# Colorado DIY elk success.



## Lumberman (Sep 27, 2010)

About 4 years ago after reading some of the stories on here and shows like Meateater I started to get an itch to go elk hunting. 

I have a good friend who’s a good deer hunter and a very avid back country camper. Something I knew nothing about. Once he agreed to give it a go we started putting together a plan. 

Last year was our first full hunt in Colorado. Scouted and dinked around a bit before that. We learned a ton from that hunt. Two key factors.

1. There’s guys everywhere. You have to actively manage other hunters and their movement. 

2. Elk are way more responsive to calls then we thought. After last year I spent a bunch of time learning the art of elk calling. 

We ended up in some really rough terrain that we basically couldn’t hunt. It was so step you would need climbing ropes to get around. Saw a few elk but no shots. 











So this year back to Colorado in a new unit and another year wiser. Biggest changes for this year. I would consider myself a capable caller at this point and in much better mountain shape. Plan was to get off the rod a couple miles to get away from guys and hunt around 9000 feet.


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## Lumberman (Sep 27, 2010)

To the hunt. This year we leave Thursday afternoon and our plan is drive through the night and arrive in the unit Friday afternoon. 

It’s about 25 miles of back roads to the trail head we are going to hunt. Very few cars on the road and we are feeling good about picking a spot without too many hunters. Then we get to the trail head and it literally looks like a music festival. Tents, campers, and horse trailers everywhere. All we can do is laugh. 

The one bright spot is that it looked like very few of the guys are heading into the woods. Most of them were truck hunting. We know that they can’t go as deep in from the truck as we can with camp in our backs. 

We talk with a bunch of guys. Most complaining about the numbers of guys and lack of elk the last few years. A little discouraged we head in and start looking for sign. 

About 3.7 miles in we find a meadow with a wallow and some good fresh sign. Decide we are going to start there in the morning. 










We setup camp then head back to the meadow to do some glassing before dark. To our surprise there’s 4 different bulls using this meadow 3 of which are shooters and 1 giant 6x6. 

Soon after dark we hit the tents to be greeted with a orchestra of bugles, Cow calls and even some sparring it was tough to sleep. 

We wake up good an early make some coffee and head off to where we could get some glassing in. 

Shortly after day break we spot two bulls way down the valley working towards the timber and decide to try and make a play on them. We take off on a full sprint through the timber and blow downs.


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## Lumberman (Sep 27, 2010)

One of the bulls started to move towards us so he became the main target. I was working hard to try and get ahead of him but they are so agile and cover ground so fast that even on a run I couldn’t gain on him. Twice I had him to around 80 yards but he wouldn’t come any closer. 

Finally he walked into the north facing timber and we decided to let him go bed down. 

Exhausted at this point from running and climbing the hills for an hour we sit down and take a break. 

This whole time there has been a few bugles way off in the distant. One is for sure getting closer but we assume it’s a guy. We decide to do some blind calling and sound like a bunch of cows. 

At this point Josh and I are sitting down facing each other. All of sudden he says bull right behind you coming right at us! 

I grab my bow and noc an arrow but I’m facing the wrong way. I tell josh to let me know when he moves so I can spin around. After a minute or two he’s say ok spin. 

I quickly spin to my knees and whip around. To my surprise this bull is 20 yards away starring straight at me. I draw my bow a prepare to hold it until he turns. 

As I’m holding my bow which seems like an eternity I remember you can shoot elk front on. (Which is very foreign for a white tail hunter.). 

I asses the situation and sure enough he is perfectly perpendicular to me. I can see the knot to aim at clear as day and decide to take the shot. I’m very confident with my set up at 20yds. I double check to make sure it’s legal (Colorado has APRs) calming put my pin on the hair I want to hit and squeeze the trigger. 

I watch my arrow just disappear. My biggest fear was seeing 20” of arrow sticking out of the front of the elk from hitting a bone. He takes a couple bounds and is out of site. Couple seconds later we hear an incredible crash. Which is was obviously him going down in hindsight but we weren’t sure. After a couple of minutes I about have myself talked into the idea that i some how missed. Josh on the other hand is basically yelling you smoked him. “He’s laying right on the other side of the hill and let’s go get him.” I stay disciplined and we wait. After about 30 minutes we go and look for blood. Right at impact there’s immediately good blood and I start to realize I might have just killed my first bull. We walk up to the top of the hill and 20 yards below us there he is. 










Literally one of the more fulfilling moments of my life. All the time and effort paying off. No idea or no real understanding of the worked that lied ahead to get this guy out of the woods. We were just under 5 miles from the truck at this point. 










To top it off Josh is pretty good camp cook and was able to fry us up some tenderloin on the fire that night. 










To be cont...


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## Mike Zainea (Jan 28, 2017)

I would love to do that. A friend always gave me an open invite to come out west with him. He guided out west for over 45 years. Due to not being able to take off work I never got to go. A few months ago he passed at the age of 93. I learned a lot from him, now I realize if I would of gone he would have taught me what he learned all those years of guiding. I hope I get out west hunting in the next few years. Thanks for the story and can't wait till you write the rest.


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## Lazy-J (Apr 11, 2019)

Lumberman said:


> One of the bulls started to move towards us so he became the main target. I was working hard to try and get ahead of him but they are so agile and cover ground so fast that even on a run I couldn’t gain on him. Twice I had him to around 80 yards but he wouldn’t come any closer.
> 
> Finally he walked into the north facing timber and we decided to let him go bed down.
> 
> ...


Awesome! Anyone who has hunted for elk out west with archery gear knows how much work it takes at that elevation. Congrats! I hunted near Durango back in 2005 and did not see an elk at less than 200 yds with archery gear. Your ride back to Michigan will be a good one!


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## Lumberman (Sep 27, 2010)

Lazy-J said:


> Awesome! Anyone who has hunted for elk out west with archery gear knows how much work it takes at that elevation. Congrats! I hunted near Durango back in 2005 and did not see an elk at less than 200 yds with archery gear. Your ride back to Michigan will be a good one!


That was our experience the first time we went. We saw elk but no where near close enough for a shot. We ended up spending the entire week above 10,000 feet because of the hunting pressure.


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## hungryhollow (Jan 16, 2013)

Great story. Elk hunting is the most fun thing you can do.


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## Jdhunttrapfish (Jan 14, 2016)

Great write up and nice work on the bull!


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## deepwoods (Nov 18, 2002)

Congrats to you Sir. Well done.


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## grapestomper (Jan 9, 2012)

Nice job


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## Sewey (Jan 10, 2017)

Congratulations! 

Way to take what you learned from year 1 and turn it into success so quickly. Making me wish I got back out there this year even more now.


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## Lumberman (Sep 27, 2010)

Thanks...

Now for the fun part. 

Neither of us have ever done the gutless method on an animal but assumed since we have cleaned literally hundreds of deer between the two of us it should be easy. 

First of all it was way more work then we could have imagined. Bending over and working on the ground for 2 hours at 10,000 feet turned out to be exhausting. Both of us joked on why we waited until we were 40 to start Elk hunting. 

After a few hours we finally had it deboned and in game bags. We both loaded up 70 to 80lbs of meat and took off towards the truck on our almost 10 mile round trip. The plan was to get it done in two trips and be ready to hunt in the morning. 

Well 5 hours later when we got back to camp the thought of making another trip had me laughing like Tom Hanks in the money pit when the tub fell through the floor. We decide to hunt the evening and morning then make the second trip out the next day. By that evening the Calvary of hunters had shown up and pushed all of the elk out of the basin we were in. So we grab the rest of the meat and antlers and head for the truck again. 

About a mile into our trip I slip into a 8” wide wash out that was like 15” deep. The impact on my pack which had to have been close to 100lbs breaks my shoulder strap. Now I’m 3.5 miles from the truck with 100lbs on my pack and 1 shoulder strap. We are able to bush fix it the best we can and continue on the trip. The weight was never balanced correctly after that and it was an absolutely brutal pack out. 



















Finally making it back to camp we decide to move camp to the next drainage because of the pressure that showed up. 

I can honestly say by the end of that day I was as whooped as I’ve ever been.


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## Trunkslammer (May 22, 2013)

Excellent write up. I can not wait, leaving Friday for my first Elk hunt. Your success gives me hope.


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## Lumberman (Sep 27, 2010)

Trunkslammer said:


> Excellent write up. I can not wait, leaving Friday for my first Elk hunt. Your success gives me hope.


Good luck Trunkslammer! Keep us posted.


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## Scottygvsu (Apr 19, 2003)

Awesome!! Congrats! A dream hunt for sure.
How did the rest of the hunt go?


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## kracker (Jan 25, 2013)

Lumberman said:


> Thanks...
> 
> Now for the fun part.
> 
> ...


Excellent job on the bull and right up. What pack were you using that broke on you? I couldn't imagine using a broken pack to bring an elk out of the woods. The struggle is real with a good pack let alone a bush repaired pack. Terrible time for equipment failure, awesome job working through it.

After looking at your pictures more, it looks like a Kuiu pack. I have read about there packs breaking when loaded up like that. That pack out had to absolutely suck ass!!!! May want to check out a different pack for future trips. Kifaru, Stone glacier and Mystery ranch all seem to have a better reputation for holding up to the real heavy pack outs. Probably all not as light as the Kuiu but I bet you would have traded a pound or two for a functional pack. My shoulders hurt after looking at those pictures.


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## bowhunter1313 (Oct 17, 2005)

That is awesome man
.congrats!!!
Quality pack is right next to quality boots...buy a stone glacier pack and never look back. Expensive, but worth every penny if u r gunna pack meat. I hav had up to 140 lbs for several miles and there is no way without a great pack that could happen...if u go again...buy a quality pack....i love my stone glacier....but kifaru also makes a killer pack....congrats again....oitstanding...i leave next wednesday for 10 days diy back cou.try in Colorado....getting pumped


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## Sewey (Jan 10, 2017)

kracker said:


> Excellent job on the bull and right up. What pack were you using that broke on you? I couldn't imagine using a broken pack to bring an elk out of the woods. The struggle is real with a good pack let alone a bush repaired pack. Terrible time for equipment failure, awesome job working through it.
> 
> After looking at your pictures more, it looks like a Kuiu pack. I have read about there packs breaking when loaded up like that. That pack out had to absolutely suck ass!!!! May want to check out a different pack for future trips. Kifaru, Stone glacier and Mystery ranch all seem to have a better reputation for holding up to the real heavy pack outs. Probably all not as light as the Kuiu but I bet you would have traded a pound or two for a functional pack. My shoulders hurt after looking at those pictures.





bowhunter1313 said:


> That is awesome man
> .congrats!!!
> Quality pack is right next to quality boots...buy a stone glacier pack and never look back. Expensive, but worth every penny if u r gunna pack meat. I hav had up to 140 lbs for several miles and there is no way without a great pack that could happen...if u go again...buy a quality pack....i love my stone glacier....but kifaru also makes a killer pack....congrats again....oitstanding...i leave next wednesday for 10 days diy back cou.try in Colorado....getting pumped


I'll add a third option to Stone Glacier and Kifaru, EXO Mountain Gear makes an excellent pack. I've had mine for 2 years, packed out a cow elk, and carry all my hang & hunt gear with it into the deer woods. I would say those 3 companies are top of the line for packs, IMO.


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## Lumberman (Sep 27, 2010)

Sewey said:


> I'll add a third option to Stone Glacier and Kifaru, EXO Mountain Gear makes an excellent pack. I've had mine for 2 years, packed out a cow elk, and carry all my hang & hunt gear with it into the deer woods. I would say those 3 companies are top of the line for packs, IMO.


Kuiu packs are super high quality. Its a $600 system that I run. It's literally half the weight of my hunting partners Mystery Ranch. If you hold a Kuiu its solid as a rock and literally weighs nothing. *But obviously it can't fail....* If they can find a way to make them more reliable they will take the pack market by storm. I've already reached out to customer service and we will see how that goes. I noticed on this years model the piece that broke is completely redesigned so I would assume its a common issue. I'm hoping they will replace it with the new model. Anything short of that and I will fix it and sell it. 

If I have to get a new one it will most likely be a Stone Glacier. I like them light weight and simple and they make a few that fit what I'm looking for. I use ultra light dry bags for organization and it works great. Not to mention everything is protected from the elements.


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## steelyspeed (Apr 10, 2016)

Lumberman said:


> Kuiu packs are super high quality. Its a $600 system that I run. It's literally half the weight of my hunting partners Mystery Ranch. If you hold a Kuiu its solid as a rock and literally weighs nothing. *But obviously it can't fail....* If they can find a way to make them more reliable they will take the pack market by storm. I've already reached out to customer service and we will see how that goes. I noticed on this years model the piece that broke is completely redesigned so I would assume its a common issue. I'm hoping they will replace it with the new model. Anything short of that and I will fix it and sell it.
> 
> If I have to get a new one it will most likely be a Stone Glacier. I like them light weight and simple and they make a few that fit what I'm looking for. I use ultra light dry bags for organization and it works great. Not to mention everything is protected from the elements.


Just upgrade to the apex straps. I am also a Kuiu fan. Light and simple


Sent from my iPhone using Michigan Sportsman


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