Coveted elk license offers the hunt of a lifetime to a lucky few

Atlanta, Mich. -- Dave Messana always envisioned elk hunting under a wide-open Western sky.

But that never stopped the Clinton Township resident from applying for a license to hunt the majestic creatures here in his home state. Every year since 1985, he put his name in for the license drawing. Every year, nothing.

Nothing, that is, until this year. In June, Messana looked up the drawing results online and found what he least expected: a congratulatory message. And on opening day of Michigan's 2009 December elk season, Messana closed the deal with a 6x6 bull elk that weighed 580 pounds.

"This is a dream come true, really," the 47-year-old Messana said, standing next to the elk pole in downtown Atlanta, Michigan's self-proclaimed Elk Capital. "I mean, I always imagined going out west and doing a lot of elk hunting, but when the Michigan opportunity came up, obviously I couldn't pass it up. And I plan to do more."

Messana, who owns D.J.'s Archery Sales in Fair Haven, won't be able to pursue elk in Michigan again. Because the herd is so small, Michigan's elk hunt is highly coveted and strictly regulated. This year, 38,826 hunters applied for 380 licenses the state made available, and only Michigan residents are eligible. Those who receive an "any elk" tag can never apply again. Every animal is checked in, measured and tested for disease by a team of scientists and technicians. Hiring a good guide is recommended, and success rates are very high. That's why Michigan's elk hunt is part hallowed call and part victory parade. Take it seriously or blow your chance of a lifetime. And bring your buddies.

"It's a rare opportunity to have a chance to hunt Michigan elk, and it's a very different kind of experience both for hunters and for the department," said Brent Rudolph, the big game specialist for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. "We're talking about a species that's restricted substantially in its distribution, so we invest a fair amount of resources to the elk hunt in that area. And at the same time we try to address some of the impacts they can have, whether that's damage to agriculture, or in certain periods in our history things like forest regeneration."

'Supreme animals'

There's no question that white-tail deer are king in Michigan's forests. The state's deer herd reaches about 1.8 million animals each year before hunting season, and they live in every county.

Elk, on the other hand, top out at around 1,200 animals in the northern Lower Peninsula. Most live in and around the Pigeon River Country State Forest, between Atlanta and Indian River. It is the herd's instinct to expand into surrounding areas, but elk are large, hungry animals that can decimate crops if they're not checked.

Michigan held three elk hunts this year. September and October hunts are specifically designed to reduce elk numbers outside their core range in Montmorency, Cheboygan and Presque Isle counties. The December hunt allows hunting inside and outside core elk range.

The DNR's goal is to have between 800 and 900 elk by the end of the December hunt. "We factor in poaching, vehicle accidents, other disease loss, and we see how many permits we need to use to get us down to that number of our goal," said Brian Mastenbrook, a DNR biologist.

This year 380 permits were issued and 266 elk killed, a success rate of 70 percent. That's actually a little lower than usual, Mastenbrook said.

Michigan re-opened elk hunting in 1984, but licenses are scarce. Many hunters have applied for years without being drawn for a license, so just being chosen is cause for celebration.

Gary Isenhath of Riverdale applied unsuccessfully for two decades before he finally pulled a tag this year. He was notified by a large manila envelope that arrived from the DNR on June 30, his 66th birthday.

"My wife thought I was going insane," he said. "I was hollering and screaming."

Isenhath has been hunting white-tail deer all his life, but as far as he's concerned there's no comparison between Michigan's ubiquitous whitetail and the 7x7 bull elk (that's seven points on each antler) he shot on opening day. And that's no knock on deer.

"Elk are just supreme animals as far as I'm concerned," he said.

Group hunt

The revered nature of elk, their scarcity in Michigan and the difficulty of getting an elk license mean that hunters who are chosen rarely hit the elk woods alone.

"Because it is such a rare, once-in-a-lifetime hunt, most sportsmen want to share the experience of the hunt with somebody," said Preston Casselman, 33, an elk guide from Gaylord. "We see a lot of fathers and sons, brothers. Most people want to limit it to one or two people apiece, but every now and then you get the entourage of four or five people."

Several years ago, Casselman guided a hunter who brought along seven friends on a horseback hunt.

"We looked like an Army convoy going down the two-tracks," Casselman said.

Messana's elk posse consisted of buddies Gary Cane of Lake Orion and Jim Ballard of Shelby Township, but it could have been even larger.

"Actually, I didn't really have a choice," Messana said. "As soon as I started telling people I got an elk permit they started saying, 'Hey, can I go with you?' And of course I wanted to share it."

Rudolph said the jubilation of a successful elk hunt touches everyone involved.

"I've noticed at the check station how you'd have five or six people come in and you couldn't always tell who the successful hunter was because of all the people along for the experience who were just as excited," said Brent Rudolph, the Big Game Specialist for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. "It's just a whole different atmosphere around the whole thing."

Small northern towns typically go into a sort of hibernation after Nov. 30, when deer season ends and downstate visitors dwindle. But in towns like Atlanta, Vanderbilt and Onaway, it's not unusual to see a large elk in the bed of a pickup truck outside a local tavern, with a group celebrating the successful hunt inside.

The elk hunt essentially extends the economic benefit of hunting season, thanks in large part to the extra folks tagging along.

"We get quite a few," said Jim Farley, a volunteer with the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. "They stay at the motels and the cabins, they hire guides. It helps out."

The elk hunt is by far the most hands-on hunt for the Michigan DNR. Hunters are required to attend a two-hour orientation session the day before the hunt, where they learn about elk behavior and how to avoid critical mistakes like accidentally shooting two elk or shooting an elk they don't have a tag for.

Once the session is over, each hunter receives a kill tag to place on the animal after it has been shot, and a packet containing two flags and a roll of orange flagging tape. The flags are to mark the kill site and an entry point at the nearest road. The tape marks a trail between the two so biologists can examine the kill site and the gut pile left behind.

Each hunter is also required to take a harvested elk to the DNR check station near Atlanta, where each animal is weighed and aged. Finally, each animal must be tested for bovine tuberculosis and chronic wasting disease.

"We want to make sure every hunter has a real positive experience," Rudolph said.

That's hardly a problem for those lucky few who harvested elk. After the hunt there's a story to tell, and sometimes it's hard to tell who loves a good elk story more, the audience or the teller.

Michele Sinn-O'Rourke, a crossbow specialist at Jay's Sporting Goods in Gaylord, drew an elk tag and planned to use a crossbow for her hunt. But on the second day she switched to a rifle and downed a 6x6 bull.

When she returned to work, she found an ample supply of listeners eager to hear her story.

"I have relived it so many times today my face hurts from smiling."

Dave Spratt is editor of http://www.greatnorthernoutdoors.net">www.greatnorthernoutdoors.net. He can be reached at dspratt@greatnorthernoutdoors.net">dspratt@greatnorthernoutdoors.net.