I moved to Colorado from upstate New York in order to pursue my dream of bowhunting an elk.

I made some friends who told me a few tricks and tips about how to hunt these big, loud animals during the rut. I was told by one friend to take everything I knew about whitetail hunting and throw it out the window.

He told me I had to get after these bulls when they are rutting, rather than sit and wait for them to come to me. So after work on a cold, sleety, rainy, windy day (you know Colorado weather), I headed for the hills.

Not being too familiar with the area I was hunting, and since it was the fourth day of the season, I decided to try walking down an old logging road I found on a map.

Not 20 minutes into the woods, I heard a bull bugle about 200 yards away. I looked for a place to get cover for a second, then my buddy's voice popped into my head about getting after the bulls during the rut.

I tried heading this bull off for about three hours, while he was bugling about every 10 minutes. When I finally did get in front of him, he came out of the brush at 15 yards broadside.

Too make a long story short, I hit him good. To make the story a bit better, he ran down a hill and expired in a ditch about, oh 50 yards from the truck.

Welcome to Colorado public land hunting!!

This 340 Boone & Crockett bull was taken in my honey hole, the location will stay a secret. I have the whole place to myself and have killed five bulls in seven years there. Three are 300-plus trophies. Not all big bulls are found in the high country.

This is my son Devon with his first buck pronghorn. He dropped him at 303 yards with a 6mm Ruger on the Eastern Plains of Colorado in 2009. I had seen this buck earlier when I was archery hunting. With his wide spread, I knew this was the same one.

It was early Saturday when we left the tent. With our other hunting partners - grandpa, uncle, brother, and niece – we walked to the top of what I called my hill, I have hunted this hill for more than 30 years with success.

At the top, both Devon and I glassed for pronghorn and enjoyed each other’s company. About an hour into the day, a herd of five does and two bucks walked up the hill to the southeast. We quickly dropped over the back of the hill and headed toward a better interception point.

Within a few minutes, the first doe crested the hill and we got Devon situated for a shot. He waited until a buck was away from the others and squeezed the trigger, dropping it in his tracks. We were both so excited, giving each other high fives and hugs, almost racing each other to the downed animal.

I have been so fortunate to be able to hunt this property for more than 30 years with my father and brother, and now my son and his brother are starting their own adventures. Thank you to the land owner, my father and my two boys for these stories and the ones yet to come.

- David Lynn, father

Dewain Roy and hunting partners 

While hunting mule deer in the first-rifle season of 2009, my son Michael, long-time hunting buddy Byron Topper and I were on public land in Unit 70 south of Norwood. After two days without success, we left to restock our supplies. Since it was late when we returned we hunted close to camp, not expecting to see much.

We left Byron about 150 yards from camp and Michael and I walked into the woods. Right away, we saw a nice muley feeding. Michael tried a quick shot and missed, sending the deer into the brush. Before I could even tease him about it the deer came right back out.

Michael shot again and this time the muley went down. As we waited a few minutes to make sure it wasn’t going to get back up, Michael spotted another buck stepping out of the same brush.

This time I tried a quick shot and, crazily enough, I also missed. But the deer just stood there. A second shot brought him down. We called Byron to watch one deer while Michael and I headed back to camp with the other on a hauler.

On the way, we saw yet another buck! Michael ran to get Byron and - for the third time that day - one of us missed an easy shot. The buck ran about 20 feet and stopped to feed again. Bryon’s second shot was right on target.

Within 45 minutes, with three missed shots, all three of us filled our buck tags within 200 yards of camp.

- Dee Roy

It was really cool. We started watching a really nice ravine and then decided we should walk into the ravine.

Then, I just look over at the the other hill and all I can see are the ears of a deer sticking up above it. I show my dad and he tells me, "Shoot it, shoot it."

That got my adrenaline rushing and I put a shell in the chamber. I aimed while it was running 250 yards away, took the safety off and shot. At first I thought I had missed, but then my dad tells me he dropped. We walked up to it and I had made the best shot I could have ever made. And that was my first deer I have shot, a 4x4 mule deer that made me so happy.

Photo by Caleb's father, Gordon Chicoine

My name is Caleb Chicoine and I am 12 years old, 2010 was the first year I've had an elk tag. I have gone with my dad on many hunts but have never actually been able to hunt.

Last year, I was snowmobiling into the JJJ Ranch with my dad and some of his friends when I saw a herd of a hundred elk. We were able to get 150 feet away from them.

I saw this nice 5X5 bull and took the shot. I weaved my bullet through the aspens with my Mossberg .308 and got my first elk.

The same day two of my dad's friends both got cows. Overall it was a very memorable hunt.

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