crazy sight tonight in S Austin...

Was out in the back yard tonight with the dogs as there have been some aggressive coyotes around lately. I saw what looked like a large boulder that turned out to be 3 elk!!!! I wish I'd had my bino's with me. The dogs started barking so they wandered off out of sight. WOW. A buddy confirmed they've had sightings in the area lately. Not sure of the story behind them being there, but they weren't the mini whitetails I normally see.

That would have been cool to see.

BINGO!

Kind of interesting what we're finding out about Elk, they seem to survive and prosper just about every where we put them.

Man yeah!

So whats a tag going to cost to hunt your yard sir

Well they are actually plains animals.
Too populated to shoot one? Aren't they exotics in Texas ?

Wytex, yep. If you have a valid hunting license and can legally hunt on the property, you can shoot an elk year-round here.

Several years back I had them hitting a deer feeder here, only before daylight. Carried a 300 WM just in case. Never saw one and haven't had one on camera in the last 5-6 years.

Unfortunately they are behind my fence on Austin city property, the libs would have a hey day. but I did find out that a rancher somewhere behind the Austin property had elk and he recently died so they have been either intentionally or unintentionally found there way out of his property. Gonna put up a trail cam today to see what comes around at night...

Could they have been Red Deer?

one of my co-workers lives in Buda, saw a herd of elk a couple years ago crossing the road coming out of his subdivision. I have seen elk and red deer out on the east side of Pflugerville but there used to be a high fenced exotic farm out there too.

Elk like Whitetail Inst 30-06 minerals, a little something might draw them right in.

STXranchman if you swat that bug I'll tell ya...

4or 5 years ago I was going from capital city skeet on bluegoose road twords parmer lane and saw two bull elk and a cow in the brush rubbed my eyes and turned around an they really were there always wondered where the came from must have been the place in Pflugerville only a few mile from there glad to here there in so Austin maybe we can get a herd going

I'm sure they could make a living most places in Central Texas, but if you were to go SouthWest of Austin out past Dripping Springs and out around Henly, the habitat there would be perfect for them.

Are you sure they weren’t Sika deer? They look like mini elk.

Cows or bulls?

Definitely elk. Two rag-horn bulls - a 4x4 and a 4x5 in one picture. The 4x4 and two cows in another.

There's a game ranch about 10 miles from my place. Had a 4x4 bull elk on a cam. Contacted the owner and he said I may as well shoot it. It destroyed a corn feeder about like a horse does. When the ostrich and emu craze ended, I wound up with some of them.

A friend had this happen on his property. Storm blew down part of a high fence ranch.

We have a handful roaming here in Wise Co too

I’ve saw two, both cows

And I had an Axis walk across my place last year again in NTX

I wasn’t home but my wife caught it on video

saw them again this morning, I now know the trail they take so I'm gonna move the camera to get some pics. give me a few days and I'll post them..

Perhaps because historically they were native to Texas? Shhh... Don't tell TPWD that

One of our nephews that's stationed at Kodiak with the Coast Guard just drew a Roosevelt elk tag on Raspberry island. He is pumped, to say the least. And, he just received a command position in Hawaii. He's coming back for the hunt. 'Kid is on cloud 9.

I am looking forward to seeing some pictures. I used to have a photo of elk around San Antonio area.

Years ago I spotted an elk cow and calf in the greenbelt adjacent to the Steiner Ranch development in West Austin. Likely escapees from one of the high fenced ranches in the area, my buddy (from whose backyard we spotted them) said he saw them regularly for a few weeks and then they either moved on or one of his neighbors broke out the supressor!

if its the place I am thinking, they never had elk or red deer

Thank you for the pictures. That is awesome.

do you have an HOA Stratgolfer? ... restrictions on firearms?

PMK we are just on the edge of Austin, but are (for right now as Austin is trying to Annex this subdivision) officially in Travis county. The problem I have is the area behind my yard is greenbelt and owned by Austin. Best case scenario would be an Elk somehow jumped my fence. Otherwise a no go.

ha, and not like you could shoot and then drag over your fence ... unless you had a bunch of buddies helping