3 days 3 elk

JakeSCH

Well-Known Member
Oct 16, 2017
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Too much to write down from the last few days but my first week of elk hunting has been an extreme success! I was able to tag cow elk in Colorado and in Utah within a few days of each other and my dad also tagged out in Utah.

Colorado elk were spotted over two miles away with a good stalk and a long packout. Utah was a little easier finding the elk since since it was guided but was a more brutal packout since they were on the top of a hill large hill.

I was able to spot over a hundred elk in the last few days and even more mule deer, first time hunting out of state did not disappoint.

My legs are toast but man it was a great! Weather was cold, 15 to 20 degrees in Colorado and -5 to start this morning.

I will share more once I get home.
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Meat for days!! Those girl elk sure do eat good! Strong work
 
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Thanks guys!! Pretty stoked as I didn’t go in thinking we were going to be that successful.

A side note, the mule deer out here are huge!! Their body size seems 50% bigger than our D16 deer. Pretty sure does here out weigh our bucks.
 
That's awesome! Glad your first experience didn't disappoint! Doesn't that do soo much to further cement that experience into your heart!
 
Thanks guys!! Pretty stoked as I didn’t go in thinking we were going to be that successful.

A side note, the mule deer out here are huge!! Their body size seems 50% bigger than our D16 deer. Pretty sure does here out weigh our bucks.

Seriously right? It's like.. you look at the Mule Deer bucks taken by the dudes in other states in pics and vids in websites and Youtube and you see those 250+ Lbs Mule deer... and I think about having to pack them out solo, and the "Oh sh*t!" hits you!
 
Awesome! Late season elk hunts can be tough. You guys killed it. Certainly not going to be lacking in meat for the year.
 
Congrats well done, I’m excited As I should be cow elk hunting this year in Wyoming, hopefully I’m just as successful as you.

Good luck!! Look for slopes that have minimal snow / south facing. That is where I was able to find the elk in both places.

On my Colorado stalk, we got into this bowl where I was surrounded on 3 sides by rag horn / spike bulls. At one point I had put my cross hairs on 10 straight bulls before the cow I tagged appeared. I was not expecting that at all and won’t forget it.
 
First off congratulations on first elk hunt.
Did you guys have to do a few trips, to retrieve all the meat or did someone help. ATV, Jeep?

In Colorado two of us made two 1.5 mile packouts with minimal elevation change since the elk rolled down the hill into a ravine that we followed out instead of hiking up. The first one was brutal because I had a rear quarter with the pelvic bone still attached (i didn’t realize my buddy sawed it off and left it on the rear quarter until the next day), back strap, tenderloin, and heart. Second trip was much easier because all I had was rib slabs and neck meat.

In Utah we shot the elk on top of a high / steep hill (about 1000 feet elevation gain) so we were able to drag them down in the snow to a place we could get a Polaris with snow tracks to (about 1/2 mile). That one was a different kind of tough because my legs were not recovered from Colorado yet and the altitude didn’t help my breathing. I basically had to stop every 100 feet to catch my breath.

Both were going through some thick snow, waste deep in Utah and about 18” in Colorado.

Here is a pick of the Polaris with part of the hill in the background.
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Thanks for the reply. Thinking back was everything to plan or
Do you think some event could be different in packing out.
Or it is what it is.
Reason I am asking I would have to hire a packer to retrieve the elk
Either ATV or Mules.
Your young and it wore you out.
But back to back hunts are tough.
But you did it and it's an amazing
Hunt story. Good luck and skill.
 
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JAKE can"t wait to hear about the hunts at the next meeting.congrats
 
Congrats! Sounds like a great trip all around - quality time with your Dad and the hunting experience of a lifetime!
 

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