Whos all goin'

[Dhook]

I have noticed that there hasen't been much talking in the Colorado forum. With the elk archery season almost a month away its getting to be crunch time. I'm going the first week in september and was wondering if anyone else is going to be going after them big ol' bulls. If ya are lets get some chat goin'

[Nate McVey]

I wont be in the mountains until the 3rd rifle season, but I am just as excited and will talk about it till then. I have friends still there and in MT that are getting geared up. I also have the RMEF banquet coming up here in Duluth, so that is getting me excited as well.

[Lund4Fish]

Unfortunately I won't be hunting in Colorado this year and it will be the first year since 1981 that I haven't hunted there. I moved out to WA in 2005 and am trying to locate some good hunting grounds out here now. I shot a real nice 4x4 last year there in unit 43 that measured 30-3/4" wide. I just got a call from the taxidermist back in Colorado that it's ready for me, so I'm anxiously waiting to get that one on the wall! Good luck in your upcoming hunt.

[Dhook]

Lund that'll be awsome. I'm hoping to get one for the wall. How do the rules apply to getting one mounted. With the threat of CWD still out there would it be legal to transport the antlers and cape out of state, or do ya have to get it mounted out there?

[Nate McVey]

Dhook, you can legally transport the cape and rack across state lines. The law states that you must have 90% of the cape attached to the head AND/OR a major sex gland attached to one of the hind quarters. Last year we were lucky enought to get a cow on the last day and we did a superb job on skinning so my buddy wanted the cape for a blanket. We left her gland attached to the left hind quarter and packed everything out. With my 5x5 a few years ago, I only took the rack (since it was my first, the skinning didn't go so well) and I cut off the gland so I am very careful now. If you plan to get the meat processed in CO, you have to leave the cape/rack with the butcher and they will ship it all together (for a large fee).

[Lund4Fish]

Washington State law is pretty strict on bringing in any big game meat, heads, etc. from a state that has had animals test positive for CWD. I had to bone out all the meat before bringing it home and as far as bringing in a head to mount, all the flesh had to be removed from the hide and head. In my case it was easier to have the animal mounted in Colorado, especially since I knew a good taxidermist there that had already done several mounts for me, that I was happy with. My hunting buddy picked it up for me this week and I'll pick it up from him later this year on a planned visit. Otherwise you can get them shipped anywhere too. For the record I shot a buck every year out there and had them tested ever since they started requiring certain areas to be tested and never had one test positive. In my opinion it's really not as big a problem as you may have heard in the news media and is pretty localized as far as the areas that do have a high percentage that test positive.

[Dhook]

Yeah , there are a lot of people that have been making a big deal about CWD, moreso in the past. My main concern is that i believe i will be hunting close to one of the CWD areas. A few years back In Wisconsin, when CWD was a BIG scare, we couldn't even bring deer antlers with any of the skull attatched to it across the MN border. I remeber they use to cut the antles off 1" above the burrs (if you wanted to bring the antles across the border).

I just don't want this to happen if i get lucky and shoot a nice bull. I guess if i do get a decent one i will just get it mounted out there. The taxidermists prolly have a lot more experiece with elk anyway. thanks for the info guys.