Co 1st rifle

[timekiller13]

This was my first time ever rifle hunting in Colorado. I have done two OTC archery hunts. Even though 1st rifle is a limited tag, the area we hunted gives out quite a few tags and they are easy draw. We saw lots of camps. There were 7 other groups at the campground we stayed at. I did see hunters every day in the field, but usually they were way off, like 1000+ yards or more. Most hunters I saw in one day was 5 and that was the opener.

We saw 17 elk opening morning, including a beautiful 6x6 that I was within a hair of getting a shot at. Saw another raghorn later on just out of range. Day 2 saw 3 nice bulls about 800 yds out but couldn't get to them. Day 2 evening, saw 18 cows at last light. Day 3, had a herd come to 20 yds 10 min before legal time!! Had Elk all over us, but just couldn't pull a shot off.
Sublegal bull at 30 yds, legal bull at 100 but blocked by timber. Day 4 was the only day we were skunked. Day 5, had 6 cows at 100 yds. No cow tag of course.

I learned that 90% of hunters in our area quit after 8 am every morning. Many of them didn't even hunt evenings. The ones that did would leave an hour before dark!! I guess they are scared of the boogeyman. I also learned 90% drove their ATVs down trails and then walked 200 yds,from where they parked. Dad and I never road our ATV except the last morning, and still walked over 1.5 miles from where we parked it.

We found gobs of fresh elk sign. Saw plenty of elk. Other hunters complained of not even seeing a track. Where we were you couldn't walk 5 yds without cutting fresh sign.

 

[TexAg08]

This is my second time hunting first rifle in CO unit 22. First time was in 2018, and decided it would be an every other year thing. We hunt private land and typically the camp has good success every year. This year was tough! Hot, dry, and very little movement.

Opening day was a surprise as we had heard reports before coming that times would be tough, and didn’t expect to see many elk at all. Pulled up to our area and immediately after starting the walk in, bugling started. It continued on past daybreak for a good two hours. Saw elk moving, both bulls and cows. None shooters though. We hunted this spot through Sunday morning trying to get what we assumed was a monster due to his growling bugles and super low tone. We could never draw him out of the Aspen thicket, so we decided to try a different location on Sunday afternoon.

We set up one ridge over from where we had been, and it started as a slow hunt until my stepdad saw a lone bull coming down the opposite ridge line a good 2000 yds away. At some point we lost him, thinking he dropped off the other side of that ridge, but low and behold, he came back into view about 800 yds along that same ridge. I cow called him and he immediately changed gears and started down the ridge, but there is a finger ridge between us and an aspen thicket. Once he disappeared into that thicket, he started bugling (I assume to locate this cow that kept calling him). We kept up this conversation for 30 min till he finally appeared deep in the thicket about 300yds downhill from our position.

I started watching him through the scope and kept calling him with cow calls. It was the coolest thing to watch him bugle back to me after calling. Finally he stepped into a small gap in vegetation and I let one loose aimed right behind his shoulder. He didn’t flinch (suppressed shot) but I thought he was hit (pretty sure it was actually a miss since no wounds where found there). My stepdad spotted and said to send another. By this time the bull was hard quartering towards me. I aimed just inside his shoulder between his chest and let another go. Immediately he lifted his leg and arched his back. Two rocks back and forth and tumbled over he did. After locating him in the thicket crap I thought could ever have existed, we gutted and drug him down the hill with our buggy’s and pulleys/ropes. Turns out my 175gr Barnes LRX did a number in him. Blew out his lungs, perfect nickel size hole through his heart, and exited just behind his ribs in the opposite side. Great penetration and terminal effects!

FYI - my orange beanie was marking the kill spot for my stepdad to see uphill through the crazy thick vegetation.

 

[Sako76]

I was hunting with an outfitter near Hayden/Hamilton. I killed my biggest bull, a 6x6 Saturday evening and it was the only elk I saw all day. My buddy killed a very nice 5x5 Sunday morning.

 

[Mosby]

Got back home last night. I got a nice 6x6 Saturday morning. Bulls were bugling and he responded to my cow call.. Shot him at 182 yds when he stepped between two trees. He was with about a dozen cows. My brother only saw cows. My nephew saw some bulls early but couldn't get a shot. Extremely windy the last two days.

 

[flatlanderhuffandpuff]

We were in the flat tops for the first time this year. Dry, dry, dry. I've never seen so much old sign. I could have held my breath between the piles of dropping the entire way around the mountain.

2 days of scouting turned up one pile of a few day old droppings in the roughest place we could find. My partners decided to hunt there the first day and killed a nice but busted up 5x5. I covered a lot of miles but never turned up an elk or a mule deer. We didn't run into anyone who had killed or shot at anything, and we ran into a lot of people.

Overall we feel lucky to have capitalized on the only elk we saw but am a little disappointed to not have seen more activity.

 

[Thomas11]

We did alright!

 

[AaronMColeman]

I was hunting with an outfitter near Hayden/Hamilton. I killed my biggest bull, a 6x6 Saturday evening and it was the only elk I saw all day. My buddy killed a very nice 5x5 Sunday morning.

Most elk I kill are the only elk I see all day

 

[ColoradoV]

Lots of scouting and then some good shooting by the wife filled the freezer w this old broken up warrior.

 

[BassAssassin04]

I was also in the flat tops with a similar experience. Campers everywhere and no elk. Was still a fun trip and will be trying again soon.

 

[Sako76]

Slammer elk for your wife Colorado, congrats!

 

[justinspicher]

I had a bear tag for 1st rifle, only found deer and elk, had a run in with a mountain lion one night headed back to the truck.