Great hunt, good people, and success

scpaisley

Active Member
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277
Little bit of a long story here, sorry. I posted in the CO forum first but meant to post in here.

This all started back in August of 2009. My father in law, a very hard working and very helpful man that I have enjoyed hunting with for 10+ years, was over at my house helping us put in some 2 ton concrete block to stop some washout we were having issues with. Everything was going great using the front bucket on a backhoe to lift the block in place until the D link on the chain broke open trying to get one of the blocks off the trailer. I hopped up on the trailer and disconnected the chain from the block and started taking the D link out and putting the hook back in place with my father in laws assistance. What I didn't realize was that the guy running the backhoe had left the bucket up in the air over the block and got out of the tractor. No one else noticed my 6yr old son come out of the house and climb up in the tractor either. Keep in mind we're both on one opposite sides of the block on our knees leaning over the block. My father in law had his back to the tractor and I was facing it but with my head down working on the chain. I had no more than just sat up straight after getting my work done when I felt the whoosh of the bucket come down just in front of me. It came down right on top of my father in law, pinning his head to the concrete block. From there it was a blur of events. All I really can remember is getting the bucket up and him falling over and then talking to me while we waited, for eternity it seemed, for the ambulance to get there. At the hospital we were told his upper jaw, nose, cheek bones, and forehead had all been fractured and pushed back but there was no brain damage and he was fully alert. In the end he had two surgeries, several plates, some scars, and he only lost his sense of smell and taste. It took him much longer to regain his strength after being down for so long and though he's still not fully back he's doing great and getting out and about, even elk hunting last year with no luck.

Fast forward to end of 2nd rifle last year. My father in law is all worn out and trying to recover from the miles we put on when he decides we're going to do a guided hunt even if it is the only one we do ever again. I start looking around, lots of high dollar hunts out there and some seemed really good but I just didn't get a good feeling from the contact I had with some. And then I email J&D Outfitters and rather than getting an email back with hunt costs I got a phone call from Doyle. We talked on the phone for a bit and we discussed some of the opportunities he had on some of his different areas. I took the info to my father in law and he talked with Doyle and we decided this seemed like a good fit for us. Not a long drive, we get to hunt private property, and Doyle came across to us as genuinely wanting our hunt to be a good one. So my father in law books the hunt for the two of us. I was thinking at that point it should be a hunt for him since he was paying for it but he said "if I'm going you're going with me" and theres no arguing with him after that.

On to the hunt. We had decided to book for the 8th-12th of Oct for the RFW hunt, give us a little jump on the rest of the hunters and hopefully catch some rut activity. We got into camp on the 7th right around midday and relaxed a bit. We got teamed up with a guide named JD and a guide in training named Conner. I wasn't real sure how JD was going to work out seeing as he was a Denver Broncos fan but I gave it a shot. Opening morning and we no more than start walking a trail we run into two small 3x3 and 3x4 bulls. After a few minutes of them hanging around and then finally moving on we head further in. We get maybe 300yds and we have 3 bulls screaming at us. We initially set up on the edge of pond but the bull closest to us won't come into view. So we decide to back up and head down a bit from him. It worked enough to get him to the edge of the timber but not out of it. So JD drops back from us about 80yds and starts calling again. Sure enough, bull steps out a little over 200yds away and my father in law pops one off but misses him but the bull doesn't move and the second shot hits home. he did run off but after a bit of tracking we found him laying and he put him down for good. Great looking 4x4, never seen a 4x4 with such long eye guards.
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That evening we got skunked with a snow storm blowing in and the wind just not quitting. The next morning we decided a new area where one of the other guides, Brent, saw some bulls the previous evening. We worked our way in and sure enough saw a nice bull across the canyon from us working his cows. I never got a point count but just from looking with the naked eye at 548yds he looked good enough for me. So we went after him and probably chased him for 5 miles coming into contact with satellites and cows repeatedly while working toward him. Sadly we never got close enough so we backed out. Had the same issues that evening but this time he headed out of our area. So the next morning we went to a new spot and got skunked but heard where they were and made a plan for that evening. Once we got to where we wanted to be we knew we hit the nail on the head. We had 5 bulls screaming from just inside the timber with cows and calves everywhere. We finally spotted the big guy we were after pushing his cows through the timber but he never gave me an opening to take a shot. We decided to come back the next morning and try again but they moved off the ridge screaming like mad before the sun even popped up enough for us to see. But in the course of following them we found what I call the TajMa-Wallow! It was a 4 level wallow with so much sign around it so we decided to hit it again that evening but get in way before they did. That afternoon we worked in slowly and found a perfect basin to set up in. Then the snow/rain mix and wind hit and for a little over an hour it soaked us. Just before it stopped Conner points out some elk moving on the other side of the basin but nearly at the top some 800yds or more away. They came half way down then back up. Then it just stopped, no wind, no rain, no sound. And then we hear a twig break, then some movement, but nothing spotted when Conner says there he is. And sure enough this guy steps out of the timber straight across from us on the other side of the basin going just a bit downhill at about 120yds. I slowly picked up my rifle, put the crosshairs on him and waited for a second. then he stepped over a log and turned to his right just enough that I could put a clean shot between the neck and shoulder. He didn't even lunge forward, just piled up like a bad of bricks right there. A nice 5x5 with some dark horns I couldn't pass up on the evening before the last day.
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I got to thank Doyle, JD, Conner, and Brent from J&D Outfitters for all their hard work and help in making this a very enjoyable hunt. Great group of guys and fun to BS with. Most of all I have to thank my father in law for taking me on this hunt in the first place. Seeing him smile after bagging his elk was all I could have asked for.

"Some days its just not worth chewing through the restraints"
 
Nice bulls. Good to hear that your father-in-law is doing better. He looks good with his trophy.

Eldorado
 
Congrats on 2 nice bulls and a great hunt. You picked the right guys to help on this hunt for sure.

"I have found if you go the extra mile it's Never crowded".
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