Make sure to read up on PART 1 and PART 2 and PART 3 to complete the entire season. Here’s the final chapter.

By Adam Parr

Day 5

Shortly after first light on Friday morning, Thad and I gather our gear and depart the cabin on foot with our morning plan following a similar loop and strategy as day one. We think it will be good to work up the mountain in the morning and then pop over the other ridge to the next drainage, grab my trail camera and circle back towards the cabin by 2pm. If we had yet to get into elk after five miles of travel, the evening plan was to head back to the same meadow where I’d shot the bull two days prior.

While working through the dark timber, we come across good elk sign in an area with shooting lanes so we set up 40 yards apart and start cow calling. We continue to do this for the next few hours but to no avail and by the time my clock reads 11am, we hike up and over the next ridge and work through the opposite drainage.

By noon, we are at the same creek bottom we know all too well and make our way along the same route towards the trail camera overlooking the waterhole. By 1pm, we grab my camera and jump back to the creek and follow it down a mile back to camp. Not a single elk was seen or heard so we make the climb out of the creek drainage back to the cabin.

Thad carves our initials into an aspen tree before we depart for our final evening sit. I can barely see him, can you?

After a quick lunch and some much-needed target practice to increase my shooting confidence, we rest our feet for a few minutes before loading up the truck for our final evening sit. The plan for tonight is to create an ambush setup in the top corner of the field where the bulls from two days prior initially entered the field. Thad and I set up about 75 yards apart directly across each other with the anticipation that if something walks out into the meadow during shooting light, one of us would have a shot. Thad tucks underneath a spruce tree for some cover, I do the same and we wait anxiously for the night to unfold.

Game Time

After a few hours of enjoying the sunset and overlooking the mountain backdrop, I can’t help but think how lucky I am to be in elk country. It’s an amazing sight and something I have dreamt about doing for years and now it has become a reality. As we enter into the final hour before heading home, I grab my cow call and let out a few minutes of cow chatter in hopes to pull a bull or some wandering cows from the thick timber above us. The thermals have now switched and the wind is funneling perfectly away from me, down the meadow and in the opposite direction of where I believe the elk would come from.

My view overlooking “Magic Meadow” on my final evening sit.

With 30 minutes of light left in the day, I am alerted by sticks breaking off to my right and to my disbelief, two cows emerge from the timber less than 100 yards away heading directly towards my position; my heart rate increases ten fold. I have an either sex tag in my pocket and I anticipate shooting one of the cows if they offer a good shot. Seconds go by and now they are standing just three yards away on the other side of the tree, trying to decipher what’s going on. In a matter of seconds, they catch my scent on the ground and run 25 yards in front of me and stop. As I’m about to draw, I hear more crashing and catch movement to my right of a huge bull entering the meadow from the dark timber and because of his dominant rutting behavior, he is clueless the cows are spooked. At this point, I can’t believe my eyes and with each step he takes, he releases a guttural grunt to show his dominance to the cows. He is king of the forest. If this isn’t the most picturesque colorado elk hunting moment in the world, I don’t know what is. Although he is moving at a steady walk and is quickly closing the distance, it’s as if time is standing still. I am absolutely caught up in the beauty of this bull and the position I’m in to watch one of greatest shows an elk hunter can ask for.

He keeps walking, he keeps walking, and he keeps walking until he’s standing in the exact same spot as the cows a few minutes prior. I have a 700lb, Colorado 6×7 bull elk standing next to me at three yards on the ground and I don’t have a clear shot. I’m waiting for my chance to draw. In an instant, he bolts but slows up at 25 yards and I’m already at full draw. I settle the pin, let the arrow fly and once again, time stands still as I watch my lighted knock bury into the bull’s rib cage behind the shoulder. It’s the most amazing moment I’ve ever experienced in my entire, short pathetic life!

The bull takes off on a death run through the meadow and I see the arrow fall out shortly after. I watch him disappear into a small draw with the cows and within seconds, the sound of running hoof prints come to a screeching halt and the Colorado high country is quiet once again. After the chaos calms down, Thad emerges from the trees with his hands in the air and I signal back confirming I hit him good! Oddly enough, I’m rather calm given the circumstances and the events that just unfolded. It all happened so fast I didn’t have a chance to get worked up or nervous.

The Recovery

I meet Thad in the center of meadow and we walk over to recover my arrow where it fell out of the bull before he ran out of sight. Unfortunately, the arrow only stayed in the bull for a few seconds before falling out, which is concerning but I know the shot placement was good. Upon inspecting the arrow itself, it appears to be a solid hit with bubbly red blood all the way up to the fletchings! With light starting to fade, we start to follow the blood trail in order to further assess the damage and we find good blood. I tell Thad that we will follow the blood to the small creek drainage and stop there, give him about 30 minutes and then take up the trail after dark.

As we continue down the hill, the grass gets thicker, taller and the blood trail gets better and better to the point of where it’s covering bushes and small trees. I mention to Thad in excitement the crazy amount of blood and all of sudden, Thad grabs me by the shoulder and says “THERE HE IS – Big Bull Down!!” We nearly tripped over him due to how thick the cover was and because our eyes were glued to the ground. Thad and I high-five, hug, scream, kick, and just go crazy when we find my bull dead. I’m in utter disbelief it all came together on the final evening of my hunt with a mature, 6×7 bull elk on the ground!

6×7 Colorado Bull Down!

The OTC archery bull gross scored 312 2/8″

I call Sam and Gareth to help us get the bull out and they meet us at the truck after Thad and I finished gutting the elk. Instead of skinning and quartering in the field, Thad thinks we can pull the elk out to the truck whole, so we hook up ropes and drag him out like quarter horses. It was amazing. It takes us over an hour to drag him but in no time, he’s in the back of my Tundra and we make the 30-minute drive back to camp. By midnight, the majestic bull is hanging in a tree outside our door and the celebration begins.

Have you ever seen a big bull in the back of a pickup truck?

I was very fortunate to harvest such a magnificent bull during my first archery season of elk hunting and I may never shoot a bigger bull ever again. There are people who call me lucky, and I have to agree but to only to a certain extent. Persistence is what killed this bull, not luck. There were many times I wanted to throw in the towel, between my bow breaking, rolling an ankle, losing my quiver, shooting a different bull and not recovering it, along with many other mental battles along the way but I stayed in the game. Elk hunting is tough, especially with a stick and string. It’s a wild ride to say the least but if you keep at it, success will follow.

I want to say thanks to everyone who helped out and supported me along this crazy journey of my first elk season but all I can think about right now is, “Is It September Yet?”

To view additional pictures from my elk hunting adventures, make sure to check out my facebook page album: 2016 Archery Elk Season

Make sure to catch up on 2016 Colorado Archery Elk Hunting Season Part 1 and Part 2 of this series. It will help paint a picture of the events leading up to the days that are about to unfold. 

By Adam Parr

Day 3

On the morning of day three, Thad and I find ourselves driving back down the mountain into town instead of heading deeper into elk country due to my swollen, throbbing ankle from my mishap the previous day. My only course of action that would allow me to hike the hills the remainder of the week was to get a sturdy ankle brace and a heavy dose of meds to keep the pain at bay.

If I had to describe my hunting partner, Thad, in three words or less I would have to go with “experienced, burly woodsman,” a Teddy Roosevelt of sorts. He’s a humble guy, has one of the best beards I’ve ever seen on a man, and is one of the most skilled guys when it comes to navigating terrain and hunting in general. He is also one of the most selfless guys you will ever meet and he is happy to help anyone in need. If I ever acquire half of the woodsman skills and compassion he has, I’ll die a happy man! With that being said, I thank you from the bottom of my heart and I look forward to many more hunting trips in the future.

We arrive back in town at my buddy Sam’s place and he welcomes us with a hot shower and ankle brace. After refueling our minds and bodies, Sam joins us and we head back up the mountain by 2pm and arrive at the cabin with enough time to set out for an evening hunt. Thad decides to head out to an area South of the cabin while Sam and I pick a meadow that is roughly a 45-minute drive away.

Although Sam is not an avid hunter such as myself, he does enjoy many aspects of the pursuit and he was happy to go with me for the Wednesday evening hunt. Sam is one of my best friends and I can’t thank him enough for everything he does for me. He was also a great pack mule and guide! When we arrive at the parking area, another truck pulls up behind us and a young couple jumps out. They are friendly and I ask them where they intended to hunt this evening so that we don’t interfere with each others evening plans. They said they were heading to the section we planned to go to but with us not knowing the area and my ability to walk severely undermined, we headed in the opposite direction towards an alternative high country meadow a little over a quarter-mile from the parking area.

Sam is quite the guide and pack mule!

Sam and I make our way up the meadow and I tell him were not going to see a damn thing but at least I’m out there and still in the game, even if the chips are down. I try to convince him we need to climb way up into the aspens in the distance but he won’t let me so we settle into a ridge overlooking the grassy meadow. I give Sam all of the credit to picking this spot because if I would have had it my way, I would have attempted to hike three ridges over the mountain!  Now we sit and wait.

“As the thermals begin to shift downhill, I peer through the spruce trees towards the corner of the field and movement catches my eye. ELK!”

As the thermals begin to shift downhill, I peer through the spruce trees towards the corner of the field and movement catches my eye. ELK! I can’t believe my eyes that there are two rocky mountain elk feeding down the draw into the meadow about 200 yards way; my heart begins to race. With a quick glimpse of the binoculars, I determine one is a spike bull and the other is a cow and my only chance of a shot opportunity is to sneak in closer for a spot and stalk scenario. I have an either sex tag in my pocket and as a first-year elk hunter, I would be more than happy to fill my tag on a nice cow. I urge Sam to come with me but he insists I go alone so I leave my pack and other belongings behind and slowly move into position.

I cover the initial 100 yards rather quickly. From my prior Western Whitetail Spot & Stalk experience, I know when, where, and how to move in for a shot. As I pop up out of a small creek drainage, I am now 150 yards away and pull up the binoculars for a closer look. What I thought was a spike, is now a 5×5 and what I thought was a cow, is now a 4×4. I have TWO legal bulls feeding calmly within view and my heart rate increases through the roof! I lower the binoculars and plan the remaining route of my stalk to drop into a small drainage and pop up on the edge of the field with hopes that they work my way before dark.

“After five minutes of slow and steady movement, I slip to within 100 yards just in time to see antlers clashing together in an early September sparring match. This is what Colorado elk hunting dreams are made of.”

After five minutes of slow and steady movement, I slip to within 100 yards just in time to see antlers clashing together in an early September sparring match. This is what Colorado elk hunting dreams are made of. With the end of legal shooting light approaching, I grab my cow call, drop back into the small drainage and let out a few soft mews to see if I can pull them in my direction. After a few minutes of chaos going on inside my head, I figure they did not hear the calls so I start creeping up out of the drainage and by surprise, they are close!

In one smooth motion, I range the bigger bull at 42 yards, settle the pin and let the arrow fly. Slow motion ensues as the lighted knock finds its mark, mid-body, tucked behind the shoulder on the 5×5 bull. He kicks and runs approximately 30 yards before spinning in circles three times. At this moment I thought he was down for the count right there but he runs full tilt to the back corner of the meadow and slows to a walk as he disappears into the dark timber. The shot placement was great but it appeared the arrow only buried about 10-12 inches deep.

Meanwhile, Sam was watching the whole stalk go down from our original position a few hundred yards away. I hurried back up to Sam in excitement and he too thought the shot looked great and at this point, I am in pure disbelief that I just put an arrow in my first Colorado elk. We call Thad and let him know I shot a bull and head back to camp to gear up our packs and supplies for tracking and recovery.

We arrive back at the meadow around 9pm, a full two hours after the initial shot and immediately pick up the blood trail in the corner of the meadow where he vanished into the trees. The blood trail is good and there are bubbles in much of the splatter which confirms a lung hit. 

As the search continues I keep telling myself, “only a few more yards, only a few more yards” and he will be lying dead. The three of us continue the search and 30 minutes later, the blood trail continues up the mountain. Fears of doubt start to enter my head and the track job becomes ever more difficult as the blood starts to slowly recede. Just after midnight and three hours of tracking, we find his first bed with my arrow laying 15 yards away and it confirms only about 10 inches of penetration. Not knowing if we had bumped the bull or if he had walked off on his own, we make the decision to head back down the mountain and pick up the trail in the morning. My heart sinks and a sleepless night ensues.

Finding my arrow confirmed what I already knew about the lack of penetration and a single lung hit.

Day 4

The next morning we pick up the trail at 8am and push further up the mountain. The blood actually gets a bit better for a few hundred yards but then begins to fade shortly after. Upon cresting the ravine, we follow the blood trail over the ridge line and at this point, we are on our hands and knees locating blood. Many times throughout the morning I want to give up but Thad and Sam keep pushing, not letting the lack of blood keep us down. After four hours of searching, Thad locates another bed with a decent amount of blood but it is coagulated to the consistency of soft rubber; my heart hits the floor once again. We scour the hillside for another 45 minutes, desperately trying to find another drop of blood but it proves unsuccessful. We grid search the area for another 30 minutes without any luck so I call off the track and we walk back down the mountain with our spirits low and legs tired.

Later that day Thad and I head out to a different area for a quick evening hunt but we did not see a single elk. Tomorrow is another day.

Next up is Part 4 and the final chapter of my 2016 elk hunting season. Stay tuned!