yoopshoot
Lil-Rokslider
3rd try and finally put it all together and got a bull. The previous two years I have hunted archery and had many close calls including wounding a bull my first year, unfortunately.
This year I had hoped to hunt September once again, however an unexpected addition to our family, our 3rd child due September 1st ( great timing I know), pretty much made archery elk a no go for me this year. In planning for this fall, I had discussed with my wife other options that were a little more family friendly, including applying for a first season rifle tag in CO. I have not hunted CO or rifle season previously.
I applied for a low point first season tag and fortunately drew it. I chose first season versus the later OTC hunts primarily for the limited tags and hopefully less hunting pressure. I chose a unit that had terrain features that attracted me and because I had intel from a buddy who previously had hunted the area years earlier.
I went about my typical physical fitness conditioning in preparation for the hunt and had a number of areas highlighted to scout and hopefully find elk to hunt.
I arrived a couple days prior to season and to my surprise the access point I chose only had one other truck, a local who was on a leisurely horseback ride. I made it approximately 2.5 miles in that night before dark( my first choice camp location was about 4.7 miles). No bugles that first night. The next morning I hiked to the area I had thought would put me in good position to find game. On my way up to the camp spot I heard one distant bugle further up the mountain and saw numerous mule deer, including a couple dandy 4x4s.
My plan was to low impact scout and get a feel for the general area. I did not want to go hit areas that I felt elk might be, for fear of blowing them out. My scouting was in intermediate elevation and revealed sparse sign. Tracks, dropping, rubs, beds, but nothing I would consider fresh within the last few days or week. That night , the night before season, I heard some cow mews and lazy bugles further up the mountain . That intel helped confirm my suspicions that the elk were higher up the mountain. I think this was because of the overall mild temps and lack of weather to push them down.
The next morning, opening day, I planned to watch a meadow that was just below where I had heard elk the night before. A cool, crisp morning was overall quiet and revealed no bugles or elk. A few mule deer ventured through the meadow however. My plan was to venture further up the mountain to a saddle that was in thicker timber. I waited for thermals to switch and slowly worked up the mountain with a slightly off wind. ( my plan was to work up the mountain on an angle, keeping the wind blowing left to right as not to blow out the timber in front of me.)
I made it to the bench and immediately was blasted with the musty , sweet odor of elk. Sign was littered everywhere. I slowly worked through the timber , taking two steps and stopping, watching for any movement or hearing any elk. After about an hour of still hunting and covering only a few hundred yards, I caught a flicker of movement and then an elk erupted from its bed 35 yards away. After a few bounds it stopped and looked back at me. Immediately I had seen it was a bull , however I couldn’t tell if it was legal in initially. I put up the scope and saw good brow times and multiple points , I fired one shot and dropped him high shoulder. At this time, the rest of the herd blew out, including at least one other, larger bull, but I had not seen them as they were bedded behind some blowdown.
Flooded with emotions I walked up to my first bull, a 4x4 rag horn, however I was ecstatic.
The work then began. I had often heard and read not to hunt solo more than a few miles in. I looked at Onx and I was standing 5.9 miles from the truck where the bull lay. I took a few photos, then broke the bull down which took a couple of hours. This was an ordeal solo but I just took my time . I was joined by two pine marten that wanted lunch and managed to nibble on some of my cooling quarters over on a log.
I shuttled the elk down to my camp in two loads, very heavy loads. It was later afternoon at this point and I wanted to get one load out to the truck. I loaded up a deboned hind quarter and front quarter with some neck meat and made my way down to the truck nearly 5 miles. This took nearly 4 hours as I shouldn’t have taken that amount for the first trip. I spent the night at the trailhead.
The next morning I tried arranging a horse packer as there were multiple outfitters in the area. The best answer I received was “ maybe in 2-3 days I could get to it.” With this level of uncertainty , I said screw it and decided to pack it out myself. Well , 12 hours later and 18 miles in packing , I had the elk off the mountain. I had never had that level of pain, but well worth it. During my short hunt I only saw two other hunters on the trail , and numerous other hikers, bikers. I never had any issues with hunter interference while off trail.
I typically would not have hunted that far from the truck, however I figured elk would be in that general area up high. Given the weather was favorable for meat preservation with highs in the 50s and lows in the 20s, I knew it wouldn’t be a race to get meat off the mountain and if it took a few days, so be it. With that being said, I will Probably look at renting horses or llamas if I go back there again haha.
I just wanted to do a brief write up as I have learned a great deal from this site which I am thankful for and appreciate reading others stories.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
This year I had hoped to hunt September once again, however an unexpected addition to our family, our 3rd child due September 1st ( great timing I know), pretty much made archery elk a no go for me this year. In planning for this fall, I had discussed with my wife other options that were a little more family friendly, including applying for a first season rifle tag in CO. I have not hunted CO or rifle season previously.
I applied for a low point first season tag and fortunately drew it. I chose first season versus the later OTC hunts primarily for the limited tags and hopefully less hunting pressure. I chose a unit that had terrain features that attracted me and because I had intel from a buddy who previously had hunted the area years earlier.
I went about my typical physical fitness conditioning in preparation for the hunt and had a number of areas highlighted to scout and hopefully find elk to hunt.
I arrived a couple days prior to season and to my surprise the access point I chose only had one other truck, a local who was on a leisurely horseback ride. I made it approximately 2.5 miles in that night before dark( my first choice camp location was about 4.7 miles). No bugles that first night. The next morning I hiked to the area I had thought would put me in good position to find game. On my way up to the camp spot I heard one distant bugle further up the mountain and saw numerous mule deer, including a couple dandy 4x4s.
My plan was to low impact scout and get a feel for the general area. I did not want to go hit areas that I felt elk might be, for fear of blowing them out. My scouting was in intermediate elevation and revealed sparse sign. Tracks, dropping, rubs, beds, but nothing I would consider fresh within the last few days or week. That night , the night before season, I heard some cow mews and lazy bugles further up the mountain . That intel helped confirm my suspicions that the elk were higher up the mountain. I think this was because of the overall mild temps and lack of weather to push them down.
The next morning, opening day, I planned to watch a meadow that was just below where I had heard elk the night before. A cool, crisp morning was overall quiet and revealed no bugles or elk. A few mule deer ventured through the meadow however. My plan was to venture further up the mountain to a saddle that was in thicker timber. I waited for thermals to switch and slowly worked up the mountain with a slightly off wind. ( my plan was to work up the mountain on an angle, keeping the wind blowing left to right as not to blow out the timber in front of me.)
I made it to the bench and immediately was blasted with the musty , sweet odor of elk. Sign was littered everywhere. I slowly worked through the timber , taking two steps and stopping, watching for any movement or hearing any elk. After about an hour of still hunting and covering only a few hundred yards, I caught a flicker of movement and then an elk erupted from its bed 35 yards away. After a few bounds it stopped and looked back at me. Immediately I had seen it was a bull , however I couldn’t tell if it was legal in initially. I put up the scope and saw good brow times and multiple points , I fired one shot and dropped him high shoulder. At this time, the rest of the herd blew out, including at least one other, larger bull, but I had not seen them as they were bedded behind some blowdown.
Flooded with emotions I walked up to my first bull, a 4x4 rag horn, however I was ecstatic.
The work then began. I had often heard and read not to hunt solo more than a few miles in. I looked at Onx and I was standing 5.9 miles from the truck where the bull lay. I took a few photos, then broke the bull down which took a couple of hours. This was an ordeal solo but I just took my time . I was joined by two pine marten that wanted lunch and managed to nibble on some of my cooling quarters over on a log.
I shuttled the elk down to my camp in two loads, very heavy loads. It was later afternoon at this point and I wanted to get one load out to the truck. I loaded up a deboned hind quarter and front quarter with some neck meat and made my way down to the truck nearly 5 miles. This took nearly 4 hours as I shouldn’t have taken that amount for the first trip. I spent the night at the trailhead.
The next morning I tried arranging a horse packer as there were multiple outfitters in the area. The best answer I received was “ maybe in 2-3 days I could get to it.” With this level of uncertainty , I said screw it and decided to pack it out myself. Well , 12 hours later and 18 miles in packing , I had the elk off the mountain. I had never had that level of pain, but well worth it. During my short hunt I only saw two other hunters on the trail , and numerous other hikers, bikers. I never had any issues with hunter interference while off trail.
I typically would not have hunted that far from the truck, however I figured elk would be in that general area up high. Given the weather was favorable for meat preservation with highs in the 50s and lows in the 20s, I knew it wouldn’t be a race to get meat off the mountain and if it took a few days, so be it. With that being said, I will Probably look at renting horses or llamas if I go back there again haha.
I just wanted to do a brief write up as I have learned a great deal from this site which I am thankful for and appreciate reading others stories.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
