Cotton Mesa - Comments From The Hunters

COMMENTS FROM OUR HUNTERS

“Just a note to say “Thanks for a most enjoyable and outstanding hunting trip. Red and I will remember this trip for a very long time.”

“You are to be congratulated on your masterpiece, both the ranch facilities and the game. I hope to return very soon to Cotton Mesa Ranch.”

“I will always cherish this hunt in that it was a pleasure to hunt with you and the other hunting guides, and the fact that my trophy elk will be a lifelong treasure.”

“Over the years, I have been fortunate enough to have hunted and fished in some very good areas and I have met some really great people along the way. However, I must say that I have never seen a place as beautiful as Cotton Mesa Ranch nor have I ever met nicer people than you and your guides and other employees.”

“We all had a fantastic 4 days. It was all I had hoped for and more.

“This was truly a trip that I will always remember.”

“Your ranch is absolutely beautiful I must commend you on the décor as well as the layout and all that you have done out there. “I have something that will stay with me for a lifetime.”

“Cotton Mesa’s natural beauty was truly breathtaking, and I thoroughly enjoyed the hunting and magnificent scenery. A definite and welcome change from the frigid Wisconsin Whitetail hunting I’m accustomed to.”

“Thanks again for providing another cherished hunting memory.
God bless.”

“Your ranch is absolutely unreal. Your genuine love of that land can be appreciated by everyone who shares that depth of affection for the natural world.”

“I want to thank you for the great trip and hunt on your ranch. I admire the way you manage the wildlife and congratulate you for it.”

“I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate your hospitality and your hunting program. Thank you once again for the hunt and the experience.”
“Your ranch is amazing. We enjoyed every minute we were there. Thanks again for the hunt and my trophy elk.”

“Enjoyed the hunt…Cotton Mesa is truly beautiful. It gave me a chance to sit back and reflect on just how beautiful nature is. God did a great job on that area of the country. It looks like He is improving it even more with your hard work.”

“I hope you remember our hunting trip with you back last October. I can tell you that I certainly remember it well and the good time. I wanted to take a minute to express my thanks. You have a very nice comfortable ranch & excellent help.”

“I am proud of my elk trophy & impressed with your game management skills. Hope our trails cross again.”

“I enjoyed being able to see your ranch and walk and drive around it. It’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen and the work you’ve done there looks superb.”
“Everything was perfect. The ranch, your friends and guests, the food, and of course the best Colorado elk hunt I could ever experience.”

“Enclosed please find some pictures that we took while hunting with you at Cotton Mesa. We had a wonderful time and hope that you will enjoy the pictures. Thank you again for your great hospitality. We would sure like to hunt with you again this coming fall.”

“The ranch is a naturally beautiful place, and your “labors of love” have made it comfortable and elegant as well. It was a thrill for me and Nicholas to be able to hunt with Bill, we can truly say we have hunted with the best.”

“The scenery was beautiful. The animals were so big and in such great numbers. The elk with the crazy antlers was the wildest thing I have ever seen!! I just wanted to say thank you.”

“Thank you with my sincerest appreciation for making a dream come true. It has always been a dream of mine to share a sport that I have loved and cherished with someone so special as my own son. It is something that I longed to do but have never accomplished because I could not find the right mix of dedicated people, geographic surroundings, and abundant, yet challenging species of wildlife. Your Cotton Mesa Ranch, your professional staff and the beautiful Colorado “Mesa de Mayo” country greatly exceeded my personal expectations. In closing, Mr. Carter, I would like to say it was and will always be a true honor to have shared a hunting camp with you.”

“Thank you again for the opportunity to visit and hunt with you at the Cotton Mesa Ranch this year. I’m always amazed at what I see there.”

“Thanks again for a wonderful hunt, keep up the good work and keep Ol’ Bill healthy. Best regards.”

“Thank you for such a great hunt. Your ranch is beautiful. The hunt was excellent. Your staff was great. I will long remember the hours we spent riding the mesas. Thanks for spending the extra time telling me about the history of Cotton Mesa.”

“I think I could use every superlative possible and still be short. It truly was a wonderful experience for me in all regards, from the trophy, through the conversation, accommodations, food, fellowship, new friends, guides, scenery, and on and on. Thanks to all for everything. You all are a great bunch of folks.”

THE ELK AND TIMELESS LANDS OF COTTON MESA RANCH …by Doug Pike

This past week, the bold bugling of bull elk filled the southeastern Colorado air. The sound is hypnotic, a timeless symbol of the West that draws hunters from everywhere.

On the way to Cotton Mesa Ranch, a 10,000-acre spread that begins 5,000 feet above sea level and tops out at 7,000 feet, Bill Carter and I stopped for groceries at Raton, N.M. An hour later, we reached the ranch.

Ric Martin and Charlie Cockerell were charged with keeping me from getting lost. We rolled out of camp late that first afternoon for a sort of orientation and introduction.

Taking it all in

The tops, bottoms and benches between them support three succulent, native grasses that paint the flats a pale green. Violent geologic upheaval and volcanic activity split this ground eons ago, showering it with random stones in random sizes and creating those steps of lush habitat.

Draws that have funneled runoff since rain first fell here are flanked by the darker green of cedars, junipers and pinion pines that wick moisture from the damp soil.

We were not there to admire the scenery (although ignoring it is impossible). We were there to hunt bull elk.

My guides for this trip had roughly 75 or 80 years combined elk hunting experience. Unless dreams count, I had none.

We spent an afternoon scouting the wide end of a high mesa, an area where both men had seen quality bulls in the long shadows of previous days.

An approaching low-pressure system and brightening moon didn’t fully relocate the elk, but the changes did shuffle the times at which they fed and moved. Martin and Cockerell expected to see more elk, I saw what seemed plenty.

We exchanged bugles with many bulls and closed the gap to fewer than 20 yards on several of them. The nearer you get to a bull elk, the greater your appreciation for its size.

It wasn’t until the final morning, after evening and overnight showers cooled the air and darkened that filling moon, that the elk reappeared up top.

Just before sunrise, Martin spotted a fine bull idling toward a stand of cedars.

“Put the camera down for this one,” Martin said, “and get your rifle.”

Even at 200 yards, the bull’s mass filled the scope. It continued to walk straight away, increasing its pace after seeing us crest the ridge, I feared it might make the heavy brush before presenting a favorable shot angle.

Cockerell offered a cow call. And again. The bull turned broadside and paused, just long enough. A fine 5x5, tall and heavy and incredible.

The settlers’ life

In one of the valleys on this ranch, overlooking a gentle turn in the river that sates the unending thirst of tall grasses, stand the remains of a late 19^th-century homestead built by thick, calloused hands from blocks of bedrock and planks of cedar gathered on site.

The family that lived here did so in two small rooms that backed into the hillside on the north, blocking winter’s coldest wind. The modest dwelling opened to the south, facing the river.

They had a corral and stone barn for their horses, perhaps a few cattle.

And on autumn mornings they awoke, and at night fell asleep, to the sounds of elk bugling throughout the canyon.

THE ELK OF COTTON MESA
...by Harold Gunn

This past September I flew to Colorado Springs and then enjoyed the three and a half hour drive to Cotton Mesa for my first elk hunt.

I was greeted by Carter at the impressive log lodge which sits in a valley surrounded by soaring mesas. The great room displays spectacular trophies and the leather sofas provide the perfect resting spot before the vast fireplace. Several large bedrooms and private baths offer first class accommodations for a dozen hunters. The large kitchen, lounge, and dining area features a huge dining table where outstanding more-than-you-can-eat meals are served. The outside of the lodge is highlighted by several porches and balconies to enjoy the vistas and listening to the bugling of the bull elk - a sound that sends chills down the spine of every first time and old time elk hunter.

Arriving around 5 p.m., I spent my first evening prior to my hunt for a management bull doing a bit of touring before supper. My guides were named Ric Martin and Charlie Cockerell.

Not 10 minutes into our drive we spotted our first bull and he was a whopper. I have heard elk bugle before, but this was my first opportunity to watch elk bugle. Once observed it is a sight never to be forgotten. We saw elk that dreams are made of and that is exactly what I did my first night.

After breakfast and just after sunrise, we headed to the top of the highest mesa on the ranch. We spotted some elk that might fit my hunt level, but they also spotted us. We played hide and seek around the few cedars on the mesa for a good while. Finally in position to sneak a peek within shooting range Ric said, “Take him,” and I did.

My big thrill was jacked up a notch when, thanks to a couple of kickers, my first elk turned out to be a six by six. My joy was made even greater by the fact that Ric and Charlie truly shared my happiness.

The rest of my time at Cotton Mesa was spent driving and glassing. This rugged country hides not only trophy elk, but long abandoned rock homesteads and Indian sign. During my last evening we glassed nearly 50 bull elk and heard choruses of bugling in one valley alone. The melodious music is still playing in my ears.

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