dirtytough
WKR
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2012
- Messages
- 2,318
I picked up a first season cow tag this year in Colorado. Wanted to take my 8 year old on a big game hunt where I had a decent chance of being successful and that wasn't to physical of a hunt. He tags along with me a lot here in ND but its tough archery hunting with him tagging along. I just haven't been able to make it happen yet. I figured this would be a good opportunity for him to learn how to cut up an animal and learn all the little things that are hard to teach until you get an animal down.
We left for Colorado Thursday afternoon after he got out of school. Had to go drive the long way to the unit and make a few pit stops along the way to drop some stuff off and pick stuff up. We finally got the unit around noon on Friday. I let him decide which camp site to set up the tent with a few leading questions so we got a good one
After getting camp set up we head out scouting a little. Decided to just get up high and do some glassing.
We take a 2 track up the hill a ways and hike about another half mile to a good vantage point. Almost instantly we spot a herd of elk about 1.5 miles away. Lots of cows with some spikes and a 340"ish 6X6. We were sitting about 200 yards below the top of the ridge which was tree covered. I tell Kohl he needs to check behind us because you never know what will come out. I glance behind us right then and there is a herd of elk dropping into the meadow right above us. Kohl was pretty excited because the bull was chasing a few spikes around and bugling a little.
It was pretty windy and Kohl was getting cold so we head down. Glassed one more spot on the way down and saw another 70-80 elk. We were pretty excited for the opener in the morning.
We get up about 1.5 hours before daylight and head out. Decided to head up the 2 track again and hopefully catch the close herd feeding in the open still. Since I had only been there the one time I made the mistake of driving to far in the dark. I wanted to stop way lower but I almost drove to the end. Just seemed way shorter in the dark. Daylight arrives and we hike back up to the glassing vantage point from the previous night. No elk in sight from the close herd. I start glassing and after 10 minutes or so we spot the herd that was about 1.5 miles away. We hike back to the truck and start the drive around. We are driving by another hunter and I invite him to join us since there are plenty of cows in the herd.
I was debating about hiking up from the bottom or dropping in from the top. They were about midway up the hill. We decided to drop in from above them. Its a wide open hillside with ankle high sage and a few draws about 600 yards apart for a couple miles. We start dropping in and the hill just slowly rolls away. No edges to really look over. We dropped about 800 yards and hear the bull bugle off to our 2 o'clock. We start working that way. After a couple hundred yards further I spot some elk heads directly below us. I range them and they are 660 yards. No cover in between and the hill is still slowly rolling away. We wait there for awhile until I can't see them anymore. They were headed to the tallest trees in one of the ravines so I felt confident we would be able to get close once they were in there. We get about 450 yards from the trees and can't see any elk. I eventually see them on the far side of the trees about to drop over the edge. If they drop over they are only a couple hundred yards from the bottom road. We hustle down there and start slipping up to the edge. I look right and there they are. 600 yards away staring at us. They dropped over the edge and sidehilled then came back up. I was not expecting that at all.
They didn't spook just started walking away. The other hunter decided to hike back up to the road. I figured we could catch up to them so Kohl and I waited until they dropped out of sight into a ravine and speed walked their way. They were 1000 yards away when they dropped into the ravine. When we got to the edge they started coming up the other side and were 700 yards away still. I figured a few more times of this and we would be in range. But Kohl was tired from the chase and wasn't in the mood to continue. It was hot and we had already done a few miles with another mile to the truck and all the elevation to gain back.
That evening we hunted a spot about 1 mile away from where the elk came out of the timber above us the previous night on the same ridge. We watch a ravine for awhile. No action on our ridge. I glass across to the ridge we chased the elk on in the morning and see the herd out feeding about a mile from where we stopped chasing them. We walk another 100 yards and check another ravine. Nothing. We head back towards the truck and We decide to look into one more ravine. We are still 20 yards from the top of the ridge to be able to look into the next ravine and I see elk on the far ridge. I tell Kohl to freeze and range them at 500 yards. We hurry to the top so we can see to the bottom and the elk start trotting down the ridge. I look in the bottom and there is a nice meadow that the elk are headed towards. I range the meadow at 300 yards. I get setup as best I can. Had to wait about 5 minutes for the elk to spread so I didn't hit 3-4 with one shot.
I pick out a good sized cow and squeeze off the shot. The whole herd spooked a few feet then stood looking around. I watch the cow I believe I shot at (not 100% sure since they moved and it took a second to get the scope on them again) for a minute. Not acting hit at all then it lowers its head and starts feeding. I grab my binos and scan the grass which is only ankle high. Nothing, I scan the elk and don't see any acting hurt at all.After 5 minutes or so I setup again. Squeeze another shot off. The cow I shoot at spooks 20 feet or so and stops. At this point I honestly didn't know what to think. I watch the elk again for a few minutes. Kohl is telling me to shoot again. I shoot again at the same cow and again I miss. The elk slowly start working back up the ridge towards another 80-100 head that were above them. We watch them then drop down and look for blood. We can't find any. Kohl is super disappointed and I'm not sure what to think. It should have been game over and instead it was 3 misses.
Next morning I decide that we will go to the same place as the previous morning since the elk headed in that direction when they crossed the ridge. My plan was to glass first thing then shoot the gun and make sure it was still on. I've never had a problem with it before though so figured it was just me. We stay low on the 2 track this time. Right at first light I spot an elk. Get out the spotter because its to dark to tell if its a cow or bull and there ends up being a couple small bulls. We head up further and we spot a herd about a mile away right above our glassing vantage point. We park out of sight and make our way towards them. We get to the last bit of hill covering our approach and they are still 650 yards away. They are starting to move with the bull bunching them so I tell kohl we only have one option. We walk straight towards them hunched over. They see us and some start getting nervous.
We get to the edge and there is a small valley in between us. I range again and they are 550 yards. Kohl is excited and telling me to shoot. I am debating after last nights performance but again I felt like it was me and not the gun. I quickly slide the gun over the pack, dial it and take aim. I pick out a bigger cow but they are so close I feel like if I shoot I will hit multiple elk. I scan the herd and the last elk has plenty of daylight on all sides. I shift aim over to that elk and its a spike. The herd trots sidehill and stops after 10-20 yards. Now there is a cow at the tail end with nothing behind it. I take aim and the spike walks in front of the cow, stops, and covers her front half. I wait and the spike moves out of the way and there is nothing around the cow. I take aim again squeeze off the shot. I see the cow jump, kick its hind legs and face plant. It rolls a few feet and then kohl is hugging me and we give some high fives.
The herd runs toward us into the middle of the little valley and heads down towards the bottom of the ridge. I start glassing for the cow I just shot and can't see it anywhere. I start getting a sick feeling that I just wounded an elk and its in the middle of the herd that is now 1000 yards away. We head towards where it was across the little valley. I'm looking for blood the whole way, and Kohl is getting really upset since he thinks it got away. I decide to head to the top of the ridge so I could glass down into the sage brush that was taller in the valley bottom. About 20 yards from the top of the ridge I see the cow laying there. It died facing straight away from where I shot from. Its butt blended with the grass and it was just tall enough to be tough to see from where I shot from.
Anyway it wasn't exactly how I hoped it would be with the misses the previous night, but he was able to watch the cow get hit and tumble, help skin it, help bone it. One of the best hunts I have got to do. Kohl asked if we could mount it lol
It took a lot longer to bone out then normal since Kohl wanted to do a lot of the knife work, and we had to take a half hour break to warm up his toe's. So we decided to save some time by packing it out all at once. It was only about 1-1.5 miles to the truck.
Sorry for the wall of text. But I am pretty excited to have got to do this hunt with my boy and get him involved as much as possible. Thanks for reading. Regards, Branden
We left for Colorado Thursday afternoon after he got out of school. Had to go drive the long way to the unit and make a few pit stops along the way to drop some stuff off and pick stuff up. We finally got the unit around noon on Friday. I let him decide which camp site to set up the tent with a few leading questions so we got a good one
After getting camp set up we head out scouting a little. Decided to just get up high and do some glassing. We take a 2 track up the hill a ways and hike about another half mile to a good vantage point. Almost instantly we spot a herd of elk about 1.5 miles away. Lots of cows with some spikes and a 340"ish 6X6. We were sitting about 200 yards below the top of the ridge which was tree covered. I tell Kohl he needs to check behind us because you never know what will come out. I glance behind us right then and there is a herd of elk dropping into the meadow right above us. Kohl was pretty excited because the bull was chasing a few spikes around and bugling a little.
It was pretty windy and Kohl was getting cold so we head down. Glassed one more spot on the way down and saw another 70-80 elk. We were pretty excited for the opener in the morning.
We get up about 1.5 hours before daylight and head out. Decided to head up the 2 track again and hopefully catch the close herd feeding in the open still. Since I had only been there the one time I made the mistake of driving to far in the dark. I wanted to stop way lower but I almost drove to the end. Just seemed way shorter in the dark. Daylight arrives and we hike back up to the glassing vantage point from the previous night. No elk in sight from the close herd. I start glassing and after 10 minutes or so we spot the herd that was about 1.5 miles away. We hike back to the truck and start the drive around. We are driving by another hunter and I invite him to join us since there are plenty of cows in the herd.
I was debating about hiking up from the bottom or dropping in from the top. They were about midway up the hill. We decided to drop in from above them. Its a wide open hillside with ankle high sage and a few draws about 600 yards apart for a couple miles. We start dropping in and the hill just slowly rolls away. No edges to really look over. We dropped about 800 yards and hear the bull bugle off to our 2 o'clock. We start working that way. After a couple hundred yards further I spot some elk heads directly below us. I range them and they are 660 yards. No cover in between and the hill is still slowly rolling away. We wait there for awhile until I can't see them anymore. They were headed to the tallest trees in one of the ravines so I felt confident we would be able to get close once they were in there. We get about 450 yards from the trees and can't see any elk. I eventually see them on the far side of the trees about to drop over the edge. If they drop over they are only a couple hundred yards from the bottom road. We hustle down there and start slipping up to the edge. I look right and there they are. 600 yards away staring at us. They dropped over the edge and sidehilled then came back up. I was not expecting that at all.
They didn't spook just started walking away. The other hunter decided to hike back up to the road. I figured we could catch up to them so Kohl and I waited until they dropped out of sight into a ravine and speed walked their way. They were 1000 yards away when they dropped into the ravine. When we got to the edge they started coming up the other side and were 700 yards away still. I figured a few more times of this and we would be in range. But Kohl was tired from the chase and wasn't in the mood to continue. It was hot and we had already done a few miles with another mile to the truck and all the elevation to gain back.
That evening we hunted a spot about 1 mile away from where the elk came out of the timber above us the previous night on the same ridge. We watch a ravine for awhile. No action on our ridge. I glass across to the ridge we chased the elk on in the morning and see the herd out feeding about a mile from where we stopped chasing them. We walk another 100 yards and check another ravine. Nothing. We head back towards the truck and We decide to look into one more ravine. We are still 20 yards from the top of the ridge to be able to look into the next ravine and I see elk on the far ridge. I tell Kohl to freeze and range them at 500 yards. We hurry to the top so we can see to the bottom and the elk start trotting down the ridge. I look in the bottom and there is a nice meadow that the elk are headed towards. I range the meadow at 300 yards. I get setup as best I can. Had to wait about 5 minutes for the elk to spread so I didn't hit 3-4 with one shot.
I pick out a good sized cow and squeeze off the shot. The whole herd spooked a few feet then stood looking around. I watch the cow I believe I shot at (not 100% sure since they moved and it took a second to get the scope on them again) for a minute. Not acting hit at all then it lowers its head and starts feeding. I grab my binos and scan the grass which is only ankle high. Nothing, I scan the elk and don't see any acting hurt at all.After 5 minutes or so I setup again. Squeeze another shot off. The cow I shoot at spooks 20 feet or so and stops. At this point I honestly didn't know what to think. I watch the elk again for a few minutes. Kohl is telling me to shoot again. I shoot again at the same cow and again I miss. The elk slowly start working back up the ridge towards another 80-100 head that were above them. We watch them then drop down and look for blood. We can't find any. Kohl is super disappointed and I'm not sure what to think. It should have been game over and instead it was 3 misses.
Next morning I decide that we will go to the same place as the previous morning since the elk headed in that direction when they crossed the ridge. My plan was to glass first thing then shoot the gun and make sure it was still on. I've never had a problem with it before though so figured it was just me. We stay low on the 2 track this time. Right at first light I spot an elk. Get out the spotter because its to dark to tell if its a cow or bull and there ends up being a couple small bulls. We head up further and we spot a herd about a mile away right above our glassing vantage point. We park out of sight and make our way towards them. We get to the last bit of hill covering our approach and they are still 650 yards away. They are starting to move with the bull bunching them so I tell kohl we only have one option. We walk straight towards them hunched over. They see us and some start getting nervous.
We get to the edge and there is a small valley in between us. I range again and they are 550 yards. Kohl is excited and telling me to shoot. I am debating after last nights performance but again I felt like it was me and not the gun. I quickly slide the gun over the pack, dial it and take aim. I pick out a bigger cow but they are so close I feel like if I shoot I will hit multiple elk. I scan the herd and the last elk has plenty of daylight on all sides. I shift aim over to that elk and its a spike. The herd trots sidehill and stops after 10-20 yards. Now there is a cow at the tail end with nothing behind it. I take aim and the spike walks in front of the cow, stops, and covers her front half. I wait and the spike moves out of the way and there is nothing around the cow. I take aim again squeeze off the shot. I see the cow jump, kick its hind legs and face plant. It rolls a few feet and then kohl is hugging me and we give some high fives.
The herd runs toward us into the middle of the little valley and heads down towards the bottom of the ridge. I start glassing for the cow I just shot and can't see it anywhere. I start getting a sick feeling that I just wounded an elk and its in the middle of the herd that is now 1000 yards away. We head towards where it was across the little valley. I'm looking for blood the whole way, and Kohl is getting really upset since he thinks it got away. I decide to head to the top of the ridge so I could glass down into the sage brush that was taller in the valley bottom. About 20 yards from the top of the ridge I see the cow laying there. It died facing straight away from where I shot from. Its butt blended with the grass and it was just tall enough to be tough to see from where I shot from.
Anyway it wasn't exactly how I hoped it would be with the misses the previous night, but he was able to watch the cow get hit and tumble, help skin it, help bone it. One of the best hunts I have got to do. Kohl asked if we could mount it lol
It took a lot longer to bone out then normal since Kohl wanted to do a lot of the knife work, and we had to take a half hour break to warm up his toe's. So we decided to save some time by packing it out all at once. It was only about 1-1.5 miles to the truck.
Sorry for the wall of text. But I am pretty excited to have got to do this hunt with my boy and get him involved as much as possible. Thanks for reading. Regards, Branden
