After 5 straight seasons of chasing elk with a bow, and only letting 1 arrow fly in those 5 years, my buddy and I finally burned our points for a Colorado 1st rifle bull tag. In summary: WORTH IT.
Weather was in the mid 60’s when I arrived 4 days before the opener. In that time, I glassed from as many spots as I possibly could. In total, and to my surprise, I glassed up at least 8 bulls before the season started. Nearly every bull I glassed was pushing cows, with the exception of 2 giants that were cruising solo.
My buddy from Mississippi arrived a day and a half before the opener, and once he got there, I took him to the same spots I had glassed from. What we found was that each bull that I had previously found was still in the same routine as before, using the same meadows and dipping into the same patches of timber. The night before the opener, we both had specific bulls we wanted to go after, and the decision was made that we would hunt separately to increase our odds.
Opener came and the hunting did not disappoint! As I hiked in the dark, I could hear bulls bugling all over the place. As gray light came, I positioned myself above and to the side of the herd I was targeting. Unfortunately, some other hunter came in from the bottom and I heard 5 shots taken. Not 30 seconds later, half the herd was running up straight at me. I watched, at 30 yards, 6 cows walk right in front of me. A few minutes later, I hear a couple of the bulls bugling uphill, but they had dipped into the timber to make their ascent. I never saw them that morning, but luck has it that I ran into the hunters, and they had told me that they had missed all 5 shots.
On the evening of the opener, I get a text from my buddy that he got a bull! I hurried back to camp to unload all my gear from my bag, grab some extra lights, and was able to park my truck 1/2 a mile from his bull. We worked through the night and eventually got back to camp with all the meat at 1 am. Just an FYI, we glassed this herd 300 yards behind our campsite the day before the opener! We could even hear one the bulls ridiculously close to our camp in the middle of the night.
Day 4 of the hunt was my lucky day. I went after the same herd i targeted on day 1 because that hunt revealed to me that at least 3 bulls were in that herd. As I worked the Ridgeline near their bedding area, I spotted 2 spikes below me working towards a saddle below their bedding. I never could catch up with the rest of the herd, but I listened from a distance and pinpointed where they bedded. I decided to stay up on the ridge line and wait out the day.
Around 1 pm is when everything changed. I heard the first bugle from the bedding area. Right around the same time, the wind and weather took a drastic turn. It started to lightly rain, and the temperature quickly dropped. 30 minutes later, I hear a second bugle, but it was much lower on the mountain. I paralleled their location, roughly 400 yards away, and caught a glimpse of a few cows moving through a patch of blowdown. Moments later, a legal bull comes into view behind them. I see them slowly working downhill towards the meadow that I encountered them in on day 1, and I make the decision to hustle down there before they do. I set up and wait. A few minutes later, and just as I hoped, cows start appearing right below me. After about 4 cows, here he comes! Loaded and looking through my crosshairs, I confirm he’s legal and send one right into this shoulder. 140 yards with the 30-06, and the bull immediately drops. I send another round for good measure, and reality finally hits me…. I just tagged my first bull ever! Midday madness!
Weather was in the mid 60’s when I arrived 4 days before the opener. In that time, I glassed from as many spots as I possibly could. In total, and to my surprise, I glassed up at least 8 bulls before the season started. Nearly every bull I glassed was pushing cows, with the exception of 2 giants that were cruising solo.
My buddy from Mississippi arrived a day and a half before the opener, and once he got there, I took him to the same spots I had glassed from. What we found was that each bull that I had previously found was still in the same routine as before, using the same meadows and dipping into the same patches of timber. The night before the opener, we both had specific bulls we wanted to go after, and the decision was made that we would hunt separately to increase our odds.
Opener came and the hunting did not disappoint! As I hiked in the dark, I could hear bulls bugling all over the place. As gray light came, I positioned myself above and to the side of the herd I was targeting. Unfortunately, some other hunter came in from the bottom and I heard 5 shots taken. Not 30 seconds later, half the herd was running up straight at me. I watched, at 30 yards, 6 cows walk right in front of me. A few minutes later, I hear a couple of the bulls bugling uphill, but they had dipped into the timber to make their ascent. I never saw them that morning, but luck has it that I ran into the hunters, and they had told me that they had missed all 5 shots.
On the evening of the opener, I get a text from my buddy that he got a bull! I hurried back to camp to unload all my gear from my bag, grab some extra lights, and was able to park my truck 1/2 a mile from his bull. We worked through the night and eventually got back to camp with all the meat at 1 am. Just an FYI, we glassed this herd 300 yards behind our campsite the day before the opener! We could even hear one the bulls ridiculously close to our camp in the middle of the night.
Day 4 of the hunt was my lucky day. I went after the same herd i targeted on day 1 because that hunt revealed to me that at least 3 bulls were in that herd. As I worked the Ridgeline near their bedding area, I spotted 2 spikes below me working towards a saddle below their bedding. I never could catch up with the rest of the herd, but I listened from a distance and pinpointed where they bedded. I decided to stay up on the ridge line and wait out the day.
Around 1 pm is when everything changed. I heard the first bugle from the bedding area. Right around the same time, the wind and weather took a drastic turn. It started to lightly rain, and the temperature quickly dropped. 30 minutes later, I hear a second bugle, but it was much lower on the mountain. I paralleled their location, roughly 400 yards away, and caught a glimpse of a few cows moving through a patch of blowdown. Moments later, a legal bull comes into view behind them. I see them slowly working downhill towards the meadow that I encountered them in on day 1, and I make the decision to hustle down there before they do. I set up and wait. A few minutes later, and just as I hoped, cows start appearing right below me. After about 4 cows, here he comes! Loaded and looking through my crosshairs, I confirm he’s legal and send one right into this shoulder. 140 yards with the 30-06, and the bull immediately drops. I send another round for good measure, and reality finally hits me…. I just tagged my first bull ever! Midday madness!
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