I'm going to try and make this a shorter post, especially since I am still in the mountains and service isn't that spectacular, but I feel like it won't be.
Elk hunting has always been something I wanted to do and I got my first shot in 2017. I came to this board 4 weeks out after a last second cancellation afforded me a "free" trip into the CO Wilderness with a friend that works with an outfitter. Unprepared, mentally and physically, I still had an absolute blast! It was a bow trip and we never saw a bull but I knew it was something I couldn't quit.
Fast forward 2 years later and I'm looking for another elk hunt but trying to find a reputable outfitter or ranch. That is something very difficult to do nowadays but I got a tip from a poster on this board. That tip turned out to be one of the greatest blessings I've experienced on this board.
I ended up coordinating a bow hunt in 2019 and was joined by another poster on here. Day one we had a 380-390" bull at 200 yards with 30 cows. I saw several high quality bulls almost daily and probably had 4-5 low 300s come in bow range. I never shot one, despite never having killed an elk, mostly because I was spoiled on the potential bulls they had… pretty dumb thing to do but you learn. I did have a shot on a 350" bull that I sailed underneath him after not being able to range and holding full draw for 2.5 minutes. He was in an opening and I didn't have anything to use as reference for distance. What I thought was 50 turned out to be 65… missed opportunity. It happens but after the hunt I was really upset I had passed on so many good bulls.
I was expecting to be able to go back in 2020 but some changes happened where I went and it left me unable to return (had nothing to do with me). I was really devastated… back to the market I was going to have to go for another outfitter/ranch. I sat out 2020 and was also planning to sit out this year, too. Coincidentally, I just so happen to win a .300Wby from RMEF in July/August, which felt like adding insult to injury at the time, seeing as that I had no place to go hunt elk.
That all changed with a text message in August…
Turns out, a few leftover tags in the unit for 4th rifle were available and I was contacted by the ranch manager to see if I was interested in applying for one. Without hesitation I told him if I drew the tag I would be there. Next day I had to apply for the tag, which was a convoluted process by the way, and I successfully got one of 4 available! I hadn't told the wife yet but had been mentally preparing my sales pitch and presentation, if needed, to get her to agree. The biggest selling point was that the family could tag along. After finding out I was up to something, when prying about "what are our plans for thanksgiving?" (4th Rifle is Wednesday - Sunday of Thanksgiving) she just asked "where do you want to go hunting?". Prepared for the question, I told her that the whole family could join and was surpassingly met with an instant "yes - that sounds fun!" … is this real life?
4th season started Wednesday this week. The whole family hopped in the truck on Monday and we made the 12.5 hour drive up from Houston. We spent Tuesday acclimating and doing some mild hiking to get used to the elevation. The whole family participated:
I had been warned that the hunting might be difficult given the unseasonably warm weather and the lack of other hunters on the property. I was prepared for 4th season Rifle in CO thanks to many of y'all on here but the weather was looking more like 1st season.
I barely slept Tuesday night, waking up at 12:50, 2:15 and then 3:57. My gear had been laid out the night before but I still went through everything again on Wednesday morning. As what seems like tradition now and I have done on every other elk hunt I have been on, I packed way too much crap on the first day.
We embarked on our journey at 5:00am and promptly arrived at the ridge before sunlight. We enjoyed the rest of our coffee and snuck out right at daylight. To our surprise, a light blanket of snow fell the night before and helped quiet our trek into the wilderness
The hike was much more intense than what it appeared on the topo map, something I have grown accustomed to when elk hunting . I made it up the ridge and was shocked we hadn't seen a single elk. It was a mixture between pines/aspen but had several open areas that looked like great grazing spots. It was in a protected bowl that seemed perfect after an extremely windy night.
Once we got over the ridge and I had a pulse of about 170 (slight exaggeration), we were going to work into the wind and slowly back down the ridge on the west side.
About 50 yards or so into the hike, the guide stopped and told me to walk in front. His exact words were "walk in front - there could be a bull anywhere in here bedded up and we may only have a few seconds to get a peak and then a shot off". Turns out, he was right on the money…
We didn't make it 100 yard passed the passing of the baton when I heard a loud cracking noise below us. I stopped, the guide stopped and we knew something of decent size was below us. We couldn't see anything and had the wind in our favor so we slowly walked further.
I made it 5 yards and caught movement below us at 100-120 yards. It was two bulls and they both looked like shooters. As if we had planned this, I dropped instantly to the ground and had an aspen log right in front of me for the perfect rest:
I sat and waited for confirmation from the guide they were shooters, despite knowing the one in the brush was certainly a "good bull". He confirmed and I waited on the shot opportunity. I had an extremely tight window but I was solid as a rock and had been shooting out to 400 yards with my new rifle… I wasn't worried about the rifle.
It took about 45 seconds for the bull to walk into the opening and I slowly squeezed the trigger until a boom echoed throughout the canyon! Shot placement was great and I immediately reloaded… the bull fell down and was helicoptering his head as if he was about to expire. Staying on the bull and ready for anything, he somehow tried to stand up, despite a really good heart/lung shot and a broken shoulder. I didn't wait and put another shot in him before he could make it up. The second shot was another solid vital hit and was all that was needed.
We waited what felt like an eternity but was probably only 2 minutes of a locked on target view through my scope. It was time to go inspect my first bull!
He wasn't the biggest bull out there but he is my first and I am damn happy with him! We were way back in the sticks so we had to pack him out. Being the only hunter out there, the whole ranch crew stacked hands and met us at the kill. My daughter was even able hike in and witness the quartering and packing out of the bull, which was probably one of the cooler things about my hunt.
The hunt was over in the first 2.5 hours and I am not the slightest bit disappointed! What a ride and am glad to finally be on board with an elk.
Thanks again for everyone on this board that has helped answer questions about western hunting and others that just continue to share their knowledge! I don't know where I would be without it…
TLDR - I shot an elk, enjoy the pictures, thank you for the advice!
Typed on mobile so please excuse the grammar, spelling and if the links don't work right away.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Elk hunting has always been something I wanted to do and I got my first shot in 2017. I came to this board 4 weeks out after a last second cancellation afforded me a "free" trip into the CO Wilderness with a friend that works with an outfitter. Unprepared, mentally and physically, I still had an absolute blast! It was a bow trip and we never saw a bull but I knew it was something I couldn't quit.
Fast forward 2 years later and I'm looking for another elk hunt but trying to find a reputable outfitter or ranch. That is something very difficult to do nowadays but I got a tip from a poster on this board. That tip turned out to be one of the greatest blessings I've experienced on this board.
I ended up coordinating a bow hunt in 2019 and was joined by another poster on here. Day one we had a 380-390" bull at 200 yards with 30 cows. I saw several high quality bulls almost daily and probably had 4-5 low 300s come in bow range. I never shot one, despite never having killed an elk, mostly because I was spoiled on the potential bulls they had… pretty dumb thing to do but you learn. I did have a shot on a 350" bull that I sailed underneath him after not being able to range and holding full draw for 2.5 minutes. He was in an opening and I didn't have anything to use as reference for distance. What I thought was 50 turned out to be 65… missed opportunity. It happens but after the hunt I was really upset I had passed on so many good bulls.
I was expecting to be able to go back in 2020 but some changes happened where I went and it left me unable to return (had nothing to do with me). I was really devastated… back to the market I was going to have to go for another outfitter/ranch. I sat out 2020 and was also planning to sit out this year, too. Coincidentally, I just so happen to win a .300Wby from RMEF in July/August, which felt like adding insult to injury at the time, seeing as that I had no place to go hunt elk.
That all changed with a text message in August…
Turns out, a few leftover tags in the unit for 4th rifle were available and I was contacted by the ranch manager to see if I was interested in applying for one. Without hesitation I told him if I drew the tag I would be there. Next day I had to apply for the tag, which was a convoluted process by the way, and I successfully got one of 4 available! I hadn't told the wife yet but had been mentally preparing my sales pitch and presentation, if needed, to get her to agree. The biggest selling point was that the family could tag along. After finding out I was up to something, when prying about "what are our plans for thanksgiving?" (4th Rifle is Wednesday - Sunday of Thanksgiving) she just asked "where do you want to go hunting?". Prepared for the question, I told her that the whole family could join and was surpassingly met with an instant "yes - that sounds fun!" … is this real life?
4th season started Wednesday this week. The whole family hopped in the truck on Monday and we made the 12.5 hour drive up from Houston. We spent Tuesday acclimating and doing some mild hiking to get used to the elevation. The whole family participated:
I had been warned that the hunting might be difficult given the unseasonably warm weather and the lack of other hunters on the property. I was prepared for 4th season Rifle in CO thanks to many of y'all on here but the weather was looking more like 1st season.
I barely slept Tuesday night, waking up at 12:50, 2:15 and then 3:57. My gear had been laid out the night before but I still went through everything again on Wednesday morning. As what seems like tradition now and I have done on every other elk hunt I have been on, I packed way too much crap on the first day.
We embarked on our journey at 5:00am and promptly arrived at the ridge before sunlight. We enjoyed the rest of our coffee and snuck out right at daylight. To our surprise, a light blanket of snow fell the night before and helped quiet our trek into the wilderness
The hike was much more intense than what it appeared on the topo map, something I have grown accustomed to when elk hunting . I made it up the ridge and was shocked we hadn't seen a single elk. It was a mixture between pines/aspen but had several open areas that looked like great grazing spots. It was in a protected bowl that seemed perfect after an extremely windy night.
Once we got over the ridge and I had a pulse of about 170 (slight exaggeration), we were going to work into the wind and slowly back down the ridge on the west side.
About 50 yards or so into the hike, the guide stopped and told me to walk in front. His exact words were "walk in front - there could be a bull anywhere in here bedded up and we may only have a few seconds to get a peak and then a shot off". Turns out, he was right on the money…
We didn't make it 100 yard passed the passing of the baton when I heard a loud cracking noise below us. I stopped, the guide stopped and we knew something of decent size was below us. We couldn't see anything and had the wind in our favor so we slowly walked further.
I made it 5 yards and caught movement below us at 100-120 yards. It was two bulls and they both looked like shooters. As if we had planned this, I dropped instantly to the ground and had an aspen log right in front of me for the perfect rest:
I sat and waited for confirmation from the guide they were shooters, despite knowing the one in the brush was certainly a "good bull". He confirmed and I waited on the shot opportunity. I had an extremely tight window but I was solid as a rock and had been shooting out to 400 yards with my new rifle… I wasn't worried about the rifle.
It took about 45 seconds for the bull to walk into the opening and I slowly squeezed the trigger until a boom echoed throughout the canyon! Shot placement was great and I immediately reloaded… the bull fell down and was helicoptering his head as if he was about to expire. Staying on the bull and ready for anything, he somehow tried to stand up, despite a really good heart/lung shot and a broken shoulder. I didn't wait and put another shot in him before he could make it up. The second shot was another solid vital hit and was all that was needed.
We waited what felt like an eternity but was probably only 2 minutes of a locked on target view through my scope. It was time to go inspect my first bull!
He wasn't the biggest bull out there but he is my first and I am damn happy with him! We were way back in the sticks so we had to pack him out. Being the only hunter out there, the whole ranch crew stacked hands and met us at the kill. My daughter was even able hike in and witness the quartering and packing out of the bull, which was probably one of the cooler things about my hunt.
The hunt was over in the first 2.5 hours and I am not the slightest bit disappointed! What a ride and am glad to finally be on board with an elk.
Thanks again for everyone on this board that has helped answer questions about western hunting and others that just continue to share their knowledge! I don't know where I would be without it…
TLDR - I shot an elk, enjoy the pictures, thank you for the advice!
Typed on mobile so please excuse the grammar, spelling and if the links don't work right away.
Happy Thanksgiving!
