MuleyFever
WKR
So I am not an elk hunter by any means. I drew a CO tag this year and this is my second bull elk hunt. My first was an AZ late hunt where I killed a broken up raghorn. But, while putting in for deer I figure I better put in for elk. I just like to hunt. After 5 years I figured it was time to burn my CO elk points.
So, I left work early Friday for a unit I have never hunted. I picked a spot to start based on the ease of access since I would get there after dark. In the AM I hiked up through some clear cuts hoping to find elk feeding. I ran into a cow and some sign so I hit it again the next day, but nothing.
I moved to a new spot Sun afternoon. No one at the trail head was a positive sign. I got to the ridge I was looking at on my map and found a ton of tracks. I set camp and hunted it Sun night and the following morning with no luck. I did finally hear my first bugle Sun night. Mon morning I sat for a while but nothing came to be. Mon evening I set up and called over a ridge and got a response but he would not come in.
Tuesday morning I was working the top of the ridge where the elk was the evening before and I called in my very first elk to 40 yds but could not get a shot, I knew then I had to stay in the area as I was into elk. I was out of food and water though as I was prepared to leave if no elk were found.
I went back to the truck to resupply. While I was there something really cool happened. A truck pulls up with a guy just trying to find an alternate road around a car accident on the highway. He was in his 20s I guess and we started talking as he could see I was hunting and he was on his way home from elk hunting. In conversation he appeared very knowledgeable on elk hunting so I started asking him questions. Asked about calls and tell him I dont have a diaphragm call and next thing I know he digs out a brand new diaphragm for me and proceeds to give me a bunch of pointers. We sit and practice calling for a bit, he shows me an awesome bear he just killed while elk hunting, and he goes on his way. I never even got his name.
So I head back out ready to hit it again and see if I can get back on that elk. The wind was bad for the area he was in that morning so I go another ridge farther down and start working it doing some cow calling like the guy showed me. After a couple set ups I get a bugle. It was a raspy unmistakable sound. I dive off the ridge toward the bugle as it was a ways off. While I was working to the bull I got a 2nd bull going too. This was working great. I got to where I figured I was close and tried calling some more. The bulls were going but then shut up. I thought maybe the wind pushed the wrong way and spooked them. I got to where I was sure they last were and nothing. Rejected I figured I better start heading back to camp. I walked about 20 yards and the bull sounded off with that raspy bugle, he was close too but now closer to where the 2nd bull bugled from. Suddenly there he was. He was across the bottom of the canyon walking right to me. I figure he chased off the other bull and was now coming back to where I last called from. I got ready and at 50 yards he stopped and I took my shot. The smoke dissipated just in time for me to catch him running up the other side toward a thin stand of young aspens. As I was reloading with shaking hands, trying not to spill my powder, I heard this massive crash. I figured he had to have just went down. I crossed the bottom and about 50 yards up the hill I see him laying there.
I was extremely excited and the sight of the bull was everything I was hoping for. Its amazing though how fast all that excitement turns into a realization of how much work you have ahead of you. I had the first load and camp back to the truck at about 12:30pm. I layed down for about 4 hours and finally had him all to the truck at 1pm the next day. I told my wife to remind me next time I say I am going elk hunting that I want someone to go with me.
I do not believe I would have killed this bull if it were not for that chance encounter with that other hunter. He gave me some pointers and really drove home a few things that gave me the confidence to work in on this bull. I wish I would have gotten his number so I could let him know he really helped me be successful. Sometimes you meet some of the best guys hunting.
So, I left work early Friday for a unit I have never hunted. I picked a spot to start based on the ease of access since I would get there after dark. In the AM I hiked up through some clear cuts hoping to find elk feeding. I ran into a cow and some sign so I hit it again the next day, but nothing.
I moved to a new spot Sun afternoon. No one at the trail head was a positive sign. I got to the ridge I was looking at on my map and found a ton of tracks. I set camp and hunted it Sun night and the following morning with no luck. I did finally hear my first bugle Sun night. Mon morning I sat for a while but nothing came to be. Mon evening I set up and called over a ridge and got a response but he would not come in.
Tuesday morning I was working the top of the ridge where the elk was the evening before and I called in my very first elk to 40 yds but could not get a shot, I knew then I had to stay in the area as I was into elk. I was out of food and water though as I was prepared to leave if no elk were found.
I went back to the truck to resupply. While I was there something really cool happened. A truck pulls up with a guy just trying to find an alternate road around a car accident on the highway. He was in his 20s I guess and we started talking as he could see I was hunting and he was on his way home from elk hunting. In conversation he appeared very knowledgeable on elk hunting so I started asking him questions. Asked about calls and tell him I dont have a diaphragm call and next thing I know he digs out a brand new diaphragm for me and proceeds to give me a bunch of pointers. We sit and practice calling for a bit, he shows me an awesome bear he just killed while elk hunting, and he goes on his way. I never even got his name.
So I head back out ready to hit it again and see if I can get back on that elk. The wind was bad for the area he was in that morning so I go another ridge farther down and start working it doing some cow calling like the guy showed me. After a couple set ups I get a bugle. It was a raspy unmistakable sound. I dive off the ridge toward the bugle as it was a ways off. While I was working to the bull I got a 2nd bull going too. This was working great. I got to where I figured I was close and tried calling some more. The bulls were going but then shut up. I thought maybe the wind pushed the wrong way and spooked them. I got to where I was sure they last were and nothing. Rejected I figured I better start heading back to camp. I walked about 20 yards and the bull sounded off with that raspy bugle, he was close too but now closer to where the 2nd bull bugled from. Suddenly there he was. He was across the bottom of the canyon walking right to me. I figure he chased off the other bull and was now coming back to where I last called from. I got ready and at 50 yards he stopped and I took my shot. The smoke dissipated just in time for me to catch him running up the other side toward a thin stand of young aspens. As I was reloading with shaking hands, trying not to spill my powder, I heard this massive crash. I figured he had to have just went down. I crossed the bottom and about 50 yards up the hill I see him laying there.
I was extremely excited and the sight of the bull was everything I was hoping for. Its amazing though how fast all that excitement turns into a realization of how much work you have ahead of you. I had the first load and camp back to the truck at about 12:30pm. I layed down for about 4 hours and finally had him all to the truck at 1pm the next day. I told my wife to remind me next time I say I am going elk hunting that I want someone to go with me.
I do not believe I would have killed this bull if it were not for that chance encounter with that other hunter. He gave me some pointers and really drove home a few things that gave me the confidence to work in on this bull. I wish I would have gotten his number so I could let him know he really helped me be successful. Sometimes you meet some of the best guys hunting.
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