Episode 401: Steam Boat Elk
Fire Fighter Follows the Bugle of a Bull Elk on Escape to the Wild
By Sara Gabbard
IAFF Local 3234 member Greg Curry thought it was just another day at work. Little did he know his dream to hunt bull elk would come true. The hunt was part of Escape to the Wild, a TV series of the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance, VERSUS and sponsoring unions and contractor associations that honors hardworking union members with the hunting or fishing trip of a lifetime.
“We were responding to a routine call about a possible heart attack victim,” Curry said. “As we were trying to treat the guy, he told us that we didn’t need to take him to the hospital because he wasn’t having a heart attack but that I might once I found out I was going to Colorado to hunt elk! I suddenly realized that our ‘victim’ was Escape to the Wild host Tom Ackerman and that I had won my hunt of a lifetime.”
Curry’s dream of hunting North America’s big game icon is deeply rooted. Having once missed the opportunity to harvest an elk while hunting on a piece of public land, Curry always hoped to get another shot.
“I’ve had some bad experiences hunting on public land,” Curry said. “Don’t get me wrong, there is the opportunity for awesome hunting, but I’ve come across some really inappropriate hunters from time to time. So to have the chance to take an elk while hunting on private land with no other hunters to compete with would be a dream come true.”
Curry got that chance when he joined host Tom Ackerman and the rest of the Escape to the Wild crew in Northwest Colorado at Wolf Mountain Ranch. “When we got out of the car at the ranch, it was just like WOW! I could sit here all week and be perfectly happy,” Curry said. “I kept telling the guys that I didn’t care if we shot a bull or not– I just wanted the experience. Everyone there was great. I’ve always said that it’s not so much where you are but who you are with that makes hunting so special.”
On his first day of hunting, Curry and the crew set out in search of one thing –a big bull elk. “We were in a really cool area, on the west side of a hill,” Curry said. “The elk were coming in from the east at about 200 yards. Dirk Vanatta, our guide, spotted a nice sized bull, so I got him in my sights and waited for the okay from the cameraman.” But much to Curry’s dismay, the guide decided to pass up this bull in hopes of getting a bigger one.
“I had no doubt that Dirk knew this ranch like the back of his hand, so if he thought there were better bulls out there, I was going to trust him,” Curry said. “I just hoped we wouldn’t regret it later.”
The next day the group set-up in a different area in hopes of giving Curry the chance to harvest a bigger bull. “We saw some cows right away and then some smaller bulls came in. Then I heard Dirk say ‘there’s a bull,’ and I knew this was my chance. I had forgotten my binoculars, so I was trying to locate him in my scope. As soon as I felt comfortable with the shot, I took a deep breath, squeezed the trigger and hoped for the best.”
Did Curry’s shot ring true? Tune in to VERSUS Country on Sun., January 3 at 9:30 a.m. (EST) to find out.
Share this story:
See all the photos from the trip in the slideshow below:
