NW Colorado Archery / Muzzleloader 2018 Report
- Thread starter Slugz
- Start date
bullwinkle50
New Member
Way to go Slugz. Looks like a great season for you. Makes me really anxious for my trip. I will be in that same general area in just over 4 weeks.
Randy
Randy
Well Sally didn't make it. It was her last trip up the mountain. In Rifle now getting a new used truck. RIP Sally in junkyard heaven. ��
JimP
Administrator
Team Kabob
Very Active Member
- May 9, 2014
- 793
- 148
Made it back to Woodland Park last night. Ended up sending Sally to the junkyard. Meet Duke the new hunting truck. Got lucky and the Ford Dealership in Rifle just had this traded in. 2005 5.9 Cummings, Automatic. Condiderable upgrade as it has heat, aircon and a working radio�� Even had two cup holders!!!
Busy 36 hours now as I need to get the meat to the processor, deliver half a elk backstrap to a hunting mentor, unpack and repack to go back to work. Meet Duke, new edition to the family.
Heartfelt thank you to Jim P as he reached out to help once I broke down. As I've said before, great bunch of people here on the board.
Busy 36 hours now as I need to get the meat to the processor, deliver half a elk backstrap to a hunting mentor, unpack and repack to go back to work. Meet Duke, new edition to the family.
Heartfelt thank you to Jim P as he reached out to help once I broke down. As I've said before, great bunch of people here on the board.
Matthoek21
Veteran member
Nice read Slugz. Man you're a killer! Bet that hunter that took the picture was a little nervous around you. Lol. All that meat hanging. Great write up and pictures. What an adventure...truck breaking down and all. Just like a true elk hunter, the more miserable the situation the happier we are. Congratulations.
Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
BKhunter50
Member
JimP
Administrator
Glad you found your new ride and got everything home.
I bet that you didn't even know that trailer was behind you as you headed up the pass to get home.
I bet that you didn't even know that trailer was behind you as you headed up the pass to get home.
Colorado Cowboy
Super Moderator
Elk story 2018. So after 15 some odd days in camp and embarrassingly a fair number of good opportunities I was the only one left. The temps were predicted to drop 10 degrees or so which should get them to fire off again for a few days at least. I stuck to my daily plan and was up at 433 am to eat a big breakfast and head down the trail. It was tough but I " beat the zipper" one more day and opened up the bag to a cold tent. Coffee, corned beef hash and a biscuit got me going and down the trail I went. I found that sticking to my plan A for the hike in then deviating from that based upon what I hear or glass up seems to work, so I stuck with it. Walk for 3/4 mile to a high point, nothing in the glass, nothing heard. Farther down the trail I go. It's normal though as the muzzle crowd pushed them a little, not much but just a little more. I get 2.5 miles north of camp and begin to sneak across the edge of a park to look down into a creek bed. Before I get to sneaking I see the back of an elk feeding on the edge about 120 yards out. Wind is good and she is head down feeding away from me. I get small in the tall grass and begin to glass over the weeds, one cow, two cow, three cow....
.oh man they are gonna feed right at me and cut the wind. Not so fast, there is a ruckus another 40 yards in the timber and it's a nice 5x6, thick chocolate horns with white tips pushing the cows. He evidently doesn't want them to feed out in the open and herds them back into the timber. I sit there for a few more minutes and let them feed out to the north. Wind is good so my plan is to get into trail and silently fall behind them. Me tailing them goes on for a little over an hour and now I'm 4 miles north of camp. Man I'm a lunatic as I took a bite of my Cliff bar and said oh well. Let's keep going
Just about then the herd heads in the direction of a small rut fest that is firing up. My ears tell me one big boy is moving farther north, another bull is about 100 yards in the timber on a ridge and there is a few small satellites running around. All vocal and going in all directions. I go to check the wind and out pops two dumb dumbs. (Spikes) normally I sit tight and let them move on....not this time I just kept moving and let them watch me. The quickly were not interested and fed back into the timber. I crept another 50 yards and my plan was to get into the middle of what I called the highway area where they should move through. I turn 180 degrees from the action and let out an assembly mew.....
Low and behold the bulls cows on the ridge come right down. They stop 60 yards from me, I think they are gonna cross me but the lead cow knows where the sound came from and she is not seeing and visual confirmation. She puts on the brakes and begins to stare. The bull comes rumbling stumbling right behind them and comes to a halt. He also knows something is up and can't smell or see what he thinks he should. He quickly scoops them up and back into the timber they go. He seems like though he wants to play so I circle so I'm level on the ridge with him. I get set up again, creep about 45 yards closer to the timber edge and let out a challenge bugle. He immediately steps on me and starts to come back out. Problem is his cows are interested also. A few more assembly mews and a total of 10 cows roll out. They clealry think I sound better than their old boyfriend. He's not a dummy though. That late in the season he does the smart thing and gets the lead cow to go back to the timber. All the others follow. I mess with them for a little with more assembly mews when he bugles. All the whike this is going on I see a conga line of three cows coming to me from the opposite direction. I project where they are gonna walk,laser a spot and it looks like roughly 40 yards in front of me. I make up my mind I'm gonna shoot the middle cow. I laser another tree and get 43.3,dial it in to my Hogg Father and clip my loop. Just as I do that a bugle erupts from behind a tree in line but farther aft than the 3 cows. Oh....they have a bull pushing them. I then switch up the plan and if he's legal he's gonna get a FMJ for a late breakfast. Sure enough a little 4 x 5 pops out from the tree and walks right where I need him. He gets to the spot and I go from one knee to two. Pin bubble pin bubble. He stops and sees me and I let one fly. Slightly quartering away the arrows goes heart left side and exits just fwd of his right shoulder. He goes 16 yards and flops. Finally an easy tracking job.
.oh man they are gonna feed right at me and cut the wind. Not so fast, there is a ruckus another 40 yards in the timber and it's a nice 5x6, thick chocolate horns with white tips pushing the cows. He evidently doesn't want them to feed out in the open and herds them back into the timber. I sit there for a few more minutes and let them feed out to the north. Wind is good so my plan is to get into trail and silently fall behind them. Me tailing them goes on for a little over an hour and now I'm 4 miles north of camp. Man I'm a lunatic as I took a bite of my Cliff bar and said oh well. Let's keep going
Just about then the herd heads in the direction of a small rut fest that is firing up. My ears tell me one big boy is moving farther north, another bull is about 100 yards in the timber on a ridge and there is a few small satellites running around. All vocal and going in all directions. I go to check the wind and out pops two dumb dumbs. (Spikes) normally I sit tight and let them move on....not this time I just kept moving and let them watch me. The quickly were not interested and fed back into the timber. I crept another 50 yards and my plan was to get into the middle of what I called the highway area where they should move through. I turn 180 degrees from the action and let out an assembly mew.....
Low and behold the bulls cows on the ridge come right down. They stop 60 yards from me, I think they are gonna cross me but the lead cow knows where the sound came from and she is not seeing and visual confirmation. She puts on the brakes and begins to stare. The bull comes rumbling stumbling right behind them and comes to a halt. He also knows something is up and can't smell or see what he thinks he should. He quickly scoops them up and back into the timber they go. He seems like though he wants to play so I circle so I'm level on the ridge with him. I get set up again, creep about 45 yards closer to the timber edge and let out a challenge bugle. He immediately steps on me and starts to come back out. Problem is his cows are interested also. A few more assembly mews and a total of 10 cows roll out. They clealry think I sound better than their old boyfriend. He's not a dummy though. That late in the season he does the smart thing and gets the lead cow to go back to the timber. All the others follow. I mess with them for a little with more assembly mews when he bugles. All the whike this is going on I see a conga line of three cows coming to me from the opposite direction. I project where they are gonna walk,laser a spot and it looks like roughly 40 yards in front of me. I make up my mind I'm gonna shoot the middle cow. I laser another tree and get 43.3,dial it in to my Hogg Father and clip my loop. Just as I do that a bugle erupts from behind a tree in line but farther aft than the 3 cows. Oh....they have a bull pushing them. I then switch up the plan and if he's legal he's gonna get a FMJ for a late breakfast. Sure enough a little 4 x 5 pops out from the tree and walks right where I need him. He gets to the spot and I go from one knee to two. Pin bubble pin bubble. He stops and sees me and I let one fly. Slightly quartering away the arrows goes heart left side and exits just fwd of his right shoulder. He goes 16 yards and flops. Finally an easy tracking job.
The packout......well you know.....it hurts a little. This year I hunting with a Kifaru ultralight frame, cargo net, guide lid and two compression straps. Really light and I was able to get my essentials pstuff, kill kit and lunch into the guide lid with one external small bag on my belt. The other side of the belt had a drink holder.
Oh yeah.....loafing like a Union Pacific Big Boy bellowing thick black smoke while it coasted up over the pass.
Winchester
Veteran member
ElkTrout
Veteran member
Slugz thanks for keeping us all in the loop through your hunt! I really looked forward to your updates everyday! Congrats on all the success! And thanks again!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Matthoek21
Veteran member
Thanks Slugz for allowing me to live vicariously through you. Congrats on your success. Now lets go fishing!
Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk