As my father wrote in Prelude To Joe's Story, I will be penning up my memories to share with you all soon. In fact I have a long over-due story on the 2014 Little Gun Invitational Antelope Hunt that will be ready as soon as I can get it approved by Gary with all the photos.

In any case, in this photo you can see my Bull Elk obscured by this beautiful Appaloosa. The big bull came to rest in peace in the middle of a very steep mountain, so my dad hired these two cowboys to pack him out.

Readers Digest version of the story, I killed my Bull with my T/C Encore .308 using my father's hybrid load. Spec's and better photos to come in my Elk Story soon.

Happy Hunting every one, and stay safe!

Looking forward to the whole story congratulations.

X2

From what I can see it looks like a nice bull and some beautiful country. Look forward to the rest of the story.

Congrats Joe!

must have been a relief to get some equine help! from what I can see, it looks like a dandy of a bull to boot!

I'm pleased to announce that my story 2014 Little Gun Invitational Antelope Hunt has been posted in the mean time; http://www.handgunhunt.com/promo/members...e%20Hunt%202014

Thanks! I enjoyed the antelope hunt article!

Thanks for sharing the story

Nice to have local cowboys around when you need them. Looks like they have packed out Elk before from the equipment. Good help packing out the Elk can really help out with your memories about the adventure. "We met a couple great cowboys who helped us pack the elk out" makes a much better memory than the "I thought I was going to Die before we were done packing the Elk out version of the story".
Looking forward to the Full Story.

Bob

Bob, These cowboys pack out on average 15 to 20 elk per year; they post a sign on the main dirt road in that area.

Packing out elk on horseback is my favorite thing to do with my horses besides hunting with them. My horses were left at home for this trip.

Fellows,

My difficult to write article has finally been published. Titled 'THE GREAT KING OF THE UNCOMPAHGRE FOREST' in the member articles Handgun Hunting section. It is as it was, very emotionally charged and sort of trapped in angst. To the novice I may come off as a difficult hunter not listening to or respecting my guide, but in truth having had such wonderful experiences with my father as my guide seeing such a different approach from one outfitter to the next took me by complete surprise, dare I say shock. Also having witnessed and assisted my dad guiding his other hunters as they successfully bag their trophies I just figured that all guides orchestrate the situation with their skills and prowess for the good of the hunter.

The 'don't fall behind, or you will miss out' situation that my guide had put me through as he virtually ran through the rocky mountainside after noises of game was downright irresponsible. Not to mention altitude sickness and other exposure factors that affect every hunter, regardless of physical condition, whom is not a local to the area they are hunting. Outfitters have to carry liability insurance in case their hunters get hurt; and that usually means your relatively safe as the hunter, or so I thought. Let this be a cautionary tale and serve as a gut check to make sure you keep your own priorities straight; bagging that trophy is not worth permanent injury or death.

Obviously everyone will have their own opinion on this matter, and my dad, Gregg, did screw up his own knee*(putting him one step closer to his eventual first knee replacement) getting his world record handgun mule deer. I for one refuse to derail my life while on vacation with foolish and unnecessary risk. In fact this is usually why most hunters end up hiring a guide, so they can experience an awesome and safe hunt without having had to put in the months of work scouting the hunting areas and preparation necessary for success.

I equate it to yuppies and a dude ranch; where people go to ride a horse for the first time safely without the logistics and expense of having to care for the horse. In fact Gregg has also owned a trail riding business and ran a dude string, bringing exhilarating memories to countless city slickers that they will never forget as they experienced Colorado's great beauty from horseback.

Sorry for the long wait, but as I said it took a lot out of me and I had to get it just right. Due to the emotional drain and circumstances the story is based on my own internal battles and thus is super focused on that. In fact there are other interesting details that I had forgotten about that never made the story like the first evening driving into camp it had been pouring rain. The downhill 2 track road leading into camp was gumbo mud. My father's big Suburban pulling a heavy dump trailer was loaded with the Grizzly and other gear, and almost jack-knifed a few times, even though the Suburban was locked in 4 wheel drive low. Or the fact that the rough trip in and out with the trailer caused a short in the trailer's wiring. To get home we had to duct tape some flashlights, covered in red lens tail light repair tape, onto the trailer for safety. Nevertheless I hope you enjoy the story.

Stay safe this hunting season and best of luck to all of you.

God bless,
Joe

Just read it, congrats on a great bull and time spent with Dad. Thanks for taking the time to write it up.

very nice......congratulations to you guys......

Joe I agree with you and am not trying to throw you a curve ball...

but let me say this:

Yes that buck "helped" me toward getting a new knee but it was getting close anyway and just a matter of time and a few more jobs done/hunting trips completed...

Was it worth it?

Joe,
I am very happy for both you and your dad.
Great article.
Good guides go at the level of physical capability of their hunter.
To do otherwise, is foolish.

Joe, sounds like you had to over come a lot on that hunt & you did, great job! Being a good hunter doesn't make some one a good guide, they have to put the hunter first & go at their pace & adjust the hunt to their comfort zone. Sounds like that guy had a bit of a chip on his shoulder & maybe he was a bit intimidated by your dad's reputation, not sure but you guys over came a bad situation. Great write up.

Dick