Well it was -5 out yesterday morning but got it done on a buck I spotted right at sunset Monday night. Found him again at sunrise yesterday and hiked across a canyon to get to him. Saw quite a few deer and passed on several smaller 3x4's but was set on shooting a 4x4....Was the coldest hunt I've ever been on.

Now on to find a cow for the next few days. Seen two bulls so far..

Congrats man! Nice buck!

Pack in compared to pack out

2 for 2 on mule deer again this year. Full trip recap with pictures when we're back home. Worked our tails off this year!

Just got off the mountain and headed back to TX

GMU77 guided /camped.
From top down this hunting trip with San Juan Outfitters (SJO) was nothing short of incredible. After a DIY pack in trip last year I'm so spoiled now.

Thursday was dropping off our gear and meeting the guides. We had a great dinner and some beer at pagosa brewing and Joey (cupofjoe) joined us and let us borrow his INReach, gave us tips, and told us some cool stories. 4 of us friends from Texas we're on this hunt. We also had a solo hunter from Houston who hunted with SJO last year and a writer for Sporting Classics Magazine from South Carolina.




Friday we packed out On horseback. We met our guides Dusty, Brian, and Jake. We wouldn't know it yet but they would be full of gut busting stories , tons of hunting knowledge and tips, and just all around great guys. Salt of the earth.
Sara was our amazing cook and wrangler. We never went hungry or without a hot beverage. She was only 18 but was great with the horses and dealing with all us old guys and had incredible maturity and life experience (including surviving an avalanche that destroyed her home with her in it !!)
Opening day we hiked about 8 miles in total and scouted meadows, water holes, and trails for sign. It was so dry we couldn't tell how old any of the sign was. The afternoon hunt we go back up to a meadow where we noticed the most sign and sat. We got in about 5PM and got set up under a set of trees. I was on the left , my hunting partner John in the middle and Dusty our guide to the right. I was set up for a long 300yard shot up the meadow to the tree line where the elk normally come down.
Well at 530 a cow and a calf walk out to our right at about 80yards. They fart around a bit and look like they are going to leave the way they came so dusty hits em with a cow call and they stay put. About 5minutes later we hear a little rustle and out comes a bull. It was my turn to shoot so I got ready. There was a little mound between us so I could swing around unseen. Grabbed my shooting sticks and get on my knees to face them but the mound was too high so I ended up having to adjust my sticks and stand and there they were. The cows must've seen me pop up and they took off. The bull started to follow but a timely cow call from dusty froze him. I quickly assessed his head gear to ensure he was legal then put the cross hairs on his shoulders and squeezed. He ran off. We all have high fives as we waited about 30min. It all happened so fast I was just worried I rushed the shot or shot over him since he was only at 80 and all the anxiety driven post shot thoughts I always have.
We check out the scene and there's no blood, confirming my anxiety. But then we look the direction he ran and he was like there 20yards away. Drilled him! We got him quartered up and headed back to camp for a celebratory Old forester 1920.



The rest of the trip was TOUGH. It snowed on us and got down to about 0 degrees on day3 and we hiked our butts off. (I still had a Muley tag). Saw so much sign it was unbelievable. These things were ninjas this week. Only saw one doe all week.



Second to last day had the most action. John has two young bulls beeline it to him in a meadow but we're of questionable legality. They got within 100 yards of him before busting him.
We had some of our hunters hear ripping bugles. A herd of about 50 came into the meadow 300yards of camp. Then got busted out of a different meadow when other hunters were returning to camp after shooting light. Last day consisted of busting two bulls out of the brush and seeing a few cows but nobody got a shot off.

Needless to say for me, Getting my first bull and top notch accommodation from the wall tent with stove, great cook, great friends (old and new), it was an unforgettable adventure.

Riding horses is also a blast !

We had a Slow hunt. The dry mountain had the elk mostly moved out except up the valleys. Dad and I hiked 3-5 miles a day up the mountain to try and find elk or at least find fresh sign. We finally found some track in the snow but they were moving during the night. After 8 days of scouting and hunting, we decided to head home a day early and gain some points with the wives so we can go again.

lazuras_dc said:

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Yeah insane story. I feel like I'm indoctrinated into the pagosa hunting brotherhood if only a Little bit now. Already planning my next trip !

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Hey, you got a Pagosa OTC bull, that ain't an easy thing to do! Just make sure when you tell all your friends in TX where you went hunting, the proper way to pronounce Pagosa Springs is "D-U-R-A-N-G-O"

Put a decent meat buck in the barn last night. Didn't fill my first rifle elk because I was more concerned with helping my kids. Killed my B list cow in late September so meat wasn't a big issue. That is a wrap for me. My kids have 3rd rifle deer tags. It will be fun to concentrate on them.