Another Colorado Elk season is upon us! We hunt in an area south of Walden and north of Steamboat, CO. Some of the best elk habitat in North America. There is a resident Elk herd of around 600. A migration route in the area can continually provide animals when Mother Nature brings snow up to the "high country". It sure doesn't hurt that there is an Elk Refuge in this GMU as the Colorado Parks and Wildlife refers to it now. Large numbers of animals come from all directions when the weather starts to turn.

I'm getting ready for my hunt two weeks from now. I miss the high pine forests. The smells, sights and sounds of the dark timber still hunts. There is nothing better than to sit in front of the fire telling stories with baked potatoes, hot cornbread and an Elk steak from the previous years hunt. Personally, I can't wait to get into the high country. I need to spend the time with my best hunting buddy who just happens to be my Brother in Law.

I hope there will be a light snow falling for this makes our quarry easier to spot from short or long distances. Still hunting has been the best of all the techniques I have employed over the years, as well as the most productive. A Bull elk becomes just a silver haired blur if he sees you before you see him. Cows move much slower but are still hard to get close to because of the "Lead Cow". She spends more time protecting her comrades than eating. A Bull is just unmistakable by color. Silver, majestic and very large. They don't get to become that way by not being extremely intelligent. A big Bull can put a set of trees between he and you and just disappear before your very eyes, in a split second. Know matter how slow you creep along... three steps..stop and scan every inch in front of me...three steps...etc., there is still the factor that he has already been shot at by previous season hunters of earlier seasons. You may spot him but rest assured that he probably will see you first no matter how hard you work the area. In less than a second he can become, without a sound just a memory. The silence is always deafening in the snow covered dark timber where they feel safe.

Elk are just beautiful animals. I'd estimate the average heard bull to be over 900lbs. A few seasons ago my Bro saw a bull I had been tracking jump a fence while I was following the tracks. I had been pushing him as I followed behind. I could see from his tracks that he had to be massive! The sign looked like he had a couple of cows with him. I have seen many tracks in my hunting career and guessed he was somewhere around the 800 to 900lb range. I never saw any cows but that is no surprise. The lead cow most likely saw me before that Bull. Her alarm is, most of the time, the reason Elk take flight. A "Heard Bull" will sometimes stay with his harem for weeks after the rut. I glassed another large Bull later that evening. I knew better than try to get close to him. Fortunately he was moving very slowly towards me. I found a good spot with plenty of shooting lanes, and just parked myself. The lust for that huge "Heard Bull" had me shaking like a first time elk hunter.. As soon as I spotted him the usual fever hit me. An Elk hunt brings out the best in a man when he has been in this situation before. Unfortunately he turned into some trees and I never saw him again.

Generally, Elk move uphill in the wee hours of the morning and downhill in the evening as expected. I had found sign and tracks for the first 3 days of the hunt. Mostly older tracks the first day but many more fresh ones this particular morning. My heart had been pounding ever since I stumbled upon fresh sign. I knew I was close by seeing and smelling fresh beds along the way. Nothing had spooked them so I thought I was moving on game that felt secure. There is no telling where you might run across a heard. I like to let novice hunters know where and how to get the most out of their Elk hunt. First thing I tell someone is "Elk are where you find them". I also mention the best areas to look for Elk is in dark timber on the north side of the mountain where you intend to hunt.

You MUST understand you are out of your element and they are perfectly suited for theirs. When the average hunter sees two elk, twenty Elk saw him. Think about that for a minute. One hunter learned a lesson about finding a couple of Elk. Twenty Elk learned a lesson about not being found. Elk are extremely intelligent when it comes to not getting found. Thus, the lure of Elk hunting. This isn't Billy Bob's Whitetail hunt. There is no feeder to sit on till 5PM when it goes off. There is no certain place to catch Elk coming into water. During rifle season, the Elk are pretty spooked and it can be extremely difficult to find sign unless you are patient and "work" the area as it should be. You can't move through the trees slow enough. Late in the day is when I have harvested more Elk than any other time of day. I have favorite haunts where we had harvested animals in the past.  A lot of hunters described thier favorite techniques. Even though I have hunted Elk for over 25 years, I have never met another hunter I didn't listen to for you can learn something from all of them. Sometimes their stories tell you something you may try in the field and sometimes it is info that you already know is fruitless. Either way you can learn things from every hunter that you come across. All you have to do is listen and you will pick something up from other hunters. Could be what to try or affirmation you know will fail. Elk learn from each other, and you can learn something from every hunter. Good bad or ugly, use every minute to learn as much as you can from asking questions and deciding what to do with the answers you receive. No one knows it all because the more or less hunters there are in your area has a direct effect on the actions the Elk will take. Either way, have a plan before you enter the realm of the majestic Elk, and stick with them. A few years ago I was hunting with my Brother in Law (a very joyous, exciting man and great hunter). We were working an area a few miles from base camp. Moving very slowly through a north facing hillside. It wasn't long before I heard one solid "boom" from above me. Just goes to show you. You can't go slow enough. You can't be quiet enough. You can't look closely enough to beat an Elk in his world of deception. Bro spotted a cow jumping through some heavy, dark timber. She took one quick jump into an opening, and took one quick Barnes Ultra Shock to the heart.

Just remember. You have to work to find Elk sign. You have to find sign to find Elk. You have to find Elk to hunt Elk. You have to hunt Elk before you can harvest one. It's some of the hardest work I have ever done, and at the same time, the BEST job I've ever had!

Good Luck and Good Hunting!