It's been a fantastic fall hunting season, so I thought I'd share a few pics/stories for folks to enjoy.  Some of this was posted in the CO HTF earlier, but some was not, so I'm throwing all the pics in here.

I started the season with a once in a lifetime bull moose tag for the Grand Mesa area of Colorado.  I spent many weekends prior to the hunt scouting the area, about 8 in total.  We took the kids up for the first few, just tooling around on quads getting familiar with the lay of the land and having some great family time camping and wheeling.



About a month before the season opened, I figured it was time to get serious.  The next 4 weekends were spent scouting the area extensively.  I was fortunate enough to have spoken with a few local hunters that had successfully harvested moose in the same units I would be hunting.  I has also done a ton of map scouting, plotting previous kills, antler sizes, public land, etc. etc.

All the research seemed to be paying some dividends a few weeks into the scouting.



I knew I was in the right area, but was not seeing any moose.  I was into elk every weekend, but the scouting season came and went without putting eyes on a single moose.

The opening day of the moose season I traveled to a more remote area of the forest that was a 20 mile drive from camp.  It was wrought with rain and snow, but again, no moose.  The next day I decided to skip the 20 mile drive in the snow, and concentrate around where I had found the shed.  The habitat was right, and with the fresh snow I might have a better chance of glassing one up even though the sign had been scarce and I had not seen any moose.  That morning, while glassing remote hillsides from a ridge top, I managed to call this bull and a cow up the mountain to within 75 yards, after hearing their calls in the brush below me.  He presented a perfect broadside shot, and the .280 Ackley hit it's mark.





The next day was spend quartering and packing, then a dash down the mountain to the taxidermist and CPW.  I did the hunt, quartering, and packing solo.  Lucky for me, the ATV trail was a scant 1/4 mile from the kill.



With the moose in the freezer, it was time to hook up with some long time friends for some elk hunting in SW Colorado.  My buddies were each successful within the first day, with much packing to do for all.



We had a great camp.  I got beat by the elk's nose a few times, and passed on a marginal shot the last day of the season.  Time to eat some humble pie, I was the only one in camp coming home without an elk.  Still, I enjoyed the time in the woods and the great camp company.  





I still had one cow tag in my pocket for a unit right around home.  A buddy was joining me for the hunt with the same cow tag.  He had just started elk hunting the year before, and had not killed one yet.  We had scouted the unit a lot that summer, and I knew there were elk, we were just going to have to work for them. The first two days of the season were full of weather.  Rain, thunder sleet, and eventually snow.



We came down the mountain mid-week for work stuff, then went back up the mountain.  Upon returning, we glassed up some elk from camp about 3 miles away on the ridge above camp.  An few hours later, and 1400 feet higher, we found another herd a couple miles closer to camp.  Playing the wind, and patiently waiting for the cows to get off their beds and feed, we sat in the sun and listened to the mewing back and forth.  When the herd became quiet, we knew they had moved off their bed and began to feed on the hillside.  We worked the wind, and my friend connected with the first cow we caught out in the open.



One down, one to go.  An hour later, while quartering the cow, I heard the familiar mews of the herd.  They had circled around and were on top of the ridge.  10 minutes later, my 280 Ackley sounded off again.



We spend the next few hours quartering and hanging meat, then returned to camp in the moonlight.  

The following day and 1/2 was spent packing the elk the 2 miles, and 1400 vertical feet down to camp.  





Time now to cut meat.    

Big game is done for me this year, but I hope the other hunters on here have a successful and safe hunting season.

-Mark

Great job.  It's my understanding that getting a CO moose is really an accomplishment.

Hope you have a couple big freezers.

Great stuff! Thank you for sharing. Your kids look like they're having a blast hangin' with dad, too.

My understanding as well. Congrats!

Actually bagging an animal on a Once in a lifetime CO Moose tag  now that sir is an accomplishment.

 

Very cool, even more so, beats sitting a tree stand playing on iphones (lol..GD related subject)

Awesome post, super awesome moose. That is the holy grail. I've lived in CO for 3 years now and killed my first mulie 2nd season. Killing anything and getting it back to camp is a huge accomplishment. I grew up hunting Missoui whitetails and this mountain stuff ain't easy.

Cooooooooooooooooool story,Mark.

I am envious that I can't hunt the high country anymore.I'm glad that you and your kids and friends can enjoy the times and the hunt.
Best wishes for a hundred more success stories.

Thanks for the comments, and glad to share.  I agree, the mountain stuff ain't easy, but it sure is fun.

very

thanks for sharing.

clown

It's stories and pics like this that let me know 'big game' hunting here in Missouri is relatively easy.

I've drug deer a long way out of some deep ravines, but...

Hat's off to you OP ( and other REAL Big Game hunters ) !!!!!

Way to get 'er done.  

Thanks for sharing OP, great pics!

I hunted Missouri almost 20 years before moving to CO. I don't care how hard one prepares, CO will kick your ass. When someone shows a moose like the OP has here, he earned it, not doubt about it.

Great pics! Awesome moose!

How many points did you need for the bull tag? I've heard 8-10. I have 3 currently.

I was at 3-6.  3 non-weighted and 6 weighted.  Moose, goat, sheep are all still random draws, its just that more weighted points gives you a light advantage mathematically.  It really depends on the random number assigned to your app, and luck.  

Thanks for the comments on the pics.

Awesome story and pics. We also fly a flag at elk camp