Overview of my first DIY/OTC Colorado archery elk hunt

[iabowhunter10]

The first half of my post seems to have disappeared. I’ll try to paste it.

In September I did my first archery otc elk hunt in Colorado. I wanted to give a quick review of some of the items that I used and what my impression was of them. I'm an eastern bow hunter and most of the hunting around here is from a treestand. I have many successful spot and stalk hunts out west for Mule Deer and Whitetail but this was my first attempt at public land otc archery elk hunting. I did a lot of research over the last year on forums like Rokslide. Starting from square one and building a plan. Every piece of gear I would need to make this a successful trip. I learned to use mouth reeds and felt my bugles and cow calls were acceptable. The Elk Nut DVD’s were helpful but the iPhone app sure came in handy as well. I fine tuned my bow and regularly practiced out to 80 yards.

I was successful on my archery elk hunt and brought a 5x5 home with me. I only seen one other elk in two weeks of straight hunting and it was a spike that I called in. I was pretty disappointed in the lack of elk. His is what I was told to expect In otc Colorado units, and it proved to be accurate. I was fortunate enough to vacation in Colorado in July. I scouted and placed 5 trail cameras up in the area I would be hunting. I positioned them on game trails and water spots. When we arrived to hunt on September 11th, all of the trail cams were still there and I captured several nice 5x5's and one pretty big 6x6 on camera. Lots of bears and mountain lions in the pictures as well. The elk seem to have disappeared once August 25th came and pictures of elk were pretty scarce after that. I never heard a single elk bugle in two weeks of hunting. I logged 60+ miles of hiking during the trip.

The elk I did harvest came in after lots of cow calls but he never made a sound. He presented me with a perfect broadside shot at 30 yards and the QAD Exodus blew through both of his lungs and stuck in the ground behind him. He crashed into a tree about thirty yards away and expired maybe 20 seconds after I shot him. Extremely happy with the Easton FMJ and Exodus arrow setup.

Here is my quick review of the gear I used for the trip and how it performed. We set up a base camp at the truck and then backpacked in a couple miles to set up a bivy camp to hunt out of. My pack weight going in was 49lbs with all my gear, water and 6 days of food.

Pack - Kifaru Nomad with guide lid and grab it- performed great and I have zero complaints. Made the 75lb pack outs feel like 40lbs.

Clothing- First Lite was everything I expected and kept me warm and dry. I never thought wool clothing would be comfortable in 70 degree weather but I was amazed how well it regulated my temperature. The raingear worked great in several rain/sleet storms and I stayed nice and dry. I also have a new found appreciation for a nice hooded puffy jacket. What a great piece of gear.

Gaiters- I have never worn gaiters before but on several suggestions I picked up the First Lite ones and wore them the entire trip. I think this is the single piece of gear that completely blew me away. They kept my pants and socks dry from all the rain soaked grass and protected my pants from the pickers that stuck to everything. I couldn't recommend a piece of gear more for mountain style hunting.

Boots - Kenetrek Mountain Extreme- very disappointed in these boots. They protected my feet and were pretty comfortable but the rubber rand started to separate from the toe on both feet. They also leaked and anytime the grass was wet my feet ended up wet and uncomfortable. I have used nothing but the recommended kenetrek boot wax on these boots and the rand still started to separate and my feet still ended up wet. Big thumbs down. (For clarification, since I stated earlier the gaiters kept my feet dry, my boots sucked in water from where the sole meets the rubber rand. So the bottom of my feet got wet several times, but the top of my feet and all the way up to the top of my socks stayed dry.)

Fhf Gear Bino and Rangefinder pouch- loved this combo. Kept my bino's protected and within easy reach. I had previously used the elastic harness that crosses your back but will be sticking with the FHF setup for all future hunts. Having the Rangefinder within easy reach was also very nice.

Walking sticks- highly recommended. I went with the cheap Cascade Mountain sticks from Amazon and was very happy with them. I wouldn't go on a mountain style hunt without walking sticks. Especially for the pack in or when packing out heavy loads of elk meat.

Tent- Big Agnes Copper Spur ul2- worked very well for a lightweight tent and I stayed dry through several heavy rain and sleet storms. Even though it was listed as a 2 man tent there is barely enough room for one. I think I will be upgrading to a floorless shelter with standing room for my next hunt. Being cramped in that tiny tent was getting pretty old after 2 weeks


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Can you tell me a little more about your First Lite clothing that you used. We are headed out for an early September archery hunt. We will be packing in and moving depending on the elk. I sent a message into First Lite and they recommended the Aerowool Fuse 200 top, Corrugate Guide jackeet, and the Vapor Stormlight rain jacket. But it means more coming from someone who's been in the field, so if you could share your clothing line up that you used for your hunt that would be awesome.

Thanks,
Eric

 

[bigredxlt]

Great write up. Thank you

 

[thibodaux]

what was your temp dropping to at night? at what elevation?

 

[Bertlen02]

I know this was a while back but I wanted to thank you for sharing your information. It's helped alot

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[Mi_fiveo]

10,000 feet temps dropped to around 30 degrees every night.


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[Smtn10pt]

Old thread but since its resurfaced I'd like to congratulate you on your bull. Way to stick it out.

 

[Jherek]

Really great write up, thanks for taking the time. And way to grind it out for a food bull.

I'm doing my first back pack hunt this year, and this group has been super helpful and my go to. I hope you guys that are willing to take the time and share so much great info know just how much it truely helps so many like myself, and how much it's appreciated!!!

Also wanted to add my 02 cents I got a pair of Kennatrek moutain extreme as well in 2018, and after about 3 months(of course in the middle of a hunting trip) one started leaking bad. Crossing any creek my foot would get wet, even heavy dew, From somewhere by the bottom lace grommets.

Scheels gave me a exchange or refund option. I did the exchange, not sure I made the right choice so far so good on the new pair.

 

[Yote1]

Thank you for sharing. Really glad folks like you are willing to share! Great information for us newbie’s.

 

[jbwright]

In September I did my first archery otc elk hunt in Colorado. I wanted to give a quick review of some of the items that I used and what my impression was of them. I'm an eastern bow hunter and most of the hunting around here is from a treestand. I have many successful spot and stalk hunts out west for Mule Deer and Whitetail but this was my first attempt at public land otc archery elk hunting. I did a lot of research over the last year on forums like Rokslide. Starting from square one and building a plan. Every piece of gear I would need to make this a successful trip. I learned to use mouth reeds and felt my bugles and cow calls were acceptable. The Elk Nut DVD’s were helpful but the iPhone app sure came in handy as well. I fine tuned my bow and regularly practiced out to 80 yards.

I was successful on my archery elk hunt and brought a 5x5 home with me. I only seen one other elk in two weeks of straight hunting and it was a spike that I called in. I was pretty disappointed in the lack of elk. His is what I was told to expect In otc Colorado units, and it proved to be accurate. I was fortunate enough to vacation in Colorado in July. I scouted and placed 5 trail cameras up in the area I would be hunting. I positioned them on game trails and water spots. When we arrived to hunt on September 11th, all of the trail cams were still there and I captured several nice 5x5's and one pretty big 6x6 on camera. Lots of bears and mountain lions in the pictures as well. The elk seem to have disappeared once August 25th came and pictures of elk were pretty scarce after that. I never heard a single elk bugle in two weeks of hunting. I logged 60+ miles of hiking during the trip.

The elk I did harvest came in after lots of cow calls but he never made a sound. He presented me with a perfect broadside shot at 30 yards and the QAD Exodus blew through both of his lungs and stuck in the ground behind him. He crashed into a tree about thirty yards away and expired maybe 20 seconds after I shot him. Extremely happy with the Easton FMJ and Exodus arrow setup.

Here is my quick review of the gear I used for the trip and how it performed. We set up a base camp at the truck and then backpacked in a couple miles to set up a bivy camp to hunt out of. My pack weight going in was 49lbs with all my gear, water and 6 days of food.

Pack - Kifaru Nomad with guide lid and grab it- performed great and I have zero complaints. Made the 75lb pack outs feel like 40lbs.

Clothing- First Lite was everything I expected and kept me warm and dry. I never thought wool clothing would be comfortable in 70 degree weather but I was amazed how well it regulated my temperature. The raingear worked great in several rain/sleet storms and I stayed nice and dry. I also have a new found appreciation for a nice hooded puffy jacket. What a great piece of gear.

Gaiters- I have never worn gaiters before but on several suggestions I picked up the First Lite ones and wore them the entire trip. I think this is the single piece of gear that completely blew me away. They kept my pants and socks dry from all the rain soaked grass and protected my pants from the pickers that stuck to everything. I couldn't recommend a piece of gear more for mountain style hunting.

Boots - Kenetrek Mountain Extreme- very disappointed in these boots. They protected my feet and were pretty comfortable but the rubber rand started to separate from the toe on both feet. They also leaked and anytime the grass was wet my feet ended up wet and uncomfortable. I have used nothing but the recommended kenetrek boot wax on these boots and the rand still started to separate and my feet still ended up wet. Big thumbs down. (For clarification, since I stated earlier the gaiters kept my feet dry, my boots sucked in water from where the sole meets the rubber rand. So the bottom of my feet got wet several times, but the top of my feet and all the way up to the top of my socks stayed dry.)

Fhf Gear Bino and Rangefinder pouch- loved this combo. Kept my bino's protected and within easy reach. I had previously used the elastic harness that crosses your back but will be sticking with the FHF setup for all future hunts. Having the Rangefinder within easy reach was also very nice.

Walking sticks- highly recommended. I went with the cheap Cascade Mountain sticks from Amazon and was very happy with them. I wouldn't go on a mountain style hunt without walking sticks. Especially for the pack in or when packing out heavy loads of elk meat.

Tent- Big Agnes Copper Spur ul2- worked very well for a lightweight tent and I stayed dry through several heavy rain and sleet storms. Even though it was listed as a 2 man tent there is barely enough room for one. I think I will be upgrading to a floorless shelter with standing room for my next hunt. Being cramped in that tiny tent was getting pretty old after 2 weeks.

Sleeping Bag- 20 degree Western Mountaineering Alpinlite- amazing sleeping bag and worth the money. I believe it only weighs 1lb 15oz.

Inflatable Pad- Thermarest X Therm - very happy with this pad. The insulated pad kept me warm and protected from the cold ground. I went with a wide because I have wide shoulders and I’m a side sleeper.

Game Bags- TAG bomb bags- two of the bags ripped at the seams while loaded and hanging. Plan on contacting them to see if they will warranty them. (They addressed this issue very quickly and I had new replacement bags. Top notch customer service)

Knife- Havalon Piranta with removable blades. I used two blades to debone the entire elk. The blades do not like side pressure but I have been using them for years and know not to pry with the blades. I'll never bother to carry a heavy fixed blade knife again.

Water Filter- I used a Katadyne Hiker Pro. It worked great but the Mountain streams are so clear I could have probably gotten away with just using water purification tables.

Stove- MSR Windburner stove. I liked this stove a lot. Nicer than my jetboil. Cooked one mountain house for dinner every night and a cup of Dark Timber coffee every morning. The coffee was ok, pretty weak no matter how hot or long I steeped it. Better than no coffee though!

Any questions on other gear I used just let me know. Hopefully this will help somebody out when trying to put together a gear list. Thanks to all of you for the knowledge I gained on this forum. I felt confident I was ready to handle anything when I started out on my first elk hunting trip.

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Man, I hate that I’m just now reading this at the end of ‘20! I have to say this is super encouraging to hear about the success. A nice harvest, but more thankful for your breakdown of what gear you like and don’t like, and really putting it to the test on a 2-wk hunt. I feel like a lot of folks say a piece of gear “performs well” but to know about the weather you were in / terrain in CO puts solid perspective and gives me confidence when buying good gear.
Do you mind sharing what happened to your Kenetrek’s? Just curious if you were able to inform them the boots broke down. I’ve been eyeing the Mtn Extreme’s for awhile, but for you to only put 60m’s on them is surprising.
Also-fair enough if I don’t hear back! 2 years late, but either way congrats on the bull & the memories!!!