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Post by voodoofire1 on Mar 21, 2008 5:06:26 GMT -5
Hello all, a few days ago on another thread, SMJ graciously invited me to Colorado for an Elk hunt, this thread will chronicle our planning, the ups, the downs, and everything in between... first thing I must do is to thank SMJ for this opportunity.... the only time I was in Colorado was in 1968.. I was 8 years old, and that beautiful land, the mountains, the streams, The smells... they have left an impression on me that has lasted 40 years and gave me an appreciation for Gods beauty and the outdoors that leads me every day......hunting in Colorado has always been a dream, you know..the kind of dream that you really want to do , but probably never will... well for me that all changed, about 3 years ago.. well in 2 weeks it will be 3 years, ...April 4th 2005, that was the day after my son and hunting buddy came home from Iraq, when our talks quickly turned to hunting, we decided that life was short and that dreaming would get us nowhere..... so the die was set.. plans would be made.........we would take these hunts of our dreams!!...... but then... that life is short thing....well, it kinda jumped up and took my heart with it.....Dustin passed away on April 25th..........and the dream went back to being just a dream.......that is till a couple days ago, when with a few words...... this hunt may indeed happen.... so it is with a tear and a smile that I say.... Thank You SMJ!!.... now let's get to planning............
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Post by mtshooter on Mar 21, 2008 6:44:44 GMT -5
Congrats on your up coming trip VooDoo. You will have the hunt of a lifetime. There is a lot of hard work involved in hunting elk, but IMO it is the most awesome of all. Nothing can describe the feeling of hearing a bull elk screaming in the morning  smj your offer is what this site and WE is all about, sharing with family. My husband and I did this last year for a couple of our WE family members and will be doing it again this year with a couple more  |
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Post by voodoofire1 on Mar 21, 2008 7:16:37 GMT -5
You know I use to think I was a member of the best archery site ever, but the minute I made my first glass bow, everything changed.. felt ostrasized for doing my best....my friends noticed what was happening,didn't approve and slowly went off to other sites, I continued to hang in there thinking it would change.. it did.. and not for the better, finally took me a year to get it through my hard head, and I came here..... and I'm glad I did, this is a great site, with great people who don't blow smoke, the knowledge here is amazing and far exceeds the elitests closed views............mtshooter, keep up the good work!
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smj
Forum Guide
Traditional Council
Posts: 1,819
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Post by smj on Mar 21, 2008 12:53:42 GMT -5
I guess I should just jump in here somewhere... Voodoofire1 - I think this will be a lot of fun! However, before we get to the fun parts, we have a little work to do... Elk hunting is really about more than just shooting an animal. You really need to be able to take care of yourself in the woods. This includes keeping warm or dry or cool, finding your way back to camp, how to return to a prime spot you found! It includes having camping gear as well as hunting gear. On top of this, you have to know a bit about how to hunt these animals, and then what to do with one once you've shot it. All of this has to be within the "limits" of the people doing the hunting. You tell me what kind of trip you want to do, I'll see what I can do to set it up. I have gone on horses, with llamas, on foot, and by hunting out of the car. Light weight bevy camps and big set hunt camps, trailers, pop-ups. I don't own horses, llamas, a trailer, or a pop-up camper. These things can all be gotten, but it ups the cost by a lot. Let's look at the cost just to be in the woods with a bow come September of 2008 - The DOW says that an over the counter (OTC) out of state elk tag is as follows for unlimited licenses: Bull only - $526.00 either sex - $526.00 cow only - $251.00 (if available - have to check on this) Application fee - $3.00 Habitat stamp - $5.00 (Buy this when you get your tag) Now, a bit about how things are set up here in Colorado: As you can see, there is no reason to buy a bull only tag - the cost is the same. The state is broken up into game management units (GMU). There are a bunch of these! The two basic types of tags are limited and unlimited. Limited means that you have to hunt in a given game management unit - and no other ones. Some times a tag is sold that covers more than one unit. Not all GMU's are limited. Any that are limited means that in order to hunt them, you have to go through the draw process in order to get that tag, and the DOW limits the number of tags sold for that GMU. Only so many hunters allowed all season. Unlimited tags are sold over the counter to as many folks as want them. There are no limits on the numbers sold or the number of hunters that might show up to hunt on any given day. We are going for the unlimited tag. To get a limited tag, you would have to have points. Points are given when you do not get picked in the draw. When you put in for a unit that is limited, folks with the most points get first pick for it. Hence, depending on the number of tags available for that unit, the number of hunters who apply, and who has the most points, you may or may not get a limited tag. Unlimited tags, just pop over to Walmart and pick one up. You can hunt any GMU THAT IS NOT LIMITED. So, since we are hunting unlimited GMU's only, it dose cut down on the selections a bit... But don't worry, there is still a lot of country out here to pick from! Here is the Division of Wildlife (DOW) web site - wildlife.state.co.us/Hunting/BigGame/Additional cost - travel, purchase of gear, food while out here. I am not sure how to put a price on that part of it. Travel will no doubt change as the price of gas changes, I don't know what gear you have and what you will need to get, are you a Mac&Cheese kind of guy, or do you require steaks every night? Anyway, we can get to that stuff as we go! Given your input from above, I ask again in all sincerity, what type of trip would you like to put together? Stay some place nice and hunt during the day, pack it in, camp on the edge and walk to it every day? Something else? I can not promise you an elk. To many things can go wrong for me to do that. Animals are not always where you think they are when you want them to be there!!! Still - might as well have the hunt you want... Last, if possible, I suggest a weekend scouting trip. A no-frills kind of zip out here, head up, zip back. Minimum cost. It would be good, for several reasons, for you to get a little look prior to the hunt. Honest. PS - For a first hunt, a cow tag might not be all bad... Just a thought! |
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Post by CopperHead on Mar 21, 2008 16:13:01 GMT -5
Good luck guys. be safe and have fun.
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royden
Senior Board Member
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Post by royden on Mar 21, 2008 21:43:46 GMT -5
I agree on the cow tag - get your feet wet and have a blast doing it. How much time do you think he needs ... 10 days?
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Post by BT on Mar 21, 2008 21:50:52 GMT -5
This sounds like a blast and I am very happy that you two will have the time to do it. I am years from doing anything remotely like this so I am going to be counting on you to show me why I should make it a priority |
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Greg Krause
Moderator
PRO STAFF 1
AKA- Skipmaster1
Posts: 3,990
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Post by Greg Krause on Mar 21, 2008 23:00:08 GMT -5
You know I use to think I was a member of the best archery site ever, but the minute I made my first glass bow, everything changed.. felt ostrasized for doing my best....my friends noticed what was happening,didn't approve and slowly went off to other sites, I continued to hang in there thinking it would change.. it did.. and not for the better, finally took me a year to get it through my hard head, and I came here..... and I'm glad I did, this is a great site, with great people who don't blow smoke, the knowledge here is amazing and far exceeds the elitests closed views............mtshooter, keep up the good work! This is what this site is about. what it has always been about for me. i am so happy to see it becoming that same place for others as well. I wish you both the best of luck with this adventure! |
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azslim
Board Regular
Posts: 452
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Post by azslim on Mar 21, 2008 23:18:48 GMT -5
Good luck, have fun and learn to use a cow call. You have plenty of time to play with a diaphram call between now and the hunt. It leaves your hands free to draw and shoot while still making a noise.
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Post by voodoofire1 on Mar 22, 2008 6:37:08 GMT -5
Steve, the cow tag is fine with me, also I would like to camp,no frills... maybe fish or small game for some meals if possible,Mac and cheese is fine too, I know how to pack light, and have quite a bit of gear to choose from already although my preferred apparell is camo sweats, I have 2 small, lightweight tents, numerous styles of sleeping bags, and a garmin GPS 12 just in case, the only thing I am truly lacking is is a good pair of bino's, I have Nikons, but they are 8x25 which I would think would be too lacking in their ability, also I am not afraid of the woods, the dark, and can maintain my composure through serious adversity, and pride myself in being very aware of my surroundings, right at the moment I am not in very good shape, but I will be adequate by Sept. I will probably need a day or so acclimation to the altitude though as we are only 830ft above sea level....my only stumbling block is the $1500 or so that it will take to make this trip, the economy isn't good and people just arent ordering bows, but at $750 each I would only have to sell 2, maybe I'll run a special or something, selling a couple of my very best $1000 dollar ones for $750... we'll see what happens , and sorry I didn't get a chance to call yesterday, I'll call in about 3 hrs from now if that is fine...Steve
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