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Kevin_T Offline OP
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Owen (my 14 yr old Elk Slayer son) and I went out for the 5 days of Colorado first season. We packed into a spot for the dreaded dry camp I always try to avoid, but it was where we had been seeing elk. We had very unusual weather and a stunning sunset our first night before the season opened. These are the type of views, that you can only get in a back country camp. Here are a few photos.
Sunset
[Linked Image]

Camp at sunset, with Seek Outside Redwood brown 4 person tipi
[Linked Image]

Paradox Pack in Coyote
[Linked Image]


The first day, we followed our plan A , but quickly found out it was not feasible. The meadow we planned to work had plenty of elk sign, but was a good 45 degree and steeper, with about 400 vertical feet of blow down at the top. A pack out up, was not really going to work, and our location and lack of water meant a pack out down would require moving camp and would need more water etc. The first day, plan "A" was a lost day.


The second day a weather system came in. It was windy, cold, snowing, hail , all day long. It was a good day to move camp and go on to plan B.

Here is camp from plan B. The 4 man was setup for a bit better snow handling, using the side guy outs to get a steeper wall and allow a place for snow to accumulate.
[Linked Image]

The next morning after the weather cleared, Owen connected on a 5x4 bull.
[Linked Image]

We packed the bull out and went home and he returned to school.

I reorganized my gear, and packed back in with about 30 hrs left to fill my tag. I packed in as light as I could, using a BT-2 and nothing that required cooking.
I went up a nasty drainage, and finally found a nice place to set up camp that had good glassing opportunities.
[Linked Image]

The evening, I almost connected on a cow. I had a small group in trees at about 120, downhill from me, and as I was getting ready to shoot they spooked like I rarely see elk spook. The following morning I came within seconds of connecting again as a small group, disappeared over a little knob. That day I needed to go get more water (now kicking myself for not sucking it up and carrying more in), so I hunted up another drainage, where I was busted by a bull near the top. Needless to say, I was getting frustrated. I glassed a couple cows later in the afternoon but had no way to close within 550 or so without loosing 1000 feet of elevation and going up another ridge. Finally that evening, I watched a small group from about 140 yards and could never close the deal. I watched a bull with his rear facing me in some scattered trees, and a cow that the vitals were covered by a tree for some 20 minutes before the wind kicked up and they moved back in the timber. Feeling snake bitten , I headed back to camp with about 30 minutes of shooting light left, when I spotted a small herd moving across some gulleys below me not far from camp. I sat down, and picked out a nice cow who then proceeded to tumble a long ways down the gulley before coming to rest in a depression underneath a fallen aspen (about the only trees in the gulley). Since she was difficult to move up from the depression, and the tree blocked moving her down hill, I called in a couple friends who found me and helped out and I returned to the TH at 2 am with a nice cow in our packs.

Overall, a very good 5 day season.


Lightweight Tipi Tents and Hunting Tents https://seekoutside.com/tipis-and-hot-tents/
Backpacks for backpack hunting https://seekoutside.com/hunting-backpacks/
Hot Tent Systemshttps://seekoutside.com/hot-tent-combos/
BP-B2

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great photos!


long before Rodriguez stole that goat.
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Congrats Kevin, sounds like a great hunt.



A wise man is frequently humbled.

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man, great hunt and stories, and WAHOO great pictures. Good on yall!



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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Well done by the both of you, congrats! Nice gear... wink

IC B2

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Something tells me that you will remember this elk hunt for a long time!

Congrats to you and your son.

donsm70


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Way to go!! We got a couple of cows---good season smile

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Great story and pictures! Congrats to you and your son, what a superb hunt-y'all did good.


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Great pics, thanks for sharing. You definitely do a better job of getting the walls nice and taught. I need to play with my BCS more to try different configurations. Hope to upgrade to the version with two doors for next year. Nonetheless, the BCS has been a great tent.

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Congrats on a hunt done right!

IC B3

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Hard work and dedication payed off! Good job! GREAT sunset photos!


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congratulations on the bull.

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Congratulations Kevin and also to your son Owen on a difficult DIY backpack hunt. Great photos and a good look into overcoming challenges when hunting.

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Kevin_T Offline OP
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Thanks guys. While hard, I love the backpack style Elk hunt , for the reasons of staying close to the game, hearing them etc.


Lightweight Tipi Tents and Hunting Tents https://seekoutside.com/tipis-and-hot-tents/
Backpacks for backpack hunting https://seekoutside.com/hunting-backpacks/
Hot Tent Systemshttps://seekoutside.com/hot-tent-combos/
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Congratulations


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Wow man awesome photos & story! You really pushed it right to the last minute; that's the definition of hard core.

Excellent post!

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Nice pictures, congratulation on the elks.

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thanks for the report - very nice write-up and great pics! congrats to both you and your son.


Coyote Hunter - NRA Patriot Life, NRA Whittington Center Life, GOA, DAD - and I VOTE!

No, I'm not a Ruger bigot - just an unabashed fan of their revolvers, M77's and #1's.

A good .30-06 is a 99% solution.
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congrats and awesome photos!

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Beautiful. Well done all around.
Congrats to you and your boy.


Have Dog

Will Travel

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