singleshot1
Well-known member
Once again made the yearly trek from Illinois to Colorado to see the family and do some hunting, and Colorado didn't disappoint.
4 guys, 3 with tags and one that just wanted to hike and carry stuff off the mountain. 3 cow elk tags and two of us picked up bear tags just in case... hind sight that was a smart choice.
Arrived Thursday night before first season, spent Friday scouting and shooting the guns.
Day 1 (Saturday) opening morning I climbed to where I thought I wanted to be, only to find out after the sun rose that I had snuck past all the elk. So pack down the hill I sneak watching the herd I had seen and unbeknownst to me I snuck into another group that I didn't know was there. Well here I sit with a very nice bull letting me know what he thinks, only 30 yards away. Remember that part where we only had cow tags... fun... Anyway I start scanning and find a nice fat cow about 60-70 yards away, pull up the rifle, squeeze the trigger and my elk hunt is over 30 minutes into season.
That afternoon my buddy had a bear make a bad decision and run past him, one bear tag filled on opening day also.
Day 2 (Sunday) my brother connects on a cow that evening, we get here packed off the mountain by 11pm, grab some food and hit the bed.
Day 3 (Monday) my buddy connects on a cow in the afternoon, after a long and not so enjoyable pack out, we have her to the truck by dark. We are all pretty whooped at this point and I really didn't care if I filled the last tag we had, my bear tag. But after some liquid encouragement while celebrating our successes so far a plan was hatched for the morning of day 4.
Day 4 (Tuesday) that plan we came up with the night before, dumb, stupid, what the hell were we thinking. Later we called this a death march, hiked into a nasty spot known for bears, no bears to be found thank god because that pack out might have did me in. That evening I hiked in to the area I harvested my cow opening morning. Spent the evening glassing, just when I was about to pack it in I notice an odd looking spot that wasn't there before. Yep, bear, 412 yards away and no way to really get any closer. This is the edge of my comfort zone for shooting this gun, but I was able to lay prone, use my pack for a rest and get comfortable. Shot felt and sounded good, half hour later I was able to confirm how good, last tag punched.
I will add, this wasn't a fun pack out either, especially in the dark.
Day 5 (Wednesday) Was able to spend the last day cleaning gear up, packing and seeing the local sights. Kind of nice to have a day like that before driving back home.
All in all it was another great trip, already looking forward to next year.
4 guys, 3 with tags and one that just wanted to hike and carry stuff off the mountain. 3 cow elk tags and two of us picked up bear tags just in case... hind sight that was a smart choice.
Arrived Thursday night before first season, spent Friday scouting and shooting the guns.
Day 1 (Saturday) opening morning I climbed to where I thought I wanted to be, only to find out after the sun rose that I had snuck past all the elk. So pack down the hill I sneak watching the herd I had seen and unbeknownst to me I snuck into another group that I didn't know was there. Well here I sit with a very nice bull letting me know what he thinks, only 30 yards away. Remember that part where we only had cow tags... fun... Anyway I start scanning and find a nice fat cow about 60-70 yards away, pull up the rifle, squeeze the trigger and my elk hunt is over 30 minutes into season.
That afternoon my buddy had a bear make a bad decision and run past him, one bear tag filled on opening day also.
Day 2 (Sunday) my brother connects on a cow that evening, we get here packed off the mountain by 11pm, grab some food and hit the bed.
Day 3 (Monday) my buddy connects on a cow in the afternoon, after a long and not so enjoyable pack out, we have her to the truck by dark. We are all pretty whooped at this point and I really didn't care if I filled the last tag we had, my bear tag. But after some liquid encouragement while celebrating our successes so far a plan was hatched for the morning of day 4.
Day 4 (Tuesday) that plan we came up with the night before, dumb, stupid, what the hell were we thinking. Later we called this a death march, hiked into a nasty spot known for bears, no bears to be found thank god because that pack out might have did me in. That evening I hiked in to the area I harvested my cow opening morning. Spent the evening glassing, just when I was about to pack it in I notice an odd looking spot that wasn't there before. Yep, bear, 412 yards away and no way to really get any closer. This is the edge of my comfort zone for shooting this gun, but I was able to lay prone, use my pack for a rest and get comfortable. Shot felt and sounded good, half hour later I was able to confirm how good, last tag punched.
I will add, this wasn't a fun pack out either, especially in the dark.
Day 5 (Wednesday) Was able to spend the last day cleaning gear up, packing and seeing the local sights. Kind of nice to have a day like that before driving back home.
All in all it was another great trip, already looking forward to next year.
