Finally got these vid's & pics off my phone to share.
We left last Wednesday headed to CO for my 7th year hunting this ranch. Was just a normal drive till we hit the mountains, where a blizzard was blowing through. They closed the road right behind us.
Big rigs were all off the side of the road chaining up, and then this van couldn't get up the pass and traffic soon backed up behind it.
Finally made it to the ranch down in the valley, unloaded and immediately put out some cameras. The elk population is supposed to be on the decline in this part of the state, but I saw more elk this year than ever before. Just good timing on our part I guess.
Elk were not vocal at all on opening morning. Some years they seem to be bugling all day, and others, like this year, we didn't hear a single bugle. About 8:30 opening day my #3 nephew shot a 5x5. He had a a herd of elk coming in on his left, upwind, when a lone cow came in on his downwind side and spooked the entire herd. Nephew #3 hurried in the direction the elk ran, and caught up with them in some dark timber and was fortunate enough to get on a smaller 5x5. That ended my morning hunt, as I left my glassing spot to come help dress/load his elk.
Nothing seen that evening, and we went back to the bunkhouse to plan out the next days hunt. Nephew #3 and I decided to glass from the same mountaintop, and newphew #4 would hunt the same field as his brother did the previous morning. We were glassing and spotted a herd of elk coming into a valley to feed. There were several spikes and one legal bull in the bunch. Nephew #4 got on these elk, and we were able to watch the entire stalk/shot from our glassing spot. I wish we had good video equipment with us, it would have made a great video. We saw the shot hit the elk, heard the "whack" , and then the "boom".
Group of elk right before nephew #4 got his from this herd
We came off the mountain to help him clean/load his elk up. He headed to the processor, and newphew #4 and myself made the trek back up to our glassing spot once again. I was getting tired of climbing this mountain by this time, and my ankle was killing me. I was wishing I had the joints/legs of a 25 yr old again. #4 nephew made it look easy.
The hike up to our glassing spot
Newphew #4 glassed the south end of the place, and I was glassing the north end. About 1 mile away, I saw elk starting to come out of dark timber into a field. There was two nice bulls in the bunch, and I decided I wasn't going to just sit and watch. I went and got the nephew, told him my game plan, and for him to keep glassing. I walked/slid/fell down the mountain and headed towards the elk. I got about 200 yards from the field they were in, and got busted by a lone cow. She ran towards the herd and I thought my stalk was blown. I don't know if she didn't run all the way to the rest of the elk, or they just didn't spook for whatever reason, but I finally made it to the main herd and they were just feeding/bedding/milling around. There was probably 50 elk in this herd. I set up about 350 yards away where I had an opening I could see towards the field. I watched elk for 30 minutes. I always say "don't pass up on the 1st/2nd day what you would shoot the last day", but this time, I let several legal bulls walk by, hoping one of the big ones would walk out. I heard a bugle up in the woods, put down my binoculars, and got the rifle ready. It wasn't long till a nice one barely stepped out, and I let it rip. Right after the shot, an elk as nice, or bigger, crossed the opening.
Video after the shot. You can see my bull down, up at the top in the edge of the timber.
He's not "huge" by CO standards, but it will look good on my wall
We left last Wednesday headed to CO for my 7th year hunting this ranch. Was just a normal drive till we hit the mountains, where a blizzard was blowing through. They closed the road right behind us.
Big rigs were all off the side of the road chaining up, and then this van couldn't get up the pass and traffic soon backed up behind it.
Finally made it to the ranch down in the valley, unloaded and immediately put out some cameras. The elk population is supposed to be on the decline in this part of the state, but I saw more elk this year than ever before. Just good timing on our part I guess.
Elk were not vocal at all on opening morning. Some years they seem to be bugling all day, and others, like this year, we didn't hear a single bugle. About 8:30 opening day my #3 nephew shot a 5x5. He had a a herd of elk coming in on his left, upwind, when a lone cow came in on his downwind side and spooked the entire herd. Nephew #3 hurried in the direction the elk ran, and caught up with them in some dark timber and was fortunate enough to get on a smaller 5x5. That ended my morning hunt, as I left my glassing spot to come help dress/load his elk.
Nothing seen that evening, and we went back to the bunkhouse to plan out the next days hunt. Nephew #3 and I decided to glass from the same mountaintop, and newphew #4 would hunt the same field as his brother did the previous morning. We were glassing and spotted a herd of elk coming into a valley to feed. There were several spikes and one legal bull in the bunch. Nephew #4 got on these elk, and we were able to watch the entire stalk/shot from our glassing spot. I wish we had good video equipment with us, it would have made a great video. We saw the shot hit the elk, heard the "whack" , and then the "boom".
Group of elk right before nephew #4 got his from this herd
We came off the mountain to help him clean/load his elk up. He headed to the processor, and newphew #4 and myself made the trek back up to our glassing spot once again. I was getting tired of climbing this mountain by this time, and my ankle was killing me. I was wishing I had the joints/legs of a 25 yr old again. #4 nephew made it look easy.
The hike up to our glassing spot
Newphew #4 glassed the south end of the place, and I was glassing the north end. About 1 mile away, I saw elk starting to come out of dark timber into a field. There was two nice bulls in the bunch, and I decided I wasn't going to just sit and watch. I went and got the nephew, told him my game plan, and for him to keep glassing. I walked/slid/fell down the mountain and headed towards the elk. I got about 200 yards from the field they were in, and got busted by a lone cow. She ran towards the herd and I thought my stalk was blown. I don't know if she didn't run all the way to the rest of the elk, or they just didn't spook for whatever reason, but I finally made it to the main herd and they were just feeding/bedding/milling around. There was probably 50 elk in this herd. I set up about 350 yards away where I had an opening I could see towards the field. I watched elk for 30 minutes. I always say "don't pass up on the 1st/2nd day what you would shoot the last day", but this time, I let several legal bulls walk by, hoping one of the big ones would walk out. I heard a bugle up in the woods, put down my binoculars, and got the rifle ready. It wasn't long till a nice one barely stepped out, and I let it rip. Right after the shot, an elk as nice, or bigger, crossed the opening.
Video after the shot. You can see my bull down, up at the top in the edge of the timber.
He's not "huge" by CO standards, but it will look good on my wall
