After 10 years of being beat by the bulls I finally connected. We hunt Colorado's unit 25 along the Colorado River between Dotsero and Burns. Every 4th season myself and 4 or 5 buddies make the drive from Pennsylvania and chase Elk with limited success, One of my buddies always seems to be in the right place and has scored on 2 bulls and a 2 cows in previous years and I lucked out on a cow 5 years ago. But each year the same thing, I am on this mountain and the bulls are on the next one. I move over to that mountain and you guessed it they are on the next one, and so on and so on! This year I had a plan! Find where they were coming down to the river to feed and water in the evening, get as close as I felt I could, and wait.
The first morning I parked the 4 wheeler at the end of the trail at 4:30am, climbed the mountain and made the 3.5 mile walk to where I usually see them going back to bed down for the day. Sunrise came and no elk sightings. I sat until about 10, glassing the valleys and mountain sides the entire time and then decided to move down and look for sign. Around noon I found the main trail they were using so I found some cover and waited them out. Around 4pm here they come down over the top, a 4x4, nice 5x5, 4 spikes and 20 cows, but on another trail on the next ridge and I could only see them in small openings between the rocks and trees.
Morning #2 started the same as the first but I snuck down a wash out about another 800 yards from the day before and when I poped my head out there they were, slowly feeding there way back up from the river. I ranged them at 650 yards, made what I "thought" was the proper adjustment to the scope, got a good steady rest, and shot just over the 5x5's back. The only thing that I think saved me was they were in a little bowl and the impact was behind them. They bunched up and slowly made there way back up the mountain looking back behind them the whole time. I walked down to where he was standing to double check for blood and hair and tracked them for a while just to make sure I missed. After I was convinced I missed I made my way to the ridge they came down the day before and got under a tree and waited. 430 arrived and so did the herd. This time it was 2 ridges over the other way. Again I sat and watched until they went down to the river for dinner.
Morning #3 I again made the walk up and over to the valley and down the wash out. And nothing! Now everything is running threw my mind, did I blow it by shooting the day before?, did they cross the river and move to the other unit? I waited until about noon and picked the middle ridge to sit for the evening. I had a great show with 2 Bald Eagles hunting along the river for trout for a couple of hours, had my P.B & J sandwich, cookies and saw a very nice 4x4 mulie walk 4 feet from my hiding place. At 4:00 here we go again! They start coming right down in front of me feeding slowly but this time they start heading away from the river and to ridge on my left. I quickly ranged a coupe of trees and rocks on the next ridge so if I have to make a quick shot I have an idea of distance. The next 15 minutes seemed like 5 hours as the fed across the ridge first a cow, then another then a spike, and so on and so on. I made the decision that no matter witch bull came out first he was the one. Finally after half of the herd was feeding 350 yards away the 4x4 was standing slightly quartering away and the 7LRM with its 175 Berger Elite hit just behind the close shoulder and came out just in front of the other. He took about 2 steps and that was it. I quickly grabbed all my gear and made it up to a shelf and over to the bull in record time for a 55 year old easterner, under normal conditions this would take me 40 minutes but the adrenaline made me move like I was half my age. I got him gutted out and a lot of the hide pulled back to cool and tied to a small tree so he wouldn't slide down to the ravine that was 20 feet away. By now its around 630 and I start back to the trail. As everyone knows that hunt out west, just because your GPS says you are only 1 mile from where you want to go, it is usually 3x more in reality. I finally made it back to camp and we made plans to go back u at first light and pack him out.
We got back up around 8am, Ok it would of been at 7 but I left my Garmin back at the cabin and I led everyone up the wrong ridge and the only good thing was I picked up my empty and showed them where I was when I shot. We took some pictures and got to work filling bags. We were just getting ready to leave when the rancher showed up with his mules to pack out the meat. Apparently the rest of my hunting party got a hold of him and decided it would be easier on them if he showed up to save the day. I opted to carry out the head myself for the full western experience and made the 3 1/2 mile walk back out.
I spent the last day relaxing and loading up the trailer for the guys for the long drive back home. I was a nice guy and had some fresh back-straps on the grill when they came back from there last day hunting.
I cant wait till this fall and try it again !!!!
