Re: Drew a Colorado Muzzy Elk Tag Again! UPDATE!
Well Colorado's muzzleloader season has come and gone once again this year. For two years in a row now, I was fortunate enough to punch my tag on a nice bull for the area.
I hunted hard 8 days for a bull that I had set my sights on. He was a 6 point, but didn't have exceptionally long points, but his main beams were some of the longest that I had ever witnessed. The day before the ML season started, I was out bear hunting with my bow. I heard a bugle, then antler tips coming up the hill towards me. I jumped into some cover, pulled out my phone, and got some video of him walking past me at 6 steps.
I had glassed some other bulls, but decided to go after this guy since I liked his main beams. Throughout the week, I had several encounters with him. At one point he was going crazy chasing off satellite bulls from his cows in some thick cover, and he came up behind me at 4 steps. All I could do, is remain perfectly still with no chance of spinning around for a shot. He ripped loose a bugle that pierced my ears, and took off again to run off some smaller bulls.
A couple days later, I stumbled across some old sun bleached bones in a thick patch of oak brush. I started looking around some more and discovered antler tips of this dead-head bull sticking up. Someone must have lost this bull a few years ago. Unfortunate.
Fast forward to the Saturday before the last day of the season. I was starting to feel the pressure, and knew I had to get a little more aggressive. I located him again, and was playing cat and mouse with him and his cows all afternoon. Early in the evening, I managed to slip in on him to 65 yards. He was in an opening with some cows, two other nice bulls, and a couple of rag horns. I was set up and ready to shoot, but there was a stupid tree branch in my shooting lane! I needed the bull to take a half step to clear. After standing there for a couple of minutes, he turned and headed directly away from me up the hill, and into some aspens where I couldn't get a clear shot.
I knew the elk were headed up the hill into the aspens, and would come out into an opening on the other side, so I back tracked and made a big loop to try to flank them as they came out to the opening on the other side. For once, the wind was cooperating with me and my plan was working. The elk were making their way out of the aspen at the top of the hill, and filtering down into the oak brush, and the opening. I could see him hanging back at the top chasing cows and small bulls as well as thrashing some defenseless trees. I moved into position where I thought they'd pop out for a clear shot, and then it happened. A cow that I had not spotted was already down in the opening, and she busted my movement. She let out a series of alarm barks that stopped the rest of the herd in their tracks. I figured it was all over. I layed down in the grass to hide my silhouette and she kept barking. Eventually she worked her way over another hill and out of sight, but the bull I was after was hung up, and didn't want to come down. It was getting dark fast. I peered into the opening and one of the other bulls, a 6x6 with a kicker, had silently come down the hill, and now was bugling his head off. My mind must have gone on auto-pilot because the end of the season was nearing, and I completely forgot about the bull I spent all week pursuing. The 'other' bull was now at 105 yds. I was set up for the shot, and I let one fly. He dropped in his tracks, and my season was over!
I have since processed the meat myself, and have a freezer full of steaks, bacon burger, brats, and ground meat. I knew he was nice, but was surprised at how well he scored. His mass helped out a ton, and he measured 330 4/16"
