Name: Aaron P. Denver Colorado
Date of hunt: Oct 31st –Nov 3rd, 2015
Location of hunt: Northwest Colorado
Animals hunted: Bull Elk
Success or miss? Miss
Weather and wind: snow covering the ground in the shade. Highs in the upper 40s and lows in the upper 20s
Interesting details of the hunt: This was my first bull elk hunt. Opening day I had sat in a couple different places, but then in the afternoon I got bored and decided to walk. About 1:00 pm I came out of a ravine and startled 2 bulls about 20 yards away. It was heavily wooded so I didn’t get a shot. At 4:00 pm I was walking through a meadow when two bulls came over the hill at about 75 yards. I quickly shot freehand and watched them both run into a small glade of aspens about 10 yards away. I could see I had hit the one but I didn’t have a clear second shot. It stood there for about 1 minute facing straight away from me. I did have the possibility of a head or neck shot but I hesitated (mistake on my part). After a minute it startled and ran over the hill. I went to where it was standing and found just one drop of blood. Unfortunately the bull had disappeared and as I came over the edge it opening into a huge field with fallen timber and shoulder-high grass. I crisscrossed the entire field and spent a lot of time looking for any sign but ultimately had to give up. My first bull elk hunt ended in failure….but just about as close as you can get to success!
Hunter Experiences 