Editor's Note: Tony Sanders, the host of Tony Sanders Outdoors heard every Saturday morning from 6:00-8:00 AM on WGOW 102.3 FM is on the road elk hunting near Hotchkiss, Colorado.

This is Part II of the experience he shares with Chattanoogan.com Outdoors readers. Click HERE to read Part I.

The hunting continues to be slow but there are some signs of improvement. On day two of the hunt, we start to hear bulls bugle at night where the first evening had been quiet. When you hear a bull at night, you have a clear idea of where they are spending the night; much like Turkey hunting, this is where the next morning hunt will start. As in deer hunting, you are trying to locate three things for elk; bedding, feeding and watering areas.

Larry, a competition archer from Kentucky, was able to pin point two bulls bedding on Saturday evening in an area called Little Forest; a dense Aspen and Oak stand a great distance off the beaten path.

The most overwhelming aspect of elk hunting to me is the shear vastness of the area being hunted.

Vast area to hunt - Photo by Tony Sanders

Deer hunting for me is confined to a few hundred acres at any given time. With elk, the area can be miles. These animals are not small and have greater food and water needs than deer. As they transition from feeding to watering to bedding area, these animals can cover a great distance or stay confined to a small area. They can be very unpredictable and early season archery can be frustrating to the average whitetail hunter.

Chris Willmore, a Chattanooga Fire Captain and SCI Vice-President, has been working two watering holes. A large pond called Goldy Locks and another area called Bear Wallow. He is putting in his time at these spots hoping to get an opportunity to harvest one of these magnificent animals. On the second night of hunting, Chris finally sees a cow, but not after seeing something unexpected.

Near sunset, a very large cat... and we are not talking house cat... decided he/she wanted some water. The mountain lion was within forty yards of Chris’ stand and seemed just as surprised to see him. She made a hasty retreat and Chris’ heart began to beat at a more normal pace.

I mentioned a cow elk; she came into the area, winded the lion, spun and made a hasty retreat. He never had an opportunity to draw his bow.

Here is another mistake that both Chris and I made. In Colorado, humans are not necessary the top of the food chain. Having not done what I tell my hunter safety students to do, always know the rules and regulation where you hunt, I was quite shocked to see archers with rather large caliber firearms strapped to their belts. In Colorado, and probably other western states, you are allowed to openly carry a sidearm when archery hunting. It is for one purpose... your protection from animals that can eat you. The aforementioned cats and rather ill-mannered black bears inhabit the same area we think elk are staying. These animals are quite capable of taking you out before you can react.

After walking out of my stand one night through an area I was sure contained bears (I saw scat), I took the lead guide Curly’s offer of a .357 revolver. I hunted the rest of the week with the sidearm. If we had done the homework on Colorado, we would not have been the only entrees walking in the woods without a firearm.

On Sunday evening, finally a bull is taken. Tim, a log home builder from Ohio, hunting with his two sons, takes a beautiful 6x6 elk. For those unfamiliar with this nomenclature, this is a 12 point elk. This is one of the bulls that Larry had pin pointed the night before. Due to a knee problem plaguing Larry, Tim was in position to take the bull. They did not get the bull to camp until after 2:00 AM and it was at the taxidermist soon afterwards.

On Labor Day, the hunts continue. I mentioned in the first article you can both stalk and call or you can sit on a watering hole waiting on the elk

The Watering Hole - Photo by Tony Sanders

The stalk and calling was left up to a Peruvian guide name Robert. If you were selected to hunt with Robert, you had better put on your walking shoes. When Robert is not guiding hunters, he is a sheep herder for the land owner, Kip Farmer. To say Robert knows the mountain side would be an understatement.

Another hunter Jeremy, on one of these long treks with Robert, was in camp telling about walking for three hours after dark out of a hunting area with Robert not ever turning on his flash light. According to Jeremy, they walked the exact path out of the woods.

Another aspect of elk hunting that I wished I had experienced was hunting from horses. Once I realized after a coupe of days that the hunting was slow, I tried to book the horses for a trip into the mountains but they were already reserved. Several hunters availed themselves of another guide named Gary and his stable of horses. Starting at sun up, you rode the horses into the elks’ habitat looking for sign. This is best suited for gun hunting; however these hunters enjoyed the opportunities presented. They had several opportunities for shots, but due to the issues of sitting atop a horse and drawing a bow, they became missed opportunities. All of them still raved about hunting from the horses and that is the one regret I bring back from Colorado.

On Monday evening, Chris finally gets another opportunity. A cow and a yearling calf walk into the Goldy Locks pond area. As he brings the bow to full draw settling on the vital area of the cow, the calf looks over her shoulder. Just behind these two is another, bigger cow. Since Chris shoots left-handed, this presented an easier shot for him and she was standing at a comfortable 25 yards. Chris aimed, and released the arrow in the direction of second cow. The shot was perfect burying up to the fletching in the lung area. She bounded off in the direction she came crashing into trees as she fled. After only 120 yards she stopped running. The hunt was over for Chris; he had filled his tag.

Chris Scores - Photo by Tony Sanders

They proceeded to get the big elk out of the woods and back to the camp for processing. She was estimated to weigh between 500-550 pounds and would be considered the lead cow.

Total for the week is two elk, two bears and a mule deer. You may be thinking that is not a successful week for twelve hunters. Just for elk, that would be 17% success. The state average for Colorado is eight percent. So we were double the average.

While I wished it had been one more, it was not a bad week and a great experience that many have not had. I will go back, but in the final piece I will write about this trip, I will tell you what I will do differently and also discuss some of the other things I learned.


Self Portrait - Photo by Tony Sanders