Colorado Hunting Adventures

Intro: The following are the events of a Colorado hunting trip I, my Dad, and brothers took in November.    

11-2 

Its finally here!  After months of talking and planning and dreaming we are leaving on our first elk hunt.  For years Dad has wanted to take us boys out west hunting for elk and mule deer but with the farming schedule it makes it tough to get away in the fall.  But this year we decided to just make it happen.  We will be hunting in an unit in Colorado where ATVs are able to be used on the roads so we are taking along two polaris rangers to be able to move around on the roads easier and have an expanded hunting area.  To camp in we purchased an 18 foot enclosed trailer to haul the rangers and also use as our camper.  Phil spent a few days making shelves and bunk beds for the trailer,   Yesterday we got most everything loaded up for an early departure this morning.  We left Dad’s place at 3:45am with my Chevy Duramax loaded down with all our gear.  We grossed over 17,000 pounds so we didn’t get very good fuel mileage so we had to stop every 4 hours for fuel which was nice to be able to get out and stretch the legs.  

11-3 

Filling up with diesel and gas in New Castle, CO before heading up the mountain

View heading up into White River National Forest

Setting up camp and organizing gear.

Made it to New Castle, CO around 9am and fueled up the truck and all our gas cans and got a bite to eat and headed up into the mountains!  Up and up and up to 9,500 feet in elevation.  Found a spot to camp and spend several hours unloading and setting up the trailer.  Saw what seemed like lots of other hunters around setting up camp.  Later in the day we split into pairs and took a hike to see what we could find.  Dad and I hiked about 1.5 miles out to a large bluff but didn’t see anything or much sign.  Eric and Phil wondered  around in the brush until they found a clearing where they could see the mountain side on the other side of the creek.  After glassing for a short time phil spotted something that moved.  They ended up seeing 4 elk but they were over 1 mile away.   Made for some excited discussions tonight.  Tomorrow is opening day.

Any guesses as to what this is?  :-)

11-4
Got up about an hour and half before light and got our gear and lunch packed into 

our hunting packs.  Eric and Phil headed out to try and spot the elk on the far mountain.  Dad and I went up the road a couple miles to watch some clearings.  Didn’t see anything.  Got up and and started walking slow down towards the edge of the what we soon found to be a canyon with several hundred foot drop offs. 

Dad and I eventually bumped into Eric and Phil sitting and glassing the other side of the canyon.  They didn’t see anything but a few mule deer over there but we knew the elk were over there after seeing them the day before.  We decided to go after them and see what we could find or if we could find them.   

Problem was getting down into the canyon and back up the other side with it being serval hundred steep feet down.  So Eric, Phil and I headed down the steep slope, it was all you could do to stay upright at times.  Dad decided to stay up on top and hunt.  I think we all where wondering if we were crazy as we side hilled around the edge and down towards the creek.  The farther down we got the more and more sign of elk and deer we saw, lots of droppings and heavy trails.  After about an hour of hiking we were just about down at the creek and constantly had our eyes on the lookout for game.  We were above the creek about 40 yards when Eric and Phil stopped to look at a small clearing on the far side of the creek. I was about 10 yards ahead of them so I turned around and went back to them.  No sooner then 30 seconds later Eric excitedly whispers “ELK! get down”.  Sure enough popping into the clearing were some cow elk.  We all dropped to our knees and took our packs off as Phil says “theres a bull!”  we all just saw him go through an opening in the trees but none of us were sure he was legal (bulls had to have at least 4 points on one side).  As he went through the opening I saw he had at least 2 points on each side.  At the moment phil was ready to shoot but the bull was behind some trees and I had my rifle trained the opening on the other side of the trees if he came out that side.  Eric was between Phil and I and had his binoculars up to try and help either of us determine if he was legal.  What seemed like a long time but really was only a few minutes the cows started working into the creek for a drink.  Finally the bull appeared and both Eric and I hissed “HE”S LEGAL!!”  I didn’t have a clear shot but the bull came out from behind a log and was in the middle of the creek when Phil got a clear shot.  BOOOM!  “did I get him?”-Phil  “keep shooting till he’s down!”-me  BOOM!  Eric looks at phil and grins and says “Oh Yea! Way to go!”  High fives all around.  It took and few minuets till it really sank in that we actually had got a bull elk.  

We picked our way down to the creek and took some pictures of the nice sized 4x5 and then the work began. 

Phil started butchering the big boy around 12 noon using the gutless method which involves skinning from the backbone down and cutting off the quarters and the backstraps.  

We loaded the head and antlers onto Phils pack and I took a large bag of the good meat, the backstraps and loins and some other boneless trimmings.  The rest of the meat we put in meat bags and hung in a tree till we could come back for it tomorrow.  Eric strapped on all 3 guns and some of Phil and I’s other gear and we headed back up the hard climb around 3:30.  Talk about hard work!  Getting ones self up 1,200 feet of elevation is hard, let alone with 50+ pounds on your back but we made it.  It took us 3 hours and was just a tick over 3 miles till we got it back to camp.  Towards the top of the climb which was the near camp we were really slowing down and getting somewhat wobbly with the extra weight.  

Nothing feels better then to drop the pack off and sit down!  It was fun to see Dad come back into camp and see the horns sticking out of the ranger!  :)

11-5

Today nobody was real motivated to get out of bed after yesterdays workout.  We made some dip eggs and puttered around camp as it was snowing.  Finally got our stuff together and headed out to go and pack the rest of Phil’s elk up the mountain to camp.  

All 4 of us headed down the ravine to the creek in the falling snow.  We took our time going down and saw several mule deer but they were they appeared to be doe.  Once we got back to the elk meat Phil and Dad started deboning the remaining meat while Eric and I walked up the canyon to see what we could find.  I spotted one mule deer doe but that was all. 

Once I got back to the meat Dad and Phil had just left and left two bags of meat for Eric and I.  I was expecting around a 25 pound load and was in for a surprise when it weighed over 50 pounds again!  As I hoisted the pack on my back all my tired muscles from yesterday were not happy!  I felt as through I had already carried the load for miles even though I just put it on.  But with no other option up the hill we went, one slow step at a time.  It was the most physically exhausted I have ever been.  

Once back in camp we ate lunch and headed out to sit and watch some clearings for mule deer.  Didn’t see anything but found good cell service and called home for a bit.

We were passed out by 8 most nights!

11-6 

Awoke expecting some snow since they had a winter storm warning in affect but our area didn’t see any snow.  Eric and I headed to a new area to see what we could find.  After walking for a half mile we crossed some fresh deer tracks in the several inches of old snow and decided to follow them.  After slowly tracking for around a quarter mile what we hoped to be a buck we caught up to it.  As it jumped out ahead of us I saw it was a small buck and since Eric was above me and closer I decided to just let him have the shot.  As the buck cut up and around us into an open field Eric had a moment of indecision about whether it was big enough to shoot.  Just about when I thought he was letting him go to live another…BOOM! 

He dropped right in his tracks.  Eric hit him right in the neck at 180 yards offhand.  As we walked up to the small 3x3 we both looked at each other and sighed knowing what we had to do.  We were happy to get a mule deer but after the work of packing the elk out the just thought of packing more meat was tiring.  But thats the life of a hunter,  finding and harvesting the game is only half the work!  After helping butcher the elk Eric and I made quick work of the much smaller mule deer.   We had it quartered and packed the eight tenths of a mile out to the ranger in two hours.  Headed back to camp and ate lunch and took a nap before heading out for an afternoon hunt.  Walked another five miles and saw some deer but no shooting.  Planning to head down across the canyon tomorrow in search of some elk so I’d better get to bed and get the legs rested up. 

11-7

Eric and I headed down the ravine towards the creek at the bottom of the canyon at first light.  We started up the the other side not sure if we could even make it out although we saw the elk herd from Saturday go up that way  We got on a game trail right away and just followed that all the way out of the canyon.  It really is amazing how the elk and deer had trails built into a steep rocky face.  The trail switchbacked up at some spots and I found it amusing that just like people the elk would take short cuts and go straight down sometimes instead of using the switchbacks.  Eric and I slowly hiked up to the top of the mountain and took a trail back the top of the ridge a mile or so and then dropped down on the steep hillside and started working back through the pines in search of elk. 

Area full of rubs and Elk beds

It didn’t take long to find lots of elk sign.  Huge bedding areas and well used trails and some places even smelled like elk but no elk were to be found.  It seemed we were a couple days late as there wasn’t any super fresh tracks or droppings.  We spent the whole day working back and it was about a half hour after dark till we got back.  Was a long day of hiking around 10 miles.  Dad and Phil hunted for mule deer all day but didn’t see much of anything.

11-8

Couldn’t get the mattress off our backs this morning and it was well after first light till we got out.  Phil headed out to watch his hillside for mule deer and the other 3 of us headed for the bluff.  Dad was going to watch a clearing and Eric and I were going to work down a ravine below the bluff. 

Dad dissapeared over the hill and Eric and I had just started down the ravine when we heard a shot.  Not sure if it was Dad or not I called on the radio and asked him but got no response.  So we kept on going.  Before long we found very fresh elk tracks in the snow! My phone had service so I texted Dad to keep a lookout.  Soon I got a call for Dad and he excitedly told me he shot a bull elk out of a group of 5 bulls and the rest went up on the bluff!  So Eric and I huffed and puffed up to the top of the bluff and meet up with Dad for a bit and made a plan to try and get around the rest of the bulls. 

1 shot at 280 yards from the 30.06
did the job!

Dad went back to tag and start the butchering process on his 5x5 bull which Eric and I hadn’t even seen yet.  So we hiked around but found the bull’s tracks in the snow so we started following them.   Ended up following just two of the bulls and eventually just one bull for over 4 miles and up and down three ravines.  We got close enough to jump him but it was always in thick pines and we could never see him to get a shot.  Eventually the sun melted the snow and we lost the trail.  Got back to camp as Dad pulled in with his bull, just the head as the rest still needed butchering.  So Phil headed back with Dad to finish up the butchering and Eric and I went to watch some clearings we thought the rest of the bull elk might come through.  Didn’t see any elk but saw a few mule deer doe.  Dad and Phil had the elk meat packed out by dark.  Was about a 1.5 mile hike out to where we could ride the ranger.  Was a good day, glad to see Dad get an bull elk, and was fun to watch how excited he was.   

11-9

Everyone up and out the door at first light.  We all headed to some clearings to watch for mule deer and/or elk.  At about 8:30 I was bored and getting cold so I decided to slowly work my way around the ravine and over towards where Dad shot his elk which was about a mile hike or so.  So I was moving slow to try and catch a mule deer off guard and I was working up a north slope that was in a heavy stand of pines and still had a couple inches of snow left.  I will note that one thing that is common in the western forests are a lot of deadfall (tress that have blown over).  So I was mainly sticking to the game trails since they know the easiest ways around the mountains and I could walk quieter then trying to work through the deadfall maze. 

Found this poor guy in my travels

After a bit I noticed what seemed to be fresh elk tracks!  I really thought after yesterdays excursion over these same mountains that the elk would have been gone since they are really sensitive to hunting pressure and often head for a canyon or hillside hunters are to lazy to go to.  Anyway, I decided to follow these tracks and see where they might lead since they where heading in the same direction I wanted to go.  I didn’t get more the fifty yards when up ahead I heard what sounds like cattle running through the woods would sound like, crashing sticks and thumping of hooves.  I jumped those goofy elk again!   But after yesterdays learning experience I pulled back and didn’t pursue since they could always see and hear me before I would them when in the thick pines and when elk are chased they are usually smart enough to stay in the thick cover.    So I called Eric over to where I was and we decided to just watch some areas where we had seen heavy elk sign and thought the elk might poke there heads out for a drink or snack.  No luck there.  About 45 minutes before the end of the day I moved to an area where I could see a huge open grass field. 

400 yards is about a quarter of the way up the far hill

Within 15 minutes I noticed a deer moving across the big open field.  I quickly checked it out with my binoculars and immediately saw horns, big horns.   Next step is check how far, range finder said 401 yards and to aim 21 inches high (I had my range finder set up for my gun and ammo so it could calibrate how to aim at long range).  I cranked my scope up to nine power and found the big boy about ⅓ of the way across the field.  Couldn’t hold it steady, shaking some (I’ll blame it on being cold :-).  So moved over 5 yards to a fence post to prop on it.  Took two deep breaths, aimed, and fired.  Deer stopped walking, first thought was “I dropped him”.  I reloaded and found him again in the scope and he wasn’t dead!  Was trotting across field now, boom! Still trotting, boom! Still trotting and stopped at edge of woods.  Last chance, boom!  Big guy bounced into the woods never to be seen again, or so I thought…  I went down to where I last saw him and found no sign that I connected, which the way he ran off didn’t surprise me.  I did 2 big circles in the woods looking for him or any sign of a hit and found nothing.  By then it was dark so I met up with Eric and we hiked the 1.5 miles back to the ranger and headed for camp.  I hindsight I am 99% sure I was shooting over his back, oh well I had fun anyway and didn’t have to pack any meat out…haha.   Dad and Phil had a quiet day hunting mule deer so we all hoped for a better day tomorrow, our last day of hunting.   

11-10

After yesterday I was determined to get a deer.  I saw where the big guy had went and it was in a good area for deer so I headed back there in the morning.  I drug everyone out of bed at 4 and we hiked back the 1.5 miles and were in our spots 15 minutes before light!  Had a small 2x2 plop out of the woods at 325 yards but I didn’t feel like shooting him so he got to walk on by.  At 8:15 I was getting antsy and told dad I was going to work around the ridge to him slowly and see if anything might jump out in front of my or maybe go by him.  He was about ¾ of a mile away.  So I started in the woods doing my best slow and quiet walk.  Wasn’t long till I see deer moving up ahead.  I radioed to dad to “keep your eyes open, lots of tails flying in here” and saw more deer jumping around in the brush 75 yards up ahead of me.  I dropped the radio and threw my gun up.  First thing I see in a small opening is a head and lots of horn,  BOOM!  Deer exploded from everywhere going in all directions.  Making sure to keep my eye on the exact spot I shot at I worked through the brush to check if I hit him.   I walked up and was speechless, and absolutely confused. 

What the??

I remember my brain stuttering to itself trying to make sense of what lay before me.  One nice 4x5 mully lay stone dead, with an entry hole in the back of his head and an exit hole square between the horns.  Several feet from him a second 4x5 mully, nearly identical to the first, lay taking his last breaths.  I remember thinking “come buddy get up and run off!” 

Exit hole in buck #1

Still dumbfounded as too why I had two buck with one shot I examined the second deer and found a small entrance wound right behind his right horn.  Apparently I made the one in a million shot of getting two head shots with one bullet!!  I radioed Dad and Eric, “um I have a problem, your going to want to see this”.  After a bit of them trying to figure out where exactly I was at Eric walks up and looks and had the same confused look on his face as I did. Some time later Dad walks up and I stood in front of the one buck so all he saw is the first buck.  “Whoa thats a nice one!  Whats the prob….WHAT! how’d that happen!?”  After a bit Phil radios “hey you guys need help up there?”  “Yea we need some help, come straight up over the hill”  He has the same confused look as the rest of us. 

I put my tag on the first buck my bullet hit and then called the office of the Parks and Wildlife to get in touch with a game warden to see what he wanted me to do with the second buck and of course they were closed because of Veterans Day.  So next up was the New Castle, CO police and the office lady didn’t have wardens number so i was to “call the non emergency number for the 911 dispatch”.  So I call them and he says “call this number for the game warden dispatch”.  SO I call them and she finally says “ok I’ll need your info and then I’ll have a warden call you back”.  Finally we’re getting somewhere!  Few minutes later he calls me and the service is terrible but we manage to get communicated that I am suppose to field dress both deer and meet him at the bottom of the mountain at the main road, which is an hour drive for me.  So Phil and Eric helped me get the deer out of the woods and loaded on the truck and Eric headed to the bottom of the mountain with me. 

Phil stayed in camp to start packing up since he shot a nice 4x4 mule deer that morning.  He was sitting under a pine tree and the buck walked right into him.  After a short staring contest he got a shot off and tagged out for the trip!  The meeting with the warden couldn’t have went any better.  I felt like he believed me about what happened and he was appreciative that I did the right thing and turned myself in even though Dad still had a tag and I knew I would get fined.  70 dollars is a small price to pay for knowing you did the right thing and also to let a good reputation for out of state hunters.  He took the second deer and we chatted about hunting for a short time before we headed back up the mountain.  Eric, Dad and I hunted the last few hours but no more excitement was to be had.  What a day!  Even with how things unfolded I would still make the shot I took again because the chances of two heads being lined up just so is probably never going to happen again.

11-11 

Up at 4am and packed everything up.  Took down the bunks in the trailer and loaded the rangers.  Put the elk meat and Eric’s deer meat in coolers.  Phil’s and my deer we left just field dressed and will butcher at home.  Took a few pics and headed for home at 730am.  Had to stop in Glenwood Springs, CO to get CWD samples pulled from the Mule Deer since Colorado is doing mandatory CWD testing in unit 33 which is where we hunted.  Pointed the truck East and set out on the 28 hour drive home.  Arrived home Sunday the 12th around 4pm.  What an epic trip, was a blast hanging out with my brothers and Dad for a week spending quality time together hunting.  Thankful for our wives and employees that stayed home and held everything together on the farm while we were gone.