publichunter1
Well-known member
Well the time has finally came and gone but man was it amazing. After months of studying maps and making calls and game plans it was finally time for the trip. I made my way up to Fort Collins first and met up with some friends. Then I headed to Central Colorado for the elk hunt. The ride in was as beautiful as any other trip I had ever made.
I arrived late Friday afternoon but had enough time to walk the ridge I had been image scouting for months to see if I could get anything to bugle. There was plenty of fresh elk sign but after walking a couple miles down the ridge bugling and cow calling every now and then with no response, my mind kept going back to a group of elk that I had spotted on some private land driving in that day. When I arrived back at the truck I scoured my maps realizing that there was a strip of public land that came into the upper end of the meadow they were in. I rode back around to the that area and immediately in the headlights stood a good bull and two cows. I went back up the road a ways and set up my camp with plans to be at the new area at daylight.
The next morning arrived and I parked my truck as the first signs of daylight arrived. I climbed the ridge up to some open parks up near the top of the mountain with no responses to my location bugles. I continued deeper until I reached the other end of the ridge and just as I crested it I thought I heard thunder. It was 10-15 elk just around the end on the knoll from me that were headed to the timber below. A smaller 4x4 stopped at 30 yards to look back and took off again as I drew my bow. I cow called a few times and the rumbling of hooves stopped. Just then the valley in front of me lit up with bugles. I worked my way down wind of all the elk and dropped down in the timber. I heard a bugle a few hundred yards below me and I cut him off with my own bugle. I came across a cow and a spike dropping down the ridge. Just as I began to see the meadow in the bottom the rumbling started again and I stopped as I watched a 7x7 heard his cows into a huddle in the meadow. I bugled and they stopped.
I couldn't get him to close the distance so I let them go up and over the ridge as I didn't want to push them out of the area considering this was my first morning. I heard another bugle on closer to private ground and I headed that direction. When I got within a few hundred yards I cut off his old raspy bugle with one of my own and you could instantly hear his tone change. I worked my way up to the knoll he was on constantly checking where I was in respect to the private land with my Onx maps. I got in shooting range of three different satellite bulls but the thick timber impeded any shot. Then I heard the raspy bugle again just over the knoll and I cut him off again which made him bugle again. I checked the wind and eased around the knoll to spot his cows. I slid in front of a spruce tree on the edge of a small opening just in time to see his head at around 80 yards. I cow called and he began his bugle. When he did I cut him off again and he stormed up the hill to around 40 yards and then stopped. He turned his head and I bugled again. This time he charged another 5 or six yards while I drew my bow. He stopped and began looking for me and decided to turn back toward his cows. As he was turning I estimated his distance and shot through the only opening I had.
Everything broke loose so I cow called and everything went quite. I could still see several of the cows but no bull. I knew if I pushed him he would go on to the very nearby private land and he would be gone. I slowly eased to where he was standing and there was no blood but also no arrow. I followed his tracks and 30 yards later the blood began. I stopped as I again saw his cows so I just lay on the ground doing a lot of praying and replaying the sequence of events over and over.
My view as I pondered.
After 45 minutes I left my pack and eased down the blood trail as slowly and quietly as I could. The blood circled around the end of the knoll and started making me nervous as it began to go up hill after 100 yards or so. Then all of a sudden the blood took a sharp turn down the knoll into the thickest stuff I've ever seen. Judging by the fact he had started making his own trail at this point my hopes increased and peaked soon after as I found him dead 20 yards later. I had hit exactly where I aimed and stuck him through his last rib on a hard quartering away shot.
I still can't put into words how ecstatic I was to be looking at my first elk, never mind it was with a bow too. I then realized I had dropped my game bags getting out of the truck that morning. I then headed the 4.5 miles back to the truck to get them and drop a little weight. I found another road that brought me within 2.5 miles of the elk and was mighty thankful for it. I went back in and quartered him up and began packing out.
I finished my last of the three trips it took me to get him out just after dark that night. I went back to camp and cooked the tenderloins over the fire and then hit the bed. I awoke the next morning to a bull bugling in the distance. I packed up camp and headed into Gunnison. It was then I found out my friend couldn't make it with the equipment to boil out the skull(MS law states that the skull can't be brought into the state without being boiled due to CWD). I pulled off into a parking lot on the back side of town and began cleaning up the head when a man pulled up. He asked if I needed any help (apparently I was parked outside of his business) and I told him what I was doing and apologized if it was an issue. He then spotted the elk and instantly started congratulating me. Took me inside his business and showed me his previous kills and his shop. He then even let me use his burner, propane, and pot. Can't even tell you how amazing of guy he was. He just left them with me and told me just to leave it there when I was done. After he left a storm rolled through and the guys working on the restaurant/bar next door told me to bring it over and finish it out under there porch.
The three of us sat around talking for a few hours while I boiled the head. It was then they asked me if I had anywhere to stay and told me to just stay there that night. After several iterations of asking them if they were sure I accepted and they just told me to lock up when I left. I finished up late that night. Returned all of the boiling equipment and went to sleep. Slept a few hours and then hit the road back to MS. I can't tell you how blessed I felt to run into Ryan, Joe, and Jeff. There are truly some amazing people still out there and no doubt the good Lord was looking out for me the entire trip. Upon arrival home my kids didn't ask me anything but where is the elk. Haha. The bull was an old fella that barely had any teeth left in the front of his mouth. He was missing his 3rds and still taped out at 272". Can't tell you how blessed I am.
I arrived late Friday afternoon but had enough time to walk the ridge I had been image scouting for months to see if I could get anything to bugle. There was plenty of fresh elk sign but after walking a couple miles down the ridge bugling and cow calling every now and then with no response, my mind kept going back to a group of elk that I had spotted on some private land driving in that day. When I arrived back at the truck I scoured my maps realizing that there was a strip of public land that came into the upper end of the meadow they were in. I rode back around to the that area and immediately in the headlights stood a good bull and two cows. I went back up the road a ways and set up my camp with plans to be at the new area at daylight.
The next morning arrived and I parked my truck as the first signs of daylight arrived. I climbed the ridge up to some open parks up near the top of the mountain with no responses to my location bugles. I continued deeper until I reached the other end of the ridge and just as I crested it I thought I heard thunder. It was 10-15 elk just around the end on the knoll from me that were headed to the timber below. A smaller 4x4 stopped at 30 yards to look back and took off again as I drew my bow. I cow called a few times and the rumbling of hooves stopped. Just then the valley in front of me lit up with bugles. I worked my way down wind of all the elk and dropped down in the timber. I heard a bugle a few hundred yards below me and I cut him off with my own bugle. I came across a cow and a spike dropping down the ridge. Just as I began to see the meadow in the bottom the rumbling started again and I stopped as I watched a 7x7 heard his cows into a huddle in the meadow. I bugled and they stopped.
I couldn't get him to close the distance so I let them go up and over the ridge as I didn't want to push them out of the area considering this was my first morning. I heard another bugle on closer to private ground and I headed that direction. When I got within a few hundred yards I cut off his old raspy bugle with one of my own and you could instantly hear his tone change. I worked my way up to the knoll he was on constantly checking where I was in respect to the private land with my Onx maps. I got in shooting range of three different satellite bulls but the thick timber impeded any shot. Then I heard the raspy bugle again just over the knoll and I cut him off again which made him bugle again. I checked the wind and eased around the knoll to spot his cows. I slid in front of a spruce tree on the edge of a small opening just in time to see his head at around 80 yards. I cow called and he began his bugle. When he did I cut him off again and he stormed up the hill to around 40 yards and then stopped. He turned his head and I bugled again. This time he charged another 5 or six yards while I drew my bow. He stopped and began looking for me and decided to turn back toward his cows. As he was turning I estimated his distance and shot through the only opening I had.
Everything broke loose so I cow called and everything went quite. I could still see several of the cows but no bull. I knew if I pushed him he would go on to the very nearby private land and he would be gone. I slowly eased to where he was standing and there was no blood but also no arrow. I followed his tracks and 30 yards later the blood began. I stopped as I again saw his cows so I just lay on the ground doing a lot of praying and replaying the sequence of events over and over.
My view as I pondered.
After 45 minutes I left my pack and eased down the blood trail as slowly and quietly as I could. The blood circled around the end of the knoll and started making me nervous as it began to go up hill after 100 yards or so. Then all of a sudden the blood took a sharp turn down the knoll into the thickest stuff I've ever seen. Judging by the fact he had started making his own trail at this point my hopes increased and peaked soon after as I found him dead 20 yards later. I had hit exactly where I aimed and stuck him through his last rib on a hard quartering away shot.
I still can't put into words how ecstatic I was to be looking at my first elk, never mind it was with a bow too. I then realized I had dropped my game bags getting out of the truck that morning. I then headed the 4.5 miles back to the truck to get them and drop a little weight. I found another road that brought me within 2.5 miles of the elk and was mighty thankful for it. I went back in and quartered him up and began packing out.
I finished my last of the three trips it took me to get him out just after dark that night. I went back to camp and cooked the tenderloins over the fire and then hit the bed. I awoke the next morning to a bull bugling in the distance. I packed up camp and headed into Gunnison. It was then I found out my friend couldn't make it with the equipment to boil out the skull(MS law states that the skull can't be brought into the state without being boiled due to CWD). I pulled off into a parking lot on the back side of town and began cleaning up the head when a man pulled up. He asked if I needed any help (apparently I was parked outside of his business) and I told him what I was doing and apologized if it was an issue. He then spotted the elk and instantly started congratulating me. Took me inside his business and showed me his previous kills and his shop. He then even let me use his burner, propane, and pot. Can't even tell you how amazing of guy he was. He just left them with me and told me just to leave it there when I was done. After he left a storm rolled through and the guys working on the restaurant/bar next door told me to bring it over and finish it out under there porch.
The three of us sat around talking for a few hours while I boiled the head. It was then they asked me if I had anywhere to stay and told me to just stay there that night. After several iterations of asking them if they were sure I accepted and they just told me to lock up when I left. I finished up late that night. Returned all of the boiling equipment and went to sleep. Slept a few hours and then hit the road back to MS. I can't tell you how blessed I felt to run into Ryan, Joe, and Jeff. There are truly some amazing people still out there and no doubt the good Lord was looking out for me the entire trip. Upon arrival home my kids didn't ask me anything but where is the elk. Haha. The bull was an old fella that barely had any teeth left in the front of his mouth. He was missing his 3rds and still taped out at 272". Can't tell you how blessed I am.
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