,” said Heinritz. “The cows are having calves and the population is expanding and that’s encouraging to hear.”
The gun-deer season is ahead and Heinritz confirms an elk tag is needed and those tags are very hard to come by.
According to the DNR the elk hunting season is open Oct. 17 – Nov. 15, 2020 and Dec. 10-18, 2020. Only Wisconsin residents are eligible to receive an elk tag.
“When thousands of people apply for an elk tag only 10 hunters get it and they normally hunt north in the Hayward, WI or Clam Lake area,” Heinritz said. “There is a herd up there and that population is about 160 so there’s a better chance of seeing one.”
Because the gun deer season is Nov. 21 – 29 Heinritz thought it best to report the elk sighting to the DNR. “I wanted it on their radar so they could share the information and warn hunters,” he said. “You really need to know your target and beyond. Hunters need an elk tag to shoot and elk but those tags are very rare.”
I got pics and vids in September in Waupaca County.
I had him in my yard on Oct 17th in delafield