Another Colorado Elk season has come and gone! We hunt in an area south of Walden and north of Steamboat, CO. Great Elk habitat. There is a
resident Elk herd of around 500. A migration route continualy provides animals when Mother Nature brings snow up to the "high country" and the surrounding mountains.
It sure doesn't hurt that there is an Elk Refuge in this GMU as the Colorado Division of Wildlife calls it. Large numbers of animals come from all directions when
the weather starts to turn.
I just got back two weeks ago. I already miss the high pine forests. The smells, sights and sounds of the dark timber still hunts. Stories of the
day's hunt told over hot cornbread and a bowl of Elk chili. Personally, I had lots to talk about one evening. I blew one big bull out of his bed.
There was a light snow falling in my face as I headed out to still hunt up a ridge about a quater mile from my Jeep. I thought I was going slow enough. I guess not. That
bull was just a silver haired blur to my front right when he exploded into action. Cow Elk are more brown and dark tan. A Bull is just unmistakable by color.
He and I both knew it was too late the second I saw him. He put a set of trees between us and just dissapeared. Know matter how slow I crept
along... three steps..stop and scan every inch in front of me...three steps...etc., he still busted me from about 65yds in some pretty thick timber. He was just a flash,
and less than a second latter, he was gone without a sound and became just a memory. The silence was deafening.
Elk are just beautiful animals. I'd estimate that bull to be over 900lbs. My partner saw him jump a fence 3-4 minutes later. I was following the track and came upon him
glassing the monster. My Buddy said
he had a massive rack and two cows with him. He agreed with my 900lb assesment. I never saw the cows. I went after that silver "blur". I went up to my right just where I saw him go. I knew better.
The lust for that huge "Heard Bull" had taken over. As soon as I had made the climb to where I had seen him, I found his tracks. They lead uphill as suspected. I could
see that he had the afterburners on! He was just screaming through the trees from the look of it. I came to where he had made almost a 90 degree turn to the right at
full throttle. About 75yds down that path, he turned downhill. I almost choked on the lump growing in my throat. I remembered another hunt with a similar outcome.
Bulls like this one make a living staying alive. Staying alive means not standing still. He had circled around me and gone downhill knowing I was coming uphill after him.
This Bull reinforced what I have known for years. I am out of my 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. The Elk are
getting smarter, faster than the hunters. Thus the lure of Elk hunting. This isn't Uncle Henry'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, animals are pretty spooked and it can be extremly 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. Later that day, my Brother in Law and I decided to go hunt a favorite haunt where we had harvested animals
in the past. On our way in I stopped to talk to some other hunters that were driving out. They almost word for word described the technique of hunting we were
about to employ. Letting them past, we decidd to continue with our plans. Maybe these guys just missed something. Either way, we had made plans and we were going to
stick with them. Less than 25 minutes later, I heard one solid "boom" from above me. My Bro in Law had popped the first cow of our hunt! Just goes to show you. You can't
go slow enough. He was still when he first saw her 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!
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