Cashed in some points and drew a resident tag for first rifle tag in the San Juans this year. Living in Denver I did not have a ton of opportunities to go and scout the area this summer, but another member of this forum who was going to hunt the same unit was nice enough to share info with me - without him this hunt could have gone very differently.
We got to camp on Thursday afternoon to scout Friday, I was surprised at the amount of other hunters in the area and the pressure we saw. I took off towards one zone with my friend, and the other two in our group went to a different area to check out roads and access. My friend and I went to the spot the other hunter turned me on to, he mentioned it might not see much pressure and he was certainly right. Kind of a non-descript drainage with no trail access, you had to cross a river and then pick your way through either deadfall or a scree field, sometimes both, and then make your way over a few more creek crossings up into this long bowl around and above tree line. The area looked promising when we checked it out Friday, so we stopped short of going all the way so as not to push any elk that might already be up there.
The other two in our group ran into a ton of other hunters in another area (outfitters, spike camps, etc.), which ruled out that area, so we decided to focus on the zone we had gone to to.
It was about a 10mi ATV to get to the start of the hike, and with rough roads and darkness, we left camp at 315am to get started. By 445am we were putting on packs and getting ready to hike in. It was a beautiful night, moon had set and stars were stunning. We hiked in and tried to route find as best we could but it was difficult at times. Not long after we cleared the scree field and dead fall, we made our way to where we had turned back the day before. We had to navigate another creek crossing and we chose poorly here - we wound up on a very loose rock and dirt slope, very steep, with about a 100' slide down to the bottom. If any of us had fallen here that would have been the end of the day, but we luckily made it off the ledge and crossed the creek, and then headed for what we thought would be a good glassing spot to view the entire bowl/drainage area.
We got to the glassing spot which was a rock outcropping in the middle of the drainage right around first light. You could see both slopes of the drainage which slowly rose for about 1.5mi with a creek down the middle of it before the drainage ended at the creek headwaters. Right away we spotted some elk at about 1000 yards, but it was too dark to tell if we were looking at bulls or cows. I decided to close the distance with my friend who would spot and range for me, so we left the rock outcropping, crossed the creek, and hugged the side of the slope that the elk were on to stay out of view. There was not much tree cover since we were so high, so we had to be careful about picking our route and staying out of sight as best we could.
At about 400 yards we got our first peek of the elk - maybe 5-6 cows that were feeing up the slope. We stopped and watched them for a few seconds and then we heard every hunters' favorite sound - just above the cows, the bull let out a piercing scream and came trotting down the slope right into view. I could tell right away that he was not a bull I would pass up on closing day, so I wasn't going to pass him up on opening morning. He was a big, wide 5x5 that looked like he had some good mass and length to him. I tried to get in position for a shot but given the slope we were on and where he was, when I laid down the view was too obscured, and he was moving fast working his cows.
After a quick appearance, he doubled back to chase some cows higher up the slope, so we decided to close the distance for a better look and try to find a better shooting point. We were able to stay out of view of the lower cows and close in another 130yds. At this point, we saw the cows again and the bull once again made a quick appearance, bugling down the mountain and trying to round up his cows to push higher. There was a fallen tree in front of me that I laid the barrel on to try and get a shot, but he was moving so fast I didn't feel comfortable ripping off a shot on the move. I had a mouth reed in and thought about trying to stop him, but I also did not want to draw any attention our way as we were a bit exposed. He turned back to my left and disappeared up the slope again. The cows moved up also so we again tried to close the distance.
We worked our way towards the elk and up the slope to our left - it was steep but not overly difficult, but the cover was very sparse. At about 200yds we saw the lower cows again and I got a better look at the bull. He worked back down the slope and was circling around this treed rock outcropping, dipping in and out of view, bugling and chasing cows. It was such an incredible sight and sound, I was beyond lucky to be able to experience this and I just sat watching in awe while trying to wait for a shooting window.
Unfortunately, he was moving constantly and never gave me a good look, and soon enough he took off back up the slope and out of view towards some other cows. At this point, just as we were about to try and move up the slope and out of view, the lower cows spotted us. We had a bit of a staredown for what felt like forever, but probably only lasted a minute or so. I was hoping they would go back to ignoring us and give us time to move, but they bumped. They did not smell us, but they were definitely in bail out mode. They took off up the slope in a hurry and while they were not barking, it was probably clear to the other elk in the group it was time to leave.
Frustrated, I turned to my friend and lamented the blown chance. Not much we could have done different - maybe tried to cut them off higher from the beginning - but it was not clear which way and where they were going when we first saw them. I sat there for maybe 30 seconds trying to think of whether to push or pull back and come back in the evening. And right when I decided it would be best to wait it out and come back in the evening, I heard the bull scream again just above us, out of sight.
Without really thinking about, I basically army crawl sprinted up the steep slope towards the bugles. I had covered about 100 yards when I realized that shooting uphill on a bipod, I still might not have a good angle and I would be obscured by grass and brush, so I cut a bit to the right towards a rock that would be a good rest if I could see the bull from there. When I was about 10 yards from the rock, I looked uphill to my left and saw the herd grouped up, ready to take off up the hill and likely out of sight around a little ridge. I threw myself at the rock and set the bipod down, looked through the scope and picked up the bull right away at about 150 yards or so. Just as I did this, the cows in front of him moved out of the way and I pulled the trigger. From the time I saw the rock to the time I got set and shot was maybe five seconds. The bull dropped on the spot, and I laid there completely stunned as to how everything had just unfolded. It was 845am - from the time we spotted the elk to having the bull drop was 1hr 30min. We radioed the other two guys to grab our packs and meet us at the base of the slope.
We hiked down maybe 500 vertical feet to meet the guys once they got there, grabbed our packs, and headed back up to the bull. Once I got close to it, it was bigger and thicker than I realized, and really quite wide. I thought going into the hunt I would hold out for a 6x6, but this 5x5 dwarfed a lot of 6x6s I had seen in my hunting career. It was not the 370" monster that others have taken in this unit, but I was very pleased with the bull and how intense the spot and stalk was. Truly an incredible experience.
We made some coffee and had a snack before we got to work. After quartering and getting the head off, we took a load down the slope and hung half the meat in a tree, then went back up for the rest. We packed out what we could and by 730pm that night, we were back in camp drinking mezcal and talking about the hunt. The next morning three of us went back for the rest of the meat, while the fourth guy went to town to get ice and contractor bags so we could put the quarters in the river by camp overnight - temps were around 60F during the day, so I was a little worried about spoilage. We got the rest of the meat the next day and retrieved the head from where I had stashed it in some deadfall off the road - we could not fit it on the ATV the night before, so we had to leave it. ATVing by all the other hunting camps and seeing the looks they gave us was pretty funny and validating as we headed back to our camp. Monday morning we broke down camp and headed back to Denver, racing against the clock to get the meat to the butcher.
I have not measured the bull yet, but curious what people think it might score? Not that it changes things for me, and the taxidermist said they would score it after the mount is done, but nonetheless I am curious. It has some long beams and a lot of mass on each side, I think it is a really cool looking and nice bull.
If I am being honest with myself, there were a lot of conflicting emotions once the bull was down. Elk are such incredible animals, and I had cut one down in his prime, right as he was in the process of trying to further his line and make more amazing elk. Maybe it was because this was my first bull - I had only taken cows before this - and how the hunt unfolded, I don't know. Overall I am thrilled, but I still think a lot about this hunt and there is a lingering feeling of... I don't know, some reverence, a little bit of guilt and sadness. But then also some incredible memories, a freezer full of meat, and a feeling of satisfaction that a long wait and an incredible hunt paid off with a bull that exceeded my expectations. I guess that is how it is, though. If you really are a hunter that values being out there, loves nature and loves seeing animals in their habitat doing their thing, we are not mindless about it, we are not there just to kill. There is a respect for the animal, a reverence for nature and the process, the difficulty of a hunt and all the work and preparation that goes into it. It really is an incredible process to be able to partake in, we are lucky to be able to do this.
We got to camp on Thursday afternoon to scout Friday, I was surprised at the amount of other hunters in the area and the pressure we saw. I took off towards one zone with my friend, and the other two in our group went to a different area to check out roads and access. My friend and I went to the spot the other hunter turned me on to, he mentioned it might not see much pressure and he was certainly right. Kind of a non-descript drainage with no trail access, you had to cross a river and then pick your way through either deadfall or a scree field, sometimes both, and then make your way over a few more creek crossings up into this long bowl around and above tree line. The area looked promising when we checked it out Friday, so we stopped short of going all the way so as not to push any elk that might already be up there.
The other two in our group ran into a ton of other hunters in another area (outfitters, spike camps, etc.), which ruled out that area, so we decided to focus on the zone we had gone to to.
It was about a 10mi ATV to get to the start of the hike, and with rough roads and darkness, we left camp at 315am to get started. By 445am we were putting on packs and getting ready to hike in. It was a beautiful night, moon had set and stars were stunning. We hiked in and tried to route find as best we could but it was difficult at times. Not long after we cleared the scree field and dead fall, we made our way to where we had turned back the day before. We had to navigate another creek crossing and we chose poorly here - we wound up on a very loose rock and dirt slope, very steep, with about a 100' slide down to the bottom. If any of us had fallen here that would have been the end of the day, but we luckily made it off the ledge and crossed the creek, and then headed for what we thought would be a good glassing spot to view the entire bowl/drainage area.
We got to the glassing spot which was a rock outcropping in the middle of the drainage right around first light. You could see both slopes of the drainage which slowly rose for about 1.5mi with a creek down the middle of it before the drainage ended at the creek headwaters. Right away we spotted some elk at about 1000 yards, but it was too dark to tell if we were looking at bulls or cows. I decided to close the distance with my friend who would spot and range for me, so we left the rock outcropping, crossed the creek, and hugged the side of the slope that the elk were on to stay out of view. There was not much tree cover since we were so high, so we had to be careful about picking our route and staying out of sight as best we could.
At about 400 yards we got our first peek of the elk - maybe 5-6 cows that were feeing up the slope. We stopped and watched them for a few seconds and then we heard every hunters' favorite sound - just above the cows, the bull let out a piercing scream and came trotting down the slope right into view. I could tell right away that he was not a bull I would pass up on closing day, so I wasn't going to pass him up on opening morning. He was a big, wide 5x5 that looked like he had some good mass and length to him. I tried to get in position for a shot but given the slope we were on and where he was, when I laid down the view was too obscured, and he was moving fast working his cows.
After a quick appearance, he doubled back to chase some cows higher up the slope, so we decided to close the distance for a better look and try to find a better shooting point. We were able to stay out of view of the lower cows and close in another 130yds. At this point, we saw the cows again and the bull once again made a quick appearance, bugling down the mountain and trying to round up his cows to push higher. There was a fallen tree in front of me that I laid the barrel on to try and get a shot, but he was moving so fast I didn't feel comfortable ripping off a shot on the move. I had a mouth reed in and thought about trying to stop him, but I also did not want to draw any attention our way as we were a bit exposed. He turned back to my left and disappeared up the slope again. The cows moved up also so we again tried to close the distance.
We worked our way towards the elk and up the slope to our left - it was steep but not overly difficult, but the cover was very sparse. At about 200yds we saw the lower cows again and I got a better look at the bull. He worked back down the slope and was circling around this treed rock outcropping, dipping in and out of view, bugling and chasing cows. It was such an incredible sight and sound, I was beyond lucky to be able to experience this and I just sat watching in awe while trying to wait for a shooting window.
Unfortunately, he was moving constantly and never gave me a good look, and soon enough he took off back up the slope and out of view towards some other cows. At this point, just as we were about to try and move up the slope and out of view, the lower cows spotted us. We had a bit of a staredown for what felt like forever, but probably only lasted a minute or so. I was hoping they would go back to ignoring us and give us time to move, but they bumped. They did not smell us, but they were definitely in bail out mode. They took off up the slope in a hurry and while they were not barking, it was probably clear to the other elk in the group it was time to leave.
Frustrated, I turned to my friend and lamented the blown chance. Not much we could have done different - maybe tried to cut them off higher from the beginning - but it was not clear which way and where they were going when we first saw them. I sat there for maybe 30 seconds trying to think of whether to push or pull back and come back in the evening. And right when I decided it would be best to wait it out and come back in the evening, I heard the bull scream again just above us, out of sight.
Without really thinking about, I basically army crawl sprinted up the steep slope towards the bugles. I had covered about 100 yards when I realized that shooting uphill on a bipod, I still might not have a good angle and I would be obscured by grass and brush, so I cut a bit to the right towards a rock that would be a good rest if I could see the bull from there. When I was about 10 yards from the rock, I looked uphill to my left and saw the herd grouped up, ready to take off up the hill and likely out of sight around a little ridge. I threw myself at the rock and set the bipod down, looked through the scope and picked up the bull right away at about 150 yards or so. Just as I did this, the cows in front of him moved out of the way and I pulled the trigger. From the time I saw the rock to the time I got set and shot was maybe five seconds. The bull dropped on the spot, and I laid there completely stunned as to how everything had just unfolded. It was 845am - from the time we spotted the elk to having the bull drop was 1hr 30min. We radioed the other two guys to grab our packs and meet us at the base of the slope.
We hiked down maybe 500 vertical feet to meet the guys once they got there, grabbed our packs, and headed back up to the bull. Once I got close to it, it was bigger and thicker than I realized, and really quite wide. I thought going into the hunt I would hold out for a 6x6, but this 5x5 dwarfed a lot of 6x6s I had seen in my hunting career. It was not the 370" monster that others have taken in this unit, but I was very pleased with the bull and how intense the spot and stalk was. Truly an incredible experience.
We made some coffee and had a snack before we got to work. After quartering and getting the head off, we took a load down the slope and hung half the meat in a tree, then went back up for the rest. We packed out what we could and by 730pm that night, we were back in camp drinking mezcal and talking about the hunt. The next morning three of us went back for the rest of the meat, while the fourth guy went to town to get ice and contractor bags so we could put the quarters in the river by camp overnight - temps were around 60F during the day, so I was a little worried about spoilage. We got the rest of the meat the next day and retrieved the head from where I had stashed it in some deadfall off the road - we could not fit it on the ATV the night before, so we had to leave it. ATVing by all the other hunting camps and seeing the looks they gave us was pretty funny and validating as we headed back to our camp. Monday morning we broke down camp and headed back to Denver, racing against the clock to get the meat to the butcher.
I have not measured the bull yet, but curious what people think it might score? Not that it changes things for me, and the taxidermist said they would score it after the mount is done, but nonetheless I am curious. It has some long beams and a lot of mass on each side, I think it is a really cool looking and nice bull.
If I am being honest with myself, there were a lot of conflicting emotions once the bull was down. Elk are such incredible animals, and I had cut one down in his prime, right as he was in the process of trying to further his line and make more amazing elk. Maybe it was because this was my first bull - I had only taken cows before this - and how the hunt unfolded, I don't know. Overall I am thrilled, but I still think a lot about this hunt and there is a lingering feeling of... I don't know, some reverence, a little bit of guilt and sadness. But then also some incredible memories, a freezer full of meat, and a feeling of satisfaction that a long wait and an incredible hunt paid off with a bull that exceeded my expectations. I guess that is how it is, though. If you really are a hunter that values being out there, loves nature and loves seeing animals in their habitat doing their thing, we are not mindless about it, we are not there just to kill. There is a respect for the animal, a reverence for nature and the process, the difficulty of a hunt and all the work and preparation that goes into it. It really is an incredible process to be able to partake in, we are lucky to be able to do this.
