Once In A Lifetime Elk Hunt

fyimo · November 7, 2009, 12:56 PM

Last month I went on a Elk Hunt that my two son's and I did in Colorado after applying and waiting 18 years to draw.

We had a wonderful Elk hunt and it was a first on so many levels for all three of us. We had waited 18 years gathering preference points and we finally drew in area 61 near Nucla, Colorado. We were unfamiliar with the area so we hired the Gravey Brother's Guiding Service and it was a first ever guided hunt for the three of us. Stan Garvey runs the company and he and his brother Joe guide on hunts along with Dustin Gravey Stan's son and Doug a long time friend of the family. In fact Doug's dad had his own guiding service in the past and it is closed now so Doug guides for Stan. The last first is that this is the first time in my 27 years of Elk hunting that we were actually hunting during the rut. The rut was winding down but the Bulls were still bugling. So the guides would take us out before daylight to the spot they wanted to hunt and then as it was just getting light they would either make a cow call or bugle and we would wait to see who called back. When a bull responds then the game is on and your guide leads you in a quest to get close to the bull and to evaluate the rack and size of the bull it to see if it's a shooter and one that you want. I passed on several really nice 6x6 bulls the first two days and even a very large 5x5 that was bigger then the bull I eventually killed.

The season was a 5 day season and we hadn't killed anything during the first two days. On the morning of the third day Monday the 12th Jim, Glenn, and I were all anxious at breakfast at 4 AM and we talked about who would get the first bull. We were each going with a guide to a different area and we would find out later how each of us did. I had Stan Garvey that morning and Jim had his Brother Joe. We drove for two hours (40 miles) in a Chevy pickup and did a huge box on the roads to end up in a remote area just 5 miles above our base camp. Stan and I headed out in the dark and we went over a small ridge and then descended into a valley filled with aspen's, pines, and scrub oak. After we went about a 1/2 mile Stan made an Elk Bugle and in almost an instant we had three bulls answering back. Stan evaluated the quality of the bugles and told me which one he thought was the biggest and most mature. We started our stalk and it lasted about 25 minutes and we were really close and when the bull would bugle it was such a rush. Then some cow Elk got between us and the bull and spooked the bull and he went with them.

So Stan moved us a few hundred yards and started over with a fresh bugle. We quickly were on another bull and after a 20 minute stalk we saw the bull I ended up taking. He's a 7X6 and he scores 281 which is a really good bull but not a super bull. He was really hot after Stan Called him in and he basically stepped in between two stands of scrub oak at 100 yards giving me a 10 inch opening to shoot at. The Sako 338 did it's job and he went a very short way and was piled up at 7:30 AM.

My 7x6 Bull taken Monday

Well the day was still filled with more firsts as Jim shot a 6x6 that is perfectly symmetrical and scored the same as my bull and he got his at 8:30 AM. Glenn got a 6x6 that scored 300 and was the best in our group and He got his 9:30 AM. His bull was a fighter as he had two main points broken off but he is an awesome Bull

My Sons Jim and Glenn with their Elk racks after the Elk was caped

cornbush · November 7, 2009, 12:59 PM

Very nice, great bulls and sounds like a great time with your boys.

ZeroJunk · November 7, 2009, 01:37 PM

Fantastic.

jrothWA · November 7, 2009, 01:43 PM

commercial handloads? etc

Fat White Boy · November 7, 2009, 01:50 PM

That's what is is all about!! Hard to beat being out in the field with your kids...

hogdogs · November 7, 2009, 02:03 PM

All nice critters... Glad all 3 of ya' scored a kill on the same hunt!
Brent

fyimo · November 7, 2009, 02:13 PM

jrothWA

I shot my Elk with my Sako 338 Win mag with a handload. The load was a Hornady 225 grain SP bullet loaded to 2915 FPS with 74 grains of IMR 4350 and a CCI 250 primer. My Son Glenn borrowed my Sako 7mm mag and that was shot with a reload round also with a Sierra Gameking SBT 160 grain bullet doing 3010 FPS loaded with 66 grains of H4831 and a CCI 250 primer. My Son Jim was using a 30-06 shooting Fedreral Premium ammo in 165 grain with barnes bullet. The animals were all taken on public land in area 61.

RC1986 · November 7, 2009, 06:54 PM

fyimo, looks like a great time! i cant wait to go elk hunting again, only done it twice before and the experience was awesome.

Kendrickson · November 11, 2009, 06:07 AM

Wow! I've got two boys ages 7 and 5. I sure hope when they grow up that we have an opportunity like you and your boys. Congratulations on the nice elk!

DRice.72 · November 11, 2009, 07:22 AM

fyimo, Nice hunt! Congratulations on the elk, beautiful animals!

Waterengineer · November 11, 2009, 08:45 AM

Those are very nice public land bulls. Congrats to all three of you. Lots of tasty eats right there. I'm jealous!

The weather looks way to nice for CO this late even in southwest CO, around Nucla.

Mike U. · November 14, 2009, 04:31 AM

The antlers on elk never cease to amaze me.

Awesome.
Congrats for a great hunt.

Bosshoff · November 15, 2009, 11:34 PM

Your boys will always look back at this as the best money you three ever spent. Congrats.

November 7, 2009, 12:56 PM	#1
fyimo Senior Member Join Date: November 6, 2009 Posts: 360	Once In A Lifetime Elk Hunt Last month I went on a Elk Hunt that my two son's and I did in Colorado after applying and waiting 18 years to draw. We had a wonderful Elk hunt and it was a first on so many levels for all three of us. We had waited 18 years gathering preference points and we finally drew in area 61 near Nucla, Colorado. We were unfamiliar with the area so we hired the Gravey Brother's Guiding Service and it was a first ever guided hunt for the three of us. Stan Garvey runs the company and he and his brother Joe guide on hunts along with Dustin Gravey Stan's son and Doug a long time friend of the family. In fact Doug's dad had his own guiding service in the past and it is closed now so Doug guides for Stan. The last first is that this is the first time in my 27 years of Elk hunting that we were actually hunting during the rut. The rut was winding down but the Bulls were still bugling. So the guides would take us out before daylight to the spot they wanted to hunt and then as it was just getting light they would either make a cow call or bugle and we would wait to see who called back. When a bull responds then the game is on and your guide leads you in a quest to get close to the bull and to evaluate the rack and size of the bull it to see if it's a shooter and one that you want. I passed on several really nice 6x6 bulls the first two days and even a very large 5x5 that was bigger then the bull I eventually killed. The season was a 5 day season and we hadn't killed anything during the first two days. On the morning of the third day Monday the 12th Jim, Glenn, and I were all anxious at breakfast at 4 AM and we talked about who would get the first bull. We were each going with a guide to a different area and we would find out later how each of us did. I had Stan Garvey that morning and Jim had his Brother Joe. We drove for two hours (40 miles) in a Chevy pickup and did a huge box on the roads to end up in a remote area just 5 miles above our base camp. Stan and I headed out in the dark and we went over a small ridge and then descended into a valley filled with aspen's, pines, and scrub oak. After we went about a 1/2 mile Stan made an Elk Bugle and in almost an instant we had three bulls answering back. Stan evaluated the quality of the bugles and told me which one he thought was the biggest and most mature. We started our stalk and it lasted about 25 minutes and we were really close and when the bull would bugle it was such a rush. Then some cow Elk got between us and the bull and spooked the bull and he went with them. So Stan moved us a few hundred yards and started over with a fresh bugle. We quickly were on another bull and after a 20 minute stalk we saw the bull I ended up taking. He's a 7X6 and he scores 281 which is a really good bull but not a super bull. He was really hot after Stan Called him in and he basically stepped in between two stands of scrub oak at 100 yards giving me a 10 inch opening to shoot at. The Sako 338 did it's job and he went a very short way and was piled up at 7:30 AM. My 7x6 Bull taken Monday Well the day was still filled with more firsts as Jim shot a 6x6 that is perfectly symmetrical and scored the same as my bull and he got his at 8:30 AM. Glenn got a 6x6 that scored 300 and was the best in our group and He got his 9:30 AM. His bull was a fighter as he had two main points broken off but he is an awesome Bull My Sons Jim and Glenn with their Elk racks after the Elk was caped

November 7, 2009, 01:43 PM	#4
jrothWA Senior Member Join Date: November 11, 2006 Posts: 2,519	nice, what were you using??? commercial handloads? etc

November 7, 2009, 06:54 PM	#8
RC1986 Member Join Date: November 6, 2009 Location: New England Posts: 44	fyimo, looks like a great time! i cant wait to go elk hunting again, only done it twice before and the experience was awesome. __________________ Sniping your enemy is like hunting any other animal.

November 11, 2009, 07:22 AM	#10
DRice.72 Senior Member Join Date: October 19, 2009 Location: Western North Carolina Posts: 451	fyimo, Nice hunt! Congratulations on the elk, beautiful animals! __________________ They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety - Benjamin Franklin Light is faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright unitl you hear them speak! They should have stopped with "Congress shall make no Law...

November 14, 2009, 04:31 AM	#12
Mike U. Senior Member Join Date: April 2, 2007 Location: In Oz, next door to the Lollipop Guild's HQ Posts: 404	The antlers on elk never cease to amaze me. Awesome. Congrats for a great hunt. __________________ L'Chayim!

November 7, 2009, 12:59 PM	#2
cornbush Senior Member Join Date: September 29, 2008 Location: The retarded place below Idaho Posts: 1,408	Very nice, great bulls and sounds like a great time with your boys.

November 7, 2009, 01:37 PM	#3
ZeroJunk Senior Member Join Date: August 14, 2006 Location: Browns Summit NC Posts: 2,589	Fantastic.

November 7, 2009, 01:50 PM	#5
Fat White Boy Senior Member Join Date: March 18, 2005 Posts: 1,276	That's what is is all about!! Hard to beat being out in the field with your kids...

November 7, 2009, 02:03 PM	#6
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	All nice critters... Glad all 3 of ya' scored a kill on the same hunt! Brent

November 7, 2009, 02:13 PM	#7
fyimo Senior Member Join Date: November 6, 2009 Posts: 360	jrothWA I shot my Elk with my Sako 338 Win mag with a handload. The load was a Hornady 225 grain SP bullet loaded to 2915 FPS with 74 grains of IMR 4350 and a CCI 250 primer. My Son Glenn borrowed my Sako 7mm mag and that was shot with a reload round also with a Sierra Gameking SBT 160 grain bullet doing 3010 FPS loaded with 66 grains of H4831 and a CCI 250 primer. My Son Jim was using a 30-06 shooting Fedreral Premium ammo in 165 grain with barnes bullet. The animals were all taken on public land in area 61.

November 11, 2009, 06:07 AM	#9
Kendrickson Member Join Date: October 28, 2007 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 33	Wow! I've got two boys ages 7 and 5. I sure hope when they grow up that we have an opportunity like you and your boys. Congratulations on the nice elk!

November 11, 2009, 08:45 AM	#11
Waterengineer Senior Member Join Date: February 7, 2006 Location: Aurora, CO and Palm Beach, FL Posts: 863	Those are very nice public land bulls. Congrats to all three of you. Lots of tasty eats right there. I'm jealous! The weather looks way to nice for CO this late even in southwest CO, around Nucla.

November 15, 2009, 11:34 PM	#13
Bosshoff Senior Member Join Date: May 20, 2004 Posts: 173	Your boys will always look back at this as the best money you three ever spent. Congrats. __________________ Chop Chop!

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