TL;DR--back to the drawing board for this hunter.
I'm hoping that this provides me with some catharsis as I type it up, but more importantly, gives some insight to future versions of myself and hunters like me.
I grew up hunting white-tailed deer in Virginia, from tree stands and then in late 2018, a saddle. Started archery hunting in 2014/15. As a new Colorado resident, I'd been excited to give archery elk a try. Lots of reading online, video watching, trying to glean any secondhand information I could. I'm not sure if it helped me one bit. But alas....
I found out after the draw that I was successful in drawing a 0-point (resident) unit and had my e-scouting work cut out for me. I took 3 summer scouting/camping trips to hike around a couple areas I was curious about, hang a few trail cameras, and get an idea of what the 4.5 hour drive would be like.
I had time/life allowed for hunting the first week, a couple days last week, and a couple this week.
Between those days, I saw 9 elk on the hoof, while hunting in my unit. Three of those were cows at the summit of a mountain that I spooked, one was a bull I spooked walking out in the dark, one a spike that surprised me silently at 35 yards, which leaves the last four that I glassed from afar. Other than that, I listened to a moose for 30 minutes, had a mountain lion at 15 yards, saw a handful of deer, and many grouse.
The only bugling I heard was the night before opening day, and how high my hopes were at that point. Otherwise, silence. Hiking around, climbing over deadfall, and wondering what I was doing out there were all on the menu. It was frustrating, lonely, and far, far tougher than I anticipated. I'm certain there are harder first hunts, and certainly easier ones too. Sure, deer hunting in hardwoods can be slow and challenging, but it does not compare. As I type this, I'm sitting in my house, having quit with this weekend to hunt. As time on the mountain went on, I found it easier and easier to want to quit, and here I am, having quit a couple days early. Doing it solo was far harder than I anticipated, and I think the lack of action/dwindling hope of seeing something contributed to that significantly.
I've got a lot more learning to do, but man, talk about being frustrated and disappointed (in myself).
To future versions of me, give yourself some grace, do a better job finding a hunting buddy with at least a tiny bit more experience with elk, and don't let a young steer run into your car while you're driving to the trailhead.
I'm hoping that this provides me with some catharsis as I type it up, but more importantly, gives some insight to future versions of myself and hunters like me.
I grew up hunting white-tailed deer in Virginia, from tree stands and then in late 2018, a saddle. Started archery hunting in 2014/15. As a new Colorado resident, I'd been excited to give archery elk a try. Lots of reading online, video watching, trying to glean any secondhand information I could. I'm not sure if it helped me one bit. But alas....
I found out after the draw that I was successful in drawing a 0-point (resident) unit and had my e-scouting work cut out for me. I took 3 summer scouting/camping trips to hike around a couple areas I was curious about, hang a few trail cameras, and get an idea of what the 4.5 hour drive would be like.
I had time/life allowed for hunting the first week, a couple days last week, and a couple this week.
Between those days, I saw 9 elk on the hoof, while hunting in my unit. Three of those were cows at the summit of a mountain that I spooked, one was a bull I spooked walking out in the dark, one a spike that surprised me silently at 35 yards, which leaves the last four that I glassed from afar. Other than that, I listened to a moose for 30 minutes, had a mountain lion at 15 yards, saw a handful of deer, and many grouse.
The only bugling I heard was the night before opening day, and how high my hopes were at that point. Otherwise, silence. Hiking around, climbing over deadfall, and wondering what I was doing out there were all on the menu. It was frustrating, lonely, and far, far tougher than I anticipated. I'm certain there are harder first hunts, and certainly easier ones too. Sure, deer hunting in hardwoods can be slow and challenging, but it does not compare. As I type this, I'm sitting in my house, having quit with this weekend to hunt. As time on the mountain went on, I found it easier and easier to want to quit, and here I am, having quit a couple days early. Doing it solo was far harder than I anticipated, and I think the lack of action/dwindling hope of seeing something contributed to that significantly.
I've got a lot more learning to do, but man, talk about being frustrated and disappointed (in myself).
To future versions of me, give yourself some grace, do a better job finding a hunting buddy with at least a tiny bit more experience with elk, and don't let a young steer run into your car while you're driving to the trailhead.
