We had a fantastic hunt in Colorado last week. John and I have always wanted to hunt elk during the rut, so we started applying for a muzzle loader tag in 2006 and were lucky enough to draw this year. It turned out to be an awesome experience, the best hunt I’ve ever been on. I’ve hunted CO several times with rifle, but after experiencing the rut, I’ll only go back when I’m lucky enough to draw a MLer tag.

Opening morning my guide Craig and I eased into the ranch before day break and headed to the edge of a large meadow to listen. As light filled the beautiful landscape a bull broke the silence with a bugle high on the mountain top above. Craig wanted to head up the valley to see if we could find a bull at a lower elevation, so we hiked about a mile up the trail and paused to listen again. Shortly after stopping another bull sounded off just around the bend, so we humped it to the ridge above to set up. Craig threw out a few cow calls and a bugle, but the bull never responded. We waited a while on the bull to talk, but he never did. Craig said he wasn’t ready, so we hiked to another high ridge to glass and listen. The rest of the morning was pretty slow with no bugling heard and no elk seen. John and his guide had similar luck, one distant bugle and no elk seen. The 1st evening was pretty much a repeat of the morning hunt, no elk seen and no bugling.

The morning of day two was similar to day one, a lot of walking, glassing, and listening, but no elk seen. John had a little better luck, he and his guide Doyle got on a bull in the dark timber, but couldn’t get him to commit. Doyle and Craig said they just weren’t quite ready, but things could change very quickly this time of year. It was rather warm, so most of the action was probably happening at night. The second evening was much better, we didn’t see anything, but we heard a couple bulls and came up with a game plan for the third morning. John and I were getting a little discouraged as the mountains were kicking our sea level tails and neither of us had laid eyes on a bull.

Day three was the turning point of the trip, it seemed that overnight the switch was flipped and the bulls were getting hot and heavy. At first light Craig and I headed to the base of the mountain we had heard one of the bulls on the previous evening. John and Doyle headed to a high ridge behind camp to glass several meadows in the valleys below. As Craig and I arrived to our 1st spot a bull broke the silence in the same area we’d heard him the evening before, so we humped it up the valley to get a better idea of his location. As we hit the base of the mountain, the bull sounded off again on the ridge above and Craig had me sneak ahead of him to some downed timber and get set up. Craig hit him with some sweet talk and was immediately answered. I thought it was about to happen, but a few minutes later the bull bugled again and he was much further away. We waited for him to sound off again and sure enough he was headed away, so we humped it up the valley to the ridge above. He went silent on us and Craig said he was probably pushing cows to the dark timber over the mountain to bed down for the day. This whole time we didn’t know that John and Doyle are watching the whole thing play out. Turns out that it was a nice 6x6 and 5x5 pushing some cows into the dark timber above Craig and I. After a period of silence we decided to head to a different area to listen. At the same time John and Doyle are humping it to our location and we end up passing each other without even realizing it. We were all to meet up at 10am, so Craig and I head down to meet John and Doyle, but they never showed. After an hour Doyle and John show up with blood on their hands and I knew that John had scored. Those turkeys had been glassing the small herd we were on and slipped right by us and into their bedroom in the dark timber above us. Doyle got a response in the dark timber, so they humped it to a ridge above the herd and called the 5x5 in on a string. The bull was traveling along a trail in the timber below the ridge they set up on and as soon as he hit a clearing Doyle hit him with a cow call stopping him for a clear shot. John laid the smack on him at a mere 40yds. Sweet! We spent the rest of the morn and afternoon taking care of John’s bull.

John’s bull:

John and Doyle had heard two bulls that morning in another valley, so Doyle and I headed over that evening to try our luck. Around 5pm we hear a bull chuckle in the dark timber across the meadow. Craig and I ease down the mountain to get set up. Craig hit him with a bugle and he immediately answered. We waited for a while, but the bull went silent and Craig couldn’t get him to respond again. He said he wasn’t ready, so we headed up the mountain to glass a bit. Around 10mins to 7 I hear the bull crank up again. Craig didn’t think he would commit, but I wanted to at least try, so down the mountain we go again. Turns out it was two bulls, they must have bugled 50 times, but still wouldn’t budge. Just before shooting time was up the wind switched on us, so we had to pull out. As we hit the ridge above a bull screams right in our laps and he’s coming hard. I hit the dirt and get ready. Craig is glassing the 6x6 bull at a mere 60yds, but I can’t see him and there’s no way I can move. He pulled the slip on us, but we darn sure knew where we wanted to be the next morn. When we hit the ridge above it was nearly dark and the bulls were screaming all over us. I still hadn’t laid eyes on a bull, but knew things were getting right. I paused for a moment and glassed the valley below where I spotted a bull running across a meadow. Finally I’d laid eyes on one and knew it was just a matter of time before I crossed paths with a bull.

The 4th morning we came up with a plan for all 4 of us to head to the same area where Craig and I got on the action the day before. As soon as daylight came the bulls were screaming in the valley below. Doyle came up with a plan and we eased down the mountain keeping the wind in our favor. As we eased down the ridge a bull screams below. We set up and Doyle hits him with some sweet talk. He screams again and is closing the distance. The bull came out of the timber headed straight for us, but he was just a small bodied 4x5, so we let him ease on by. As soon as the small bull passes two other bulls scream to our right. We ease up to the ridge and there they are at 200yds. It was a 6x6 and a 5x5 tending some cows in the dark timber. I’m ready to go to them, but the wind is wrong, so Doyle tells us to just sit tight and wait on the wind to change. We must have sat there for an hour waiting on the wind to give us a break. The bulls stayed in the same area, probably getting ready to bed down for the day. Finally the wind shifts, so we ease into the timber above the herd and slowly sneek into position. I slip ahead of the other guys and get set up. Doyle hit them with an estrus whine and they ate it up. I hear timber breaking and the nerves start to kick in. I’m shaking like a freaking leaf! Doyle says “he’s coming” and I spot movement in the thick brush at a mere 50yds. He looked like a moose!! Doyle says “shoot him as soon as you can.” He closing the distance, but just about to be directly down wind if he makes it another 20yds. When he hit 35yds I let him have it. The big rascal just stops, turns his head, and looks right at me like nothing happened. Man, I’m freaking out! I look at Doyle in disbelief, “Did I miss him????” Doyle is saying “reload, reload, RELOAD!!!!” I’m scrambling around fumbling stuff everywhere and this big rascal is still just standing there looking at me!!!! I finally get another stuffed in as the bull turns his butt to us, nearly falls over, and walks over the ridge . Doyle jumps up and says “lets go down and put another in him,” so we quickly go down to the ridge. As soon as we hit the ridge I could hear him thrashing in the timber and there he was, down for the count. I ease up for a clear shot, but he was done. The high fives and hugs began. Talk about a freaking rush, I will never forget this hunt! It turned out to be the 5x5, but it could have been a 350 class, that rascal had me shaking in my boots! It’s all about the experience and what an unreal experience it turned out to be. John and I can’t wait to go back.

My Bull:


A few pics of the beautiful country we were hunting:





I’d also like to mention bullet performance for our trip. The new 350grn Hdy FPB turned out to be a much better performer than the 348 and 338 PBs. We were eating breakfast and supper with a group of guys on a neighboring ranch, so we got to hear their stories and hear them speak of bullet performance as well. One guy took a nice 5x5 with 348 PBs, which failed to give full penetration on a rib impact. Another guy shot a nice bull with a 338 PB and they ended up losing him. The guide said he hit him in the shoulder, which would be a heck of a test on any bullet. They couldn’t find any blood and ended up going back the next morn and jumping the bull twice without recovering him. I shot my bull broadside at 35yds with a 348 grn PB over 80grns of FFF T7. The PB entered between two ribs w/o even touching either, made a huge hole in the onside lung, strangely deflected hard left taking out the liver and diaphram, and one small piece made it to the off side about ¼” from the hide. John shot his bull at 40yds with a 350 FPB over 80grn of BH209, his first shot hit ribs in and out and blew chunks of lung for nearly 10yds past the bull. He ran up get a clear finishing shot and put another FPB in him on a strong quarter to. The second FPB smashed the bulls shoulder bone, busted a rib, and was under the hide on the off side. We lost his bullet, so I don’t have pics, but it had at least 5/8” of base remaining with a nice mushroom on top. After seeing the awesome performance of the FPBs on John’s bull, I’m going to try to develop a load with them in one of my rigs for our next trip. I tried them in both my Knight and Omega with little success over the past two years, but since John was having luck with 80 grns of BH209, I tried that load in my Omega(brought along as a backup) while in camp and had a nice 5 shot group at 100. If that combo stays consistent, I’ll be using it the next time we chase elk.

Ya’ll have a good one,

Reloader

Good bulls, great hunt, better memories! Don't see how it could get any better than that. Glad you both had a great time.

Hey Reloader, GREAT storys!!! Much better than anything I've seen in the Gun Rags in a very long time. Felt like I was on the Hunt beside you.

Congratulations on some GREAT Hunts to you and your buddy.
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The local news fools made it sound like the entire state of Colorado was on fire. Apparently you all found a portion that made it without those problems.

(Obviously) - Good Hunting and clean 1-shot Kills.

Reloader,

GREAT story, great pix, and a great hunt.
Thanks for taking the time to write that up for us. The pix are THE best.

Don

Congrats to you both!

Congrats! nice Bull.

NICE!!!

Where were you hunting at? That terrain looks familiar, but, I guess so does most of this state lol.

I'm putting in for a ML tag next year so I can hope to have my own story to post

Been wondering why no posts from you lately. Nice write up and pics. Very happy for you!