re: Back from my archery elk hunt in Colorado.

Banded Peaks with a dusting of snow.




Country singer Gary Morris' home.

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kinda regret not shooting it. Will probably be my only chance to ever kill a cougar.

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Louis L'amour traveled to a lot of places, and always insisted that Mountain Lion is the best meat on the planet.

So..you maybe shoulda taken the shot, lol.

Also, the do frighten really easy. They are almost as skittish as house cats if they aren't starving. If you had fired your gun in the air it probably would have bolted.

My grandfather gave 1 a heart attack back in the 70s. Or at least, that was their best guess as to what killed it. He shot a deer, but didn't know the lion was nearby, and the lion pounced around the same time he fired. The combination of noise and the deer falling over scared the damn cat to death.

And before you call the story bull. My grandfather was a Weslyan pastor and avid outdoorsman. He would walk and pray in the woods next to his church every morning from 4:30 am to 7:30 am. The deer knew him so well they would walk up and stick their nose in his pockets looking for the corn or grain he would carry with him.

I'm heading up to Chama, NM on the Colorado line next Thursday for 10 days for a rifle hunt on private land in Unit 4. Girlfriend's uncle and his business partner own a place up there and have went for the last 20 years and are there now and said they are bugling their arse off where they are. What was the weather/temps like where you were? They said it was 28 in the mornings, sleet/rain and some gusts up to 40 mph. Said his range finder was jacked up and he missed two 6x6 in which he shot over one and under another. Last couple days of his hunt, he said he got what was the "elk of his lifetime" in with his cow call at 20 yds., drew back and hit it, it jumped up and almost ran his arse over and took off. Called the rest of the group and they searched for two days, half mile in every direction and never found it from the rain washing the blood trail away. I'm headed up next week to meet them so hopefully I'm not too late and will have a chance with the .300wsm. Is there anything gear wise besides the obvious (rangefinder) that you wish you would've brought with you that you didn't or may have forgot? I have a pack list together and feel like there's something else I'll wish I had that I didn't think about..

I did an archery DIY hunt just north of Mancos, CO in 2012. It was an incredible experience and the views are breathtaking. I really hope to be able to go back again some day.

I was very fortunate to take a 5x4 bull with my bow... I worked with a partner that was set up behind me about 60-70 yds calling.

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Be sure to have shooting sticks or plan to shoot off your pack. Know what your rifle will do at 300 and 400 yards. 300 yards comes up real quick out West.

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Yeah, good advice when rifle hunting.

The first bull I missed was a little less than 300 yards and the one I killed was at 390. Know your ballistics and buy a bipod.

Nice man.

Thanks for the story, OP.

How much would it cost to go on a hunt like that?


This thread makes we want to go out west again so incredibly bad.

Next Thursday can't get here quick enough.. I'm ready-

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Also, the do frighten really easy.

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I'm not so sure about that.

Looking back at the whole situation now concerns me. That lion was 12 yards off the trail when the 2 mules with riders passed by it. If it was skittish it would have hauled arse long before they passed by. That cat sat there on the side of the trail waiting for them and then me to pass by instead of running off into the forest.

What concerns me is this. What would have happened if I had kept my dim red light on and walked by the lion after the 2 mules went by it 50-60 yards ahead of me? I definitely wouldn't have seen it. Would it have viewed me as an easy target and attacked?

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How much would it cost to go on a hunt like that?

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If you do a DIY hunt in Colorado with a group of 3-4 hunters and you have camping gear already you can do the whole thing for under $1000 per person easily.

License $565
Gas & Food $200-$300 (pretty healthy budget here)
Miscellaneous $150