Planning my first elk hunt (Colorado)

[Finch]

Thanks guys. Nice to hear the encouragement! We are packing up camp to move to a different spot so we had a good breakfast this morning.

Powdered eggs and smoked bacon jerky. Really needed that!

 

[DWinVA]

Don't be afraid to be agressive as long as you can keep the wind in your favor. My one regret is not going after some mid-day that I heard while sitting a waterhole. I could hear a bull bugle within 500 yards but I thought he would come my way. I should have got the wind right and went up after him.

God Bless.

 

[Finch]

Good tip! Sorry you didn't have any luck but sounds like you had a great trip.

Our initial plan this morning was to pack out and head to the truck and drive up to a trailhead and hike in. But that would be wasting too much time and probably will get back into more hunting pressure so we're just hiking farther in. There's a good spot per the map about a mile away. Wish us luck!

 

[TNArcher]

Keep at it! I'm really enjoying following the thread.

 

[bz_711]

I hunt with some guys that would say you are in a perfect spot...since you have enough signal to post pics

A few years back that was our joke: "how do you know you are in a good elk hunting spot"..."3G service"

Odds are you are near elk, if they are quiet - go and find them...the thicker the better...miles = encounters.

 

[Finch]

I hunt with some guys that would say you are in a perfect spot...since you have enough signal to post pics

A few years back that was our joke: "how do you know you are in a good elk hunting spot"..."3G service"

Odds are you are near elk, if they are quiet - go and find them...the thicker the better...miles = encounters.

Taking a break. Almost to the next potential camp site.

Thanks TN ARCHER -glad you're enjoying it.

We must be in a helluva spot because I have 4G. currently at 10.5k

 

[snarpezal]

Finch

Sent you a PM.

 

[bz_711]

Taking a break. Almost to the next potential camp site.

Thanks TN ARCHER -glad you're enjoying it.

We must be in a helluva spot because I have 4G. currently at 10.5k

You found Utopia

IMO, the last hour of legal shooting time is better than all other hours of day combined...don't quit early, and really do some listening after dark.
Good Luck!

 

[COlineman78]

You found Utopia

IMO, the last hour of legal shooting time is better than all other hours of day combined...don't quit early, and really do some listening after dark.
Good Luck!

All of my elk have either been shot in the first or last 2 hours of the day. Get where you want to hunt as the sun is just coming up. Some go too early and end up jumping them in the dark. Don't come out until you don't think you could count points if it were standing right in front of you. I usually take a nap from 12-3.

 

[elkyinzer]

My first elk hunt to Colorado I got lucky and found a massive herd on the textbook saddle I had pinpointed on the map at around 11,000 feet. When I found them again three days later after they were pushed by a group of muzzleloader hunters they were at 7,000 feet in the oak brush, I just happened to run into them on a resupply run to the truck hearing bugling an hour after dark. Lessons learned were don't get caught up thinking all the elk are in a certain place and the value of scouting before/after shooting hours.

 

[Finch]

Thanks guys for the advice!

We are in the process of moving camp the 3rd time trying to find elk. Actually back to camp site 2. Had this nice bull Moose at 53 yards this morning. Coolest thing I've witnessed! Got great pics and video. I'll post when i get home but here's a pic of a pic. I don't even care about getting an elk now. We have one more full day though.

I got coordinates on this bad boy too. I'd like to share to a fellow rokslider. What would y'all do?

 

[Finch]

Ok, another strange encounter. Making our way back to camp site 2, we're coming down the mountain kinda loud and BSing. Well we heard this whiny sound. At first we thought it was another hunter but just didn't sound right. We make our way to it mewing along the way and its answering us every time. It sounded like a primos cow girl call mew but 2 syllables and a smooth transition between the two. Then it made a snorting sound. I thought it was an injured elk when we first heard it. Heard it break stuff going up the mountain. Wind was going straight to it.

I guess we sounded like a couple elk coming down the mountain and it called to us. Unsure if cow or bull.

 

[fillthefreezer]

Thanks guys for the advice! What would y'all do?

sorry to see this is how your hunt is shaking out. elk hunting is tough. i would go higher. last year we were well over 11,000ft and heavily into elk there

 

[DWinVA]

Stay after them. It can happen in an instant.

God Bless.

 

[Travis1984]

Finch, how did the hunt end up?

 

[Finch]

Finch, how did the hunt end up?

Empty-handed but we had a good time. I won't lie, we might have been a little ambitious doing a backpack hunt the first time but we survived it. We had everything we needed and figured out a few things that we'd probably do differently next time. I plan on doing a little trip report w/ some pics in a couple days.

 

[Freedombyforce]

I've been following along and doing a DIY backpack rifle hunt in October for the first time. I've enjoyed you experiences and learned a few things through it.

I ran across a quote by Mark Huelsing (the Sole Adventure guy)...... "Fact is, you're doing something incredibly difficult. Something that takes a lot of planning, money, commitment, and guts. If you make the trip happen, that's success. Experiencing elk country, that's an amazing reward. Coming home with an elk would be an unbelievable bonus

 

[Finch]

I've been following along and doing a DIY backpack rifle hunt in October for the first time. I've enjoyed you experiences and learned a few things through it.

I ran across a quote by Mark Huelsing (the Sole Adventure guy)...... "Fact is, you're doing something incredibly difficult. Something that takes a lot of planning, money, commitment, and guts. If you make the trip happen, that's success. Experiencing elk country, that's an amazing reward. Coming home with an elk would be an unbelievable bonus

Great quote! Mark's website was a great resource to me (as well as Rokslide of course) that I referred to many times. Good luck on your hunt! Where are you heading?

 

[DWinVA]

Welcome back to VA. I sent you a PM.

God Bless.

 

[Freedombyforce]

Great quote! Mark's website was a great resource to me (as well as Rokslide of course) that I referred to many times. Good luck on your hunt! Where are you heading?

We'll be down in the Weminuche wilderness in south central CO.