......in Theodore Roosevelt National Park near Medora, North Dakota? My shooting partner and I put in for
every week of November, December, and January. Well, every week that is except for Thanksgiving and the week before and after Christmas. I do have a wife and kids after all!
If selected we will be working for the Park Service for a minimum of five days, shooting (not really hunting) cow elk as directed by a Park employee. The location of the elk is known via radio collars, but while that means they can find 'em easily enough, we still have to get to 'em. We have been told that hiking in as far as 10 miles round trip may be necessary, which doesn't seem too bad except for possible weather issues.
We were notified that if chosen we should expect to shoot between 10 and 20 elk
each during our five day stint. Hopefully with success, but the shooters will be going out in five man teams counting the Park supervisor. So there will be intentional back up in the case of missed or botched shots, a very good thing.
Sounds exciting, if somewhat sad after a fashion. All the elk meat will go to Indian tribes, with each shooter receiving a cow for their efforts. I should know in about two weeks if we were chosen. If there were not enough applicants, we may be chosen for additional week as well, again with a cow elk in payment!