intrəˈdəkSHən: a thing preliminary to something else, especially an explanatory section at the beginning of a book, report, or speech
We entered into the wilderness with a week’s worth of gear, and hoped to leave with a year’s worth of meat and a lifetime of memories.
Mission accomplished.
Partnership
My elk hunting partner this year was, Jerud. He joined me last year on my Kentucky elk hunt, and that’s where the dream of hunting elk together in Colorado this September was born.
Jerud and I are both relatively new to elk hunting. We each had separate first hunts in different areas of Colorado last year, when we both learned a lot of what not to do.
We continued to plan, prepare, and train after those first failures – doing everything we could to make sure that if we weren’t successful in our second year of elk hunting, it wouldn’t be because we weren’t ready.
The area we headed into this year isn’t known for big bulls, but we had good intel on some areas that should at least get us into elk, and that’s all that really mattered. We were both ready to fill our tags and fill the freezer.
Months before the trip, Jerud and I agreed that we would work together and share whatever rewards would come. We would take turns calling, take turns leading, and split the meat that was brought home.
I knew, at least in theory, how much more effective it was to hunt elk as a team. This trip validated that theory over and over. There’s much more to say about the effectiveness of hunting elk as a pair, and I’ll get to that another day.
Success
On day 5 of the trip, Jerud’s SlickTrick pierced the lungs of a bull, while I was 50 yards away calling and within shooting-range of another bull. It’s a crazy story, and I can’t wait to share it all. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves; this is just an introduction.
Elk hunting is much more than a trophy photo.
I want to document the whole trip – for myself, and for you. I want to share the good and bad, the ups and downs, the joys and frustrations.
Much like I did last year, I will be sharing somewhat of a day-by-day account of our hunt. I hope that you can learn something from it or be inspired by it.
Thanks for sharing this journey with me!
You’re reading Part 1 of my 2014 Colorado Elk hunt.
Check out the rest of the story: Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7
