joelkdouglas
Handloader
- Jun 5, 2011
- 1,310
- 3
Tuesday morning. This morning we returned to the same area as the previous evening, and saw three great bulls (nothing 330 class), but I had no shot opportunity. I did have an opportunity to see a bull try to sneak a cow away from another bull, and have the two bulls engaged in a close bugling match. I also had the opportunity to come up a ridge and see a bull at the top, thrashing a tree. He was a good 6x5, and we tried to close distance for a shot, but he came a stared us down from 10 yards. I had no shot head-on, and when he turned he ran off the ridge. This was terrific to watch! We also got busted by several cows trying to close on another bull, and eventually the elk meandered into the pines to bed down, and we went for breakfast.
Tuesday evening. Returned to the same spot again, and I started to get nervous about killing an elk. The weather forecast was calling for a storm to roll in on late Wednesday or Thursday. My guide was still very positive, and we saw a good 6x5 (maybe 280-290 class), but he said there were better elk. This elk had a lot of mass and black antlers, but his 5-point antler was considerably shorter than his 6. The rest of Tuesday evening was the same by now: elk bugling at each other, us moving to close distance or position for a shot, but no other shot opportunities came. This evening I was still thinking a lot about the miss, and about whether I had made a mistake on Monday morning, passing a 300-class, or this evening, passing the 6x5.
Wednesday morning. This morning I told my guide I would kill the next 6 point I had an opportunity to kill. I had thought about it, and I should have taken the shot at the undisturbed 6x5 the previous evening.
The ranch is 33,000 acres. We would drive to an access point and hike from there (sometimes quite a ways), but this morning was quick. We parked and heard bugling right away, and the guide headed us through the aspens to close on the bugling. The first elk we saw was a 4-point. The second was a 6-point. My guide told me to make sure I was happy with the elk, but honestly I never saw the antlers very well before I took the shot. I trusted when the guide said he was a 6-point (all the guides were very good at identifying broken antlers, points, spread, estimated score, etc, much better than me!). The bull was walking through the aspens, and I would sometimes have a shot and mostly not. When he got to an opening in the trees my guide starting cow calling like crazy to stop the bull, and I aimed and fired as quickly as I could. The shot was true, a double lung shot through a broadside elk.
He is a good elk, about a 270 class. He’s not as good as others I saw this trip. I could have held out longer to try and get another opportunity at a bigger bull, but I didn’t want to get to the last day of the hunt and shoot a 4-point or 5-point just for the meat (though I would have). To that point I had averaged 1 shot opportunity per day on a 6-point bull, but with the weather reporting a possible storm I didn’t want to push my luck.
Now I have a bar established. I will kill any cow (tasty!), but my next bull will be bigger than a 270-class (unless I’m on a spike hunt, etc.).
I will also go on another guided bull elk hunt, hopefully with the same outfitter. The guides were great, the food/lodge excellent. Most importantly I saw some huge elk, and saw a lot of them. I’ve hunted public land in Colorado for elk before, and it’s just not nearly the same. We saw so many elk that every morning or evening hunt felt like a weeklong hunt somewhere else.
Another shot of the elk.
Rifle is a Remington 700 chambered in 30-06. McMillan Remington Classic stock, Rock Creek #3 barrel, PTG bolt and 3-position safety. Scope is a Leupold 6x42 with LRD reticle. Jim Kobe (smith in Minnesota) put the rifle together, and she shoots very well.
The 30-06 rounds were 180 Nosler Partitions, 56.5 grains H4350, CCI 200 primers, and Nosler brass. Chrono’s about 2800 fps.
Tuesday evening. Returned to the same spot again, and I started to get nervous about killing an elk. The weather forecast was calling for a storm to roll in on late Wednesday or Thursday. My guide was still very positive, and we saw a good 6x5 (maybe 280-290 class), but he said there were better elk. This elk had a lot of mass and black antlers, but his 5-point antler was considerably shorter than his 6. The rest of Tuesday evening was the same by now: elk bugling at each other, us moving to close distance or position for a shot, but no other shot opportunities came. This evening I was still thinking a lot about the miss, and about whether I had made a mistake on Monday morning, passing a 300-class, or this evening, passing the 6x5.
Wednesday morning. This morning I told my guide I would kill the next 6 point I had an opportunity to kill. I had thought about it, and I should have taken the shot at the undisturbed 6x5 the previous evening.
The ranch is 33,000 acres. We would drive to an access point and hike from there (sometimes quite a ways), but this morning was quick. We parked and heard bugling right away, and the guide headed us through the aspens to close on the bugling. The first elk we saw was a 4-point. The second was a 6-point. My guide told me to make sure I was happy with the elk, but honestly I never saw the antlers very well before I took the shot. I trusted when the guide said he was a 6-point (all the guides were very good at identifying broken antlers, points, spread, estimated score, etc, much better than me!). The bull was walking through the aspens, and I would sometimes have a shot and mostly not. When he got to an opening in the trees my guide starting cow calling like crazy to stop the bull, and I aimed and fired as quickly as I could. The shot was true, a double lung shot through a broadside elk.
He is a good elk, about a 270 class. He’s not as good as others I saw this trip. I could have held out longer to try and get another opportunity at a bigger bull, but I didn’t want to get to the last day of the hunt and shoot a 4-point or 5-point just for the meat (though I would have). To that point I had averaged 1 shot opportunity per day on a 6-point bull, but with the weather reporting a possible storm I didn’t want to push my luck.
Now I have a bar established. I will kill any cow (tasty!), but my next bull will be bigger than a 270-class (unless I’m on a spike hunt, etc.).
I will also go on another guided bull elk hunt, hopefully with the same outfitter. The guides were great, the food/lodge excellent. Most importantly I saw some huge elk, and saw a lot of them. I’ve hunted public land in Colorado for elk before, and it’s just not nearly the same. We saw so many elk that every morning or evening hunt felt like a weeklong hunt somewhere else.
Another shot of the elk.
Rifle is a Remington 700 chambered in 30-06. McMillan Remington Classic stock, Rock Creek #3 barrel, PTG bolt and 3-position safety. Scope is a Leupold 6x42 with LRD reticle. Jim Kobe (smith in Minnesota) put the rifle together, and she shoots very well.
The 30-06 rounds were 180 Nosler Partitions, 56.5 grains H4350, CCI 200 primers, and Nosler brass. Chrono’s about 2800 fps.
