Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game 2600 miles..Colorado 3rd season dee/elk...Missouri rifle...caution pic heavy

Over the last couple years I have killed a couple cow elk from the northeast Raton NM area on private property and to say the least those were easy hunts. During last year�s elk hunt my wife and I shared a meal in Colorado Springs with two AR members and their wife�s after hunting in Raton. We laughed and talked of family friends and our past and shut the establishment down and parted ways. Weeks later I was invited to hunt and camp in Colorado with their group and I was floored with excitement.


Months passed by and Snell helped me through the Colorado application process and I then waited for June to arrive. The first day of June arrives and I get a text from Snell to check on my tag and sure enough I had drawn a 3rd season cow tag and the training then began! I trained for 5 months knowing the hunt would be tough and my time short (I could only hunt 5 days) as the Colorado 3rd season overlapped with my Missouri rifle deer season. I trained 5 days a week and was in better shape than most when time ran out and it was time to pack and leave.




Seven hours driving through the Missouri hills moved quickly but then the flat ass Kansas and the eastern third of Colorado made the 16 hour drive move like a heard of turtles but I arrived at Snell�s house glad to be there and then had dinner with his family. I felt at home and to say Snell�s family is awesome is an understatement! Great people! The Friday before season everything is packed and I follow Snell to camp. Here I meet up with the other 5 hunters and drop off my gear and see some of this huge country.

COLD NIGHTS!!! WOW!!!

Cold��I haven�t mentioned this yet but in southern Missouri it doesn�t get very cold but these next 6 nights are about to test me��.damn Cold!! Our tents are heated and I�m thankful for that but I�m not a camper but I got by and not only enjoyed it but would do it again for sure! I will have a better sleeping bag next time though. Getting up in the middle of the night and takkin a piss is tough below zero in high winds with a flashlight!

Mountain Climbing is not something I have ever done but the next five days I would go up and down more than a couple (big hills) and shredding my knees in the process. Living with my eyes glued to my binoculars and getting lessons from Snell�s brother Rick on how to find �green trees, dead trees, rocks� the elk lesson is coming soon I hope. Day one ends with no elk seen by me but Rick (Snell�s brother) killed a cow down a steep draw and I was able to help pack her out.

Day two Rick has spotted a heard of elk feeding on a mountain just east of camp and Cody, Chad and myself grab rifles and try to cut them off! We drop down off our camp site mountain into creek drainage and cross a creek that looked like something off a Hollywood movie set Beautiful!!!! Then climbed up this large mountain to get above these elk�..this was a two stopper/rest mountain for those who understand what I mean. Before we reach the top we hear shots from the other side of the mountain and our stalk has now turned into a chase as road hunters are pounding lead at the heard from their truck.
We reach the top of the mountain and the road hunter�s motion to us that the elk had moved north and off we went to catch up with them. We spot them on the next ridge west of us single file moving northwest�..man they move fast! I get my second wind and lead the chase for a while to the next ridge when Cody spots the heard yet again on a mountainside over 400 yards away with no cover for us to move in and a cross wind of 20+ MPH all we could do is watch them feed up the rocky mountainside and hope the next day we could catch them in a better place. I passed on a shot with no confidence of being able to hit my mark.

Monday proves to be a deer day as I see mule deer all day but no elk. I did see one of the long eared black squirrels�..cool looking critter. We get some snow before dark and file into camp for supper. Seems everyone is seeing deer but today is a no elk day. Tomorrow will be different.

Tuesday morning our deer hunting crew Rick and Cody have found the elk again and rounded up the elk hunting crew. We all made a plan and put ourselves in place to get a good ambush/vantage on these elk but they just never moved from the timber like we thought they should and after an evening on the south end and more deer my time is getting short for sure.

Wednesday rolls in and I set up on a ridgeline rock ledge and watch another hillside for just over half the day then back to camp to round up all my gear and go into town for a full tank of gas to leave super early Thursday morning.

2:00 am and I roll out of my cot stoke the fire and tell everyone goodbye and thanks�..with Colorado in my rear view mirror its 16 hours to Queen City Missouri and the farm I lease to deer hunt on.

Missouri deer killin is what I do best and there really isn�t much of a story to hanging two tree stands on an 80 acre farm. One on the south end and one on the North end a hunting the wind. 3 slickheads, a smallish 8 pointer later and I'm done killin and ready for skinnin and cuttin.....lots of it!

I want to thank Dave, Aric, Rick, Paul, Chad and Cody for taking me into camp like family and treating me like a fiend. I won't ever forget this time as long as I live.

My home for the next 6 nights






Is that a pink blankie


Cody, Paul, Aric, Chad


Rick and Dave
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Just lots of mountains.......WOW
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Ricks cow
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Dave looking down the mountain before the elk pack out
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my first ever quarter up and out!
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The elk heard at just over 400 yards....all we could do was watch them feed away
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Black critter.....cool!
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Rick and Aric
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Aric and Dave
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Big rub!!
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My Missouri 8 pnter......no mounter but I am pleased
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Sorry for all the "click" links I don't understand what happend

10 pictures per post limit...











Ricks cow


[img]http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u52/doetail68/DSCN0363-1.jpg[/img]

Dave looking down the mountain before the elk pack out
[img]http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u52/doetail68/DSCN0356.jpg[/img]

my first ever quarter up and out!
[img]http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u52/doetail68/DSCN0368-1.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u52/doetail68/DSCN0371.jpg[/img]

The elk heard at just over 400 yards....all we could do was watch them feed away


Black critter.....cool!


Rick and Aric


Aric and Dave


Big rub!!



My Missouri 8 pnter......no mounter but I am pleased


[img]http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u52/doetail68/DSCN0627.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u52/doetail68/DSCN0629.jpg[/img]

Great story and great pics!

Dink

Thanks for the hand nimrod1949

Good story Ted, Thanks. Is there much better than a Elk camp with good buds?

Cool, glad you had a good time.

I agree with the Kansas thing, I live just across the river from St. Louis and it's 5 hours to Kansas City and a long ass way across Kansas.

the black critter is an abott's squirrel. most likely spelled it wrong.
congrats...
great pics and story, elk hunting sometimes isn't for the faint of heart, glad you enjoyed it. awesome country, and great views tp be had out here in the west.

see ya next year !

i'm sure your hooked.

AAAAAAAHHHHH. Hunting in the burn! One of my favorite places to hunt!

We have taken a bunch great mule deer close to where you guy's were....

Nice pic's!

Thanks for sharing. Looks like a good time.


ddj

Abert's squirrel, great pics.

very cool

Looks like Tarryall country.Is it?

Buffalo creek I'd say.....

Ted great post and pics. Magnum Man

Looks like serious FUN!!!

Ted,

Your consistency for killing nice MO bucks is impressive.

Congrats!

Great pictures - looks like a fun hunt!!

Tell us about your rifle in the deer pictures. Did you paint the stock?

Yes it's a Krylon painted Remy 700 ADL that I added bottom metal to then fluted the bolt in 30-06