I had the opportunity to hunt some private ground near Carbondale this year and thought I'd share the report I already posted to my thread in the elk hunting forum. I good time was had by all.

I got back Sunday night and overall it was good. Very different than any elk hunt I've ever been on because I've never spent that many days sitting on my ass in my life. But the views in the area were gorgeous. This was from the highway below the ranch.



We arrived about 1:30 a.m. on opening morning and caught a few hours of shut eye in our trucks until we met the ranch manager about 5:30. The hunting party was my cousin, his 18 year-year old son, his dad (72) and me. The RM gave us the lowdown on the blinds, tree stands and how the elk flow on the property and talked about the two big bulls he'd seen several times in the past two weeks. It was a nice set up with all angles covered and no shot over 400 yards. There's a large pond on the ranch below his and the elk go down there at night for water. I stumbled on the elk highway later in the week and the amount of sign up there was insane - a trail 6 feet wide covered in elk tracks all going the same direction - away from the water.

Opening day we simply sat in blinds and waited we had a few cows wander through , but we wanted to save our cow tags for later in the week as we were hoping for a chance at the two big bulls in the area. Early afternoon, we had a small 4 point bull come in with a spike and two cows. We let him come through, hoping that a bigger bull would follow, but no luck. Later in the week, we would regret letting that small bull pass through.



Come day three, we had seen some elk, but not in any numbers and no bulls since the spike and 4 pointer. It had gotten hotter every day and was in the 70's, so the elk were mostly bedded down and higher during the week. That was the hottest week of elk hunting I've ever experienced. I'm guessing it is much more like what the fellas in Arizona and New Mexico get most years.

Day four and we were at the halfway mark - no elk down, no deer down and time was ticking, so we decided to start filling the freezer. Later in the afternoon I had a decent 4x5 come out with a few cows. I settled my 270wsm behind his shoulder at 175 yards, thought about those phantom big bulls and squeezed the trigger. His legs went all wobbly and he staggered about 30 yards before he tipped over. I was shooting the 150gr Fusion and it went clean through with a small exit wound, leading me to surmise that the bullet held together despite going through both sides of the ribcage.





On Wednesday, my cousin had a similar 4x5 appear in front of his blind and he dispatched it with a 450 Marlin behind the shoulder at 125 yards. (sorry no pics of that one but it was a little bigger than mine). The 450 Hornady LeverRevolution slug came to rest just inside the skin of the far chest wall and it performed beautifully, retaining a lot of its initial mass.

Thursday, my cousin's son was getting itchy for a kill and harvested a nice mule deer doe with his 300wsm. She was in the trees less than 75 yards from the tree stand he was in and the shot was perfect behind the shoulder. No elk on Thursday made an appearance.

By Friday, we only had 2 elk down and it was hot as Hades, so we decided to risk kicking the elk off the mountain side and I volunteered to go put the sneak on some bedded elk and see what we could stir up. I spent the better part of 2 hours carefully moving around what we assumed were the prime bedding areas, moving slowly and keeping the wind right. For this task I took my 1957 Marlin 30-30 in case i ran into a nice deer. About 90 minutes in I about stepped on a cow in her bed. I never saw her before she bolted, despite only taking a few steps at a time and scanning the trees. I saw her but as she jumped away and 45 seconds later a shot rang out from the blinds below. Success! My cousin's son drilled her with a neck shot from 100 yards and she piled up on the spot! Three elk and three perfect shot placements equaled a lot of great meat for our families.

Not much happened on Saturday. I walked the trees again, but there were n elk on the reservation. I spotted a doe at 75 yards, but she was at the top of the ridge with no backstop, so I had to let her pass and watch her jump the fence to the next property.

Sunday morning, we finally had a premier opportunity. Not a bull, but a giant mulie buck. He walked out 375 yards broadside to my cousin's Dad and started to eat some alfalfa. Cousin's dad is a part-time deputy sheriff in a small Colorado county and brought his AR-10 and was loaded with 168gr Ballistic silvertips. He had a rest in his blind and I heard 4 shots ring out in short order - but no dead buck. I saw the dirt fly at the buck's feet. Way low. He was positive he hit it. I asked him where he aimed and he said he was zeroed at 200, so he aimed upper shoulder "because his gun only drops 6 inches at that distance". With an 18" barrel bleeding velocity, his bullet drop was probably more like 38" at 375 yards. Oh well. But what a buck. Hopefully his progeny will be running that area for years to come. Spectacular rack on that one.

Probably the best thing about the hunt was that we were able to drive a truck to within 50 yards of every kill so it was the easiest elk loading of all time. The only thing easier would be if they jumped in the truck before dying.

I also made a good contact for a 5th season cow hunt for my son in December and January. So it ended up not being the bucket list hunt that I hoped for, but still a fabulous week and a full freezer.

Outstanding!

WyColoCowboy:

Sounds like a fun time was had by all. Thanks for sharing.

I'm going on my first private ranch hunt this year also. Hope my hunt is as good as yours was.

Is that Mount Sopris in the background of the first photo?

KC

Yes it is, KC - Beautiful Peak. Good luck on your hunt.

Good write up. Thanks for posting.

Congrats. Nothing wrong with that bull. I saw several that size killed this year, including mine

Well written!

My ranch is located smack dab between "Spanish Peaks" and "Basque Del Oso" WLA's, or 8 miles N.E. of Stonewall, CO.

At this point I really haven't seen all that much activity. It's been so warm here I think most of the big herds are staying in the high county. Although I do have a resident herd here, I hate to shoot them. So, I'll wait for the migration, won't be long!

Respects,
Richard

Good deal--Bob

Congrats on a nice bull Wycolocowboy.

Fantastic WCC, thanks for sharing your story.

That sounds like incredible fun and memories.

Nice story and pics. Thanks for posting.

I wish I lived in Colorado so I could pay someone to hunt on their ranch and sit in a blind all day and drive a truck up to the critter I shot. It's so wild and free up there and different than here.

Congrats! Great pictures too

Sounds like y'all had a good hunt, and in a beautiful place. Thanks for sharing the story and pictures.
Down in Florida, we don't, of course, have Elk or mountains. I love to see how it's done way out West.

It's very different, ask the guys who drive out from the east coast to hunt the mountains here. And you're assuming he paid because that's how they do it in TX. That's not how most do it here.

And btw, do you work hard at this?

That is awesome.... Good for you

Actually it was a gift hunt from my cousin. His son is leaving after this year after getting an appointment to the Coast Guard Academy and it was the last chance for the four of us to hunt together. And for what he paid to hunt the ranch is probably less than what the average hunter pays to drive out here and hunt in Colorado.

And as for driving up to an elk and loading it into a truck? I recommend it.

That first pic in you OP is beautiful!

In my 20+ years of elk hunting, this was the first time I've done it that way. Our usual elk hunt is in a wall tent or I'll drag my pop-up trailer if the party is small. This one we had a log home rented and watched the world series in the evenings on satellite TV, just like the boys down in TX.

The elk are still plenty wild and I would hazard a guess that if I set up a natural blind and sat for 8 days straight for 12 hours a day I'd probably have the same success. The private ground gives you few other options than to sit and wait. Usually after a few hours of sitting, I'm up crashing green timber until the evening sit.

1-It ain't different. Sitting in a blind and loading deer up in a truck is the same everywhere. Don't try to make it out to be more than what it is, you'll only embarrass yourself.
2-I don't need to ask the folks from the East, I can ask myself because I've done it. And it dang sure wasn't on a ranch with pickup trucks.
3-I don't care how most do it, this was a paid ranch hunt. Nothing more or less.

BTW-No. Observing and pointing out the obvious is something that comes naturally to me.



I'm glad WCC had a great hunt with his family. It wouldn't be so amusing if it weren't coming from a typical "Colorado is so great we do it differently here and nobody else understands how awesome it is" guy.

Sitting in a blind and loading elk into a truck isn't the norm here. That was the point. It was a unique hunt, probably the only one in my life that will be like that. I've killed 14 elk and only two have gotten loaded into a truck in one piece. My last bull before lat week took two full days to pack out of the canyon I stupidly shot him in. And I have to disagree on one point. This was a hunt on a ranch, not a ranch hunt - and their IS a difference. No feeders, no spotlights, and nobody drinking light beer.

Yeah, I want to do that some day......good one!

I wish I could take credit. Out of 150 or so pictures that was the only one worth a damn. Pure dumb luck.

Hunting a water hole and alfalfa field are drastically different than hunting a corn feeder, I'm sure.

Lost on the person who can't see the difference between bait and habitat.

The alfalfa was natural habitat, on a cattle ranch? Yall just stumbled upon some naturally growing afalfa that just happened to be in front of the blind yall were hunting and watched it until a deer found it too?

I'm not knocking your hunt. I did something similar with my kids last weekend. I just don't see why you can't say, "I hunted like they do in Texas and I enjoyed it."

So, anyway...sounds like a good time. Congrats!

Beautiful country. I climbed West Spanish Peak last month...fantastically beautiful mountain. I love the area down there. Those volcanic dikes are very unique. The Spanish Peaks Wilderness Area is some really fantastic country. I envy you for owning average where you do.

Hey Smokepole.....


Alfalfa fields, ground blinds and day hunts are obviously different.

I've killed a lot of big game in Texas. I was fortunate to be able to hunt a high dollar ranch in Lavaca County for several seasons. I could never afford to hunt a ranch like that...my brother got me on the place and took care of my end. The first time I went I killed a buck that scored 163 and 7/8. After the morning hunt, we came back to the ranch house and ate a biga$$ breakfast. Then hunted in the afternoon, and at night we ate biga$$ steaks, or fajitas...we always cooked outside on the grill. And we always had a big fire going in the fire ring. We drank good whiskey every evening. We slept in good beds, and were able to take hot showers. We had some great camaraderie outside around that big fire that we always had going. We ate great food, drank great whiskey, shot some good deer, and had an absolute blast all the way around. I loved every second of it.
I've done more hunting on my own though, in rough country, with no amenities at all...and I've loved it too...moreso than any other kind of hunting I've done.
But those high-dollar hunts in Texas were damn fun to me, and if I could afford it, I'd do a lot more of it...in addition to the kind of hunting that I normally do.

I appreciate the story, pictures and loved the experience you had. Contrats on a good time with the family.

Sure you are, you said he was hunting "like they do in Texas."

bwahahaha

The truth hurts, don't it?

Tell me more about how there are no blinds or leases or bait in Colorado.

I agree, beautiful pic!! Congrats on your hunt!

Eric

Not exactly like they do in Texas. I didn't shoot it in the ass...

You are thinking of uber washington hunts!

Me too. Here's an observation for you. Anyone who feels the need to crap all over another guy's thread about his successful hunt for whatever reason is a petty little douchebag.

And if you ever see me jump in and do the same on a thread by a guy in Texas giving an account of shooting his deer behind a high fence over corn, feel free to throw that back at me.

Here's another: Your harping on this one example of a guy in Colorado hunting on a ranch out of a blind is a prime example of the old adage that the exception proves the rule. I know you don't post on the actual hunting forums, but check those for reports of hunts in Colorado, and see how many are ranch hunts from blinds vs, public land DIY.

Great post and pics!

Hey guys, give Blue a break. He's just lookin' for love in all the wrong places and has a hard time finding an audience in his home state.

sounds like a great hunt , congratulation