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I spent nine days hunting and saw seven bulls throught the week and a lot of cows. One bulls was a big six point that would score well over 320" being consevative. He headed straight into Unit 61 when he was jumped out of a bed. I was archery hunting with an either sex elk tag on public land in Unit 62 out of Montrose.
I had a nice shot on a foiur point bull on day three, shooting steep downhill I didn't cut enough yardage and shot over his back. Hard hunting the next five days with hardly seeing anything but deer.
On the last morning I dropped off in a deep canyon and was walking along a stream when I saw a game trail that headed uphill, I took it and it went about thrity feet up and leveled out overlooking the trail I had been on, it crossed an open hillside further up so I was thinking about sitting here for a while when I heard an elk coming up the trail I had been walking, I waited and then the wind switched and he busted me. I tried to give a few cow calls to bring him back but he was on his way. I cow called a few more times and then sat down for awhile to think about what to do next. After about five minutes I hear something. I couldn't quite make out what it was. It sounded like air being exhaled. Slowly it got louder. I then heard a growl with it and realized it sounded like a dog giving a "woooof" growl. I turn and look behind me and about fifteen feet away is a coyote crouched down and ready to leap at me. He is growling, baring his teath, and obviously sees me as his lunch! I jumped to my feet and spun around, he took off up slope about 10 yards and spun around towards me to come back down the hill again. I started yelling, waved my bow, then clipped onto my string loop and prepared to defend myself. The coyote ran away unscathed, unfortunately, and I was ready to find a new area to hunt!
I finally decided to take a cow as the hunt was coming to an end, on Sunday evening I had a cow walk to within 35 yards and I shot her. I was using a hoyt xtec at 65 lbs with nap thunderhead broadheads, total arrow weight just under 400 grains. I hit her good and she was stumbling when she ran about fifteen yards and stopped, coughed up a two foot circle of frothy blood, and then moved into the trees. I wasn't able to put another arrow into her but was confident in the shot and what I saw. I didn't push her but walked the mile back to the truck to get the necessary tools for quartering her and drive the truck to a closer point. When I went looking I found the pool of blood and then no blood trail. I mean down on hands and knees, searching for every drop, only found three more drops over the next 100 yards. Searched with a friend helping that night and again at daylight the next morning, for about five hours of total searching. Still couldn't find her, had to pack up and leave. Makes me sick, I figure my tag is filled even if I didn't find her. I would rather have had a clean miss than this. I know I hit her through the lungs and I had a complete pass through, just no blood trail. She dropped a lot of blood the first twenty yards then nothing. Hope I never go through this again, first time in 13 seasons of bowhunting. She was a nice young cow that I am sure would have tasted good, not much of a return when you spend $500 on a either sex tag, have a great time hunting and end up being sick over the outcome. I wish all of you better luck than me this year.
A3dhunter
I had a nice shot on a foiur point bull on day three, shooting steep downhill I didn't cut enough yardage and shot over his back. Hard hunting the next five days with hardly seeing anything but deer.
On the last morning I dropped off in a deep canyon and was walking along a stream when I saw a game trail that headed uphill, I took it and it went about thrity feet up and leveled out overlooking the trail I had been on, it crossed an open hillside further up so I was thinking about sitting here for a while when I heard an elk coming up the trail I had been walking, I waited and then the wind switched and he busted me. I tried to give a few cow calls to bring him back but he was on his way. I cow called a few more times and then sat down for awhile to think about what to do next. After about five minutes I hear something. I couldn't quite make out what it was. It sounded like air being exhaled. Slowly it got louder. I then heard a growl with it and realized it sounded like a dog giving a "woooof" growl. I turn and look behind me and about fifteen feet away is a coyote crouched down and ready to leap at me. He is growling, baring his teath, and obviously sees me as his lunch! I jumped to my feet and spun around, he took off up slope about 10 yards and spun around towards me to come back down the hill again. I started yelling, waved my bow, then clipped onto my string loop and prepared to defend myself. The coyote ran away unscathed, unfortunately, and I was ready to find a new area to hunt!
I finally decided to take a cow as the hunt was coming to an end, on Sunday evening I had a cow walk to within 35 yards and I shot her. I was using a hoyt xtec at 65 lbs with nap thunderhead broadheads, total arrow weight just under 400 grains. I hit her good and she was stumbling when she ran about fifteen yards and stopped, coughed up a two foot circle of frothy blood, and then moved into the trees. I wasn't able to put another arrow into her but was confident in the shot and what I saw. I didn't push her but walked the mile back to the truck to get the necessary tools for quartering her and drive the truck to a closer point. When I went looking I found the pool of blood and then no blood trail. I mean down on hands and knees, searching for every drop, only found three more drops over the next 100 yards. Searched with a friend helping that night and again at daylight the next morning, for about five hours of total searching. Still couldn't find her, had to pack up and leave. Makes me sick, I figure my tag is filled even if I didn't find her. I would rather have had a clean miss than this. I know I hit her through the lungs and I had a complete pass through, just no blood trail. She dropped a lot of blood the first twenty yards then nothing. Hope I never go through this again, first time in 13 seasons of bowhunting. She was a nice young cow that I am sure would have tasted good, not much of a return when you spend $500 on a either sex tag, have a great time hunting and end up being sick over the outcome. I wish all of you better luck than me this year.
A3dhunter
