Elk .... Let's see them!!!

[wannakillabigbull]

Colorado first rifle bull; picked up the tag on leftover day.

 

[Redman]

Colorado bull 2021 1st rifle season.

 

[Poke 'Em]

Wyoming general tag, solo hunt. 13 mile packout.

 

[Irrelevant]

Wyoming general tag, solo hunt. 13 mile packout.

13 miles... one way? Holy cow man. That's brutal. How many loads, how many days?

 

[Poke 'Em]

13 miles... one way? Holy cow man. That's brutal. How many loads, how many days?

Round trip. One trip. Me + 3 llamas. 18 miles if you count the trip back to camp to get the llamas.

 

[Jake.]

Colorado bull 2021 1st rifle season.

Were you going east on 50 by chance? If so I think I gave ya a thumbs up LOL

 

[Redman]

Were you going east on 50 by chance? If so I think I gave ya a thumbs up LOL

No a bit North on 36 all the way from Colorado to Indiana.

 

[Jake.]

No a bit North on 36 all the way from Colorado to Indiana.

Well either way, !!

 

[Redman]

Well either way, !!

Even if we did cross paths on the road I would have been in a daze and not noticed...lack of sleep and drove straight through there and back with another night of no sleep after killing my bull

 

[blacksheep]

 

[Hydrophilic]

Freezer was empty and I decided I was going to shoot the first bull I saw. 4 miles into a roadless area I got into a large herd, 20-30 I’m guessing. Bugling could be heard just below me, and getting closer. Watched a couple cows pass through an opening, then the spike came and without hesitation I double lunged him with a Barnes TSX copper. I walked up to him, thanked him for the gift, and did a long miserable pack out. Totally worth it! My group of 6 shot 3 bulls on opening day.

 

[Cornbread]

Round trip. One trip. Me + 3 llamas. 18 miles if you count the trip back to camp to get the llamas.

Wow, you are a better man than I. Im 67 however. Nice job, nice elk.

 

[Lilhowie83]

Best bull,
Killed him last month in Utah.

Beautiful bull!

 

[3855WIN]

I got good intel from a hunt talker and my son was able to kill his first elk. Colorado, first rifle.

 

[Salmonchaser]

We had a successful year; Carson got his first bull I got my 44th plus or minus. Carsons bull came from the same area I shot my first bull 54 years ago. I see some very good bulls have been taken this year. Well done folks

 

[PablitoPescador]

Knew I had to be efficient this year with a three month old baby boy at home. Got lucky and found this guy on my second day of rifle hunting this season

 

[IK-NWhunter]

Best bull,
Killed him last month in Utah.

That's one hell of a 6-point!

 

[Hydrophilic]

Our season ended with 5/6 tags filled.

After I packed out my spike I threw on a pack frame and followed my dad up to his time proven spot - a high saddle, hard to access. He has a particular stump he stands at, at the edge of the timbered section, about 60 yds lower than the bare saddle. He watches the saddle and the animals that cross back and forth just below a rocky knob. It’s a convenient place for elk to filter between drainages.

I went with him for a few reasons. He has bad hearing and has had life long tinnitus. I figured I could discern the forest noises for him and alert him to incoming large animals. He has a hernia and cannot lift much weight, so I would need to pack out anything he shot. He has also been hunting this very particular place for 40+ years and I wanted, at least, just to be there and sit around a small fire with him.

I filtered out some noises for him. An hour after sunrise some big thuds were actually large pine cones being dropped by nearby pine squirrels - not slow footsteps of a large animal. I scanned below a bit and turned to him. His eyes were intent and he grabbed his rifle quicker than I thought possible and aimed it up with intention. A cow passed through the opening. Followed by another, and another. Then nothing. He lowered his gun.

We start chatting, quietly, but his eyes never quite leave the openings just up from us. 10 minutes later I turn to him and see the same intent look, the same rifle grab. His muscles are more tense. Without looking away from the scope, or at me, he raises a hand while still clinging to the gun, to signify antlers. I watch and find a small opening where a large bull elk is passing through, same direction as the cows. A 6 pt. With one clean shot the bull is down. We celebrated our victory and the life of a beautiful animal, his third largest bull.

The humbling part was he didn’t need my help to compensate for his hearing deficiency. He has spent years relying more on his eye sight than his hearing and has more than compensated for his hearing with excellent elk vision and by setting himself up in situations where his knowledge and vision have the upper hand.

 

[270.Rose]

Wyoming General tag bull taken in the national forest in the Bighorn Mountains.

 

[Salmonchaser]

Our season ended with 5/6 tags filled.

After I packed out my spike I threw on a pack frame and followed my dad up to his time proven spot - a high saddle, hard to access. He has a particular stump he stands at, at the edge of the timbered section, about 60 yds lower than the bare saddle. He watches the saddle and the animals that cross back and forth just below a rocky knob. It’s a convenient place for elk to filter between drainages.

I went with him for a few reasons. He has bad hearing and has had life long tinnitus. I figured I could discern the forest noises for him and alert him to incoming large animals. He has a hernia and cannot lift much weight, so I would need to pack out anything he shot. He has also been hunting this very particular place for 40+ years and I wanted, at least, just to be there and sit around a small fire with him.

I filtered out some noises for him. An hour after sunrise some big thuds were actually large pine cones being dropped by nearby pine squirrels - not slow footsteps of a large animal. I scanned below a bit and turned to him. His eyes were intent and he grabbed his rifle quicker than I thought possible and aimed it up with intention. A cow passed through the opening. Followed by another, and another. Then nothing. He lowered his gun.

We start chatting, quietly, but his eyes never quite leave the openings just up from us. 10 minutes later I turn to him and see the same intent look, the same rifle grab. His muscles are more tense. Without looking away from the scope, or at me, he raises a hand while still clinging to the gun, to signify antlers. I watch and find a small opening where a large bull elk is passing through, same direction as the cows. A 6 pt. With one clean shot the bull is down. We celebrated our victory and the life of a beautiful animal, his third largest bull.

The humbling part was he didn’t need my help to compensate for his hearing deficiency. He has spent years relying more on his eye sight than his hearing and has more than compensated for his hearing with excellent elk vision and by setting himself up in situations where his knowledge and vision have the upper hand.

I know your dads frustration. Been a long time since I had hunted with young ears around to filter out the tinnitus. Carson spent most of our time together amazed at how little I could hear. You guys did well, but I suspect your group is the exception, there is a reason your old man has been hunting the same spot for 40 years. Knowing your ground and the elk in it is key. Great story, thanks for sharing.