Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Rethinking my Elk Hunting plans

So the last couple years I’ve hunted Elk solo here in Colorado. In my quest for a bull I have hiked my ass off in some really steep, thick and deadfall riddled forest. I’ve hiked as far as 6 miles from where my vehicle was parked and reminiscing on the last two hunts I’ve come to a conclusion that I am lucky as hell that I did not kill a bull. I just returned from helping my father in law fulfill his Utah bull elk tag and though he didn’t kill a monster he was as successful as I could have hoped for a 75 yr old man with two really bad knees. He worked his ass off to get on a bull and made a longer shot than he’s ever made. But I realized something on that hunt, there is no friggin way I could have killed a bull the size of the one he shot 5-6 miles from a road over steep azz nasty terrain and packed that thing out without killing myself or losing the meat based on the temps I’ve hunted in during September. So for a guy who likes to hunt by himself it was quite the eye opener, having never been along on a hunt where a mature bull was killed I really didn’t realize the size of these things dead on the ground!, it’s definitely not the same as average cow. When I lived in Alaska I used to always say I wouldnt shoot a moose that I couldnt get a 4wheeler within 100 yards of and that dang bull my FIL shot wasn’t much smaller than a young bull moose. Lots to think about for my future elk plans in search of my own mature bull.

If you wanna kill a big bull or big buck solo, on public land you gotta be tough, stubborn, and love pain at times. Or do it when it's cold and amortize the pack out for a few days. You also gotta get creative on finding them this day and age....

Good luck in your future hunts and at least you realized this prior to having to do it.. grin ..

I went solo this year during 1st rifle and shot my bull 4.5 mi from the truck, at ~11,600’, with about 1.5mi of that being ridiculously steep and nasty. I WILL NOT do that again. My knee still hurts. I learned my limit. At 52 going on 53, that was more than I need to be doing. I even got some help from fellow hunters that brought back some of the meat I had brought out from the nastiest area to a more prominent trail. Not really sure what I’ll do next year. .

Love it...

Good job man! I’d have given her hell too if I were successful, though I might not be here to write about it too!

Embrace the SUCK!

You have to. It's sick. My wife seriously thinks I'm insane when she asks about some of my hunts....

I'm at the place now that I set aside monies to pay a packer with horses and mules.

I've packed out to many elk and have had knee replacement and shoulder surgery. NO MORE packing for me unless its a short distance.

That's why I'm flying you up here when I draw my goat\and\or sheep tag!!!😂😂

Oh and your glassing skeelz!!!

Llamas!

Or pack goats. A place in Evanston Wyo rents them.

Or horses

Or mules

Interesting post. I came to that same conclusion this year in CO in second season. I spotted 2 herds of elk the day before second season this year. It was 2.5 miles as the crow flies between my camp and the elk.

I hiked over there on day 1 and was genially surprised I didnt kill an elk. It started snowing that night and we ended up with ~ 8 inches by Sunday AM at my camp. I hunted closer to camp in the AM in the 30-40 mph wind driven snow.

I arose early on Monday and made the hike back over to the elk. 2.5 hours, up 1200 feet, in what ended up being knee deep snow. By myself. About noon I realized I likely couldn't get an elk out of there by myself in any decent time. It was only ~ 3 miles from camp but the knee deep snow was killing me. The forecast called for snow through Wednesday. First time I ever quit before the end of the season or without a dead elk. It was a hard realization to conclude I couldn't get an elk out of the mountains by myself. I'm still struggling with that whole decision.

That day comes for all of us. At 47, it feels closer than I care to admit. I wish I had a do over.

I’m finally at a point in my life where I have the equipment, money, time, and knowledge to be successful...only to have my body starting to fail me.

It’s fooking maddening I tell you. I’m damn grateful I’ve enjoyed the experiences I have, but I’m greedy and I want a lot more of them. I can’t help it damnit.

Dave

As one ages, they start to finally get the idea that there are times that we should put the safety back on. I have wisely followed that idea the last few years, but I had lapse this past year. I took a poke at a bull opening day of 2nd rifle that was way past the limit in terms of getting it out.Way up in the rocks at about 12,000 feet. Thank God, I missed. It took me an hour and a half to climb to where he would have been if I had hit it, and it was only about 400yards, but close to straight up in the nasty rock scree I ever traversed. Coming back down in the snow was worse yet. Very dangerous. Especially for this old fart of 76
.
This was higher than the bull I took last year in the same location and processing it up there took all I had as I was solo. I did get the pack mule up to that bull, but the saddle mule had to stay down lower.This is the same location that I have killed three other elk previously .So it would have made it the 4th one from the exact same spot I was shooting from.

I figure it would have taken me 4 days,1 trip a day to climb up there and somehow slide one quarter each down to where I could get the mules and then a 4 mile pack to camp. Plus a full day just to get it quartered and bagged. After I got down and met my hunting partner, we, went back to camp. It started snowing that Saturday evening and snowed thru Tuesday. Reports from guys making it back out Monday said there as 15" of snow on the main trail and that bull would have been a 1000 feet higher. No way could I have got it out.WE pretty much stayed in our campers those three days keeping warm and the mules fed and watered..

I have pretty much decided I am done hunting in the snow. Luckily I had that "B" tag for ML cow in September that I had already put in the freezer.

You think it is tough at 50 or 60, add 15 years to that.

Saddlesore,

You have my complete and total admiration. There are a lot of dudes on this site that have killed a lot of awesome critters...none impress me as much as your recent pursuits (and accomplishments).

I’d give up most of my worldly possessions in a nanosecond if I knew it meant I’d still be chasing bulls the way you are in another 25-30 years...and that’s no chit friend.

Dave

I fear the day that this comes to me, and at 40 years old I already feel some creaks and grones that I didn't 5 years ago. My time in the service is partly to blame, but so is my approach to hunting that I have taken, as well as some horse wrecks.

I had a relatively easy pack out this year with my 5x5 bull, though a lot of deadfall was crossed. It's obvious I am not 20 years old anymore, but that's OK. I am mentally MUCH tougher now than I was back then.


I'm glad to see some folks here know their limits....as I have packed out several elk over the years for those that didn't.

I always wish I took photos like that.

Mucho respect for guys like Vince (Saddlesore), I hope I can even get around in the woods when I’m your age. Quickly knocking on the door of 50 I realize that there’s a huge difference between what I was capable of when sheep hunting in the mountains in Alaska at 35 years old compared to now, it does suck!

Tiny....there's several of us on here that have "advanced" body age from not taking care of our bodies in the service.....LOL I feel your pain!

Frog, folks just don't understand how hard that life can be on your body....
2 mix ups with IEDs and all the running on asphalt has basically made my knees, hips and back 20 years older than they are, but that's OK. When it gets too bad, I'll go back to my roots and start using horses a lot more again. I miss the prestige of horseback hunting anyhow.

I'm headed out for whitetail now. If it keeps raining like it is....this may turn into a road hunt which will sure make the pack out easier