Boar hunting Colorado

Well, I’m back.

Colorado was as beautiful as always, with the aspens and oaks turning, even as the week progressed. The temps were a good bit higher than normal this year, and that definitely impacted the way the elk were behaving… which, in turn, impacted our hunting.

The hunt was five days, beginning on Saturday, 9/20, and running through Wednesday, 09/24. On the hunt with me were two of my friends from California… both named Dave, which made it pretty easy for the guides to keep up. Just call, “Dave!”

This would be my fourth hunt in this place, and my third since Rick took it over. My first two hunts, both with the rifle, were successful. I tagged out on the first and second days, respectively.

On my third trip, I chose to go with archery tackle and chase the bulls in rut. While I wasn’t able to close the deal, I had a couple of close encounters… including the one that left me chronically infected by the elk hunting bug. Having a bull called to within nine yards of you, and bugle right there in your face, well… that’ll do it for most hunters. If you can come away from that without recurrent dreams and an overwhelming urge to head for the high country every September, then you probably shouldn’t be hunting.

It took seven years to get back up there, between economic trials and trying to balance hunting with other things in my life (like moving to Texas). But I decided last year that I’d be going to Colorado this season, come hell or high water. After a lot of consideration, I decided to do it again with the bow… chasing the dragon, I suppose… hoping to recreate that last experience.

The following videos pretty much tell the rest of the story. While my skills as a videographer and video editor obviously leave a lot to be desired, I managed to capture the general essence of the trip in these four epsiodes. I hope you enjoy them…

It’s been seven years since I last chased elk in Colorado, and every one of those years has brought an intense longing (aka, jonesing) to get back into the high country and do it again. And, finally, I was able to make it happen.

Tomorrow morning, I’m hitting the road for Montrose, CO. There, I’ll meet up with my friend, Dave and our other friend, Dave, and we’ll all meet up with my friend and favorite CO outfitter, Rick Webb of Dark Timber Lodge. We’ll follow him along the backroads and climb up to his cabin in the higher country, along the edges of the Uncompahgre Wilderness… and beginning on Saturday, we’ll be afoot and in pursuit of the great wapiti.

I checked in with Rick a couple of weeks ago, and the bulls were just beginning to bugle. The weather has been all over the place, but it’s looking promising for the next seven or eight days. We’re close to a new moon (instead of the full moon I battled last time I was there). I’ve been shooting the bow daily, and daydreaming about watching that broadhead disappear into the tawny hide of a big bull. Or, it could be a cow, or a raghorn. I’m not really picky. Like almost any hunter, I wouldn’t pass up the opportunity at a trophy animal, but I’m there to put elk venison in the freezer. The cool thing about this hunt is that it’s an over-the-counter, either sex tag.