Archery Deer Hunting Estes Park Lumpy Ridge Background

Fall Colorado archery hunting big game is all about big views, solitude and sometimes mental anguish. Yesterday late afternoon I drove to Estes Park, CO and parked my truck at Bill Brown’s cabin and started to get on my hunting gear in anticipation of a deer hunt on my friend Robin Randall’s 100 acre spread physically adjacent to Rocky Mountain National Park.  Hunting areas don’t get much better then this with views of Lumpy Ridge from the entire east end of his property to Longs Peak and the continental divide on the West side. Not to mention the bugling elk herd bulls that echo up from valley bottoms at dawn and dusk daily mixed with fox, grouse, turkey, falcon, and hawk sightings. Above all else these hunts remind me how small we are in relation to His creations.

However, my pre-hunt ritual was not going well.  I forgot my hunting shoes and only had flip-flops to negotiate the rocky cactus infested terrain. For a split second it crossed my mind to skip the hunt and drive back to Denver.  Fortunately, that split second passed and my senses returned.  I donned the remaining gear and headed out on my usual counter clockwise loop sticking to easier terrain so as not to incur a foot injury.

This was my fourth hunt in as many days, but things were looking bleak as they sometimes do. No big game spotted on the property any of the four days and very little sign of animals present recently. Big game archery season in Colorado 2009 runs August 29 – September 27. So, I was into the third week of deer hunting without spotting anything making me very nervous. During a few scouting drives before/after hunts I saw one bachelor group of bucks down on High Drive about a mile from where I hunt and a great looking trophy 6×6 buck milling about also on High Drive.  A few does, some with fawns, along with the oddball immature spike buck were bedding and feeding in various parts of West Estes Park a few miles from where I hunt.

10+ years of hunting Robin’s land during September told me that the bucks would probably not show up on his land until the last week of September and at that maybe for just one or two days tops.  I know it’s imperative that I just keep showing up on Robin’s land every few days for the next 10 days or so until my chance comes. Like most sports if you don’t put in the time success does not come easy. Now, if I could only figure out how to fit this last week of deer hunts in with my scheduled six day elk hunting trip to the Flat Tops Wilderness Area next week? I am doubtful the elk hunt will end early, but if it does I will take full advantage and pour all my resources into a final week of hard deer hunting in Estes Park. I have tagged out on six deer (FYI: three bucks) over the years in Estes Park so I am more keen to elk hunt in the Flat Tops. More to come …