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First Out of State Hunt

Runnin_Chupacabra

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 10, 2020
Messages
483
Location
Central Coast, CA
This past week I left for my first out of state hunt, a cow elk hunt in CO. Being someone who is self taught through all the available content online, I can't tell you how much I've learned from folks here on HT as well as watching Big Fin's hunts/content. I remember the exact moment back in early 2019 when I was watching an OYOA decided that I wanted to have my own stories and experiences to share, rather than sitting and watching others. That was the first year I started to build points and culminated in last week's hunt. For those of whom that are interested, here's the story.

I leave the Central Coast of CA to embark on my 17 hour drive towards CO, with a plan of arriving in my unit a day and a half early to to scout my hunt area (something I learned from watching OYOA/FT). This hunt was not only my first out of state hunt but a solo hunt. On the drive out I could feel intimidations creeping in, unsure if I knew enough about what I was doing. As I arrive to the area a biologist recommended, I start to see pronghorn, mule deer and elk, and my intimidations are quickly replaced by excitement. As I mosey around the area, there is elk sign all around and in the two days preceding the season I find two separate groups of elk, things are looking up!

My first night in the tent was a rough one. I was trying to figure out how to situate my sleep system to stay warm but hardly slept that night. As the nights rolled on my sleep setup got better and better, to the point that I was sleeping great. (There was a thread I started on HT with these questions and I definitely credit those folks on helping me get dialed in).

Friday night I formulate a plan as to which group of elk I was going to hunt, but as I would learn elk do, both groups disappeared for the entire weekend. Fast forward to early Monday morning, still haven't seen the elk, and I'm considering moving to another area of the unit but I have flashbacks to OYOA/FT episodes with Big Fin saying, "don't leave elk to find elk." I decide to stick it out in this area for another few days.

Early Monday afternoon, I find one of the groups in the same area I had originally saw them Thursday. I sit a watch them feed into a thicket of junipers and plan on hunting an open meadow on the north side of the juniper hill that afternoon.

It's Monday evening, the elk didn't get the memo. I thought they still could be in the area but didn't want to kick them out so decide to head back to camp. Monday night I'm beginning to question if I know what I'm doing. I've never hunted elk before, am I over my head right now? Doubt starts to creep in. Having ran track and field at a high level, I realized that in the middle of a race you never let any doubt set in. Even when the race isn't going your way, you keep yourself in the mix, give yourself a chance and you might surprise yourself.

Monday I get word that a nasty storm is coming in, and in my two wheel drive truck that makes me little nervous about getting stuck somewhere. I get up Tuesday morning with the idea of looking for the elk in the same area they had been in Thursday and Monday and it'd be best to still hunt that area. The wind is perfect, a south wind as I approach the south facing slope from the north. I work my way down a double trek as I hear my shoulder straps squeaking with each step. Ditch the pack. As I inch closer and closer into the area, I pear over a ridge and boom, the elk are only 400 yds away. I back out, find a row of junipers as I conceal my way in for a closer shot. I told my self going into this, the farthest shot I was comfortable taking is 300 yds. A few minutes after questioning if I'm walking down the right row of junipers, I realize they're only 165 yds away. The tripod gets set up and I pick out the cow I want to shoot. Wind still remains in my favor, directly in my face, as the elk are below me. The chosen cow stops grazing. She's looking around knowing something is off. The rest of the group is starting to pick up on her inklings and I realize I need to make a shot soon. She throws her nose in the air, makes a slow 180 degree turn with intentions to take off but stops for one last whiff. During that whiff, I pull the trigger. Bang. She hits deck and it's over. The realization that I had accomplished a huge goal I'd set out for myself sets in and feels amazing.

I can't thank HT and Big Fin enough for providing direct and indirect guidance to this knucklehead. I still have a lot to learn and am excited to do so.



elk.jpgJwilliamsco.jpg
 
Congrats…. Did you get to see some good bulls at all?
 
It's pretty hard to beat the fun of a cow elk hunt. One of my favorites.
 
This past week I left for my first out of state hunt, a cow elk hunt in CO. Being someone who is self taught through all the available content online, I can't tell you how much I've learned from folks here on HT as well as watching Big Fin's hunts/content. I remember the exact moment back in early 2019 when I was watching an OYOA decided that I wanted to have my own stories and experiences to share, rather than sitting and watching others. That was the first year I started to build points and culminated in last week's hunt. For those of whom that are interested, here's the story.

I leave the Central Coast of CA to embark on my 17 hour drive towards CO, with a plan of arriving in my unit a day and a half early to to scout my hunt area (something I learned from watching OYOA/FT). This hunt was not only my first out of state hunt but a solo hunt. On the drive out I could feel intimidations creeping in, unsure if I knew enough about what I was doing. As I arrive to the area a biologist recommended, I start to see pronghorn, mule deer and elk, and my intimidations are quickly replaced by excitement. As I mosey around the area, there is elk sign all around and in the two days preceding the season I find two separate groups of elk, things are looking up!

My first night in the tent was a rough one. I was trying to figure out how to situate my sleep system to stay warm but hardly slept that night. As the nights rolled on my sleep setup got better and better, to the point that I was sleeping great. (There was a thread I started on HT with these questions and I definitely credit those folks on helping me get dialed in).

Friday night I formulate a plan as to which group of elk I was going to hunt, but as I would learn elk do, both groups disappeared for the entire weekend. Fast forward to early Monday morning, still haven't seen the elk, and I'm considering moving to another area of the unit but I have flashbacks to OYOA/FT episodes with Big Fin saying, "don't leave elk to find elk." I decide to stick it out in this area for another few days.

Early Monday afternoon, I find one of the groups in the same area I had originally saw them Thursday. I sit a watch them feed into a thicket of junipers and plan on hunting an open meadow on the north side of the juniper hill that afternoon.

It's Monday evening, the elk didn't get the memo. I thought they still could be in the area but didn't want to kick them out so decide to head back to camp. Monday night I'm beginning to question if I know what I'm doing. I've never hunted elk before, am I over my head right now? Doubt starts to creep in. Having ran track and field at a high level, I realized that in the middle of a race you never let any doubt set in. Even when the race isn't going your way, you keep yourself in the mix, give yourself a chance and you might surprise yourself.

Monday I get word that a nasty storm is coming in, and in my two wheel drive truck that makes me little nervous about getting stuck somewhere. I get up Tuesday morning with the idea of looking for the elk in the same area they had been in Thursday and Monday and it'd be best to still hunt that area. The wind is perfect, a south wind as I approach the south facing slope from the north. I work my way down a double trek as I hear my shoulder straps squeaking with each step. Ditch the pack. As I inch closer and closer into the area, I pear over a ridge and boom, the elk are only 400 yds away. I back out, find a row of junipers as I conceal my way in for a closer shot. I told my self going into this, the farthest shot I was comfortable taking is 300 yds. A few minutes after questioning if I'm walking down the right row of junipers, I realize they're only 165 yds away. The tripod gets set up and I pick out the cow I want to shoot. Wind still remains in my favor, directly in my face, as the elk are below me. The chosen cow stops grazing. She's looking around knowing something is off. The rest of the group is starting to pick up on her inklings and I realize I need to make a shot soon. She throws her nose in the air, makes a slow 180 degree turn with intentions to take off but stops for one last whiff. During that whiff, I pull the trigger. Bang. She hits deck and it's over. The realization that I had accomplished a huge goal I'd set out for myself sets in and feels amazing.

I can't thank HT and Big Fin enough for providing direct and indirect guidance to this knucklehead. I still have a lot to learn and am excited to do so.



View attachment 248471View attachment 248472
Awesome Hunt, Congrats! 👏
 
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