Had a great trip with some good company for my first hunt in Colorado. A while back a good guy here on tradgang put up an invite for his Colorado elk camp and we made plans to meet up at a base camp. Turns out Don knows his stuff and killed a nice cow on the second day with his Bear recurve , but I was several miles away looking over another area. After meeting back up on day three I moved over into the area he had been hunting. This is a DIY with OCT tags hunt on public lands , heavy packs and lots of lung busting fun. That said I spent a total of 20 days in the backcountry living in my tent bow hunting and fishing for trout with my Tenkara rod ( many good campfire fish meals ). All my gear worked out great and that was a good thing cause we had rain for prob 14 of the 20 days and many cold frosty mornings and nights. I don't think I went a single day without seeing elk an in total called in 18 bulls ( only cow called never once used a tube ) with many close encounters but never the right shot , well one shot but that's for later. Many things went wrong as the old list goes , wind changed , moved to soon , set up wrong , did not get out of the sleeping bag til noon , and on and on blah blah blah...
I was only about 5 miles back but in plenty of elk and was having a great time. My last trip in the mountains was 3 years ago and I was soaking it all in. Don only ventured out and gave a visit once and did some fishing and checked on his 2 buddy's that were with me. They were seeing elk and learning the ins and outs of this type of hunt as it was there first trip for elk ( both great guys ) but left with no tags filled but I'm sure they will return and tag elk in the future. I saw elk , murderer , moose , bear , pine martin , pine squirrel , marmot , and caught many fish. So an elk kill would just seal a great trip........
Sounds like a great time!
:campfire:
The I was hunting with a Bear Takedown GreenStripe and old bear razorheads with an old bear quiver. The guys I was camped with decided to head back a day early and I watched as they walked down the valley and out of sight so now I'm all alone. I was sitting and pondering my next move should I go catch some fish for supper or should I go look for elk. So I put my pack on and headed up the mountain for elk. I did not get very far up from camp and thought I heard something above me so I got my cow call out of my pocket knelt down and let out some seductive cow talk. Next thing I know 2 cows and 5 Bulls come screaming down the mountain on a path that would run me over so when they were about 25 yds away I hit the call again and they turned to my right then stopped. The biggest bull was in the back and I never saw him til it was too late the best bull I could see was just in front of him. So they are up hill and standing side hill from me at about 25 or 30 yds, I lock in on the bull and cut loose the arrow. Right then the bull I never saw pushed my bull forwards and I see my arrow hit my bull back and penetrate up to the crest. He humped up and ran about 30 yds up and stopped and watched the other elk run down the mountain then he just walked around the corner and out or sight. I marked the spot and backed out as quite as I could , made a mad dash to my tent then a mad 5mile dash to base camp to see if my new friends could lend a hand. I played the shot over and over in my head and knew he would not go far as long as nothing pushed him it was a hair popping sharp 4 blade Razorhead.....
My home for the trip....
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So I had a very sleepless night in the high country and we headed out after sun up to search for my bull also keep in mind these guys have a 24 hour drive home I'm now keeping them from. I knew the bull was down it was just finding him ( many thanks to the great guys that was helping me on this task ). We get to the spot and I show them how it all went down I walk up and say this is where he was then walk over and say this is where he watched the others go down the mountain. Then walk his path and say here is where I lost sight of him. We stand there and over think everything and say well he prob did this so we need to go look here then there then over there this went on for an hour or more. Long story of how we thought wrong so we went back to the spot I lost sight of him and wouldn't you know he was down only 35yds to the left of the last spot I saw him. So he was a total of 78 yards from where the arrow hit him , the shot was back but the angle had been good enough to get the job done ( Don't over think like I did stat from ground zero Always ). I was a happy fellow and had 4 strong backs for the pack out. He is my second DIY public land bull and I am very proud of him.......
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/87FF76CF-752C-4C06-BFEC-DA7237F1399F_zpsuosnjcnd.jpg) (http://s884.photobucket.com/user/samstephens71/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/87FF76CF-752C-4C06-BFEC-DA7237F1399F_zpsuosnjcnd.jpg.html)
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Nice bull Sam, congrats!
While looking for him I saw a big bear so I go buy a bear tag cause I still have 11 days to hunt. Anyway we get him boned out and packed back out and my new friends start out for home and I'm now alone again for a few days til my Tx buddy arrived to hunt elk.I spent many days fishing and looking for bears with no luck on the bears but had a great trip with new friends and old and I'm sure I will do it again...
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Great job!! great pics. great story. congrats
Congrats Sam! Sounds like a great trip in some beautiful country!
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My last day of hunting , sad to leave but glad to be home....
,,,,Sam,,,
Alone in the mountains hunting bear! Your the Man!
Is watching over a large gut pile considered baiting Bear!!??
Great hunt and story. :thumbsup:
Congrats on what was a great hunt. Always mic when you can find a spot where you can get a little fishing in to break up the days.
Nice hunting story and pictures! Congrats on a well earned bull and a lot of great memories! :clapper:
Bernie
Simply Outstanding........ :thumbsup:
Congradations! Thanks for sharing the pics..
How was it Sleeping alone in the back country?
Great stuff......thanks for sharing.....
Good job, Sam! Love that tenkara fishing, too, it is just about all I do anymore. Enjoy those elk steaks!
Man, that is just awesome.
Great story, great pics and a great bull!
Congrats Sam!
Congratulations sam what a heck of hunt for you!!!nice bull :clapper:
Congrats on a great trophy, and thanks for taking us along!
congrats on the success
:thumbsup: excellent
NICE!! Congrats on a fine bull
Sam, Felix have any luck? Did you have any muzzle hunters on top of you or were we far enough in?
Good Stuff Sam.. Congrats!
Great adventure! I'm glad those fellows hadn't cleared out before they could help.
Congrats Sam. Thanks for sharing your story.
Way awesome Sam!! Congrats on a fine bull. I bet the fishing was a blast too.
Another classic.
What a sweet trip. Congrats on the bull.
Well done, Sam. That's getting it done. Congrats on a great bull.
Very cool. That looked like a blast! Thanks for sharing and congrats on a dandy bull.
Awesome job Sam!
Great story Sam. I would love to have an adventure like that someday. Congratulations.
:bigsmyl: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :archer:
:thumbsup: congratts! :thumbsup:
Great job! You're living my dream! Thats a great looking elk.
Congrats! I hit a pig in a similar location a few weeks back. I searched for him to no avail.
Great job man!!
congrats!
A Job well done! Congratulations!!
Very cool! Congrats!
Congrats! Great story and pics!
Way to go Sam!!!
Great job Sam!
Yes Don we bad some smoke pole guys move in and set up camp at the head of the park , you could see the tents from our camp. They ended up shooting that bear I saw about a 150 yds from my kill sight. Just back home and unpacked and heading out for a few days of dove hunting , I will call you in several days and give you the story. Felix did not fill his tag but saw elk plenty , he ended up pulling something in his chest and couldn't get around very well and only hunted 5 days....
,,,Sam,,,,
QuoteOriginally posted by SAM E. STEPHENS:
Yes Don we had some smoke pole guys move in and set up camp at the head of the park , you could see the tents from our camp. They ended up shooting that bear I saw about a 150 yds from my kill sight. Just back home and unpacked and heading out for a few days of dove hunting , I will call you in several days and give you the story. Felix did not fill his tag but saw elk plenty , he ended up pulling something in his chest and couldn't get around very well and only hunted 5 days....
,,,Sam,,,,
Congrats on a nice bull..thanks for sharing the story.
Beautiful
Great story and pics! A fine example of hunting done right. Congratulations!
Bill-
That is fantastic, great hunt. I am intrigued, you said you saw murderer...what was that? Thanks again for sharing the great story.
Muledeer , this device did an auto correct for what ever reason.
It was a great time with good people for sure....
,,,Sam,,,
dandy bull!
Congrats!
That is what it is all about.Love seeing those pics from out west as it has been a long time since I have been out there.Great job on a great adventure.
Awesome trip and elk, congrats Brother! Can I go next time???
congrats, nice bull
Awesome.....great accomplishment! Thanks for sharing..
TJ , planning the next trip now if you want to go just let me know, your in if you want to go.....
,,,Sam,,,
:clapper: :clapper: :clapper:
Nice work Sam!
chris <><
Not sure how you could top that Sam.
Good stuff.
Way to go Sam! Awesome hunt!
While I love all of the wisdom I get from this site, these threads are my absolute favorite thing to read. Thank you for sharing. Congrats.
Thanks for all the kind words everyone , it was a fantastic trip with many fine times had. I have answered all PMs about the trip and am happy to do so , the long and short of doing a trip like this is just be prepared in advance. The cost is not bad prob under $1500 total ( not counting gear ) but if you shop around and also buy used gear it ain't that bad. And get in good physical shape well before your trip and all will be fine. I think the mental game gets to more people than anything else just always try and stay positive and it will happen ( maybe not this trip but it will happen , the odds are not in your favor on a DIY public land hunt , but the hunt is what you make of it ). Anyway I would love to do another but it might be a while as I will be looking into other species for my future hunts I have the wants to see new animals and lands. I am glad to help anyone plan and prepare for a backcountry adventure......
,,,Sam,,,
I plan to get out there next season, time to start accumulating the necessary gear. Can't do 20 days like you but so my chances will be more limited due to shorter time to hunt but hopefully I'll get a shot. I had a feeling you'd get it done, I've read so many threads where the guys zero'd out this year, it was great to see you pull off th DIY elk score.
sam, I think I have to rescind my dandy bull comment. I just realized yours is a bit bigger than mine! got me in beam length I can tell. sooooo unfair lol.
I love these September elk threads! best part of this website. long live elk season.
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
SportHunter I shot my bull on day 8 and my buddy Don shot his cow on day 2 , so you never know. I am fortunate enough with my job where I can take off for many days for a hunt....
Huntnmuleys it don't make a hill of beans , your bull is an outstanding animal and I would have him grace any room in my house. One of these days I will get me a true giant and if not I'm ok with that also. Just the thrill of the hunt drives me on I'm just eat up with it. I need to get with you about a hunt in your beautiful state ( never hunted Wyoming just looking for info ) I have driven through it many times. I love reading about your hunts your the real deal sir...
,,,Sam,,,
Awesome hunt Sam, Its been a few yrs since Ive been to Colorado hunting Elk. Last time I got a cow, would like to take a nice bull the next time around.
Sam,
Well done, congratulations on a nice bull.
Congrats on the bull, great story. :thumbsup:
That's awesome! Congrats! And the pictures were great as well. Nice work!
Sam, you tell a very good story. And, it's always a pleasure to read them. Congrats.
one day I will do this... awesome stuff
Congrats on a good trip! May I ask what unit you hunted?
Way to go Sam! Excellent story and pics. Congrats!
Kenny
Awesome, congrats on an epic hunt!
We hunted in unit 521....
,,,Sam,,,
NICE!! it always amazes me the way things come together sometimes, congrats
Sam
In the beginning of your post, you stated that all your gear worked great. So tells us about your gear and recommendations, please?
:clapper:
Great story. Thanks for sharing.
I will do a gear list and post it up , thanks again everyone it was a epic adventure.....
,,,Sam,,,