I just got back from my first Elk hunting trip in the San Juan National Forest in southwest Colorado. We got excited when we saw this road sign coming west out of Durango, CO...
My brother had been in contact with an outfitter there through a friend of his. Our intention was to rent a tent space with shower house access. The outfitter didnt have anyone staying in one of his cabins so he told us to leave the tents at home and he let us stay there for FREE!! (he didnt even charge us for a tent space or anything) If anyone on here has a chance to deal with Scott Cox with Lost Canyon Outfitters, he is a top notch person to deal with.
The first 3 days we did alot of scouting and hiking in some pretty tough terrain trying to find some elk. We saw some beautiful country...
My brother overlooking one of the canyons...
Dry creek in the bottom of a canyon...
There was a pipeline that made access to the canyon bottom a little easier but it was still pretty steep...
On the 4th day we decided to switch areas because we just were not seeing or hearing any elk in the canyons. We picked a new area that seemed to have limited trail access and thought it might be a good area.
We parked the truck and walked about 300-400 yds down the road and heard our first bugle and it was close!! My brother and I were team hunting with him as the caller and me as the hunter so we rushed across the meadow off the road and started getting setup with the wind in our favor. He got about 60-70 yards behind me and let out a bugle of his own. Within 30 seconds we had a spike and a cow come RUSHING in to our setup. The spike was bucking like a horse and charged to within about 12 yards of my brother! Eventually the spike walked away passing a mere 15 yards from me and I was wishing that he had 4 points on one side. The cow never came close enough and eventually wandered off.
We tried to be very patient and eventually our patience paid off when my brother started bugling again about 5 minutes after the first encounter. He traded bugles back and forth with the original bull that we heard in the distance. After 3 or 4 exchanges the spike from the first encounter came back in with a buddy (another spike) and they passed about 25 yards to my right... once again they were looking for the mystery bull making all the noise. While they were within 30-40 yards between me and my brother we heard the bigger bull bugle again so my brother answered. I thought this was a mistake because of the close proximity of these 2 spikes, but they didnt seem to mind and just stayed right there as the bigger bull started moving in...
He came in from the same direction as the 2 spikes and I immediately saw that he was a legal shooter bull... he seemed to be a little more cautious than the younger bulls and was much more patient... when he finally went behind the bushes to my right, I came to full draw and waited for him to clear... he eventually cleared the bush at about 40 yards and I let the arrow fly... He was quartering away and he turned a little farther in that direction as the arrow was released so I hit him a little farther back that I intended...
My brother and I went to inspect the spot and saw plenty of really good blood but since the shot was a little farther back than I intended we wanted to give him plenty of time to expire. That afternoon we followed a pretty good blood trail about six tenths of a mile and then the unthinkable happened... we bumped him
We decided to back out and since the nighttime temps were in the 40's we figured he would probably be good until the next morning.
I walked into where we bumped him the following morning to start the tracking again. I followed his footprints and blood only about 160 yards farther and this is what I found...
The shot was MUCH farther back than even I had anticipated and I was a little suprised that either he or I had moved/twisted that much upon releasing the arrow. God was very good to me and I was fortunate enough to recover this animal after very poor shot placement.
This was my first Elk hunting experience but certainly not my last... I had a wonderful time in camp with my brother and my dad for the week and we were fortunate enough to harvest one of these beautiful animals.
Here are the pictures for you guys to enjoy...
