Hey guys. Last year I had three different text threads going during my hunt. Decided this year that I will text a couple guys who will then post my updates in the comment section. I know I will likely regret this as I’ve seen some of the dinner threads as well as the ones on the way to Creede and know that I will be the but of much of the humor, however, I also think it will be fun. Most of all, as many of you know, this hunt is a time for me to get away and connect with the Father so I greatly appreciate your prayers as I trek in the wild solo looking for both the elusive Wapiti and for greater connection with Immanuel. So, comment away and scroll through the comments for texts from me.
9/15
Made it to my campsite this afternoon. Had thoughts of hiking in part way and glassing, but decided I was better off taking it easy and hitting it hard in the morning. Came back in town for a couple things and to make this post. Here’s my home for the next seven nights unless I tag out early. Probably won’t have any data coverage for several days, but I’ll try to satellite text a couple of the guys and hopefully they will post. Blessings!
Well Darrell, elk hunting is right around the corner. A wise man has told me repeatedly that if you are going to the mountains, then you need to start hydrating early. Drink up!!!! I am a little jealous, but much more happy that you drew a tag. Good Luck!
16
Pulled my SD card from my game camera and was excited that I didn’t have any humans on the pics and good elk numbers with one really nice 6 x 6.
However, I was napping at 11 in a sunny spot and happened to look up just in time to see two hunters hiking out. I thought I had this back corner to myself, but obviously not.
Just had to scare a bear away. He was on a trail headed right at me. He had no clue I was here. I had to stand up and make myself known before he got any closer. Here is the video, sorry the image gets wonky at the end, but as you can hear, I was standing up and sending the bear the other direction. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-mAr9uaPrI
12:45 two hunters come back through. Was able to catch up to them. Muzzy hunters with cow tags. Camped in top of meadow. Have second cow wounded and hopefully dead. Going to pack it out and then they will be gone. Said bulls have been going right by their tent as if it wasn’t there. Repeat of last year.
Also discovered I have a splinter on one of my limbs. It’s on the edge, so I’m going to try to super glue it back and hope it doesn’t get worse or affect my shot. Guessing it’s been that way a while and it was shooting well so we’ll see. Took 3 practice shots from my blind to the wallow and it’s shooting a little to the right, but otherwise good. No choice to adjust my aim slightly and hope I only need to take one more shot.
Realized early afternoon that I lost my range finder. Tried to follow my path back on the way out, but it would have been like finding a needle in a haystack and my eyes aren’t that good.
Wednesday morning, I went to my “easy spot” half mile up a 350’ hill to a place I’ve called in bulls on several occasions. Had a few bugles in the 30 minutes before first light so at first light, I hit a couple calls and heard rocks rolling and limbs snapping. Sure enough a bull comes through about 35 yards, but there isn’t enough light to see if he is legal or not. I actually thought he was a spike at first. Once he cleared the brush and was out in the open meadow, I was able to use my binos and see he was a decent 5 X 5. He hung around for about 5 minutes and at one point got to what I think was 50 yards. However, I didn’t have my range finder so I chose to pass. I hope by next week, I’m glad I didn’t have my range finder.
Stopped at McDs to get a drink, use their wifi and now I’m headed to the next town over to get a new range finder. Ugh!
Man, I’m glad you’re having a good time Darrell. You need/deserve it! Love the updates as you are able. 🙂
Not much the past couple of days. The muzzle loader hunters have pushed the elk out of my honey hole. They still have there backpack tent in the saddle at the very top of the area. I can’t believe they camped there. Their scent would have been constantly going down the draw. They are from a couple hours away so I’m guessing they will be hiking in to get the tent this weekend. Nice guys and I insulted the guy somewhat with my initial “you camped where?” and stunned/disgusted look on my face. 🙂
I have a few other spots I want to check out. Hopefully the elk will move back in. There are some there. I did have a young bull and a few cows on my game camera Wednesday at noon and before the thunderstorms rolled through.
Satellite texting saved me from getting pummeled on Wednesday. I was texting my old hunting partner who was checking radar for me. I sat through three rounds in my truck of heavy downpours and quite a bit of hail, including some golf ball sized stuff. Just watching the clouds, I probably would have headed out after round 1.
Darrell, sounds awesome, except for the muzzy hunters. I can tell you where your range finder us, just check at the bottom of the lake.,…..right next to your cell phone! I hope you at least get a shot while you are there.
20
Oh my! Got to meadow at first light and let out a few calls. Right away I can see an elk coming my way from the top about 400 yards away. I pull out my binos and sure enough, it’s a nice bull.
I pull out my new range finder and it has nothing. I push the on button over and over to get distances and nothing but a blank screen. Crap!
I start looking at grass clumps and try to make my best guesses, hoping he will come all the down and give me a 30 yard or less shot.
He hangs up for a bit, just out of site about 75 yards away. I’m trying to be patient when I hear hoofs trotting away. What? Wind is perfect and I haven’t moved what could be spooking him?
I hit some hard cow calls and he stops and looks my direction. After a minute or so, he starts walking my way. He’s at about 30 when I try to draw and the movement spooks him. He whirls but then stops broadside. This time he lets me draw and I guess him to be at 40. I settle my pins on his chest and let it fly. Perfect line and then it drops just below his chest. I might have even taken off a few hairs. He whirls again and then stops 150 yards out and tries to figure out what happened.
I’m able to get a great broadside view with my binos and know it was a clean miss. He moves into the brush and barks at me for the five minutes.
I make a lame attempt at finding my arrow and move on up to the top of the meadow and very edge of my boundary.
For the next two hours I have multiple bulls screaming their heads off at me from just beyond my boundary. Even now at 9:45 with full sunshine, they still fire off every time I call. At about 7 one of them came to within 75 yards, maybe less as I had moved into thick stuff. Debating about going down to my wallow to check the game camera and maybe sit there a bit or just staying here in the hopes that one decides to come investigate that loud cow that won’t come to us.
Oh and I’m on one of the rare spots that has cell coverage so I decided to post, in part to help me sit here longer.
This is awesome to read!
Love the updates as available! Hopefully the fuzzy muzzy guyz are gone.
That bear footage was pretty impressive, you were pretty calm. I probably would have been shaking watching him get closer. Was that a cinnamon or a griz? Also, I will take notes tomorrow evening, Doug is going to lead, so I am sure there will be some gold nuggets thrown out to the guys!
23
Finally had a chance to come into town. Actually my weather app was calling for rain so I thought it would be a good time to come in and take care of a few things.
Anyway, its been a wild few days. Still no elk down, but I did launch another arrow last night.
Sunday was mostly uneventful. Some bugling action again just outside my area but Monday got interesting.
It started off with needing to do a fairly quick morning hunt because I had to move my camp. Long frustrating story, but it felt like a wasted day but then turned into something quite different.
I went to a spot I had found several years ago with a hidden wallow back in the oaks not too far from the main parking lot. (1.0 mile according to my watch) I Found the wallow and there was some decent sign. I heard a bull bugle a few times below me around 7. Very low bugle with some growls. He seemed interested in my calls, but being downhill from me, I knew it would work as the morning thermals were taking my scent his way.
About 9, I did some clearing of dead limbs and created a little bit of a hiding spot that I thought I would come back to later.
Hustled down and moved my camp. Decided it was worth it to set up my big tent again as I’m spoiled and don’t like sleeping on the ground.
Finally about 4, I headed out to the top with the plans of doing an easy hunt by driving through the private ranch, dropping off the rim to the first meadow and seeing if I could call something in. The drive through the ranch is a royal pain. Takes 55 minutes from my camp to my parking spot even though its only 13 miles. The road is mostly a two-track with lots of lava rocks sticking up everywhere.
Anyway, I get out of the truck and start getting ready and “oh crap! Where’s my backpack?” In the chaos of moving, I had set my backpack inside my tent and guess what? It was still there.
The voice of the enemy starts hammering me with messages of “You are such an idiot” and “The elk are all gone.” “You wasted your only opportunity” and etc. I was tired, discouraged and honestly thought about packing up and calling it quits. However, that was a fleeting thought. I was able to call Deb and express to her that I always hit this phase in my hunts. I knew it was fleeting, but it felt real in the moment. She was a great encouragement and while still feeling the effects of the assault, I felt good about driving back to camp, grabbing my backpack and going back up to the wallow from the morning.
I made it about 100 yards below the spot I prepared that morning when a bull bugled above me. I hit him with some cow calls and he bugles a second time. I give him 3 more and next thing I know he’s at 40 yards on a determined walk straight at me in the oak brush. He stops head on at 10 yards, but I haven’t had a chance to draw. He stares at me for 30 seconds or more and then, since he can’t see any cows, gets nervous and whirls to head back from where he came. I hit him with cow calls and stopped him, but by now he is about 35 yards away in thick oak brush. Had a small window through the oaks so against better judgement, I let it fly.
Thunk!
Now for those who have never bowhunted, Thunk is not the sound you want to hear. The sound you want to hear is a sound that is like hitting a watermelon.
The thunk I heard was a very clear sound telling me I center punched a skinny oak tree and bull vacated.
He was big too. I didn’t have a chance to count points, but definitely a wide mature bull and at 10 yards facing me, trust me, he was huge!
When I texted Deb about it she had a very appropiate response, “Sounds like a lot of excitement for plan b.”
I shouldn’t have shot and I was blessed to not have wounded him.
Again, came the enemy’s not so subtle attacks. “You dummy, you should have drawn when his head went down to maneuver through the oaks. If you had, he would be dead as a close frontal is a shot you’ve made before.”
However, here is the reality. I have also tried drawing in situations similar to that and gotten busted or else the bull suddenly stops with no shot opportunity and then busts me when I have to let down. Guess what the enemy hits me with then? “Dummy, you should have been patient. If you hadn’t of drawn so early, you would have killed that bull.”
Our enemy doesn’t fight fair. I love Jesus line about him in John, “When he lies, he speaks his native language.” Anytime anything goes wrong, he’s going to tell us it was our fault.
Anyway, after the bull ran off, I got possessed about retrieving my arrow and broadhead. Did you know that oak is a hard wood? I finally got it out, and while the arrow will live see other days, the broadhead was shot. I should have just left the arrow in the tree as after I finally got it out, I moved on over to the spot I had prepared, took off my pack and was reliving what just happened when I suddenly heard hooves behind me. Another elk, probably another bull coming to the cow calls had come in behind me when I wasn’t paying attention.
What an evening!
23
This morning I was back driving through the rancher’s property intending to just hunt a saddle right of the rim. The bugling of bulls, however, drug me back to the canyon with my wallow.
I had just taken off my pack and was starting to get settled when I look across the draw and realize a bull is staring at me. He was a very nice 5 X 5 but he had seen enough of me that his curiosity wasn’t going to get the best of him. He barked at me once and started to leave, but a few cow calls brought him back to the opening. He was 106 yards away which is about 50 yards out of my range, but I was able to converse with him for about 10 minutes before he decided to head on up the opposite hillside.
There was some good bugling action going on up the canyon, but it sounded like it was right on or just past my boundary so I decided I wanted to give them one more day to hopefully come back to my side and I eased back to the saddle to see if anything moved through.
It turned out to be a great move. The saddle has just enough sun and is nice and flat so I was able to stretch out and get a nice nap. In my IP journaling I heard
“We are also glad to see you rest this morning. It’s hard for you to rest above the wallow. Coming to the saddle was a very good move and allowing yourself to lie down and nap was a good move.
Darrell, we see you lying in the sun, or at least trying to as it is elusive in trees you are in, and we see how your heart is being restored by nature and by connecting with us.”
Quick side note–All week when I’ve been doing IP Journalling the responses I’ve been hearing have all been “We” as in plural as in Father, Son and Spirit. Some really interesting things.
Time to sign out and we what “They” have in store for me this evening!
Set up by the wet spot. It’s only about 3’ and barely has water in it. However, there’s a highway going by it. Heard a bull “Yulp” not very far above me at 8.
Going to sit here til 10, then build a blind and clear some lanes for tomorrow afternoon.
Darrell, I love your shares about how the enemy attacks us in subtle ways. Even in the wilderness as was Jesus. So powerful to see your steadfastness in calling upon Jesus. Thanks for sharing your hunt with us, I feel as though I’m there.
Geese, this is like listening to a great radio show, and you can’t wait to hear what happens next. It is great to read how you address attacks by the enemy. Helps to show us that you practice what you teach us! Keep us in the loop!!!!
I completely echo Dudley’s response. I love the WE in your IP journalism’s. That right there would make the trip for me. THEY are so VERY good! Now, of course, selfishly I will add, want you to get your bull. Not for the mount/rack but for the chili and backstraps!! 🙂
I echo Doug’s response on the hunt and the chili. Good Hunting, enjoy yourself and more importantly, enjoy your time with God!! 🙏
Rained out last night and Not much in the way of elk this morning, but here’s a section from my IP Journaling while on the hillside
Darrell, we hear you as you wrestle with hearing from us. Last year we spoke more clearly because that is what you needed. This year, we are enjoying your willingness to wait, to ask and continue to wait. Like your hunt for elk, there is much more to the journey than the end result.
We are calling you to pursue us like you do elk. To keep chipping away, to keep asking, to keep doing what you sense us calling you to do
Headed back to where I had the standoff with the bull two nights ago.
Darrell, I love your shares about how the enemy attacks us in subtle ways. Even in the wilderness as was Jesus. So powerful to see your steadfastness in calling upon Jesus. Thanks for sharing your hunt with us, I feel as though I’m there.
Love the new awareness of the Trinity’s presence!
Yesterday was a wild day. I am in town and started to post about it, but my laptop is down to 6% and I don’t have my charger with me. I’ll try to post about it tomorrow.
Good Sunday afternoon. I wanted to pass on some great news. Darrell harvested a 5×5 elk this morning about 0545 local time. That is such great news, now the real work begins, but as you all know, this is going to be a real labor of love for Darrell. He did promise that the elk chili pot will be full to running over some time this winter. Prayers of Thanksgiving go to God, and I am sending prayers of Thanksgiving that we have Darrell in our lives as well! Congrats Darrell. We are anxiously awaiting pics and the story.
The thing I just realized, if you have been reading Darrell’s Elk hunting blog, he is out in Colorado, having the time of his life, and he still took time to teach us. He mentioned being discouraged early on with the hunt, then he does some Emmanuel prayer stuff, so praying, and basically denying any kind of foothold for the enemy, and now this. I can’t say enough how lucky we are to have Darrell in our lives!