My Elk Story

On Sunday morning September 12th I departed Savannah airport with two friends from Bluffton for a week of elk hunting in Colorado. Specifically, we would be hunting the mountains and valleys around Steamboat Springs. During this time of year the elk are mating and therefore moving more freely than any other time in the year. To make things interesting we would be hunting national forest accessible to the public, without a guide and very deep into the forest where few other people would make the effort to access.

Joining me on the trip would be my friend Chris Burden who is currently living in Bluffton, SC but spent the last four years living in Steamboat Springs and managing a development project there. Chris was our elk hunting knowledge for the week and would be showing us around the Northwest Colorado backcountry. Jason Hewitt also joined us for the week. Jason is a professional land manager who works to create exceptional habitats and hunting properties for private landowners across Georgia and South Carolina. Finally, Josh Drake joined us for the trip which was his second hunting trip with Chris and I following our Nebraska turkey hunt last spring. Josh is a professional photographer who has done amazing work throughout the US and internationally and has an incredible ability to tell a story through his images.

After quite a long day of travel including a six hour flight from Savannah to Charlotte that included a layover in the Redneck Riviera we finally arrived in Denver realizing that we would miss our final flight to Steamboat. Being the anxious hunters we were and knowing that we needed to get our bows sighted in we decided to rent a car and travel the last portion of the journey by car. Three bearded men, weapons, lots of camo...and a Dodge Caravan all bound for the high country.

We arrived that evening in Steamboat and headed straight for Wal Mart where we could purchase our archery elk tags. A mere $542 later per person, we had our out of state elk tags and the ability to pursue the animal that for me personifies the American West.

Next stop was the Victorian. The Victorian is a well recognized home on Steamboat Mountain and it was purchased by Chris’s company to entertain prospective buyers in their new resort development. Over the course of the week the Victorian became known as the "Hunt Mansion" and was a great fit for all of us. Im sure it probably wouldnt be for everyone though as it is commonly known as the most haunted house in Steamboat with plenty of stories tied to it.

After a tombstone pizza and a beer we hit the sack to soak up a few hours of rest. Next thing I knew it was 330am and time to grab breakfast and begin our hike up Emerald Mountain. I must say that our first little hike up the mountain almost gave me a heart attack and left me wondering exactly what I had just gotten myself into. That morning we stood in the dark at the top of a ridge listening for the first bull elk to bugle and give us an idea which direction we should be moving. At around 6am I heard my first elk bugle in the wild and knew that the week was going to be exciting. We hunted Emerald for the rest of that day and heard and saw elk throughout the morning and late that afternoon. While we didnt get too close to any of them it was a comfortable way to break into the week.

The next morning we awoke at 3am and prepared for what would be a grueling morning on the mountain. At around 4am we piled into the Tundra and made way toward the trail head that would lead us to the gondola station on the ski mountain. For the next two hours we proceeded to hike uphill in the dark, each of us wondering (except Chris) exactly when we would reach our destination. That hike provided some of the most amazing views of the city of Steamboat still asleep in those early morning hours. It also provided some moments of frustration and exhaustion as our bodies were still adapting to the incline and altitude.

Around 6:15am we arrived at the Gondola station and made a sharp cut toward Rabbit Ears Pass on a mountain bike trail. That trail eventually led us to an intersection of ski runs where elk were grazing and one bull was traveling with his cows. Slowly, we made our way down to the base of that intersection and on into the woods directly downhill from where we had last seen the elk. Once we entered the woods that morning the rest of the day was spent off trail, bushwhacking our way through the thick forest. Game trails provided occasional ease to our steps but more often than not it was simply a matter of picking a direction and traversing the terrain.

Not very far into our hike we heard a bull bugling at what sounded like less than 200 yards away. If you have never heard an elk bugle in person it is a chilling experience. That feeling is intensified when you are in dark timber, early in the morning, and the volume of his scream is indicative of his size and temper. As he continued to bugle, Chris began making calls to increase his interest and try to draw him closer to us. At the same time, Jason and I began inching forward to positions where we could get a clear shot.

During that inching forward process I began to feel very uneasy about the whole situation. This was unlike any other hunting I had ever done in that the animal was a great deal larger than I am in country that was very unfamiliar to me. As I got positioned on a well worn game trail I took notice of my surroundings only to find bear claws worn into the tree I stood leaning against and a sizable elk wallow directly below me. With every new and louder bugle my heart rose higher in my throat and I began to play out every scenario in my head that could happen. Is he going to storm in looking for a fight? Will he come from above me and will I have a shot? Will he come down the trail in front of me? If he does I wont have a shot until he is less than 5 yards ahead of me. It was in the midst of those thoughts that I had the realization that maybe elk hunting wasnt for me. Maybe this was a little too intense and I should just return to fly fishing or turkey hunting.

After waiting for him to close the distance we realized that he wasnt budging. He was clearly a dominant bull and had done this once or twice so he was going to make us come to him. We realized that we would have to move quickly and so we did. As Jason pushed up the mountain to within 80 yards I suddenly realized that another bull was running directly up the mountain to our location. I moved forward to within 50 yards of where the new bull was breaking timber after getting thigh deep in a mud hole and positioned myself once again to make a shot. For the next 30 minutes we were within 100 yards of two different bulls but we never saw either of them and they each silenty disappeared into the timber like ghosts.

By the time this stalk was over it was 10:30am and we realized we were deep into the woods and far from the trail. As a result, we decided to bushwhack our way down the mountain and find a resting point to sit out the middle of the day. The bushwhacking descent was enough to test all of our nerves and by the time we found some shade in an aspen grove it was time shut our eyes for a bit.

Around 4pm I awoke to the sound of bugle just down the hill from us and within minutes we were all ready to move. Not long into our hike the bugle got louder and the next thing we knew Jason was at full draw on a bull coming directly up the trail. Unfortunately, the bull must have sensed something was wrong and disappeared from sight leaving us with a clear trail back to the Steamboat city limits.

On our way up the last ridge we heard a bugle coming from one of the lowest points we had seen all day. While it was tempting to head for the house and a cold bourbon, Chris and I decided to move quickly and see if we could get a response. As we moved we would stop every 50-70 yards and do a quick call to locate the bull and make sure we werent right on top of him. Once we got to the creekbed we knew he couldnt be far so we set up and began to call. I was around 20 yards in front of Chris and directly in between him and the bull so that hopefully I could cut him off in case he came in.

As Chris kept calling the bugles got louder and then the tell tale branches breaking started to close in. Just as the branches began to move at the top of the creekbank the bull appeared and walked directly downhill to me at a spot that I had ranged at 51 yards. This was the first time I had seen a bull that I had heard bugling and in many ways it was calming to see what was on the other end of that screaming. The bull was incredible looking with a tight summer coat and antlers that were more long than they were wide.

In hunting you know that trophy animals dont get old by being stupid and I think this bull had been around long enough to know something was going on. Though he hung around for a while he never got closer than 51 yards and that was simply a shot I didnt feel comfortable with. In all the madness of the bull coming in I had barely paid attention to the cow elk that was now standing just 15 yards in front of me wondering what was crouched down in the grass and staring so intently at the bull behind her. She got a free pass.

For the next several days we continued to hunt hard. To be honest, I dont know if you could hunt any harder than we did. Every day we covered at least 10 miles of Colorado backcountry and let the elk give direction to our steps. Every night we came home exhausted and after a quick meal and beer we would head to bed knowing that we were going to have to get up and do it all over again. By the end of the week I had lost enthusiasm and I began to wake up feeling very resentful toward everyone and everything.

On the morning of Saturday the 18th I was so tired it took me 10 minutes just to figure out where I was when my alarm went off at 345am. I jumped in the shower and went downstairs to assess whether any of my comrades had joined me in waking up to find out that I was the only one in the house awake. As I pondered letting everyone sleep in, Andrew (a new addition to the team) came up the stairs dressed and ready to go. I broke the news to him that Josh was flying out at noon and that Jason and Chris were still asleep knowing that I was getting ready to have to light a fire under everyone so that we could put in one last day of hunting.

There's nothing worse than waking up before 5am and already feeling rushed. Unfortunately for Jason and Chris thats exactly what happened. A couple pieces of cold pizza and two cups of strong coffee and we were back in the Tundra headed toward a piece of land that Andrew had hunted the night before with some success but showed signs of even greater potential.

Around 6am we pulled onto a dirt road with tire ruts big enough to bottom out any stock truck on the market. After parking illegally on a rancher's access road we hopped out and started up the trail to the public land. No more than 90 seconds after being there we heard a huge bugle and we all knew it would likely be an interesting morning.

After crossing the first ridge and getting high on the second we heard activity behind us and quickly retraced our steps to get setup down in the low area that was holding some water. As soon as we got low enough to begin calling Jason was set up to my right and I was standing on the edge of a pine tree. Within seconds a cow elk came sprinting down the hill in front of us followed by a loud huffing sound that turned out to be a huge bull corralling her. The bull only had one side of his rack but he was clearly a dominant bull and he proceeded to chase her in circles for 45 seconds and then right back up the hill.

That all took place about 70 yards from me and was exciting but before we knew it the hill erupted again directly in front of us and once again elk were pouring off the hill and directly to Jason. Two spike bulls came first and were then followed by two cows, one of which walked inside of 10 yards from Jason. As I continued to watch the scene unfold I saw a 5x5 bull walk directly Jason's right. Once the bull presented a clean shot Jason drew back and made a shot which hit farther back than he wanted but would later prove to have been deadly.

Once the animals made their way out of the area we re-grouped, gave our congrats to Jason and began calming our nerves after all that had taken place. I thought it was awfully ironic that the one hunt that Josh hadnt joined us on was our only productive hunt of the trip so I texted him to let him know that if he wanted to change his flight we might have a couple extra pictures for him to take. Within seconds he responded and began re-working his travel plans which allowed him to join us just two hours later.

Here is where my hunt begins.

We knew that based on the activity we had seen that morning we would likely have some success pushing farther into the woods. After about 15 minutes we left Jason to sit and wait for 2 hours before looking for his bull and we ascended the next peak. Once on top of the peak it was clear that our assumptions were right as we could hear at least 3 different bulls bugling; one to the left, one straight ahead and one to the right.

The loudest one seemed to be to the left so we took off in pursuit of him. Our chase led us to another creek bottom at the base of a ridge with some great elk sign. This was once again one of those bulls who's bugle will make you feel uncomfortable inside and like the one before we got close but we were never able to see him.

On our way back to meet Jason we heard yet another bull light up on the hillside and while Andrew was ready to head back, Chris and I decided it was worth giving it a shot since it was my last day. So once again we put out our radar and began following the sound of that elk directly to the base of the ridge to assess how high on the hill he probably was. At times, the volume is very deceptive and this was one of those times. Every time we thought we were getting closer we realized we still needed to climb more to get right in on top of him if we were going to have a chance to seal the deal.

One thing that I learned in elk hunting this fall is that if you are not uncomfortably close to the elk before you start calling you are probably not going to get a shot...at least not with the bow. When you are chasing after one that is at a stalemate you will hit your point of discomfort where every inch forward seems like a mile and that is where we got to with this bull.

Once we arrived in the "discomfort zone" Chris stayed back and I began my slow stalk into the bulls personal space. Without a whole lot of cover I got set up just to the right of a large rock and behind a limb that was slightly taller than I am. From my position I had large pine trees in front of me at about 18 yards and a clear shot range that stayed that distance from my 11 o'clock to my 6 o'clock. From my position I could also see through the pine trees directly to a large tree that was shaking violently as a result of grown elk antlers raking across it.

As I sat and watched the tree shake I heard Chris let out a cow call from behind me and the tree went still. The next minute went by in slow motion as I watched the bull pick up his head and begin walking directly toward me. I will probably never in my life forget watching that 800lb 6x6 bull and those wide antlers come walking through the pine trees directly in front of me.

The moment before he split the pines I drew my bow back and readied for the shot. Once he crossed through the pines he turned broadside and began moving to my right. As he moved so did I as I swung my body to line up for the shot. Seconds later he cleared any obstacle brush and I let the arrow fly to a point on his body which was exactly center vertically and 4 inches behind the crease in his shoulder. Once the arrow made contact I watched it disappear and I knew that the shot was perfect...literally within an inch of where I was aiming.

Not knowing exactly what had happened the elk took several steps up the hill, changed his direction and I saw the exit wound. I could not have been more excited that not only had the arrow gone where it was placed but I had gotten a full pass through and there was no way he could survive the shot. The bull stayed on the trail, disoriented and staring in my direction trying to decipher what had happened. In that moment I was very thankful for the opportunity to do what I had done and extremely thankful for the shot placement.

As I stood there watching him trying to remain calm I heard the sound of crashing up and down trees behind me. I soon realized that there were 3 bears at about 50 yards moving in my direction. As a result I had to adjust my position to make sure the bears were aware of my presence. My movement caused the big bull to start walking away though he was clearly moving slowly and not alarmed.

That was at 1015am and when I sat down I could hardly believe what had just happened. I was overwhelmed with excitement but more than anything I was ecstatic about the shot which had also been seen by Andrew. I knew that I had hit exactly where I wanted to and there was no doubt...NONE...that he was dead within 100 yards of where he was shot. So I sat and tried to be patient and give him his time knowing that I would soon go to claim the elk that I had worked very, very hard for.

The short version of this very long story is that after nearly 30 man hours of searching we never found my bull. We scowered that hillside, two ridges, the drainage on both sides of the spine and the creekbed only to come up with nothing.

As I write this I just got off the phone with Chris who is still in Colorado. He spoke with another seasoned elk hunter who knows the situation all too well. We all know that the elk is dead but the chances of finding him are slim to none. Even a bull that is hit well is still a rugged, strong animal made to take a lot and keep moving to places where he will never be discovered.

To say the very least I am disappointed though that is hardly a word that can describe the frustration I have been dealing with for the past five days. I have spent plenty of my life hunting but I have never worked that hard only to lose the hunt in the last second over a shot that was perfectly placed. My mind cant really get around that and its probably because it seems like its lacking some sense of justice. I did all that work, put in all those miles, practiced the shot hundreds of times and that elk should have been laying exactly where I thought he was.

I have played out the situation hundreds of times in my head and each time I struggle to find what I could have done differently. Its a miserable feeling to constantly analyze something that you did well and force yourself to find fault in it but thats where Ive found myself.

While I didnt return with my elk I did return with a whole new appreciation for hunting, the mountains, the outdoors, my physical competence and the guys I shared the experience with. I also gained an appreciation for the elk and what strong and intense animals they are. This was definitely the kind of trip that will teach you a little bit about yourself and I learned plenty.

If anyone asked me if they should try elk hunting I would tell them that if you're going to do it yourself on public land with no guide then you had better be prepared. You should prepare to be in great shape and you will still get your ass kicked. You should be prepared mentally for the long days and the fact that you will have to concentrate on making a shot when an 800lb horned animal is coming in for a fight. You should also prepare emotionally for exactly what I went through that even when you think that everything went perfectly it might not have and all of your hard work may still send you home empty handed.

Awesome trip.