I hunted the first Elk only season in Co. I took ten years to draw a tag but was worth every minute we had to wait. I was fortunate enough to be able to share this hunt with my father. We have been hunting in CO for the past nine years but this was the hunt of a lifetime.
We had seen and passed at least 5 other bulls in the previous days but Thank God I waited. I almost shot a small 5x5 with a split main beam the first evening of the hunt, but was rewarded the next day with this bull.
We were making our way up a small feeder creek the emptied into the main drainage. I started snowing as soon as we got started. After about an hour we stopped for 20-30 minutes to see if the snow would break but it kept coming down. I was about to head back down because we have been above this creek the day before and knew what was up there just scrub once you got above treeline, when my Dad said "Well we are this far, we might as well go ahead little further, we got nothing but time". So we headed up a little further and I spotted the rump of an elk. (Dad's have great advice!) I worked my way up sssllloooowwwlllyy up the creek and could not spot the elk again. I had the wind in my favor so I kept heading towards where I saw the elk the first time. When I got to where I'd seen the elk, I rounded a spruce tree and stopped dead in my tracks! I saw an elk at about 15 yards behind some trees. I could not see its head; all I could do was make out the outline of the animal. I stared and stared and then I finally spotted the eye, and it was looking at me! I knew I was too close and figured all hell was going break lose at any moment as a herd of elk busted out of there.
Once I saw the eye, it moved slightly but I couldn't see the head. Finally it took a step and I saw the eye guards and dagger points. My heart started racing as a realized I was eye to eye with a BIG BULL. I did not have a shot. I knew it was simply going to disappear at any moment or a cow would bust me. But he took another step and gave me a small window at the shoulder. I took the shot and he fell in a couple steps. About half a dozen cows took off up the mountain. I ran around the trees and Thanked GOD! It was truly the hunt of a lifetime! Then the work began…..
He scored 328 gross and 314 net, not enough to make the book, but he is a TROPHY IN MY BOOK ANYDAY!
We had seen and passed at least 5 other bulls in the previous days but Thank God I waited. I almost shot a small 5x5 with a split main beam the first evening of the hunt, but was rewarded the next day with this bull.
We were making our way up a small feeder creek the emptied into the main drainage. I started snowing as soon as we got started. After about an hour we stopped for 20-30 minutes to see if the snow would break but it kept coming down. I was about to head back down because we have been above this creek the day before and knew what was up there just scrub once you got above treeline, when my Dad said "Well we are this far, we might as well go ahead little further, we got nothing but time". So we headed up a little further and I spotted the rump of an elk. (Dad's have great advice!) I worked my way up sssllloooowwwlllyy up the creek and could not spot the elk again. I had the wind in my favor so I kept heading towards where I saw the elk the first time. When I got to where I'd seen the elk, I rounded a spruce tree and stopped dead in my tracks! I saw an elk at about 15 yards behind some trees. I could not see its head; all I could do was make out the outline of the animal. I stared and stared and then I finally spotted the eye, and it was looking at me! I knew I was too close and figured all hell was going break lose at any moment as a herd of elk busted out of there.
Once I saw the eye, it moved slightly but I couldn't see the head. Finally it took a step and I saw the eye guards and dagger points. My heart started racing as a realized I was eye to eye with a BIG BULL. I did not have a shot. I knew it was simply going to disappear at any moment or a cow would bust me. But he took another step and gave me a small window at the shoulder. I took the shot and he fell in a couple steps. About half a dozen cows took off up the mountain. I ran around the trees and Thanked GOD! It was truly the hunt of a lifetime! Then the work began…..
He scored 328 gross and 314 net, not enough to make the book, but he is a TROPHY IN MY BOOK ANYDAY!