fishing4sanity
Well-known member
I was hoping to see a picture story from you starring an elk. Any luck today?
Over The Counter Elk - Colorado style
- Thread starter Big Fin
- Start date
After an "interesting" start to the morning, things got better, fast. Came to town and got a good cup of coffee. A homemade cherry turnover topped it off and I knew it was going to be a better afternoon.
Spent most the day shooting shots of local businesses, "welcome hunter" signs, and interviews for the show. Met a great group of guys at the little meat processing shop. They were from Tennessee. They had shot two bulls, one cow, and the old boy, Charlie, or Grandpap as they called him, shot a great mule deer buck. 29" wide. I could have spent the entire day talking to Charlie. He was 83 years old, came to Colorado for the seventh year in a row, and shot that great buck. He has two that are larger, including one that is a B&C buck. I asked him the secret - patience he claims. "Just sit and wait until the buck shows up, then shoot him. Pretty easy, actually." He had me laughing so hard with his stories and demeanor. It was by far the highlight of the trip.
Big kudos to the three guys who bring him with their camp. They said Charlie threatened to not come and they would have no part of that. They insisted he come and he did. One very nice mule deer bore the scars of Charlie's presence.
After that, it was time to move higher. Some place the ATV crowd would stay away from. Found one and hiked in about a mile. Not bad grade, but for whatever reason, I forget how bad that oak brush is until I get into the middle of it. There was a nice ridge running down the middle of that big oak hillside, giving me some elevation to glass from.
Got there with about two hours of good light. Lots of deer darting around. Within about forty minutes, I spotted a legal bull moving through the oaks, but unfortunately he was on the wrong side of the fence. It is private to the north, but that seems to be part of what is keeping people out and elk in this area.
With about a half hour left, a group of elk started appearing in the small openings of the oaks. Hard to tell for sure what they are, but there are a lot of them. They look to be right on the boundary. I tell Dirk we have to make a move on them and hope something works out.
With that, we head toward them, fighting our way through the oaks, trying out best to locate a path that might provide quiet and fast passage. Yeah, right.
Finally, we are on the ridge adjacent to the ridge I had seen them on. We stopped and could see nothing. Having given up some elevation to get here, the openings are harder to find and the oaks very hard to look over.
As if on cue, one of the elk feeds to an opening that is 200 yards across. They are about 70 yards on the wrong side of the fence. But, feeding toward our position on the public. Time is ticking and the elk are appearing in greater numbers.
I see a legal bull. Then another, and another, and two more. Followed by a very respectable six point that is beyond what I would expect to see on an OTC unit. Not huge, but very nice.
We are ready and set. They stop and feed in the oaks across and north of us, just a short distance on the private, and well within range, if not for this fence issue.
The bulls feed straight down below us, taking them out of view in the brush. I can hear them walking in the crunchy snow, though I cannot see them. They are moving west and staying north of the fence line. Dang.
I watch as the cows jump the fence and are now on public. They have a spike among them. Suddenly, a ball of elk emerge from the oaks and follow the lead of the cow, coming to the public.
Dirk tells me we are out of light. I know that, but given the struggles of the past few weeks, I hope otherwise. I stand there listening to elk and watching them mill around in the oaks, a mere 150 yards away. We film an amazing moon rise, right over the backs of the elk, still well lit in the remaining shooting light with the rising moon and snow providing a great back ground.
Shooting light ends in ten minutes. More elk start across the fence. The bleached looking one carries five points per side. I am at the ready, though I know we cannot film it in this low light with elk tucked into dark pockets of oak brush. The bull stops and looks at me. I so badly want to drop him where he stands. But, that is part of the TV gig. Little does he know that standing 150 yards from me at any other time would spell doom for his longevity.
I look at the camera and smile. Nothing I can do, other than laugh. It has been one of those years. I am so glad I did not have a guest hunter with me, as it would have been nearly impossible to ask someone not to shoot a nice legal bull providing such an easy opportunity.
So, I let him follow the cows into the darkness of the oaks. Where they will feed to tonight, I am not sure. Given the mass of tracks in the oaks, I have a suspicion that they will be coming back up onto these oak slopes tomorrow morning. All in all, I found eight legal bulls tonight. Due to boundaries or filming light, they will all live to see another sun rise. It is my intention to make sure one of them has enjoyed his last sun set.
A great day. It has taken me some work to relocate the elk while hunting here this year. I was too high the first day, too low yesterday evening and this morning, so I moved back up today. They seem to be as high as they can, yet still in an area where the snow allows them to feed. I am sure some are down in this lower country, but I wonder what the odds are of shooting one in the lower country with the baja race going on each morning.
Teach me to hunt an area that is easier to access. I know better, but having spotted a bull there last night, I hoped that I might find him and have that little corner to myself. Today was a Thursday. I can' even imagine how crowded that spot will be when things get busier for the weekend. Will be glad to hike in some other place.
Colorado is a truly wonderful place in hunting season. People may complain about the crowds, but in all my deer hunts (3) and elk hunts (2), I have always been able to find places away from the crowds. Maybe I am just lucky.
The people are great. These small towns love hunters and they welcome you like no other western state I am aware of. Every small business is willing to do anything they can to help a hunter, to make you feel welcome, and to provide you a good service.
I wish more places celebrated the hunting culture the way western Colorado celebrates it. There is something to be said for hanging out in a place where people go out of their way to talk to you when they see you wearing your hunting clothes. Many Hunt Talkers live here and maybe they have a different impression of small towns in Western Colorado during hunting season. To me, it is cool. I am thankful there are still places where hunting is part fo the culture and communities are happy to have hunters walking their streets.
Now, if I could just find one of those bulls in the morning, the pox will be removed from my kingdom.
A couple pics of the last two days.
Dirk doing his busy work last night.
The alpenglow of sunset last night was spectacular
The ATV party. I could fit seven of them in this pic. There were plenty more.
Charlie. He made my day. I hope all of you run into a "Charlie" this season. I can only hope that at age 83 some younger guys will allow me to tend the coffee pot at elk camp and defend our position from the 29" mule deer that try to overrun us. I only wish I had taken the pic before they loaded the meat and antlers into their trailer.
Spent most the day shooting shots of local businesses, "welcome hunter" signs, and interviews for the show. Met a great group of guys at the little meat processing shop. They were from Tennessee. They had shot two bulls, one cow, and the old boy, Charlie, or Grandpap as they called him, shot a great mule deer buck. 29" wide. I could have spent the entire day talking to Charlie. He was 83 years old, came to Colorado for the seventh year in a row, and shot that great buck. He has two that are larger, including one that is a B&C buck. I asked him the secret - patience he claims. "Just sit and wait until the buck shows up, then shoot him. Pretty easy, actually." He had me laughing so hard with his stories and demeanor. It was by far the highlight of the trip.
Big kudos to the three guys who bring him with their camp. They said Charlie threatened to not come and they would have no part of that. They insisted he come and he did. One very nice mule deer bore the scars of Charlie's presence.
After that, it was time to move higher. Some place the ATV crowd would stay away from. Found one and hiked in about a mile. Not bad grade, but for whatever reason, I forget how bad that oak brush is until I get into the middle of it. There was a nice ridge running down the middle of that big oak hillside, giving me some elevation to glass from.
Got there with about two hours of good light. Lots of deer darting around. Within about forty minutes, I spotted a legal bull moving through the oaks, but unfortunately he was on the wrong side of the fence. It is private to the north, but that seems to be part of what is keeping people out and elk in this area.
With about a half hour left, a group of elk started appearing in the small openings of the oaks. Hard to tell for sure what they are, but there are a lot of them. They look to be right on the boundary. I tell Dirk we have to make a move on them and hope something works out.
With that, we head toward them, fighting our way through the oaks, trying out best to locate a path that might provide quiet and fast passage. Yeah, right.
Finally, we are on the ridge adjacent to the ridge I had seen them on. We stopped and could see nothing. Having given up some elevation to get here, the openings are harder to find and the oaks very hard to look over.
As if on cue, one of the elk feeds to an opening that is 200 yards across. They are about 70 yards on the wrong side of the fence. But, feeding toward our position on the public. Time is ticking and the elk are appearing in greater numbers.
I see a legal bull. Then another, and another, and two more. Followed by a very respectable six point that is beyond what I would expect to see on an OTC unit. Not huge, but very nice.
We are ready and set. They stop and feed in the oaks across and north of us, just a short distance on the private, and well within range, if not for this fence issue.
The bulls feed straight down below us, taking them out of view in the brush. I can hear them walking in the crunchy snow, though I cannot see them. They are moving west and staying north of the fence line. Dang.
I watch as the cows jump the fence and are now on public. They have a spike among them. Suddenly, a ball of elk emerge from the oaks and follow the lead of the cow, coming to the public.
Dirk tells me we are out of light. I know that, but given the struggles of the past few weeks, I hope otherwise. I stand there listening to elk and watching them mill around in the oaks, a mere 150 yards away. We film an amazing moon rise, right over the backs of the elk, still well lit in the remaining shooting light with the rising moon and snow providing a great back ground.
Shooting light ends in ten minutes. More elk start across the fence. The bleached looking one carries five points per side. I am at the ready, though I know we cannot film it in this low light with elk tucked into dark pockets of oak brush. The bull stops and looks at me. I so badly want to drop him where he stands. But, that is part of the TV gig. Little does he know that standing 150 yards from me at any other time would spell doom for his longevity.
I look at the camera and smile. Nothing I can do, other than laugh. It has been one of those years. I am so glad I did not have a guest hunter with me, as it would have been nearly impossible to ask someone not to shoot a nice legal bull providing such an easy opportunity.
So, I let him follow the cows into the darkness of the oaks. Where they will feed to tonight, I am not sure. Given the mass of tracks in the oaks, I have a suspicion that they will be coming back up onto these oak slopes tomorrow morning. All in all, I found eight legal bulls tonight. Due to boundaries or filming light, they will all live to see another sun rise. It is my intention to make sure one of them has enjoyed his last sun set.
A great day. It has taken me some work to relocate the elk while hunting here this year. I was too high the first day, too low yesterday evening and this morning, so I moved back up today. They seem to be as high as they can, yet still in an area where the snow allows them to feed. I am sure some are down in this lower country, but I wonder what the odds are of shooting one in the lower country with the baja race going on each morning.
Teach me to hunt an area that is easier to access. I know better, but having spotted a bull there last night, I hoped that I might find him and have that little corner to myself. Today was a Thursday. I can' even imagine how crowded that spot will be when things get busier for the weekend. Will be glad to hike in some other place.
Colorado is a truly wonderful place in hunting season. People may complain about the crowds, but in all my deer hunts (3) and elk hunts (2), I have always been able to find places away from the crowds. Maybe I am just lucky.
The people are great. These small towns love hunters and they welcome you like no other western state I am aware of. Every small business is willing to do anything they can to help a hunter, to make you feel welcome, and to provide you a good service.
I wish more places celebrated the hunting culture the way western Colorado celebrates it. There is something to be said for hanging out in a place where people go out of their way to talk to you when they see you wearing your hunting clothes. Many Hunt Talkers live here and maybe they have a different impression of small towns in Western Colorado during hunting season. To me, it is cool. I am thankful there are still places where hunting is part fo the culture and communities are happy to have hunters walking their streets.
Now, if I could just find one of those bulls in the morning, the pox will be removed from my kingdom.
A couple pics of the last two days.
Dirk doing his busy work last night.
The alpenglow of sunset last night was spectacular
The ATV party. I could fit seven of them in this pic. There were plenty more.
Charlie. He made my day. I hope all of you run into a "Charlie" this season. I can only hope that at age 83 some younger guys will allow me to tend the coffee pot at elk camp and defend our position from the 29" mule deer that try to overrun us. I only wish I had taken the pic before they loaded the meat and antlers into their trailer.
FishN4Eyes
Well-known member
BF,
You have them dialed in now!
Jeezus, I would be a horrible TV host. I just couldn't contain myself with elk there for the shooting and a camera man telling me, "NO!".
That's why you are a great TV host and I'm a paltry viewer.
Hope to tune in tomorrow to you and a few hero shots.
Good luck, love the pics and seal the deal tomorrow!
You have them dialed in now!
Jeezus, I would be a horrible TV host. I just couldn't contain myself with elk there for the shooting and a camera man telling me, "NO!".
That's why you are a great TV host and I'm a paltry viewer.
Hope to tune in tomorrow to you and a few hero shots.
Good luck, love the pics and seal the deal tomorrow!
Outdooraddict
Active member
Fin, if you stand at the same location you took that sunset picture- tomorrow morning- I will see you in my spotting scope. I grew up 15 minutes from here- told myself I had to leave. It only took me 4 years to come back- thank you college. Better hurry, you have seen the hoards of atv's staged at the parking area at the bottom. They will be out in full force this weekend.
Lawnboy
Well-known member
I always have to laugh when Troy (cameraman) says " you can do everything you normally would do with cameras following" Yea right. You can't imagine how frustrating it is to not be able to shoot or do things that you normally would. It's not the cameraman's fault either. Just the sucky facts about filming good footage. Hang in there Fin.
junior88
Well-known member
You're a better man than me Fin, I would have had to pull the trigger!
Redfishing1983
Member
Ohhhhh it's a gonna happen today!!!
Six point is standing in the opening right at first light. For sure a shooter. Waiting for enough light to film. It doesn't come soon enough. The bull disappears into the oaks. Tried to guess where he was headed and hopefully pick the right trail. Better chance of getting the lottery numbers correct. No elevation to be had over here. Hiking back to my first spot and spend the day glassing little openings in hopes one makes himself visible.
Damn the luck.
Damn the luck.
Goldtip
New member
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2009
- Messages
- 1,142
Sounds like your back on'em again today Fin, go get'em!
I say throw the damn camera off a cliff and go shoot an elk.
Dinkshooter
Well-known member
If they would sell the ATV and buy good binos they would see 200x the animals they currently see.
Trust me, between this hunt, ID, and AZ, I would love to do that. All three would have resulted in dead animals, if not for the burden of cameras and filming. I suspect most guys don't want to hear a shot, them have footage of the recovery.
But, if the same thing happens tomorrow morning, that is probably what you will see. Honestly, this season had been so challenging and frustrating, as far as getting things lined up for a kill on camera, I will probably wait this one out until the perfect event comes together.
Doing interviews now, knowing the wind will be screaming tomorrow. Gotta get the TV stuff done when we can.
T Bone
Well-known member
Weather is coming in with gusto Finn. Make it happen.
Outdooraddict
Active member
Blizzard conditions for areas around us this weekend. If you pop one legally, but the cameras don't pick it up, I'm sure your fans won't care. How many of us have taken an animal in the last 10 minutes of legal shooting light? With the work you've done here and in Wyoming- I'd say you've earned the right to take an elk (with or without enough light to film). Do yourself a favor.
JohnCushman
Well-known member
I think the general viewing public, especially us here on HT, would understand and accept missing the kill shot and just filming the recovery...you have earned the kill
StHubert
Member
I agree with this statement completely. A video of happy successful hunter with his elk, is more than enough. Getting the video of you shooting the Elk would only be a bonus. Go get em, Big Fin!!!!!
The name of the show is "on your own ADVENTURES", not "on your own shoot and see the animal fall over". Every year you should be allowed one "mulligan" episode where the footage might not win an emmy for Best Outdoor Show, but it captures the joys, trials and the adventure of it all.
noharleyyet
Well-known member
Production company snafu huh?.....gotta remember that one.
