Colorado Elk and Bear Hunt

Well I have been a little short of time lately with working overtime at work and planning and packing for an Elk Hunt in Colorado next month. I am glad to say I am now all ready and just waiting for the days to roll by until my departure date. I have my flights and accommodation booked and a rental car all sorted, I just got a cheap banger as it will spend some time parked up at a trail head while I am hunting. The plan is to park up at a predetermined location where a friend will meet me and we will pack in to a camp he has set up some time prior to my arrival.  I have elected to do this hunt as an Archery hunt in order to keep the paperwork down and maximise my time in the mountains as Rifle tags are not as easy to get and the seasons are much shorter, rifle season lasts days as opposed to a full month for Archery.

Colorado Elk and Bear Tags.

I managed to get a Black Bear tag as well and it is marked as a rifle tag which also allows me to use it during Archery season if I am using a Bow. There are a few quirks with the Tag system and I am glad I had a friend that is familiar with it to help me out.
I have also spent a fair bit of time brushing up on my Archery skills, now I have been using a bow on and off for the last 30 years, so it wasn't like I was getting into something new. I am using a 70lb compound bow with a 60% let off, Carbon arrows and 125 grain twin fixed blade broad heads. I am pleased to say that I have no trouble keeping my shots well within an A4 paper sized target out to 50 meters.

We will be hunting during what is called the Bugle (Rut) and will be attempting to call the Bull Elk in to Archery range, my friend regularly calls Bulls in to under 30 meters so I should be right if all goes to plan and the Elk play the game.
Now what am I going to do with all the meat if I do manage to get an Elk or Bear?  This was a major consideration as it is Colorado law that all meat must be recovered. Fortunately the law also provides that one can "donate" the meat to a 3rd party once it has been recovered, there is a form that goes with the meat to track it's origin and ensure it was taken legally. I have decided to donate any meat I get to a local Veterans charity and my friend has made all the arrangements on my behalf, I simply need to deliver the meat to a local processor and fill in the paperwork, they take care of the rest.

So stay tuned and on the look out for some Elk hunting as i'm all packed and counting down the days.