I was elated to receive the notification informing me that I had been selected in ’06.  Having several health issues, I contemplated turning my selection back for someone else to use, but was persuaded to use it myself by family and friends.  I am glad I did.  I was familiar with the area because I had hauled heavy equipment into the area during the coal boom era.  I was well received by people whom I associated with and was helped by many locals, pointing to good hunting areas, etc.  Although I didn’t detect any resentment from local people, I did detect a certain disappointment that more local hunters were not selected.  I would suggest that there may be some way a program could put in place to perhaps provide an extra draw for hunters and landowners in the region to allow more participation by locals.  It seems to me to be a wise act to assure their future goodwill.  It appears that the deer herd in eastern Kentucky is not on a par with ours here in central and western Kentucky, although deer we observed appeared to be active and healthy.  I never dreamed that I would live to have an opportunity to hunt elk in Kentucky, so although I was unsuccessful, I am still grateful.  I have supported the restoration effort and would love to see it continue.  I also would contribute to a fund to compensate landowners for damages caused by the elk and to help assure their welcome to hunters in the future.

I was drawn to hunt cow elk for the ’06 hunt.  Prior to the hunt, I contacted Dan Crank and explained that I had a heart condition and inquired if there was a fairly level area where I could hunt.  He advised that permission had been obtained for two hunters to hunt on private land at a coal mine in Hyden, KY.  He sent me the necessary paperwork for the private land hunting and directions to the property and the check in rules of the coal company.  Other than that, he said I would be on my own.  I traveled to Hyden in November to check out the area prior to the hunt to get an idea of the lay of the area and directions, etc. I also checked out lodging facilities in the area that would be convenient to the area.  My son and I arrived in eastern Kentucky on Thursday prior to the opening Saturday for the hunt.  We walked and scouted both Thursday and Friday observing about 100 bull and cow elk and developed a game plan for the Saturday hunt.  We arrived at the site before dawn on Saturday morning, checked in at the guard shack and walked to our predetermined hunting spot on the side of a mountain and waited for daylight.  At daylight a Jeep came driving by with 3 hunters hanging out the windows. (We had asked Dan Crank if deer muzzleloader season overlapping elk season would be a problem.  He said this was private land  that he though only the two elk hunters would be in the area.) We had to check at the guard shack but noticed that the deer hunters drove right by without stopping.  We got up and moved to another area at daylight and the same thing happened again with trucks driving by with hunters with guns out the windows and hunters in the beds of the trucks.  We heard numerous consecutive shots.  There’s a big difference in the sound of shots from muzzleloaders and automatic rifles.  We heard rapid succession shots, like those of automatic guns not muzzleloaders.  We called Dan Crank on Saturday morning and advised him of the problem; he said he would send an officer to the area, but no one showed.  We kept moving all day to escape the deer hunters but couldn’t get away form them.  We stayed out all day and left at twilight.  The coal company has numerous roads crisscrossing the area and the deer hunters drove the roads constantly.  We had asked if we could bring a 4-wheeler in, but was told that we could not.  Yet we saw several trucks with trailers parked and the gates down.  We did see 8 bull elk on Saturday and 11 on Sunday, but not a single cow.  We did find a large blood pile which had to be from a very large animal but no gut pile.  We ran into the other elk hunter and his son from Bardstown who was having the same problems.  We left on Sunday, very disappointed and flt that Fish & Wildlife gave us no cooperation.  We felt anything but safe in the area.  I called Tina Brunjes Monday but did not get an answer.  I left a message on the answering machine telling my story, but did not receive a response.

I wanted to take this opportunity to let you know how much Eric Thomas helped us on our elk hunt.  We were down to only a few days before our hunt and had yet to locate a place to hunt.  Everyone we contacted either already had hunters or didn’t return my calls.  Through a mutual friend, I met Eric Thomas.  Eric called and helped me set up the hunt.  He gave us directions, helped us scout, gave us a tour of the area, allowed us to camp in his background and even shower in his house.  My son and I had dreamed of going on an elk hunt for years, but, with the prices out west, it is much too expensive.  Our Kentucky elk hunt would not have been possible without Eric’s help.  It was a success because of him.  He treated us like one of the family and we truly appreciate it.  You should be proud to have him working for you.