Headed out at 6 in the morning. After a 7 mile hike to camp, hope to be glassing by mid afternoon.
Good luck to all the muzzleloaders.
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Headed out at 6 in the morning. After a 7 mile hike to camp, hope to be glassing by mid afternoon.
Good luck to all the muzzleloaders.
Had to read your post a few times. I was wondering how you had cell service when you were seven miles in.
I don't understand how you can pack all of your gear in that far, then also pack an animal back out.
Speaking of packing out, what do you do with evidence of sex while packing out? You aren't able to carry everything at once, so is there a priority to how you handle evidence of sex? Do you pack that first, last, does it matter?
There are 3 of us, and because of where we are, we aren't greedy. We take one cow and split it. One trip out with the meat and one back to get camp.
Makes a lot more sense. Especially since you probably have good sized frame packs, and not the little 3-day pack I hunt out of.
First day for me will be tomorrow AM after work. I've seen a herd hanging around the general area I'm going to for muzzleloader - saw 30 or so an hour ago. I'm heading into National Forest off of my buds property whose seen a bunch lately too. Hopefully they won't be 10 miles away tomorrow morning. LOL
While scouting moose areas yesterday I talked with a number of archery and muzzleloader elk hunters. The archery hunters had gotten within 65 yards of elk but hadn't connected. There are a lot of camps set up in 20/29. I'm making contact with fellow hunters in hope of getting tips on bull moose. (Just call, text, PM or e-mail!) It worked for an old friend who took a big bull moose in area 29 last year.
A friend told me he had a herd of 50 elk move through his property Sunday. On Monday, a bull elk was seen in my yard, which is rare. It's so warm it doesn't seem like elk season--but I hunt late October. But the weather is changing and elk are on the move. Good luck everyone!
Best of luck to everyone.
Only a few deer this morning.
Good luck to everyone getting out. I got lucky and got a doe first day of archery season.
Any big game with bow and arrow is a fine accomplishment. Congratulations! Excellent steaks there!Quote:
Originally Posted by whitewalrus
While scouting for moose today I met an archery hunter from Ned looking for a cow moose. His season started two days ago. He'd seen bulls but no cows. We met a Sheriff's officer who said he'd seen two cow moose off Magnolia, so the archer headed that direction. While exploring I came upon a cow moose at 60 yards and save the coordinates for the fellow hunter. A while ago I called him and he was already butchering his cow moose.
I met a muzzleloader buck hunter from OK and pointed him to where I'd seen two nice bucks earlier. He'll probably go there in the morning. I didn't see a bull today but both he and the cow moose hunter showed me where they'd seen bull moose. I like meeting other hunters in the field and while there's an element of competition, particularly when you're hunting the same game, I figure we're all in this together.
Yesterday, Mrs. Hummer and I scouted another mountain canyon and drove by a house. The resident had a big sign on their truck that said, "It's not food, it's violence". This is the mindset that should keep hunters (and shooters) working for one another.
Great job on sharing of the information with the other hunters. Always have enjoyed talking with other hunters in the area who are open to talking about things they are seeing. Good luck on the moose hunt, I am sure its been years in the waiting for it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hummer
Sadly, a lot of non-hunters think that way. If they only knew that the violent part is such a minuscule amount of the time spent in the woods. I doubt it will change most minds, but I have ran into some that when talking to them at first they seemed like it was shooting fish in a barrel as they only know of animals in the city parks. They left with a different understanding of how different the real wild animals are.
On a side note anyone hearing any bugles? Everyone i have talked to has said they havent heard much and it has been warm. I have yet been able to get out. I know every area is different and every day is different. I'm just curious. If I can't get out this weekend i want to shoot for next week.
They've been bugling where my buddy and I have been going. But it's not consistent. Also, generally only mid/late afternoon and somewhat into evening. Nothing in the morning.
I was up along the divide in 38 this weekend on a training hike with my daughter. Ran into a small group of Elk above 11,000ft. Haven't heard any bugles this year. Looking forward to October.
I hunted in 38 up near the divide myself the last few days. I heard some bugling on Tuesday morning, that's it. He was moving and sounded off 3 or 4 times between 9 and 10 AM. I thought it was my buddies that were a few hundred yards away, but they heard the same as me and we saw nobody else up there. That's it. My buds have been up there since Saturday morning and have seen nothing but a few deer. I saw a doe - got a buck tag of course.Quote:
Originally Posted by zimagold
Kind of a funny story. Apparently, someone shot a bull moose up there. Someone called the Ranger because they thought the bull was poached since the head was gone and it looked like the the body was intact. The Ranger inspected the carcass and the hunter had just laid the hide over the gut pile for some reason. He said it was cleaned very well and nothing was wasted. Yay.
Thats a happy story and funny. I think im going to head to AZ to help my buddy fill his tag instead and if not ill have more fun than if i went hunting by myself..especially if i get one down haha
This morning I explored a drainage that I'd found on Monday to be full of fine moose habitat. It was extensive willow and shrubby cinquefoil with patches of aspen surrounding. I climbed the canyon to timberline and saw plenty of deer, elk and moose sign. Pungent, fragrant elk.
On the way back I busted a young bull moose from his bed in the willows at about 20 feet. Told him I wasn't there for him but he followed me down the hill for a couple hundred yards.
Check out his spike antlers, about 11" on his right and 8" on his left side. He's just a little fellow, about the size of a big bull elk.
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Coming back with four unfilled tags is humbling.
Yeah but that makes for a good serving of tag soup!
I’ve got dozens of tag soup in the freezer!
I was up near Snowmass and Capitol this weekend and Wednesday Thursday. Saw a small buck near Geneva Lake by Snowmass but nothing good sized.
Wednesday hiking into Capitol Lake I saw two doe that were decent sized. Talked to some hunters and they said they saw a large Bull but it was on private property right on the boundary with Forrest land.
The trip wasn't a total loss. I got to watch a 6 point bull close up, saw a few bucks, and even saw a heard of elk the second day in, but alas, I was already behind them. It was HOT this year and I heard exactly one bugle, from at least a mile away. Next year the season starts on the 14th and I expect to hear more rut activity. Going to start putting in for bulls though, so I likely won't have a tag for a while.
Others in my party downed some small bucks, so I still got to hone my field dress skills, and even started teaching myself to quarter to make it easier to carry stuff out. I field dressed without the people who taught me how being there and made it through just fine, so that is a plus.
From what I could tell around the area I was scouting, elk were bedding among the clumps of trees around timberline in the tundra-forest interface at 10-11,000 feet. Probably feeding at night, first light and last light in the surrounding meadows and tundra. As long as the warm weather holds this is where I'd be hunting elk and bucks.
A friend called to give me a line on a big bull moose that's in just this kind of country. If only I could find him in two weeks.
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Today I drove in the Coney Flats Road to scout moose country. I climbed the Buchannan Pass Trail calling every 50 yards or so. At the junction to Red Deer Lake, I looked down into some willow parks from 10400' and heard a faint bull moose grunt. I called again and he answered. He responded every few seconds, then repeatedly as he climbed from the basin below in my direction. If I hadn't called I would never have known he was there, but soon I caught a glimpse of a big bodied bull with some very nice antlers. In five minutes he sauntered up the hill that would have taken me twenty minutes to hike. I dug the camera out of my pack and took some hurried snapshots until he was within 40 yards. I would like to have gotten some better photos but I didn't want to be too close to an aggressive, horny bull moose so I hustled down the mountain and into another drainage.
How cool, I called in a bull moose! It's the most fun day I've had in a while.
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That's a nice bull!
I think so too, a beautiful Shiras, maybe a 46" spread but need a better frontal photo. I'll keep looking for something bigger but would be happy to find him about day 10 of the 14 day hunt.
I met a few bow hunters today but none have seen elk and only one reported hearing a bugle. I found some inactive wallows but didn't see any recent sign up there either. I did spot two cow elk on private ground this evening about a mile from our cabin.
I need a jeep, or an ATV/Mule. These back roads are rough on old Tundras.
Good looking bull Hummer!
Today was the CO moose rifle opener. This morning I found a decent bull at first light but decided to pass on him for something bigger. He had nice points and tines but not great spread. A young woman came in to kill a cow he was with. I moved on up the drainage a couple miles and called in a bull. Turns out it was the same one. This fellow was grunting and thrashing antlers in the vegetation as he came toward me. I stopped calling and he circled around me to get a better view and scent. I moved into some trees to get something between us, but it was scant protection. When a bull moose comes in to a call he's raring to fight. There's an element of dangerous game hunting with bull moose. Very exciting and a little scary.
Here's a couple pics from this morning. Any guesstimates on his spread? Would you have taken him?
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Great pics! you’ve been doing the scouting so passing him up just means you know there is something better out there. His rack is pretty narrow and vertical as far as moose I’ve seen in the wild.
Great pics, definite pass this early given what we know. Last couple days of the season might be a different situation as you don’t want to go home empty handed but still plenty of time left.
Thats awesome! Good luck!!
Thanks, fellas. This morning I went to a different location and at first light as I got out of the truck, a cow, calf and bull walked right by about 25 ft. away. I grunted back and forth with the bull. He was about the same size, maybe smaller than the one yesterday.
I hunted the wetlands around a big lake and as I returned I met the only other rifle moose hunter in areas 20/29. There were four bull tags issued in the two units, one muzzleloader hunter killed a bull, and Sniper7's friend took a great bull with a bow.
Today I came across two bull moose. The first as I was driving the Peak-to-Peak to Caribou. Nice bull but I didn't get a frontal view of the spread. It was still dark and he moved onto private land so I had to let him go. Then when I got home and began unloading the truck, a bull walked by me at 15 feet. As he walked up the driveway I grunted and he turned around. When I gave a cow whine he walked toward me. What great animals! He'll be a shooter around day ten of the season, and I won't have to pack him very far.
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I'd have shot any moose pictured so far, but I've never even seen one in person, so I'm not a great judge of what a big one would even look like.
You can get an up close and personal experience if you come up to pack one out with me. :)
Well, keep updating us.
Since Colorado is a one and done on bulls i get your restraint... but man that would be tough! How many points did you have? Just wondering i have been putting in for PP for years.. not even sure how many points I have but i really want to get one with my bow
I drew after 19 years. An old friend drew last year after 32 years. A CPW officer I know drew this year at 12 years, and the other rifle hunter here drew at 5 years. The woman who took the cow Monday drew her second cow license at 5 years (not sure how that happened). But as I understand, once you get three points you can get lucky and hit the lotto. Next year I'll begin applying for cow moose as first choice.
My restraint is guided by my quest to find the best bull that I can given my limitations, my confidence in perseverance, and the fact that the new 21 cu. ft. freezer I ordered won't arrive until Friday. Last week I bought an almost new refrigerator off Craigslist for $200, specifically to keep the meat cold until I get it all butchered.
Elk season begins six days after moose season ends. :rolleyes:
Thanks for that.. that woman needs to buy lotto tickets.. I guess I'll start putting in to draw.. My biggest fear is drawing and not finding them. Only seen one moose and it was a real good bull while elk hunting near Kremmling
You should put in for the draw. The hunt is fun, for magnificent animals in beautiful country. With the new rules it won't cost much up front. When I started the state took your money and held onto it for 4-5 months. I couldn't afford to draw for sheep or goat, too, but now wish I had.
Of course hunting takes serious effort but moose hunting isn't as hard as elk hunting, and if you draw I'll help you find moose.
Deal, im going to start putting in for moose.. yeah i hear ya i couldnt put in for sheep, goat, and moose amongst my other tags so i chose moose..because everyone needs a moose mount to complete a cabin.. except i don't have a cabin haha.
And yes I was amazed at how big moose were when I had the big bull run by my camp at 40 yards. Made elk look small!