This one is mine.
ahhhhh I like where this is going already!
Before I start, I would like to sincerely apologize to Hooked. After reading your story, I could swear we were in the same place.
That being said, my story will be that of a complete novice on a DIY hunt based on information I gathered mostly from Tradgang. In particular, I would like to thank just_a_hunter #9535 for his post http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=059344;p=1 which started this whole mess.
I would also like to thank everyone who sent me tips and advice via pm including invites to share a camp. This experience has truly changed my life.
To begin with, I'm 42 years old and have always dreamed of hunting elk. Never enough time, not enough money etc, etc.... you know the story. I've always been somewhat athletic, played football in college but as the years passed, I've grown bigger, and softer. Not what you'd picture as a mountain stalking machine.
That being said, my reason for this thread is to encourage anyone (I mean anyone) who has dreamed of doing this, to get out and make it happen. I survived and you can too. Didn't break the bank and enjoyed what I would consider an absolute success.
The day I read the above mentioned post, I printed a copy and started a file. I now have a multitude of paperwork and maps compiled over the past year and a half which served me well this past week. Just got home this morning so I'll try and get as much in as I can.
Part 1: conditioning
You've all heard it, some of you have said it.... be in the best shape you can be in, mountain air and terrain are unfriendly foes.
I believe in that but "the best shape you can be in" is a relative term. I'm a hair taller than 6 foot and alot closer to 300 lbs than 200. I started a year ago doing 20 minutes a day on an eliptical machine. Worked my way up to an hour a day which finally bored me to the point that I could no longer continue.
I began walking in the most vertical terrain I could find and now do 3 to 4 miles a day. I'm still a "XXL" but I have definately improved on my physical condition.... this is a side affect I fully intend on continuing.
I won't sugar coat this because I was definately gassed alot of the time but I walked slow and sure with alot of glassing in between and I found myself 1-3 miles from camp each day without serious problems.
Our base camp sat at 9300 feet. Everything was UP from there.
You are making great progress Brian - Part 1.
Bring it on Man!
Shoot straight, Shinken
Part 2: logistics
I absolutely had no idea where to start. I narrowed it down to Colorado and picked a unit. Nothing scientific here, I had two friends going with me and Steve's in-laws had a cabin that we could use in an emergency, so I picked the closest OTC unit a picked it apart. I obtained maps from the BLM and made some of my own from the Colorado division of wildlife site. We would be hunting the Routt National Forest. We were going to hunt a 10% success unit, but hunter numbers were low. We agreed that it was a fair trade off.
I watched the "Weather Channel" website religiously for a month prior to our hunt and finally settled on a forecast of mid 50's during the day and upper 20's at night with slight chances of rain early in the week with clear skies later.
NOTE: NEVER TRUST A WEATHER FORECAST
We had one week to hunt and picked the dates based on one Tradganger's statement. I don't recall who said it but I was told that hunting bugling elk during the last week of the season was like "chasing 800 lb turkeys"!!!!! how could we say no to that. We had a general location and our vacation time set.
We studied the maps and narrowed it down to two locations. We agreed that a higher altitude would be a good bet given the weather forecast and could possibly eliminate some competition. Here we go.
Love DIY. This if gonna be good.
Keep it comin!!!!!
dude I am home sick with the flu hacking my brains out. Where is the rest of the story.
Love the way you write..very thorough.
Equipment notes:
before the hunt, let me touch on a few equipment notes. We live in Oklahoma and primarily hunt tree stand white tails. We are not hiking, camping, back country savvy and our equipment was somewhat limited as you will see. I borrowed a decent pair of binoculars and decided to buy a good pair of boots and rain gear.
Again on the advice of Tradgang members, I found a pair of Meindle Perfekt Hikers in Cabela's bargain cave. I love the boots but would recommend that you hold out for the Perfekt Hunters.... the higher tops will help should you encounter snow. (hint, hint)
Also in the bargain cave, I found a pair of rain suede bibs for $49.00. Best deal I ever made. I wore those bibs on 5 of the 6 hunting days and love them. I added to that a space rain suit pullover top which I had to pay full price for but love the packability and weight.
Our camping gear was a little inadequate but we used what we had. We all had packs should we need to get away from the crowds but we never used them as we managed to find a decent base camp location.
:readit:
Oh, and thanks for sharing with us!
Thanks for the replies, I've read these for years and am glad to be contributing one of my own finally.
We arrived at our destination last Saturday, Sept 19th at approximately 1400 hrs. The weather was clear at maybe 60 degrees. I noticed that there were several camps in the general area and many of them had four wheelers.
We set up our camp at our chosen trail head and noticed that there was not a lot of sign that our chosen area had been heavily used. Four wheelers were allowed on the main roads but our chosen trail was off limits. Hopefully they would comply. so far so good.
(http://i572.photobucket.com/albums/ss166/BrianfromTulsa/colorado006.jpg)
We got everything settled in and soon figured out that most of the camps/four wheelers were weekend campers and not hunters at all. The closest group, which ended up camping about a 1/4 mile down the road was very loud and partied until nearly 3 am. We could hear shouting, music and fireworks and began doubting our choice from the beginning.
pictures too big, I'll work on resizing.
You can see from the picture that there was alot of beetle kill in the area. I didn't reallize how serious the problem is until we arrived. For those not familiar, beatles are killing alot of trees in the Rockies. There was alot of brown that should have been green.
Alright, we finally got some sleep and awoke on day one. Our plan was to hike up the drainage behind camp and check out a series of pastures (parks) that stretched aproximately two miles. I was worried that the weekenders had ruined all my plans but trudged up the trail anyway.
We were walking single file up the trail when Tim gave the fist up, stop signal. He pointed to his left and motioned "BULL"... Steve and I looked and could not believe what we saw. Not 75 yards downhill was the largest animal I have ever seen in the wild. Bear in mind that this is a 4x4 bull but it might as well have been Godzilla to us as it was giant.
At this point I should note that due to our newness to elk hunting, we all purchased cow tags and did not have a bull tag between us.
This bull never saw us and walked parallel to the trail out of sight. We gave him time to get out of the area and then continued. I don't know that we could have ever managed to get a shot at him as he was slightly ahead of us and we would have had to play keep up but we were 45 minutes into our hunt and had already seen a bull elk in the wild.
I looked at my GPS and noted that we were .6 mile from camp. As far as I was concerned, this hunt was already a success.
We split up at this point. Steve and Tim went down hill toward the park area while I continued down the trail working my way uphill to try and locate a vantage point.
Don't be stingy with the pictures Brother! I know you got more. :bigsmyl:
At approximately noon, I was a mile and a half in when it began to cloud up and rain a little. The rain then changed to sleet. I never did find a good vantage point where I could observe any of the park area but after a nap and lunch, I began slowly working my way back toward camp.
about two hours before dark, I found a good hide on the east side of the park and sat down. The rain/sleet soon stopped and almost immediately I heard my first real bugle. It took me by surprise and I was a little unsure of what I heard but when he let out a second bugle followed by a series of grunts, I knew that all my hard planning had come together. My plan was to sit there and get a good feel for where the elk were coming into the park. I had 5 more days to hunt and I was not about to rush in and mess this up. As I sat there, I could hear two more bulls bugling, all across the drain from me on the east facing slope. I never saw any of these elk but one had to be within 200 yars of my location. I could have went home at this point a winner.
I made my way back to camp and compared notes. Tim had come back early during the rain and worked around camp, Steve had heard several bulls bugling as well and we were stoked. Another benefit we soon discovered was that it being Sunday and raining, the weekenders had exited en masse. Yeah!!
We somehow managed to get to sleep and awoke the next morning to the sound of rain hitting the tent. I peeked out and discovered that the rain was no rain at all, but was a sleet/snow mix. So much for weather predictions.
(http://i572.photobucket.com/albums/ss166/BrianfromTulsa/colorado011.jpg)
Monday morning.
BBBBBEEEEEAAAUUUUTTTIIIIFFFUUUUULLLLLLLLLL!!
Man, you just GOTTA love the white stuff!
SNOW - my favorite four letter word!
Bring it on BABY - YEA!
Shoot straight, Shinken
Don't leave us hanging!
GLENN
I'm tired but I'll keep going. Our plan on this day was to split up and sit on the park hoping to lay eyes on the bulls (and hopefully their cows) that we had heard the day before. We each sat all day with no sign or sound of an elk to be found.
Here is the park where I sat
(http://i572.photobucket.com/albums/ss166/BrianfromTulsa/colorado033.jpg)
Again, I live in Oklahoma and hunting in the snow is a novelty to me, but it was obvious that something had changed.
On Tuesday, Steve planned to sit again hoping that the weather would break. Tim and I stayed together and slowly made our way completely around this drainage. It took us all day but we did it. Sadly, we only managed to cut two single sets of elk tracks in the wet snow which continued to fall for the entire third day in a row. The temperature hovered near 30 degrees so it wasn't bitterly cold but if you are tent camping, it's hard to dry out and that made it somewhat uncomfortable.
for your entertainment, here's a picture of me
(http://i572.photobucket.com/albums/ss166/BrianfromTulsa/colorado030.jpg)
(http://i572.photobucket.com/albums/ss166/BrianfromTulsa/colorado019.jpg)
(http://i572.photobucket.com/albums/ss166/BrianfromTulsa/colorado025.jpg)
This is what we returned to Tuesday evening. Tim and Steve are standing next to our collapsed tent. We cleared it off and cooked dinner.
After some soul searching, we agreed that this would be a good night to get a room in town for some restful sleep and a hot shower. We decided not to utilize Steve's "cabin" as it would be more than an hour and a half drive and we honestly didn't want to wait that long.
:campfire:
Your candor and enthusiasm are making this a very enjoyable story. I am loving your first elk hunt.
Brian as soon as i saw Elk and someone from OK, i was hooked!!! I live in Moore, OK and my dream hunt has always been one like yours...i will definately be keeping up with what you write!
Cant wait to read more after you get some rest!
Thank you for sharing and congrats on following your dream!
Lance
Most excellent story writing! Classic tale too. Looking forward to the rest of it.
great job, but do I have to shut the hot water off to your shower (like I do to my teenage daughter) so you can get on with you Colorado Adventure? :thumbsup:
Excellent writing - I'll be with you until the end on this one!
I think it is already obvious that elkaddiction has claimed another victim. There is no cure outside of visiting the mountains in September....
It is a great time to be an elk hunter. Continue...
Thanks for sharing your story! i'm still waiting on my first trip. The pictures are great!
Your killing me keep it comming.
And??? :rolleyes: :D :D
Great Story by the way... :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
I'm lovin this, haven't been since 2000, I gotta get back in the mountains.
OK, I'm back. Alright, we're in town with a warm bed and a shower. I've got to say that we're all a little concerned that our elk have moved on with the snow. Everybody we talked to is excited about the early snow. The guy at the motel asks what were hunting... when we reply "elk" he smiles and says "this snow should really push them down." Guy in the cafe says, "this snow will really move those elk down".
We begin to wonder.... where the heck is "DOWN" and how do we get permission to hunt there?
We take Wednesday morning off and try to decide on a new location. We study the maps and opt to move our base camp to a second location where we might be able to head em off. We decide to do a little fishing on the way back to camp. We stop in at the local fly shop. You guessed it- "the elk should really be moving DOWN". We did manage to get the lowdown on a good trout lake in the area and off we went.
(http://i572.photobucket.com/albums/ss166/BrianfromTulsa/colorado045.jpg)
The fishing was pretty good and we had to work around a slot limit but we did manage to pick out three good ones for dinner. Back to camp, tear it down and make the move.
We got back to camp at about 1400 hrs and quickly packed it up. We moved to another drainage about 4-5 miles away and reset it. Ready to go in about 2 hours. We used the rest of the day to explore the area. On my way back to base camp 2, I spotted movement on the side of the road. When I reallized they were grouse, they were already climbing away. I pulled out my judo arrows and dropped my pack and quiver- up the hill I went.
I made it back with one less arrow and not one, but two grouse. Steve was with me and he managed to get one too. This had been a great day and things were really shaping up.
(http://i572.photobucket.com/albums/ss166/BrianfromTulsa/colorado040.jpg)
When I was a kid, there was a place in Wagoner, Oklahoma called Bob's fish and fowl. This is Brian's version:
(http://i572.photobucket.com/albums/ss166/BrianfromTulsa/colorado048.jpg)
I forgot to mention that the snow has finally stopped and is beginning to fade away.
Alright, Thursday morning:
We drove to the top of the mountain and split up each working downward toward camp. There were several fresh tracks in the snow and hopes were high.
I cut across several very fresh tracks that were heading in my general direction. I stayed uphill and slowly began to follow them. The area I was hunting was recently clear cut and the new growth trees were approximately 12-14 ft high and thick. The elk seemed to be following the edge of the new growth timber staying just inside the mature forest.
My plan was to sneak through the thick stuff and peek out every 50-100 yards. This worked well, so far, and I was in no hurry. At 1:18 (I checked) I heard a noise directly in front of me. I stood still and heard it again, this time I was sure that it was a cow elk mewing. I can't see it but it's close. I drop to my hands and knees and sit. I checked the wind which was almost still but drifting slowly downhill. I was OK for now as the elk was level with me straight ahead.
I am now slow crawling through the new growth desperately trying to locate the noise maker which is now within 60-75 yards of me.
I'm maybe 10 yards from where I started and at least that far from being able to see well out into the open forest when Murphy strikes.
A loud snort or blow or whatever the technical term is sounds immediately to my left. Apparently I was between several elk and the wind got me. I don't know exactly how many there were but I could see two run from in front of me and the unseen snorter makes at least three. Looking back, I should have circled way around and got in front of them and made a stand because I knew the direction they were traveling. Live and learn.
Really enjoying this Brian. Keep it coming! Mike
Great story so far and the food looks great as well.
Rob
Now I'm disgusted and make my way back to the truck. Just before dark, Tim and Steve made their way out as well. I'm the only one who saw elk but Steve told of seeing not one but eight moose including a 30 yard encounter with a big bull. Not what we're after but exciting just the same. We agree to hunt about a half mile down the road the next day and hit it bright and early.
This is the last day so we agree to be back around lunch time. Steve and I go left and Tim goes right. We don't see any elk but we do encounter some more moose which have obviously taken over this basin.
(http://i572.photobucket.com/albums/ss166/BrianfromTulsa/colorado054.jpg)
When we got back to the truck, Tim is already there and visibly shaken. As he relays his story, we can't help but laugh as he explains that if you encounter a bull moose at 15 yards, don't take his picture. I wish I had a copy of his photo because it is sure a good one! After that, we break down our camp and began the 13 hour drive home.
This is the spot where I should be posting my hero picture........ but it was not to be. I do consider this trip a success because we were able to see bighorn sheep, antelope, deer, elk and several moose. Had we been moose hunting, I truly believe we would have all been successful.
I did manage to get within 75 yards of at least 4 elk which is a mini victory for me and one that has me hooked. We'll be back next year and I'll try and make the story a little shorter.
Thanks for reading and all the help. Congrats to everyone who was successful this year, I have a new respect for just what that must take. Deer season opens here on Thursday so I'm stoked about that.
(http://i572.photobucket.com/albums/ss166/BrianfromTulsa/colorado064.jpg)
thanks for sharing, Brian....hope next year's story has a different ending. But still sounds like a great trip!
:clapper:
Great stuff! That picture of the cooked trout and grouse sent me to the kitchen for a sandwich after I realized I was salivating and had not had supper yet.
Some things I learned that will help newbies:
Get off your butt and go- I spent $250 for a cow tag and my share of the gas was $140. $30 for my share of the motel room. You're gonna eat anyway so what you spend on food is a wash. Start planning now and stocking up on supplies. Use what you have, borrow the rest. I really can't believe I waited this long.
Be prepaired for rain and snow
Bring Chapstick
Don't base your success on killing an elk... never mind, I'm on Tradgang.
Looking back, we had a solid plan but the snow put a damper on it. There were elk in our first location, we were just a week late.
I believe this about sums it up. gotta go back to work tomorrow. good night all.
Brian
Very inspiring, thanks for sharing. I wiil save this to my files.
Thanks for the story.
QuoteOriginally posted by BrianfromTulsa:
Some things I learned that will help newbies:
Get off your butt and go-
That is some very good advice right there. It won't get easier when you get older. It can still be done, but I've never met a dedicated elk hunter who doesn't wish they had started sooner.....
Elk hunting is an adventure and not always about taking meat home! Thanks for sharing your hunt with us.
No meat for me this season either but learned alot as you did and will be ready for them come next season!
:clapper: Very good Brian enjoyed evey step you made
Thanks for sharing your story and pics. Great advice too!!!
Awesome stuff Brian. Two trad friends and I had a very similar Colorado Elk hunt experience last September. It's a magical place for us easterners no doubt.
Good luck next time.
I'm seriously considering doing my first western hunt next year on a DIY southcentral Wyoming foray. I've really enjoyed your photo essay. Bravo.
Brian thanks for taking us on your trip man. I did the same thing 10 years ago and have only missed 2 years since. It is addictive! You are now a new convert! Congrats on a great hunt. Whitetail hunting will seem like a breeze now. Don't be suprised though if you don't start stalking some of those whitetails... (:
Thanks Brian.
As a wise man once told me, " its the journey, not the destination" .
Sounds like your "Journey" was joyful and memorable.
Thanks for taking us along!
Chris
Sounds like you learned a lot, good luck next year!
Very cool. Thanks for the story.
Brian,
Wonderful story. I loved every minute of it. Made me wish I was back in the mountains. You did a great job and I would say that you learned a lot. Get the elk nut cd's and go after some bulls. Those cows are tough.
Until you go and experience a trip and come home empty handed you can't quite understand how someone can have so much fun without harvesting an animal. Now you know. Those "could have" moments will fill your day dreams for the next year and even though they always end the same it still takes you back.
Thanks for taking us along.
Chris
Thanks for sharing. Good to hear a rookie's perspective.
GREAT story and I felt as though I was there with you. Your narrative is awesome and I could feel the leg burn and cold dampness of the snow.
Thanks for taking me along from the flatlands of GA.
Dave
Just rereading this post and think it deserves a bump. The time is near.