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Joined: Apr 2006
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New Years Day, 2017 ... 5 AM ... somewhere in Southern Colorado. Roll out of bed at 9,000 feet, remind the Wife that she thought this was a good idea yesterday, start the coffee maker and hit the remote on the frozen block of ice in the driveway that vaguely resembles a truck. Grab a couple of breakfast burritos, a thermos of coffee and at 5:45 AM navigate the six miles of gravel and icy chipseal to the highway. Thirty minutes later we leave the pavement for good and bounce down a few more miles of ranch roads ... parking behind some sheltering pinons just as the sky is getting light. 15 degrees and calm. Not bad, last time we did this winter hunt (three years ago) it was 30 degrees colder. Glass the low country to the south expecting to see some early rising elk a mile away. Oops ... should have been sneaking down there in the dark ... because a lone cow walks out 600 yards distant. Make a stalk anyway ... which turns out to be just armed hiking. Back to the drawing board. Move up a few miles and spend the middle of the day walking out ridges on higher ground. Surprise a few there at 400 yards ... but they never slow down. Once again, no joy,so after lunch we move up in elevation. Lots of fresh sign up here ... but nobody wants to make friends just yet. So, we endeavor to persevere throughout the afternoon ... and as the sun is setting ... we find a big girl who wants to go for a ride home in the GMC. Every time I shoot something on a mountain at sundown I swear never to do it again ... but by 8 PM we are bloody and tired and headed home with a passenger. Never thought about football even once during the entire day. Perfect!
Last edited by plainview; 01/03/17.
"Don't let so much reality into your life that there's no room left for dreaming"
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Campfire Outfitter
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Congrats on a great hunt, thanks for the write up.
P
Obey lawful commands. Video interactions. Hold bad cops accountable. Problem solved.
~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
Member #547 Join date 3/09/2001
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Molon Labe
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Also makes me realize why I don't like winter elk hunting.. Thing I will just throw my tag in the fire when I get home and save myself a lot of cold work..
Molon Labe
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"...buzzards gota eat same as worms" Josey Wales NRA lifer Hunting is Conservation RMEF Member
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Wanna trade New Years days? <G>
Good job.
Adversity doesn't build character, it reveals it.
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There's 2 dates they carve on your tombstone. Everyone knows what they mean. What's more important is time that is known as the little dash inbetween.
Razz
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Kim: Congratulations. Looks like a great day in the outdoors. Wonderful views. Did you see the sunset Sunday evening? Amazing. Probably the most beautiful that I have ever seen. No camera..... How's Marcie doing? Was that another hunt on the RFW place that you like so much? KC
Wind in my hair, Sun on my face, I gazed at the wide open spaces, And I was at home.
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Beats a day in front of a puter or TV.
Good eatin down the road too!
Some spelling errors can be corrected by a vowel movement. ~ MOLON LABE ~
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Campfire Tracker
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Congrats on the elk! On January 7, went elk hunting with my youngest son, who had a plains tag for cow elk. It was his second try, after no success earlier in the season. Late in the afternoon, we saw a large herd of elk grazing in grassland in a large bowl. Wind was blowing right to left at 15-20 miles per hour, temp was 17 degrees. Elk herd was still over a half mile away, and legal shooting light was approaching, so we beat feet to a small pine covered ridge and got into position. I ranged the closest elk, which were 270 yards away. The elk were nervous and milling around, and slowly moving away from us. My son finally got his shot opportunity, and downed a large cow at a bit over 300 yards, using his 7mm Rem. mag. that I had put together for him, using handloads of 150 gr. Nosler Accubond LR bullets. After field dressing the elk, hiking back to the truck, driving to the elk, hoisting it into the truck, etc., it was well after dark, but it was a happy, tired feeling. Next day, we drove to my house, where we hung the elk, skinned it and cleaned it up before my son took it to his processor. Anymore, I get as much enjoyment and satisfaction helping someone else on their hunt as doing it myself.
I'd rather be a free man in my grave, than living as a puppet or a slave....
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Love that kind of elk hunting.
Congrats!
Casey
Casey
Not being married to any particular political party sure makes it a lot easier to look at the world more objectively... Having said that, MAGA.
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I wish one would wander onto the ranch before the end of the month.....
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attaboy! looks like a good year.
First teach a child to love God, second teach him to love family, third teach him to fish and hunt and by the time he is in his teens no dope dealer under the sun can teach him anything. Cotton Cordell
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Great pics and story.
Agree completely about shooting elk at sundown.
THE CHAIR IS AGAINST THE WALL. The Tikka T3 in .308 Winchester is the Glock 19 of the rifle world. The website is up and running!www.lostriverammocompany.com
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Campfire Ranger
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Late season cows are about my favorite hunt anymore...though I can see the point that Wyocoyotedude and others make...it's cold and can be a lot of work, especially when dark is approaching. Luckily, there's often a road within a mile or two when the elk are in the winter grounds.
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Sometimes you get lucky this time of year. Tuesday night I got a call from my buddy that the herd was on his property so next morning I was there. 400 elk weren't sure where they wanted to be. The herd split and didn't go where it was supposed to but a neighbor let me take a shot on his property. I still have meat in the freezer from last year so I took a shot at a calf. I backed the truck right up to this little guy. Colodog helped me gut him and skin him and he was at the processor by 9:00 am. I like the easy way!
We all know advertising works, we just don’t think it works on US!
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Nothing like late season cows! Nice pics! Here is mine from western Wyoming. I actually only got out of the truck and hunted for about 1 1/2 hours and 1.2 miles. I shot her on a steep slope at 320 yards with a 7 mag/160 Partitions.
You did not "seen" anything, you "saw" it. A "creek" has water in it, a "crick" is what you get in your neck. Liberals with guns are nothing but hypocrites.
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Campfire Ranger
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Where was she at 'hooper?
I took mine in unit 98, SW of Pinedale.
Right now there's easily 1000 elk off the side of the highway between Cockville (I mean Cokeville) and Sage Junction in unit 104.
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