Robby Hind, 62, has crossed the Pacific Ocean the past threes years to hunt some of the world’s best big game.
The avid archery hunter and rancher has elk hunted in the Centennial State with Dolores’ Colorado Hunting Expeditions for three years. Hind bagged a bull last year. But the one he hunted this Sept. 1 was different.
The bull approached a pond to get some water while Hind knelt down under the cedar trees northwest of Dove Creek on a leased private ranch.
“The key was, don’t rush,” Hind said. “Don’t try and draw your bow when he’s coming in because they’re really alert. If you can see their eyes, they can see you.”
Hind eagerly waited for the elk to relax. Hind’s rapid heartbeat rushed excitement through his veins.
“When I went to draw the bow my first time, I couldn’t draw it,” he said. “Usually that will spook them.”
However, the monster bull elk continued to drink from the pond. With enough light to see at 7:45 p.m., and enough deep breaths to calm down, Hind fired a shot on his second draw 18 yards through the back of the elk’s shoulder for the kill.
“The place of the arrow had to be just right on this guy,” Hind said.
The elk of at least 900 pounds resembled the appearance of grazing beef cows, said Hind, a cattle rancher in Hawaii.
“They just got a whole lot of armor on their head,” he said with a wide grin. “It’s hard to judge how far they are because they’re so big.”
This massive 8-by-6-point bull elk scored 382 by Pope and Young — the record book for bow hunting — and 378 by Boone and Crockett for an average score of 380-plus.
“It’s one of the tops for Colorado,” said Bob Luna, owner and guide of Colorado Hunting Expeditions. “As far as any of our bulls, in archery, it’s right at the top. That’s a very, very nice bull for this area.”
It took Robby, his brother Mike Hind, Luna and fellow guide Mike Among all they had to load the bull in the pickup truck bed.
“I can usually load a bull with one more guy,” Among said.
The Hind’s hail from Kamuela, Hawaii, which is located on The Big Island of Hawaii. Robby bow hunts whitetail deer, hogs and mountain goat in his native state. Southwest Colorado, though, is where Robby Hind gets his elk hunt on.
“Elk hunting is a whole other ball game,” he said.
Luna used to live in Hawaii, and a mutual connection informed Robby and Mike Hind of Luna’s business when the brothers became interested in hunting elk.
“A friend of ours said, ‘Hey, if you want to go on an elk hunt, call Bob,’” Robby Hind said. “We called him and got set up. We’ve been doing it for threes years now. We love it out here.”
Mike Hind shot a bull the first year, and Robby has bagged one two years in a row now. The two plan on elk hunting in Southwest Colorado for years to come.
“Yeah. Why not?” Robby Hind said. “I’d like to do it for as long as I can. Colorado is a great state.”
Reach Bobby Abplanalp at bobbya@cortezjournal.com.