Just returned from Colorado, where my son and I had 1st season tags. Hunt was guided and took place on a beautiful ranch about 40 miles from Trinidad. I've hunted this place before with mixed success, it seems to be a feast or famine deal, and this year was a feast! My son took his elk, a nice 6x6, on the first evening after we spent about 2hrs in a heavy rain that was accompanied by 40mph winds at times. Not a pleasant evening hunt by any stretch, but about 5:30PM the rains quit and the elk started bugling. Eventually they came out of the timber, feeding into a large meadow. The group was comprised of 14 cow elk, one spike and the 6x6. We made a sneak that put us about 300yds from them and that was all he needed. One shot from my old 300Win mag. and the bull was down and out. This was his 2nd elk and what a beauty he turned out to be, rough scoring him about 315B&C. The shooting was perfect, the elk big and I couldn't have been a prouder father that night! We took a while getting him out and finally returned to camp about 8:00PM. A day later I had my own chance. We were in the same area of the ranch where my son shot his bull, but this time it was bright and sunny with heavy winds blowing virtually all day. The morning hunting wasn't much so we broke for lunch and waited until about 4:00PM to head back out. Setting up on a good vantage point to watch the large meadow, we had elk bugling and feeding out in short order. We snuck down the ridge a short way and found a good spot to shoot from. I got ready to shoot while my son watched through his video camera...so I couldn't screw up! The shot was good and the bull never left his place in the meadow. He isn't quite as big as my son's bull but a real nice 6x6 nonetheless. The entire hunt couldn't have been better. We used a pair of 300mags, mine a 300Wby and his a 300Win. Two other hunters in camp also were using these same cartridges. I handloaded our ammo with 168gr TTSX Barnes bullets and they performed perfectly. Our rifles have been shooting little groups with them all summer, and the look of the chest cavity on either bull tells me they did what they are supposed to when used on game.
Posts: 1148 | Location: The Hunting Fields | Registered: 22 May 2002
sounds like you and i still have your biggest bull.remember how the cows closed in around him after the 1st shot and was a while before the followup? glad to hear you had a great time!! am pulling out in an hour for the elk hills of wy and then monday for the deer hunting country of colo.are you going to be around colo in the next month?been out for 9 days and havn't found one like last year,still looking. great story but we need some pictures!!!
Posts: 2141 | Location: enjoying my freedom in wyoming | Registered: 13 January 2006
No, we are here at home for the rest of the hunting season...maybe next year we'll get together on the plains! I heard you were chasing the bulls around up there, good luck and have some fun on those deer next week. That first bull was the best by a mile, and the hunt was great fun too! Remember the cook tent caving in from all the snow? Ha!!! No way for me to post pic's, but if someone can I'll send a couple.
Posts: 1148 | Location: The Hunting Fields | Registered: 22 May 2002
Congratulation, you got a fantastic animal. I have been applying for an Elk tag in Arizona without luck, looking at your Elk I should have been looking at Colorado.
Regards Aziz
Posts: 591 | Location: Illinois | Registered: 04 July 2005
Send the pics to the email in my profile and I'll get them posted for you. 
