Colorado 2020 First Rifle Elk Season Report

Putting it simply, the Colorado 1st rifle elk hunting season was outstanding for Dark Timber Outfitters this year.  All three of our hunters tagged out in unit 61 and we had 40% success in unit 62 with 100% opportunity for those hunters who didn’t bring home meat.

More importantly, beyond the numbers, we had a fantastic group of folks and I feel extremely lucky to have the solid guide staff that I do.  And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the phenomenal job my wonderful Aunt Debie did of holding down the food end of things for a big group of hungry hunters. Our hunters may have actually gained weight from her home cooked goodness! 

While I believe all our hunters would have stories to share, a few of the highlights worth mentioning were a couple of brothers on their first ever elk hunt who both killed bulls on the first day of their hunt!  Can’t say that happens often, and they’ve set the bar pretty high for themselves going forward. 

We also had two brothers who finally pulled bull licenses in the coveted unit 61 draw.  They each tagged out on their first ever bulls as well.

Of particular note, was my hunter who has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.  Dennis has defied the odds thus far in beating his illness but it puts things in a very different light when you know the hunter you’re guiding may truly never get to hear a bugle again, or watch a herd filtering through the aspens as the October breeze strips their leaves, or in this case, enjoy one last hunt with his older brother, son and nephew.

It was a humbling and flattering experience to be able to participate in that experience with their family.  Under a fading purple, pink and orange sunset, he killed a great bull (that was sparring with another bull) with his son by his side and that’s a powerful thing.

The weather was warm and dry but the elk were still screaming. The beauty of watching a sunrise with stands of golden aspens mingling with dark timber and bugles echoing across our public lands legacy is all I need to keep my batteries charged while working for and within our public lands legacy.  We’re so grateful to have gotten to share that experience with our hunters thus far and are most definitely looking forward to those headed our way in the coming weeks!