2017 results thread

Nice young muley buck taken at only 35 yards. Buckled down without moving one inch. Amazingly no exit wound with a 30-06 Spine shot. Have the bullet as a keepsake.

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By far the most productive season I have ever had. Both animals dropped in their tracks on the first shot. My trusty old Encore in .25-06 with a 110gr Accubond did the trick again.

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Originally Posted by encorehunter

By far the most productive season I have ever had. Both animals dropped in their tracks on the first shot. My trusty old Encore in .25-06 with a 110gr Accubond did the trick again.

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Good job!

This year construction projects at home conspired to delay my hunt and I lost the first six days of the season. I finally got to my camp site in the Flat Tops region and was out before dawn on Friday. I climbed the mountain, over the top and into some aspen parks, then slowly ventured down into the dark spruce-fir timber. Before long I spotted a brown patch and brought up the binoculars. Sure enough, it was a bull elk laying in his bed looking my direction, and I could count four points on his left side. In a second or two he would bust out and be gone so I took the quick offhand shot. The 180 gr. Nosler Partition cleaved his heart and went through the lungs. Still, he stood, walked 27 yards and collapsed down an embankment.

I made the shot from 47 yards. Remarkably, where I shot him in his bed was 24 yards from where my 2016 cow elk was downed. I shot the cow at 27 yards on the first day of season last year. Both times, had I not been using binoculars while moving through the woods, those elk would have been gone before I could get a shot, or even a view. I love hunting the dark timber because it's so elky and pungent. The forest is so thick it's not easy to get close enough for a shot but when you do, it sure is gratifying. Oh yea, I'm one lucky son of a gun.

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I camp near an outfitter and usually hire them to pack out my elk. Much easier, and better than letting a bear get to it. Saturday morning, Cole had horses and mules ready to go and we had the animal back in camp by noon. I drove home and got the meat in the refrigerator before dark. Now the butchering begins....

Attachment 72377

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Originally Posted by encorehunter

By far the most productive season I have ever had. Both animals dropped in their tracks on the first shot. My trusty old Encore in .25-06 with a 110gr Accubond did the trick again.

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Outstanding, you can't get much better than a buck and a bull in the same season. Congratulations!

Thank you. Both of these guys were on public land.

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Originally Posted by spqrzilla

In mid month, my group went back to an area we hadn't hunted in at least a decade. Just east of the Flattops on Derby Mesa. We were surprised at how little game we saw. I saw a small band of cow elk on the first morning but we never saw any more the whole trip. I saw a pair of muley bucks twice, the same pair. And that was it. Years back the area was filled with mule deer and elk. Obviously the warm weather meant that the elk were still high but the amount of sign we saw was very disappointing.

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Ditto. Drew leftover and hunted Dome Peak area for muzzleloader. Over 5 days heard 1 shot, way too warm. Won't gamble on 1st choice next year. Went back second rifle and heard 2 shots and saw very little sign.

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Originally Posted by Hummer

This year construction projects at home conspired to delay my hunt and I lost the first six days of the season. I finally got to my camp site in the Flat Tops region and was out before dawn on Friday. I climbed the mountain, over the top and into some aspen parks, then slowly ventured down into the dark spruce-fir timber. Before long I spotted a brown patch and brought up the binoculars. Sure enough, it was a bull elk laying in his bed looking my direction, and I could count four points on his left side. In a second or two he would bust out and be gone so I took the quick offhand shot. The 180 gr. Nosler Partition cleaved his heart and went through the lungs. Still, he stood, walked 27 yards and collapsed down an embankment.

I made the shot from 47 yards. Remarkably, where I shot him in his bed was 24 yards from where my 2016 cow elk was downed. I shot the cow at 27 yards on the first day of season last year. Both times, had I not been using binoculars while moving through the woods, those elk would have been gone before I could get a shot, or even a view. I love hunting the dark timber because it's so elky and pungent. The forest is so thick it's not easy to get close enough for a shot but when you do, it sure is gratifying. Oh yea, I'm one lucky son of a gun.

Attachment 72376


I camp near an outfitter and usually hire them to pack out my elk. Much easier, and better than letting a bear get to it. Saturday morning, Cole had horses and mules ready to go and we had the animal back in camp by noon. I drove home and got the meat in the refrigerator before dark. Now the butchering begins....

Attachment 72377

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Awesome post. Thank you for sharing. And congrats are in order.

My year!

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Originally Posted by jhood001

Awesome post. Thank you for sharing. And congrats are in order.

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Thanks, J-- !