Traveling Outdoorsman:

Colorado Elk Hunting
Bugling bulls and lessons learned

By Glenn Dunning

There are more elk in Colorado than any other western state and as much as I would like to tell you that there is one less as a result of my recent bow hunt, that simply is not the case. Was the hunt a success? Well, I didn’t kill anything but it was perhaps one of the most exciting hunts I have ever been on. I was hunting with Hubbard Creek Outfitters in the southwestern part of the state. Owners Larry and Janet Allen have a 5,000-acre ranch surrounded by the Gunnison National Forrest. Talk about a “sweet spot!” 

I had never bowhunted elk before so I tried to bone up on some basic strategies. One friend, Steve Bland, from Castleton, Vt., has had success taking elk with his bow. While we were turkey hunting last May, Steve had explained some of the similarities between spring gobblers and bugling bulls.

“Oh, yeah,” he said, sporting his trademark smile. “Working an elk with a cow call is a lot like calling in a big tom. You get him all sexed-up, with testosterone racing through his veins and if you’re lucky he gets himself so love-struck that he does something stupid.”

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