KipCarson
Well-known member
When I was 12 years old I took up bowhunting. As can be expected I had few unsuccessful years and I was definitely leaning all the things not to do as I went along, but was having fun nonetheless. When I turned 15 my dad gave me the wonderful gift of a Colorado elk tag and let me come along on his annual pilgrimage to hunt in Colorado. It was on that trip that I first found success with my bow as I called in a small 4x4 bull, made a perfect shot, and watched him tip over only 60 yards away. It was almost too much for a Louisiana kid to handle! Everything seemed to click after that and within the next calendar year I had killed whitetail at home and made another successful Colorado trip and killed a mule deer, and have never let up since.
The only thing that never seemed to work again for me was elk hunting. Over the past 25 years since that glorious September 2nd afternoon at 6:40 pm (it’s not like I remember the details or anything) I’ve had 8 or 9 other elk tags in my pocket and for a myriad of reasons, mostly incompetence, they have all gone unfilled. This year when I drew the tag I wanted I was determined to hunt harder than ever and break the terrible elk drought I was in.
I arrived in southern Colorado on September 1st, along with my dad, brother, and a close friend. Dad had only drawn a bear tag, my friend Justin had a deer tag, my brother had a deer and bear tag, and I had an elk and bear tag. It had potential to be a good week.
The evening before season we did a quick scout around to make a plan for opening day. Now being southern whitetail hunters we approach things a bit different at times than most western hunters and use a lot of tree stand tactics. If you’ve got the patience for sitting it’s highly effective for mule deer and at times even elk. We picked an area out for Justin to go in the morning that had everything a deer could want, with the sign to prove that they agreed. In the grey morning light Justin hung his stand and within an hour he had his first shot at a mule deer and made it count. Great way to start a week in the mountains and not too shabby for a first muley!
Meanwhile, I had settled on starting out in an area my brother and dad had killed a couple of bulls in previously a few miles from camp. Opening day brought no sightings or sounds from elk. I wasn’t really surprised, this unit seems to have low enough elk numbers that I am usually heading home wondering why we waste our time there. We’ve seen quite a few giants over the years but finding one in hunting season with a tag in your pocket is a tall order to fill. I did however see a bunch of deer and had 6 in bow range. No tag of course… To hasten this story I’ll jump to where I told my brother about them and he went to the same area and got one of the bucks I saw on day 4 of the trip. Tag #2 filled!
My dad who just turned 65 on Saturday had taken the strategy of hanging a stand by Justin’s gut pile from day one. He spent his mornings lounging around camp and evenings patiently waiting for a bear to put a tag on. By the end of the week he had only seen one blonde sow with 2 cubs, so his bear tag went unfilled. Here she is but I don’t have a pic with her furry brown fuzzball cubs.
I’ve got to stop and handle some work stuff, I’ll get back soon as I can to complete this little write up…
The only thing that never seemed to work again for me was elk hunting. Over the past 25 years since that glorious September 2nd afternoon at 6:40 pm (it’s not like I remember the details or anything) I’ve had 8 or 9 other elk tags in my pocket and for a myriad of reasons, mostly incompetence, they have all gone unfilled. This year when I drew the tag I wanted I was determined to hunt harder than ever and break the terrible elk drought I was in.
I arrived in southern Colorado on September 1st, along with my dad, brother, and a close friend. Dad had only drawn a bear tag, my friend Justin had a deer tag, my brother had a deer and bear tag, and I had an elk and bear tag. It had potential to be a good week.
The evening before season we did a quick scout around to make a plan for opening day. Now being southern whitetail hunters we approach things a bit different at times than most western hunters and use a lot of tree stand tactics. If you’ve got the patience for sitting it’s highly effective for mule deer and at times even elk. We picked an area out for Justin to go in the morning that had everything a deer could want, with the sign to prove that they agreed. In the grey morning light Justin hung his stand and within an hour he had his first shot at a mule deer and made it count. Great way to start a week in the mountains and not too shabby for a first muley!
Meanwhile, I had settled on starting out in an area my brother and dad had killed a couple of bulls in previously a few miles from camp. Opening day brought no sightings or sounds from elk. I wasn’t really surprised, this unit seems to have low enough elk numbers that I am usually heading home wondering why we waste our time there. We’ve seen quite a few giants over the years but finding one in hunting season with a tag in your pocket is a tall order to fill. I did however see a bunch of deer and had 6 in bow range. No tag of course… To hasten this story I’ll jump to where I told my brother about them and he went to the same area and got one of the bucks I saw on day 4 of the trip. Tag #2 filled!
My dad who just turned 65 on Saturday had taken the strategy of hanging a stand by Justin’s gut pile from day one. He spent his mornings lounging around camp and evenings patiently waiting for a bear to put a tag on. By the end of the week he had only seen one blonde sow with 2 cubs, so his bear tag went unfilled. Here she is but I don’t have a pic with her furry brown fuzzball cubs.
I’ve got to stop and handle some work stuff, I’ll get back soon as I can to complete this little write up…
