Update From the 2023 Archery and Muzzleloader Seasons
It has been a fun start to the hunting season at Budge's Wilderness Lodge! The archery and muzzleloader hunts in September are always the highlight of our hunting season. Hunting bugling elk during the rut is as good as it gets.
Here’s a quick recap of our September hunting season so far…
As is often the case, September began with very warm weather here in northwest Colorado. Because of that, the elk were relatively quiet during the first week or so of the season. However, by the time muzzleloader season opened on September 9th, they were getting fired up!
Our first guided hunters of the year arrived for the muzzleloader hunt. This year, we had 4 guided hunters for the black powder season. On opening day, hunting guide Dan Clark, along with guided hunter Brian R., called in a 5x5 and Phil made an excellent shot. It didn’t take long to kick off our elk hunting season!
Brian R. with his 2023 Colorado Elk on a Guided Wilderness Hunt
Through the rest of the muzzleloader week, all of our guides and hunters worked hard and had multiple close encounters with bugling elk. All of our guided hunters had at least one shot. Unfortunately, we had 1 bull wounded that we were not able to recover. That’s always a heartbreaking scenario. However, our other two guided muzzleloader hunters were successful. And once again, our guided muzzlelaoder hunters were 100% for shot opportunity!
Guide, Justin Cross, (left) and hunter, Phil M., (right) with Phil’s 2023 Bull
Mike M. with his 2023 Colorado Bull Elk
Following the muzzleloader week, we hosted two guided archery hunters. They worked hard but unfortunately went home without a bull this time. They did have one shot opportunity that was a clean miss. Taking a bull elk with a bow on a wilderness hunt is without doubt one of the greatest challenges in western hunting. So to come away with a shot opportunity is still a big accomplishment. Way to go, guys!
As we approach the end of September, the daylight hours are getting shorter, the weather is getting cooler and the aspen leaves are beginning to change colors. It’s a beautiful time of year! And next up, we are looking forward to hosting our first rifle season hunters in mid-October. In the meantime, we are looking forward to some more fall fly fishing trips over the next couple of weeks.
If you’d like to learn more about our guided elk hunts, please take a few minutes to read the information on our Hunting Page. For specific availability and other details, please contact us.