Making clean kills on elk requires a great deal of energy and a well constructed bullet. The new cartridge/bullet combo promises both, plus excellent accuracy.

After giving up on our morning ridge, John drove us toward rolling sage hills for a bit of glassing and stalking. En route we stumbled across a small herd in a wheat stubble field less than 100 yards from the county road, and the group--which included four branch-antlered bulls--scampered into the sage hills.

We set out to follow them, but as soon as we left the truck we spotted a bigger herd milling on the skyline. While looping through the hills toward them, we intercepted yet another band filtering into a wooded canyon. Crouching, we dipped out of sight and stalked until the cover ran out. Jim bellied to the ridge to glass while we waited out of sight; four heads are not better than one when peeking over a ridge.

For a while nothing happened, but eventually the elk began to move down and across the canyon. Wayne spotted a cow and calf trotting over a small ridge within the canyon. More cows began popping up behind them.

"It's 250 yards," Kevin said as he put his rangefinder on them. I spread my shooting sticks and worked the Model 70 bolt, pushing a fat .325 WSM cartridge into the chamber. Eight cows and calves were over the ridge and trotting toward us. Then three more. Then nothing. Bulls bring up the rear, I said to myself. Nothing.

Half the cows were already out of sight below us. Soon they'd cross our scent line. "There he comes!" Jim hissed. I picked up the young animal in the scope. Five points per side. He was running to catch the cows. Jim and I whistled simultaneously. The bull slammed to a stop and looked at us. As soon as the crosshairs settled on his brisket, I fired. He collapsed and slid into the sage. The 200-grain Accubond split his trachea and tore through his aorta. He was dead instantly, testament to the power of Winchester's new .325 WSM.

"That's two for two," Kevin noted, referring to his and my one-shot kills with the same round. Before the week was out, we would go five for five.

"We don't take B&C elk here," Dick Dodds confessed while watching me skin my bull. "But we take a lot of them. The herd had a preponderance of young animals and is hunted just too hard for bulls to grow old."

WHY RANCHING FOR WILDLIFE

BEFORE RFW, the state established license quotas based on elk populations and desired harvest balanced against traditional harvest rates, usually well under 25 percent. Licenses were doled out via application and lottery. Hunters scrambled for places to hunt—a few garnering trespass rights on private land but most settling for national forest lands from which elk might be driven by an early snow storm or a single day’s hunting pressure. The elk then piled up on private lands where few could follow. Outfitters who leased such ranches could reach the elk, but there was no guarantee their clients would draw a tag. Everyone lost out. Locals with tags couldn’t access private land. Nonresidents couldn’t count on getting a tag. Outfitters and guides couldn’t count on getting clients. Ranchers suffered crop depredation, and DOW couldn’t reduce herds to healthier levels. The RFW program offers a neat solution. First, it improves wildlife habitat. It also guarantees ranchers and outfitters tags for their clients. This is important because it helps both stay in business. Without the income from guided hunts, many ranchers would be forced to sell out to developers, and new housing developments are poor places to hunt anything. The program also helps to spread out hunting pressure (ranchers are given a 90-day season), reducing the kind of crazy behavior and competition seen in short seasons on crowded public land. Folks can concentrate on hunting instead of beating the next guy to the elk. For more information, call DOW at 303/297-1192 or go to www.wildlife.state.co.us.

"Hey," I said, straightening my aching back. "Most folks would be tickled to get a branch-antlered bull like this. If I added up all the elk I've seen on public land in the last 30 years it wouldn't equal what I've seen here in three days. Seeing that many elk in open country where you can stalk them and get a clear shot? Why, most hunters would give their pet rifle for a chance like that."

Dick glanced at the Model 70 in the corner. "Unfortunately, that one's on loan from Winchester." I laughed and went back to skinning.

For more information, contact Elkhorn Outfitters, Inc., 970/824-7392.