First Rifle Season October 9-13, 2004

Northern Colorado

We started our hunt by packing in our camp on Friday, October 8^th. That was our first mistake. We REALLY needed horses as our backs and physical conditioning weren’t good enough to handle the load. The weather forecast showed warm; dry days for the weekend but clouds starting Sunday night through the end of the season with a chance of precipitation Sunday through Wednesday. THE FORECAST WAS WRONG. It was warm and dry everyday except Tuesday night when some of the white freshie began to fall.

Here’s our camp . We had a comfortable tent with cots and warm sleeping bags. I can say we had all the right gear for this hunt. A small propane heater and one burner stove were perfect for warming up the hands and hot chocolate respectively.

We awoke opening morning to hike up into the elk zone. We nearly caught fire walking up because it was a warm morning for October. Then we stopped near some aspens and nearly froze to death. So we started walking again to warm up. We ended up at this really nice meadow near an intersection where two creeks meet. I have to say we were in very good habitat but at the wrong time of year. The elk were right up around snow level where they could keep cool. Some came down into the valleys to eat at night. Most elk seemed to hang up high and graze on short grasses that were quickly going dormant. You can see the local beaver has been busy. The meadow was really wet. While we were there we did some cow calling. We heard some sticks break in the woods across the meadow. It was either an elk or a squirrel. We didn’t see anything. We warmed up in the midmorning sun and ate some food. Then we hear a shot on the steep mountain East of us. Then another shot. And yet another shot. We figured someone was taking a long shot at an elk up high. We never ran into the hunter and it seemed like he missed.

Here’s that mountain where someone shot three times. It’s a steep mountain. So steep I have no idea how trees grow up there or how the elk walk around on it. But the elk are up there. It’s like a fortress for them. It’s too high to shoot an elk on and most people figure it would be too difficult to scale the mountainside. The elk are safe up there. No one bothers them and believe it or not there are nice benches up there for them to bed. Water is limited to small seeps and creeks. Food is tundra grasses. That’s why some elk will feed in the lush valleys at night then head up before sunrise. Funny thing is the elk seem to know when the weekend starts. They seem to change their pattern to stay out of the hikers way. Then when the weekdays return they will be more brave and feed down lower.

Here’s a photo of my Dad in that nice meadow. This area is known for big bulls but you have to be prepared for a very difficult hunt. The terrain will beat you up and wear you down. That’s why the elk are in there. The terrain gives them safety and comfort. The elk grow big by having to walk up and down the hills everyday. My Dad is the Webmaster for this site so you can thank him for making the photos, video and elk sounds available.

We made a critical decision when we moved from this area to another area nearby. Since we weren’t having any luck in this area and because it was so warm and the terrain so brutal we moved. We headed to the Troublesome. Here’s a photo of a nice valley in the Troublesome. This is the same location as my July scouting trip. It’s neat to compare the land when it’s at its peak in the summer and when it’s waning in October. The elk feel it. Their food intake is lush and moist in the summer. By October it is dry and losing it’s nutritional value quickly.

The weather plays a HUGE part in hunting during rifle season. The warm dry air is the worst forecast you can get in the fall. It means elk hunker down in the coolest places which is often up high in the thick timber on Northern slopes. They become active at night and shy during the day. However, if you it rains steady or snows heavy then the elk move. They automatically head lower because snow up high this time of year can really be nasty for any animal. The Wednesday before the season started was a perfect example. It rained down low and snowed up high. It was a big storm. The elk reacted by heading lower. Rain will help cool the elk down and they don’t mind being wet. Snow means slippery slopes up high and lots of wind. There was plenty of evidence the elk headed to lower meadows during that storm. Plus it happened in the middle of the week when few if any people are out hiking around. If you can position yourself along a game trail or saddle before and during a big storm you’re bound to see elk moving. Snow makes tracking elk much easier too. Elk will head to the trees when the wind picks up and the heavy snows fall. I’d say six inches of snow would stir the elk around. A foot of snow will get them migrating. Two feet will clear them off the mountain. The elk know when the snow is going to stick. September snows come and go quickly. October snows can too. But November and later snows are here to stay. We got lucky with two big snowstorms up high before the season. That snow is here to stay and has pushed the elk down a little. But then it got warm. The snow stayed but the elk decided to also stay around the snow. Elk have trouble walking in deep snow because they are heavy animals and deep snow burns a lot of their energy.

Here’s another photo of my Dad in the Troublesome. We sat this nice meadow near an aspen grove. We watched as a doe and her fawn snuck up the creek valley, turn and head up the hill. Deer are abundant in the Troublesome. I can guarantee you will see deer in there no matter what season or day of the week. There was a nice seep where the meadow flattens out. We found elk sign in the area but it was older. The ground was still damp from recent snows. The snows had flattened most of the tall grasses but there were still plenty of green plants to eat.

Elk hunting wore us out. We hiked 12-hour days and it was too warm. We did hear distant shots everyday. That also stirs the elk around but they are on the defensive when the shots begin. It was a learning experience to see how well the elk use the trees for cover. Next year we’ll use horses. We’ll pack in a bit further and see much more country. We decided to go during the second Rifle season because it’s the first combined season where you can hunt both deer and elk. It’s a nine-day season compared to just five days for first rifle season. Though the weather can still be warm and dry at least we’ll have horses to help us get further back in and higher up into alpine valleys.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this hunt with us. It was a really joy to be out in the woods smelling the fresh pine and aspen. We watched two beavers working on their new lodge and repairing their dam one evening. We saw hawks flying high and beautiful sunsets. Our tent was warm and comfortable. I couldn’t have asked for a more peaceful time to spend in the beautiful Colorado Mountains with my Dad. We started hunting together for whitetails in Indiana when I was two just years old. When the season is over and next year seems so far away we still get to carry the memories with us through the long winter and when the anticipation builds late the following summer. And if we’re lucky we get to do it all over again.