The Effect of Snow on the Migration of Elk in the Fall

Last Sunday's Steamboat Pilot has an article on the "average" harvest of elk during the 2nd Rifle season, as well and tidbits about the impact on the butcher and taxidermy businesses in Routt county. The part of the article that had me nodding my head up and down repeatedly was the part that said how the early snows pushed the elk down off the divide and west toward their winter range sooner than usual. Apparently the elk didn't move down soon enough last year and many died from starvation, so this year the elk moved sooner to avoid the same fate.

I don't believe that the elk have a memory from one year to the next, but stranger things have happened. I do believe that the repeated snow storms that rolled through the Steamboat area did move the elk down earlier than usual. Lesson learned, enough said. Hunt on!

My First Elk Hunt in a Nutshell

Thursday night
Drive to Steamboat Springs; find a motel room; curse the weather

Friday
Pull out the camp that was set up on Thursday; find a motel room; curse the weather

Saturday (opening day for 2nd rifle season)
Hike in 2 miles, dragging an empty cart; sit in the cold; curse the weather; hike out; drive to a different hunting area (California Park) for some recon; dinner at the Condo; curse the weather; sleep at the motel

Sunday
Drive to California Park; hike 5+ miles through knee deep snow; kick-up some Does (no Doe tag); a hot sunny day without a cloud in the sky; curse the weather; sleep at the motel

Monday
Wake up at 0-dark-thirty; drive to the trailhead; hike in 2 miles in the dark; sit in the cold; watch a spike meander up the hill and disappear into the woods; hike around a bit; sit in the cold; listen to a cow bark an alarm; watch the cow walk down the hill, turn around, and walk back up the hill and into the trees; hike out to the trailhead in the dark; drive back to Steamboat; drive to the Condo; eat dinner; drive back to the Motel; set the alarm for 0-dark-thirty; pack-up the truck; curse the weather; sleep

Tuesday
Up at 0-dark-thirty; blah blah blah; hike out mid-morning; wait for Cody to hike out; drive up the valley, seeing tracks all along the way; return to the trailhead; confirm that Cody is almost back to the truck; leave for home

Wednesday
Recover

Thursday
Curse the weather! 2'+ feet of new snow!! Plow the driveway; sledding with the kids; "Burton" lives up to his name

Friday
Curse the weather; prepare for Saturday

Saturday
Up at 0-dark-thirty; breakfast at Crooks; drive to the trailhead with Kirk and Lance; hike into the valley...
Someone else (reportedly) "smacks" a 4x5 so close to the road that it takes very little effort to drag it to the tailgate and throw it in the back with a little help from two other fellas passing by...

Sunday (daylight savings time ends; fall back one hour)
Up at 0-dark-thirty; breakfast at Crooks; meet Mark; park; hike; sit; curse; leave
Home; nap
Into the woods; sit and wait
Listen to a cow calling the other girls
Creep up; they're gone
Pack up; curse; season over...

P.S.
356 days until the 2007 2nd rifle season! Fewer days if I buy a bow!!

OH S**T!

That was my reaction when I picked up my rifle a couple of days ago, looked through the scope, and noticed that the reticle was rotated to the right by about 5-10 degrees. The bizarre thing is that the very same thing happened to another buddy of mine and at the time I thought "good thing MY scope is locked down...". I guess it wasn't.

So this morning I took my rifle, some tools, and a bottle of Loctite Threadlocker Blue to the Boulder Rifle Club. Fortunately the club opens their range to the public every weekend in September and October so that hunters can sight-in their rifles. The place was packed to the gills. I has to wait about half-an-hour for a bench.

Once I sat down, I lined-up the reticle using the barrel of the rifle and the posts holding up the target board for reference. I assumed that who ever installed the target board used a level to set the post plumb. Next time I'll bring a level and my own blank target to set a level line. This approach seemed to work, as I was able to drop three shots an inch high on the bull's eye within about a 1/2" group. Next I loosened the bolts one at a time, poured on some Loctite, and tightened everything down. After everything dried I put a few more shots on a new target= 2 1/2" high, dead center. Perfect. Just what I had before I said "oh s**t" and just what I wanted. I leave for Unit 14 Thursday night. Wish me luck. Hunt on!

Why Hunt? - Continued

I lose sleep the night before a fishing trip. I kid you not. Each fishing trip, especially when I visit a river or lake I've never seen before, is an adventure. I love an adventure.

Hunting is an adventure on an even grander scale. I doubt I'll sleep for a week before opening day.

Driving home from my kid's soccer practice last night I spied a beautiful 5x5 bull and his small harem getting ready to bravely cross highway 119 into the big meadow with the three lakes. Locals know where I'm talking about - it's the place with the Elk statue at the gate. I assume they wanted to get a drink of water.

I swung the truck around to get a second look. Besides the Elk in Rocky Mountain National Park and Yellowstone, this is the first Elk I've seen in the wild this year. I usually see a few in my neighborhood over the summer. I live at 9,300 feet in the Rockies, for those in the audience (hi Mom) that don't know.

Needless to say, with 2nd rifle season only 23 days away, I'm in the throws of Elk fever. I know I still need to wax prolific on the merits of hunting. I will, in due time. Know that when I move up to Elk camp in a few weeks I'll bring a notebook and leave the laptop in the truck so I can run into town (Steamboat) and provide updates.

Hunt on!

A Good Day on the Range

I went to the Green Mill Sportman's Club yesterday with my buddy to help him sight in his new rifle. He's got a Remington 700 BDL in 300 WinMag. I've got a Remington 700 Mountain DM in 30-06, pictured above. After shooting my buddy's rifle a few times I can tell you that I am SO happy I got the Mountain version in the 30-06. At a pound lighter and less kick, I know I bought the right rifle for me.

Before we left for the range my buddy asked me if I thought we should stop at the store and pick up another box of ammo. You see, this was the first time he'd shot his 300 WinMag rifle and he had no idea how much kick (a.k.a. punishment) he was in for. I assured him that one box was plenty and I'd be surprised if he shot every round. He wasn't sure of my advice until the first time he pulled the trigger. My buddy's no small guy, so he figured he could withstand any beating the rifle could dole out. After 4-5 shots he looked at me and said "o.k., now I see your point".

The best part of the experience, besides shooting my buddy's gun better than he did at 200 yards, was putting a few in the black at 200 yards from a kneeling position with my own rifle. I've been a little nervous that my shooting skills were not up to snuff to be going out for the hunt. After yesterday I feel the most confident I've ever felt. Does this mean that practice is over? Heck no. I've still got a couple of boxes I want to fire off before heading into the woods. At least now I know they won't be wasted. Hunt on!

Things that go in your backpack when you're out in the field...

Ammunition: Hard to shoot an Elk without it

Matches & firestarter: Fire = warmth

Parachute cord: Hold the Elk's legs apart while you quarter it

Surveyor's orange tape: Mark a trail to your Elk (GPS works too)

Two (2) sources of light: Headlamp, flashlight, etc.

LOTS of batteries

Toilet paper

Rain poncho

Wet wipes

First aid kit

Latex gloves and/or arm length skinning gloves

WATER: At least 2 liters or more if you're going to be out all day

Skinning/boning knives; bone saw: I'll post a picture of the set I got

Elk call(s)

Approx. 20x One (1) gallon Zip-Lock Heavy Duty Freezer bags

Knife sharpener

Warm gloves, hat, extra socks, etc. Easier to stay warm than get warm!

Multi-tool: Mine is the classic leatherman

COMPASS

FOOD

Emergency blanket: Murphy's 4th law says "bring it and you won't need it"

MAP

Spare blaze mesh vests: hang'm near you while you bone-out the Elk

Give me a bit and I'll think of what I've forgotten. See something missing? Please leave a comment! Thanks.

Seminar at Bass Pro Shop with Jay Houston

I was fortunate enough to attend a seminar at my local (Denver) Bass Pro Shop during their "Fall Classic" hunting extravaganza. The highlight was meeting Jay Houston and chewing the fat with him 1-on-1 for about 20 minutes. Jay was at the gun counter signing copies of his new book "Elk 301" and there wasn't a soul around, so I talked him up and asked him one question after another. He was very patient, especially since I'm sure that my questions were the same questions he's answered in him books and at every presentation he's ever done...

Why Hunt? Why Now?

As I said in my first post, I didn't grow up hunting. I don't know how many guys in their late 30's wake up one morning and say "I need to go out in the woods and kill some animals". Believe it or not, that's kind of what happened.

I can probably blame my friend Andy. Andy taught me a lot of the basics when I started to learn to fly fish. Andy DID grow up hunting, so his fly tying room was also the trophy room for his elk and turkey hunts. That got the ball rolling.

Somewhere over the last few years I decided...

Hunting is good.

Hunting is primal.

Hunting is a tradition I want to establish in my family.

Hunting is fun.

I'll explore this points in future postings, as there's more on my mind than I can write in a few paragraphs.
For now, suffice it to say that I've got my hunter safety card, I'm lucky enough to have a friend who's helping me learn, and I'm eagerly awaiting elk season!

Stay tuned.

The Hard Part is Getting Started

2006 will be my first Elk hunt in Colorado. My intention is to share the experience of a rookie elk hunter so that others might benefit from my experiences - the good and the bad. I didn't grow up hunting, so it suprises even me that I'm doing this. I explain my motivation and the obstacles I've already overcome very soon.