Co activity?

[Carlin59]

Elk traffic jam in Estes Park this weekend:

[video=youtube;FaHCMHE2Hmo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaHCMHE2Hmo[/video]

I got married in Estes this past weekend, and my family/friends from WI had a great time seeing all the bulls bugling. This particular bull/harem happened to spend most of their time on the golf course, so everyone has lots of great pics of him!

 

[COlineman78]

I got married in Estes this past weekend, and my family/friends from WI had a great time seeing all the bulls bugling. This particular bull/harem happened to spend most of their time on the golf course, so everyone has lots of great pics of him!

Congrats on the marriage! Great place to have a wedding. Were there any satellites? Didn't see one in the video and that's a ton of cows! It's got to be hard not to archery hunt in your yard if you lived in Estes.

 

[Carlin59]

Thanks COlineman78! I didn't see/no one reported seeing any satellites around this particular herd. I wonder if this late in the rut this big boy had kicked enough satellite-butt to dissuade the notion? There were a ton of nice/decent 5x's and 6x's floating around town, but all were solo and pretty far away from this main "town herd". The place we had our wedding at backs up to the park on two sides, and there was a smaller herd (~8 cows, much smaller herd bull) on the property all weekend. There were a few satellites bugling in the mornings on the perimeter of this herd, so I'm guessing there was some fun rutting action still going on there (if a guy wasn't busy with wedding stuff).

 

[2peterhunter]

Hunting opener this morning. A few bugles missed one at first light, it popped up in 200 yards below me.

 

[parshal]

Hasn't gotten below 35 with highs close to 70 so far for me. I've seen lots of animals, though. Had a few bugling bulls just off the property so no shots. One was a good one. Had 30 or so cows coming in for an easy shot until a pack of coyotes broke them up and sent them running for the hills. Way too many coyotes around.

 

[2peterhunter]

Quite morning one shot one bugle. No elk

 

[parshal]

I heard lots of bugling in the evenings in the timber as they left their bedding areas. Had four or five bugling all around me one evening but, of course, they were on private land around me.

 

[Elkfitness]

This weekend the Bulls were actively breeding cows in the central mountains.

 

[2peterhunter]

Shot one this morning, five minutes after legal. They headed off deep into the dark timber just minutes after light.

 

[Elkfitness]

Congrats!!

 

[2peterhunter]

Thanks first elk for me

 

[5MilesBack]

Up in Northern Colorado the cows were already running around without herd bulls. Not a single bugle, couldn't even raise one in the middle of the night.

 

[7stw]

Congrats ! I'm ready to head that way tomorrow. Seven day backpack hunt is just what I need !

 

[ahlgringo]

just got back from central CO- 5 days- one bugle in the am yesterday at first light already in the dark timber. Didn't see an elk the whole time. Lots of Mulies, a Cougar (yep), a huge black bear, and a couple snowshoe hares. A little frustrated, area I know intimately and has produced great results most years.

 

[COlineman78]

Yeah this weather is making things tough. Haven't struck out in a long time for muzzle. Probably heading back up 3rd season to get some meat.

 

[husky390]

No luck here. Didn't hear a single bugle and nothing would come into my calls except other hunters. The area we were in must have had some awesome rains this year as everything was overgrown but dried out and crunchy. It was weird how hot and dry it was. A single hunter would sound like a herd of elk walking though it. I sat an escape route most of the time and saw a bull, a spike, a bunch of does and a grouse. Unfortunately no cows ran through.

I did find it amusing that I spent a ton of money on camo clothes for archery season yet there I was in a blaze orange long sleeve shirt and hat standing next to a large aspen and almost had a doe run into me. She stopped 10' from me, stared and then walked off. The spike I saw came running up the drainage no more than 20 yards from me. I was sitting in a backpacking chair, hit my cow call, he stopped, looked around, and then took off.

All in all, it was a great trip and I changed tactics and saw more animals than I ever have. I'm off to chase Mulies this weekend but have no idea what I'm doing. Feel free to PM me any tips so as not to get OT here. Good luck to you 2'nd season guys.

 

[bbrown]

Guess I got lucky - Saturday morning I spotted a herd of @40 elk - 1 good bull, couple smaller bulls and rag horns and a bunch of cows from roughly a mile away. After watching him bugle, push cows and chase off a few smaller bulls I was able to close the distance I ended up shooting him at 115 yards. This was at roughly 12,250 ft and nothing but blue bird sky for the long pack out.

https://goo.gl/photos/nRJcBPrkRj7np3qb9

*I hate photo bucket - ruins the quality.

 

[Dougfir]

I hunted first rifle in unit 54. It was hot, dry, crunchy and while the first day had some action, everything pretty much died off after that. I shot the only elk we saw during the whole trip; a cow that came down to a water hole just at dusk on the first day. No bugles heard. The elk sign we found was mostly in the 9500-10,500 range.