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I really enjoy the geography on the Colorado Western Slope. The mountains fall of fast and the forest transitions from alpine down through ponderosa and scrub oak then pinion forest, sage and finally desert sand all within a few miles. A cow elk’s final resting place in the pinion forest Snow the first two days was a welcome event. We hunted the fresh snow but elk had not moved yet. Coyotes, on the other hand, were tracking up the snow and hunting in earnest. When the snow passed I was a little surprised at the cold. I had hunted in snow in this unit before - but warmer. I am better prepared for the cold hunting places like Gunnison or Creede. One morning I was preparing to serve the crew breakfast and I could not wipe the table clean due to the cold. A damp cloth was like a mini-Zamboni that just added a fresh layer of ice to the table. I used a windshield ice scraper to clean the table in the RV. Worked well. Over several decades I have seen my role in the hunting party change along with my physical ability. 35 years ago I was the young porter-the mule-the rookie. Later I became the scout, hunter, ramrod, hunt organizer and the recruiter of fresh legs, wrangler, and so on. These days I am mostly the camp cook and bottlewasher. The smaller the hunting party the more hats you have to wear. I drive an ancient RV that we call the chuckwagon and it has a pretty good cabin arrangement for serving meals to the crew. Picture below. The chuckwagon doesn’t have much for heat but it has seldom needed it. Usually just cooking a meal on the stove will warm the cabin enough to have the hunters shedding their jackets. Not this season. By the end of the week I was making water by thawing frozen water jugs in cookpots on the stove.
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I had gotten conditioned to admiring this view from camp. I make sandwiches for the crew each day and use bagels for the bread so they don’t get crushed in their packs. I add a candy bar for desert. One morning at first light I was delivering the bagel sandwiches to the canvas tent where he guys were staging their hunt and I looked up at the clearing above. A small herd including a bull ran across. I ran up to the canvas tent to alert the crew. The chase itself unfolded a strange way. I tracked the herd about 3 miles that day from camp at about 9500ft on up to 11,000ft. Snow really helped. Back in the years before back pain would wake me up every night I would compete in the Pikes Peak Marathon and even now I can still move OK for my age. To my surprise after several hours I caught up to the bull. He briefly showed himself through a gap in the timber. He had a sort of golden tint color and was probably a 5x5. He vanished through the only angle in a line of trees where I did not have a shot. As the chase proceeded he did things to shake me – like sharp turns on the spots free of snow. He was smart. I liked him. By early afternoon it appeared that he had figured out that in the deeper snow and steeper slopes he had the advantage. At timberline he had widened his lead and was heading for the patches of evergreen trees at the higher elevations. I was losing the race and I was too tired, too exposed, and too far from roads or any help. He had won. I began following the old logging roads back down the mountain in the direction of camp. I was hoping to hear a shot from one of the other guys. I passed the tracks of a very large bear. Several times I resisted the urge to follow fresh elk tracks heading in the opposite direction. Then a set of bull tracks going in more-or-less the same direction as me got my attention. At least by following these I’d be getting closer to camp. I had barely processed that thought when I heard a grunt and a thump from behind a small stand of spruce ahead. A bull walked into the middle of the logging trail. This bull was the same size as the one I had been chasing all day but his behavior could not be more different. It was evident that the two animals had gotten very different upbringings. The bull stood broadside and stared at me on the logging road. Fatal mistake. My offhand shot landed low on the ribcage. I followed him a short distance and put him down with an additional shot. I’ve noticed that at the shooting range I am usually the only club member there that will practice offhand shooting. I estimate that with about 75% of the elk I’ve taken that has been the shot option available. DIY hunt, Over-the-Counter bull tag, public land (Uncompahgre Nat’l Forest), old levergun, factory ammo – Federal Partitions. Probably the only element of the hunt that wasn’t old and ordinary (including me) was this Leupold thermal tracker. Never needed the Leupold thermal tracker but played with it a little here.
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On the previous bull I had killed, a ‘somewhat unreliable’ source told me that according to an Indian legend a bull’s penis should be thrown into the tree branches. If it hangs and does not fall to the ground then you will kill an elk again the following year. It didn’t work last time but this time who knows? About an hour after dark we were satisfied with the field dressing we had done and asked ourselves how we would find our way down in the dark. A nice turn of events revealed that were only ½ mile from a FS road below, making this one of the easiest pack outs we had ever done. While hunting on my buck tag a couple of days later I decided to return to the kill site. The snow surrounding the carcass had been packed down hard. The neck and ribs had been picked over, and lungs and liver were gone. Some crows jealously guarded the area and complained about my presence. I was truly blessed this year. Like so many others here I just hope I can control some physical issues enough so that I can go again next year.
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Congrats on a great bull, Alamosa! Very well written and great photos too!
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Congrats on a great hunt and story. Hang in there, getting old ain't for sissies.
Let's Go Brandon! FJB
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Great story! How about a few pics of the "old levergun"?
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing -- Edmund Burke
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Great story and hunt... thanks for taking the time to share it
"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die, I want to go where they went" Will Rogers
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Congrats on the bull! Great hunt!
Semper Fi
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Good job, Alamosa. Nice to see the older guys getting it done still! Nice bull, too.
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Great story and pics. Good job!
Adversity doesn't build character, it reveals it.
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Congratulations Alamosa! Great story telling! Fate twisting and turning around irony brought smiles to my face.
If you put Taco Bell sauce in your ramen noodles it tastes just like poverty
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
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My 1st elk was an OTC tag...on public land...using an old levergun (Win 32 Spl) and factory ammo.
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” ― George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
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I love it!
Good on you Alamosa.
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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Great write-up.....
I'd try to find someone to half the cooking with you. You pack their lunches? Want a job? Grin....
- Greg
Success is found at the intersection of planning, hard work, and stubbornness.
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Great story! And a dang nice bull!!!!
Last edited by kaywoodie; 11/16/18.
Founder Ancient Order of the 1895 Winchester
"Come, shall we go and kill us venison? And yet it irks me the poor dappled fools, Being native burghers of this desert city, Should in their own confines with forked heads Have their round haunches gored."
WS
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love the pics, thanks and congrats.
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That is a great story - great job. Nice bull, nice country, nice partners. You are a lucky man.
Regards,
Tom
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Thanks for sharing. Nice pictures and great story. Nice bull to boot.
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Congrats! Bet that was a lot more fun than cooking. A new camp cook will be needed next year, I imagine. 😎
Curiosity Killed the Cat & The Prairie Dog “Molon Labe”
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Great story and pics congrats...
Public landowner...
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Nicely done. You look to young to be stuck in the kitchen!
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Great stuff, thanks for sharing
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fantastic story and congrats! well done, sir.
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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Congratulations on your bull.
What old lever gun did you use? Pics?
I can walk on water.......................but I do stagger a bit on alcohol.
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It's good to be able to take an easy one every once in awhile. They make up for the hard ones.
If God wanted you to walk and carry things on your back, He would not have invented stirrups and pack saddles
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Enjoyed your story and photos, congrats .
A gun in the hand is worth more than the entire police force on the phone.
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Molon Labe
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This is fantastic - congrats. And thanks for sharing.
WWP53D
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Great pics and narrative. Really enjoyed it and thanks, Alamosa.
The degree of my privacy is no business of yours.
What we've learned from history is that we haven't learned from it.
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Great write up and pictures. Congratulations on the bull.
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Ed
A person who asks a question is a fool for 5 minutes the person who never asks is a fool forever.
The worst slaves are those that put the chains on themselves.
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Great Job. Great Story. I love the Western Slope of Colorado. Spent 10 years muzzleloader and Archery hunting near Paonia/Hotchkiss area.
I've always been different with one foot over the line.....
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Nice job and great looking part of the country.
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Congratulations. nice bull and great country.
Member: Clan of the Turdlike People.
Courage is Fear that has said its Prayers
�If we ever forget that we are one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.� Ronald Reagan.
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Nice bull Alamosa, excellent story and pictures. Do tell us about the rifle and ammunition combination!
Experience is what you get, when you don't get what you want!
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Thanks for the replies. Unfortunately the rifle is not one of the cool relics of the West. It is a 30 year old BLR model '81. Bought it not long after '81 and I believe it is the vintage with the Japanese barrel and still had the metal lever gear. I'm not anywhere near the gun and bullet guy that some of the rest of you are and my stuff is old, ordinary, and very vanilla. Much of the bluing is worn away from the rifle, and it wears some deep gouges from spooked horses or falls taken above treeline. I no longer hunt with it in wet weather because it has no rust protection anymore and it blooms rust like crazy. I worry that I may have put too many rounds through the barrel. I like the rifle because it comes on target fast (because it has a fixed 4x scope) and it hits fairly hard (7mag). I've got a half-dozen 7 mags and the 160 grain weight seems to be the common denominator or starting point with most of them. I shoot the Federal Partitions because they are commonly available, premium bullet, and shoot pretty good in everything. I shoot regularly but my approach to it is different from most people. I am less about chronometers, ballistics, and long ranges, and more about feeling comfortable and confident and giving myself a chance in difficult conditions. Really though - I'm just worried about being able to get out there again and manage my physical challenges. Success has to be a secondary consideration. 2 holes (but not the kind most bullet experts seek). In the days when I would carry that rifle 15 miles my non-shooting sling shoulder and collarbone would ache a little. These days my hunts are more like 3 or 4 miles and the shoulder pain is unbearable. I suspect it is arthritis but I don't really know and I have some issues to fix before I attempt another alpine hunt.
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Mu uncle had a vast gun collection, he was particularly soft for Ruger #1s, but every time we went hunting he took the same rifle as you albeit in .308. A gun aficionado before the advent of the campfire and yet he loved probably the least expensive rifle in his gun cabinet for deer hunting.
Experience is what you get, when you don't get what you want!
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the best wizz bang godzilla killer in the gun cabinet will never kill an elk with out a man like you behind it! fine bull, fine rifle, and fine man.
the consolidation of the states into one vast republic, sure to be aggressive abroad and despotic at home, will be the certain precursor of that ruin which has overwhelmed all those that have preceded. Robert E Lee ~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Ain’t nothing wrong with them “vintage" Browning leverguns! Love it!!!! Well done!!!
Founder Ancient Order of the 1895 Winchester
"Come, shall we go and kill us venison? And yet it irks me the poor dappled fools, Being native burghers of this desert city, Should in their own confines with forked heads Have their round haunches gored."
WS
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That’s some pretty serious badassery there sir. Very good story well written. Congratulations on an unbelievable experience!
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Congrats Alamosa. Its nice to read the "camp cook" got one! Goes to show you never know where these elk will show up. Had a small herd run thru camp one afternoon while we scattered for our rifles.
My home is the "sanctuary residence" for my firearms.
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Nice story. Good to see someone hunting the old fashioned way.
I had one of those BLRs. Mine was Belgian made in .308. Not very accurate but I killed a mulie with it.
Keep on going!
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Congrads! Great story, Pics and Bull! My Hats off to the Camp Cook!
Deer Camp! about as good as it gets!
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great story, great rifle. I had to get up and put wood on the fire when I saw the ice on the inside of your rig! your buddies are probably too soft to sleep in the RV, I bet it's warmer in the tent! Good job, thanks for the story!
...Actually Sycamore, you are sort of right....
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That is hunting the way I was brought up! My first elk was a cow I snuck up on and took with an open sighted 6,5 x 55 Military Swedish Mauser. Dead is dead is all I can say and yours died just like they are supposed to. Get those health issues fixed and get back out there next year!
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Great story, thanks for sharing. You sir are a fine elk hunter, way to get it done!
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Great story, told well. A good hunting tale is getting hard to come by. Better, way better, than 99.999% of all the other online stuff. Believe the man has his priorities in the right order. Congratulations are in order!
Imagine your grave on a windy winter night. You've been dead for 70 years. It's been 50 since a visitor last paused at your tombstone..... Now explain why you're in a pissy mood today.
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Congrats Al'! Usually, the camp cook is the wisest and most experienced, right?
A wise man is frequently humbled.
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Congrats Al'! Usually, the camp cook is the wisest and most experienced, right? ... and the best looking.
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Mu uncle had a vast gun collection, he was particularly soft for Ruger #1s, but every time we went hunting he took the same rifle as you albeit in .308. A gun aficionado before the advent of the campfire and yet he loved probably the least expensive rifle in his gun cabinet for deer hunting. He is like me. I've got better quality rifles, shoot tighter groups, etc, but none are as comfortable or handle as well as that old model '81. I've got that same gun you mentioned - the BLR in a .308. That might save me some weight and keep me in the game next year.
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Great story, write up and pics! Thanks for sharing!
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Alamosa the .308 will surely do the trick!
Experience is what you get, when you don't get what you want!
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Really enjoyable write up, very nice.
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You made me feel like I was doing the hunt. Excellent story! Thank you.
Just because I am wandering around doesn't mean I am lost.
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The craziest part about this story is doing the pikes peak marathon. I do the incline every time I'm out there and have hiked the peak three times. Y'all marathoners are a different breed!
Nice bull!
-Jake
Small Game, Deer, Turkey, Bear, Elk....It's what's for dinner.
If you know how many guns you own... you don't own enough.
In God We Trust.
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Ain't nothing like a successful hunt! Colorado is fantastic for hunting elk.
"I've made alot of money in my life, most of it spent on guns and women. The rest of it I just wasted."
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I really enjoyed your write up ! Congrats and thanks for sharing 🦌
BT53 "Where do they find young men like this?" Reporter Savidge, Iraq Elk, it's what's for dinner....
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Damn, just fantastic. Good on you and thanks for the great write up!
Golden............
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Great story and pictures. Don’t denigrate yourself or your rifle. Sometimes, especially here, l think the joy of the hunt is lost and it becomes all about the gear and gackery. And, at least for me, the older I get, the sweeter the success tastes!
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Campfire Kahuna
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Great story and pictures. Don’t denigrate yourself or your rifle. Sometimes, especially here, l think the joy of the hunt is lost and it becomes all about the gear and gackery. And, at least for me, the older I get, the sweeter the success tastes! A few days ago I killed an elk with my dad's old Rem 721 30-06 with a 4x Weaver scope. He bought it in '52 when I was 4 years old. The '06 is one of the most classic hunting calibers of all time and the accuracy of this one puts many of them to shame.
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” ― George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
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Lets see. You tracked the herd for three miles. At 10,000 feet. For 3 hours. An hour after dark youre packing meat. Are you crazy? What did they pay you? Well, good job on the hunt, story and pics. Better luck next year, Al.
Last edited by jaguartx; 12/01/18.
Ecc 10:2 The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but that of a fool to the left.
A Nation which leaves God behind is soon left behind.
"The Lord never asked anyone to be a tax collector, lowyer, or Redskins fan".
I Dindo Nuffin
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Lets see. You tracked the herd for three miles. At 10,000 feet. For 3 hours. An hour after dark youre packing meat. Are you crazy? What did they pay you? Well, good job on the hunt, story and pics. Better luck next year, Al. I know it's hard to turn off the tv and crawl out of that heated deer stand with the built in wine cooler and vibrating seat but in some states you just can't see for 500 miles like you're used to. Plus, porters in mountain country charge more than flatlanders do so we sometimes have to pack our own.
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” ― George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
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A most wonderful story!
The stalking in snow is my favorite style of hunting.
Do you think the thermal imagery could be incorporated into detecting game earlier in the stalk?
"Shoot low sheriff, I think he's riding a shetland!" B. Wills
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Lets see. You tracked the herd for three miles. At 10,000 feet. For 3 hours. An hour after dark youre packing meat. Are you crazy? What did they pay you? Well, good job on the hunt, story and pics. Better luck next year, Al. That was a relatively easy one. I have skidded them down steep icy slopes above treeline, quartered one in a running creek, followed bear tracks to retrieve quarters that were stolen hanging from trees, quartered one hanging off a steep cliff, dropped loaded pack horses 4ft into an icy creek because that was the 'easy' creek crossing. ... and those are just the recovery and pack outs. I would be embarrassed to admit some of the crazy stuff I've done to get a shot opportunity.
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A most wonderful story!
The stalking in snow is my favorite style of hunting.
Do you think the thermal imagery could be incorporated into detecting game earlier in the stalk? It can. Personally I don't think I'd go too far down that road. I wouldn't feel good about having an animal on the ground that I had located with a thermal device. I know rattlesnakes use thermal targeting but it feels like cheating to me. I think the Leupold tracker is great for it's intended purpose. Worth the price many times over if it leads to a recovered animal. I used to keep a pair of blue heelers in camp for the same purpose (recovery). They were sharp, totally understood the game, and would have been eager to help hunt. I know that in some places they hunt deer with dogs but not my style. My favorite horse would alert me to elk. She would stop, then start rotating her ears in all directions, and then stare in the direction of unseen elk ahead. One thing to remember about the thermal tracker is that it works best when you don't really need it. If it is 70 degrees the thermal differential is going to be minimal and tough to get any image. The cold and snow conditions that I had were perfect for tracking. The elk tracks were obvious and the elk themselves would be very visible against the snow, so in either circumstance the imager is of limited usefulness. Even with those great snow conditions I only got one glimpse of that bull I was tracking and none of those smart cows never showed themselves. I happened upon a different bull whose tracks snitched on him but he made a dumb mistake that I don't think the first bull would have made.
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Great report - Congrats on the bull!
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Thank you for the reply.
Happy Holidays!
John
Last edited by Angus1895; 12/04/18.
"Shoot low sheriff, I think he's riding a shetland!" B. Wills
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Hunting elk is on my "Bucket List". I'm 71 and you look way younger than me. If you'd like an assistant cook next year give me a holler ! I'd like to get some lessons from a man like you.
Nice job.
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What a wonderful story with pics to match. I really enjoyed that.
Kind thanks for sharing, and congratulations!
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Congratulations I love the story and the great pictures. It was all better than most gun rags.. Sorry to hear about your health issues. Get them checked out. Look into platelet or stem cell injections. As a 42 yr old guy who just had his knee replaced I wish I could have done injections but mine was too far gone. Good luck to you sir
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Great story, pictures and meat in the freezer. All's well that ends well!
Last edited by LouisB; 01/09/19.
Some spelling errors can be corrected by a vowel movement. ~ MOLON LABE ~
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Takes quite a bit of time to compose a story and post pics to a thread like this. Very enjoyable read. Pic were icing on the cake. Congrats and thanks for the way you brought it to.life to share.
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