Jorge400
Active member
The Hunt
I just returned from a successful hunt in Colorado with a buddy. I along with a few friends have had access to a cattle farm in Western CO since 2005 and have taken turns hunting 3rd rifle in pairs. This farm also gives us good access to the adjoining BLM. This portion of the BLM can be somewhat difficult to access otherwise but a few dedicated hunters do make it over the mountain on occasion. The plan was to get my buddy his first mule deer (first western big game for that matter) and then I was going to focus on getting an exceptional muley as I have taken a number of nice ones on prior hunts. My intention was to hunt the gulch extending up into the BLM as this is one of the primary routes deer take to get to the lower elevations and valley floor for the winter. Conversations with the rancher leading up to our hunt revealed that not many deer were showing up on the ranch but this is most always the case and as the 3rd season progresses nice bucks generally show up to check out the does.
We did not draw tags in the regular draw so we had to acquire landowner vouchers from the rancher. Upon arrival we found that one voucher limited one of us to private land only and the other was open. therefore, my buddy was restricted to the ranch and I intended to use my tag for reaching up into the BLM as needed. We also learned upon our arrival that the ranch had about 6" of snow on the ground and reports of FAR more in the surrounding high country in the days leading up to our arrival. As expected, the snow had pushed more deer down, as well as elk which generally don't make their arrival until later. Therefore, I purchased an OTC elk tag as well.
The first order of business was to get my hunting partner his first mule deer. Hiking up into the hills through the snow put our eastern lungs to the test and despite the temperature hovering just above 0 opening morning, we warmed up quickly. While we saw a handful of does in the morning and a racked buck or two, no mature bucks. We also saw 7 bull elk early. We moved to the northern portion of the ranch to try to locate a some more deer but ended up bumping a few elk that were part of a large herd and backed out to keep from alerting the whole herd and blowing everything out of the area. After a bite, we eased back into the area and quietly set up to see what was around. I eventually located a mature 3x4 but convinced by buddy that we needed to see what else was around. That evening a heard of 100+ elk moved into our area including 4 nice bulls.
It was only a bit warmer the next morning, 7 degrees. We made it up to a good glassing spot a bit before shooting light and settled in. While we spotted a number of deer, there were no bucks of particular interest and bedding elk were pushing many out back onto BLM land which did not help the odds for my hunting partner who had the private land only tag. We ended up splitting up and my partner hunted in the area where we spotted the larger 3x4 the day before but with very little activity. I on the other hand was perched over a hot area. The large elk herd was below me as well as a number of new muley bucks. Once one of the new bucks started checking does, the large 3x4 emerged and challenged him and every other buck that displayed interest in the large number of does that were appearing. He was clearly the dominant buck on the property. I also spied a very nice bull elk that was also clearly the most mature of bunch. He had a busted up left side but I still had my sights set on that bull.
Monday morning brought temps starting in the 20s which was much more comfortable. My buddy and I set up on the same side of the ranch where I saw the 3x4 the evening before but were not able to locate him. I was able to locate one new buck bedded up in some pinions which we had to wait out quite some time before we could assess his size but he ended up being smaller than the 3x4. We did see a few nice bull elk including very symmetrical 5x5 that would otherwise be a 6x6 had he not been missing his 2nd set of eye guards, and slightly smaller 6x6. I implored by buddy to get an elk tag but he was dead set on mule deer.
We split up again later that day. While I saw a number of deer, there were no bucks of particular interest and the larger 3x4 was clearly not in the area as the buck he chased off the day before was checking and harassing does freely. While picking apart a hill leading off the BLM for deer, I spotted a cow elk near the top of a ridgeline. Slowly I picked apart the entire hill finding only 4 more elk including a small bull. However, within a few hours I learned that that hill contained far more elk, probably 80 or more. Amazing how they can disappear. As the elk rousted from their beds to feed, I found the big bull with the busted left side. However, I knew we would blow all the deer out of this area of the ranch with a prolonged elk extraction and initially decided to pass on him. This all changed as he headed towards an open area near the base of the hill that looked to be accessible by vehicle. A cow elk was standing in an open area he was heading towards and I ranged her at 320 yards. I quickly decided that if he stepped out into the same opening I was going to take him. 5 minutes later he did just that and I touch off a round with my new 6.5 Creedmore. I lost sight of him in the scope but felt very good about the shot and placement but concerned about where he had gone as elk were running in different directions. While picking apart the area with my binos for my bull, I heard a shot from the area where my buddy was hunting.
I carefully visually marked the area where I shot the bull and made my way to the north part of the ranch where my buddy was hunting. He located the large 3x4 again and took a 150+/- yard shot but lost sight of him has he took off towards some thick stuff. He directed me towards the location where he shot him and I quickly spied the buck piled up in a creek bed. He was thrilled to take his first mule deer.
While I wanted to celebrate his success and help him with his buck, anxiety was building as I was not entirely sure where my bull had disappeared to. I made it over to the area I visually marked and quickly saw the bull down between some brush having only gone 20 yards.
I still had a buck tag in my pocket but we just weren't seeing any bucks of particular interest to me and I didn't want to shoot a smaller buck just for the sake of shooting a buck. Furthermore, more and more hunters were on this side of the BLM hampering the plan to hunt up the gulch. After learning that a local school teacher was look to take advantage of elk on the ranch for meat, I made the decision to pull out and head home happy with what I got.
After the Hunt
We made the decision to forego our return flights and drive back to Atlanta rather than deal with the time and expense of shipping the meat and trophies back. I think this is a good option to those in a similar dilemma. It beats driving all the way out and then driving all the way back while putting miles on your own vehicle. However, don't just assume you can take your rental vehicle and drop it at the nearest rental car agency to your home. You need to check with the rental car company first. Enterprise wanted a $2,000 drop fee to drive the 4-wheel drive Dodge Ram to Atlanta. Therefore, we made arrangements to trade it for a minivan for the drive back. When we got to Enterprise in Denver, the girl helping us went nuts over my bull's antlers and insisted on having her picture taken with them for her Instagram account. After which they offered to upgrade us to a much nicer full sized SUV.
All in all it was a great trip. I'll do a bit of hunting on this side of the continent through the rest of the season, then it's time to start planning and applying for hunts next year.
I just returned from a successful hunt in Colorado with a buddy. I along with a few friends have had access to a cattle farm in Western CO since 2005 and have taken turns hunting 3rd rifle in pairs. This farm also gives us good access to the adjoining BLM. This portion of the BLM can be somewhat difficult to access otherwise but a few dedicated hunters do make it over the mountain on occasion. The plan was to get my buddy his first mule deer (first western big game for that matter) and then I was going to focus on getting an exceptional muley as I have taken a number of nice ones on prior hunts. My intention was to hunt the gulch extending up into the BLM as this is one of the primary routes deer take to get to the lower elevations and valley floor for the winter. Conversations with the rancher leading up to our hunt revealed that not many deer were showing up on the ranch but this is most always the case and as the 3rd season progresses nice bucks generally show up to check out the does.
We did not draw tags in the regular draw so we had to acquire landowner vouchers from the rancher. Upon arrival we found that one voucher limited one of us to private land only and the other was open. therefore, my buddy was restricted to the ranch and I intended to use my tag for reaching up into the BLM as needed. We also learned upon our arrival that the ranch had about 6" of snow on the ground and reports of FAR more in the surrounding high country in the days leading up to our arrival. As expected, the snow had pushed more deer down, as well as elk which generally don't make their arrival until later. Therefore, I purchased an OTC elk tag as well.
The first order of business was to get my hunting partner his first mule deer. Hiking up into the hills through the snow put our eastern lungs to the test and despite the temperature hovering just above 0 opening morning, we warmed up quickly. While we saw a handful of does in the morning and a racked buck or two, no mature bucks. We also saw 7 bull elk early. We moved to the northern portion of the ranch to try to locate a some more deer but ended up bumping a few elk that were part of a large herd and backed out to keep from alerting the whole herd and blowing everything out of the area. After a bite, we eased back into the area and quietly set up to see what was around. I eventually located a mature 3x4 but convinced by buddy that we needed to see what else was around. That evening a heard of 100+ elk moved into our area including 4 nice bulls.
It was only a bit warmer the next morning, 7 degrees. We made it up to a good glassing spot a bit before shooting light and settled in. While we spotted a number of deer, there were no bucks of particular interest and bedding elk were pushing many out back onto BLM land which did not help the odds for my hunting partner who had the private land only tag. We ended up splitting up and my partner hunted in the area where we spotted the larger 3x4 the day before but with very little activity. I on the other hand was perched over a hot area. The large elk herd was below me as well as a number of new muley bucks. Once one of the new bucks started checking does, the large 3x4 emerged and challenged him and every other buck that displayed interest in the large number of does that were appearing. He was clearly the dominant buck on the property. I also spied a very nice bull elk that was also clearly the most mature of bunch. He had a busted up left side but I still had my sights set on that bull.
Monday morning brought temps starting in the 20s which was much more comfortable. My buddy and I set up on the same side of the ranch where I saw the 3x4 the evening before but were not able to locate him. I was able to locate one new buck bedded up in some pinions which we had to wait out quite some time before we could assess his size but he ended up being smaller than the 3x4. We did see a few nice bull elk including very symmetrical 5x5 that would otherwise be a 6x6 had he not been missing his 2nd set of eye guards, and slightly smaller 6x6. I implored by buddy to get an elk tag but he was dead set on mule deer.
We split up again later that day. While I saw a number of deer, there were no bucks of particular interest and the larger 3x4 was clearly not in the area as the buck he chased off the day before was checking and harassing does freely. While picking apart a hill leading off the BLM for deer, I spotted a cow elk near the top of a ridgeline. Slowly I picked apart the entire hill finding only 4 more elk including a small bull. However, within a few hours I learned that that hill contained far more elk, probably 80 or more. Amazing how they can disappear. As the elk rousted from their beds to feed, I found the big bull with the busted left side. However, I knew we would blow all the deer out of this area of the ranch with a prolonged elk extraction and initially decided to pass on him. This all changed as he headed towards an open area near the base of the hill that looked to be accessible by vehicle. A cow elk was standing in an open area he was heading towards and I ranged her at 320 yards. I quickly decided that if he stepped out into the same opening I was going to take him. 5 minutes later he did just that and I touch off a round with my new 6.5 Creedmore. I lost sight of him in the scope but felt very good about the shot and placement but concerned about where he had gone as elk were running in different directions. While picking apart the area with my binos for my bull, I heard a shot from the area where my buddy was hunting.
I carefully visually marked the area where I shot the bull and made my way to the north part of the ranch where my buddy was hunting. He located the large 3x4 again and took a 150+/- yard shot but lost sight of him has he took off towards some thick stuff. He directed me towards the location where he shot him and I quickly spied the buck piled up in a creek bed. He was thrilled to take his first mule deer.
While I wanted to celebrate his success and help him with his buck, anxiety was building as I was not entirely sure where my bull had disappeared to. I made it over to the area I visually marked and quickly saw the bull down between some brush having only gone 20 yards.
I still had a buck tag in my pocket but we just weren't seeing any bucks of particular interest to me and I didn't want to shoot a smaller buck just for the sake of shooting a buck. Furthermore, more and more hunters were on this side of the BLM hampering the plan to hunt up the gulch. After learning that a local school teacher was look to take advantage of elk on the ranch for meat, I made the decision to pull out and head home happy with what I got.
After the Hunt
We made the decision to forego our return flights and drive back to Atlanta rather than deal with the time and expense of shipping the meat and trophies back. I think this is a good option to those in a similar dilemma. It beats driving all the way out and then driving all the way back while putting miles on your own vehicle. However, don't just assume you can take your rental vehicle and drop it at the nearest rental car agency to your home. You need to check with the rental car company first. Enterprise wanted a $2,000 drop fee to drive the 4-wheel drive Dodge Ram to Atlanta. Therefore, we made arrangements to trade it for a minivan for the drive back. When we got to Enterprise in Denver, the girl helping us went nuts over my bull's antlers and insisted on having her picture taken with them for her Instagram account. After which they offered to upgrade us to a much nicer full sized SUV.
All in all it was a great trip. I'll do a bit of hunting on this side of the continent through the rest of the season, then it's time to start planning and applying for hunts next year.
