He is a majestic creature, a bull of an animal weighing between 600 and 900 pounds, streaking through the forest like a quarterhorse. They will see you, hear you, smell you long before your senses hone in on them.

And that is what makes elk hunting so attractive to so many hunters.

The Colorado elk season is now open (started Saturday, Oct. 14) and closes Wednesday, Oct. 18. And there is a large population out there roaming the forests, the state's current elk population is the largest in North America. In fact there are so many of them, that’s why the Colorado Division and Wildlife recommended a special elk hunt which was approved by the Colorado Wildlife Commission.

For so many, the sheer majesty of the elk makes the hunt attractive. And for others, it is the elusiveness of this big animal that brings them back year after year.

"I go as often as I can and it's always challenging," Rick Nielson said. "They are pretty keen animals and they can get on to people pretty fast. But they are really mobile. It's not unheard of for them to be in one location that night, then 10 miles away the next morning. Once they get invaded by people, they have been known to travel miles at night.

"You wouldn't think it would be that hard locating them," he said, laughing. "They are as big as horses and travel in herds. I have gotten several, but I have yet to shoot a big trophy bull. One of these days ..."

Jerry Jackson also enjoys the elk hunt, saying it can be both interesting and strenuous.

"It's different because the animal makes a great deal of noise," he said. "I've hunted elk for nearly 25 years now. They whistle, they grunt, they scream at you. When they are in rut, they make a sound like you've never heard before -- a high-pitched whistle. Then you try to emulate them to call them in. But they move around a great deal. It's nothing for one of them to take a walk and stop five miles later. It's a tough hunt; strenuous.

"I think it's my favorite big game hunt," he noted. "I haven't killed one in the last four years. I haven't because I haven't chosen to shoot. I'll get one in my sights and he's not quite what I want. You're looking for that trophy and after a while, the season runs out. The success rate in elk hunting is probably 25 percent. It's not a high-percentage hunt. But it's a good hunt."

"And you want to get a good shot," he added. "People say they will wait until they get the perfect broadside shot within 100 yards. But the adrenaline gets flowing and people start popping shots off instead of getting a calm, collected, rested shot. So often, it is cold. The weather is part of the equation. I got one once at the top of the mountain. The wind was howling, it was freezing. I had to sit down, catch my breath, stop my hands from trembling before I took my shot. You want to make the first one (shot) count."

This short season will be followed by the normal combined rifle seasons" Oct. 21-27, Nov. 4-10, and Nov. 11-15. The Colorado Wildlife Commission approved the new big game season structure for the next five years with four separate rifle seasons, including the initial elk season where only a limited number of licenses were available.

The five-year season structure was essentially the same as that recommended by the DOW’s terrestrial staff. The first limited elk season was the most major change. The first elk season is designed to eliminate the overcrowding that occurred in the first rifle season when licenses were unlimited. And many of the limited licenses will be for cow elk to help reduce the elk population in those areas where the herd exceeds the long-term population objective.

But the commission made one substantial change after hearing concerns about the impact of the declining license sales is already having on Western Slope businesses because deer licenses were limited in number beginning this year.

DOW managers had recommended the last rifle season be a limited deer hunt with no elk licenses available. That would have left two combined deer and elk seasons with unlimited bull licenses and a limited number of deer and antlerless elk licenses.

After discussing several options, commissioners made the fourth season a combined deer and elk season to increase hunter participation.

Another mild winter has produced good numbers of elk and improving numbers of deer, leading Colorado Division of Wildlife biologists to predict good big-game hunting for the first seasons of the new millennium.

According to John Ellenberger, Division of Wildlife senior big game biologist, 70 percent of the state’s data analysis units, a statistical profile of local elk herds, have elk populations above game managers’ objectives.

"We’ve got more animals than we want in quite a few areas," he said.

Ellenberger pointed to the Bears Ears country in the Routt National Forest near Craig, the White River National Forest in the Meeker area as well as game management units 25 and 26 near Dotsero as good elk hunting locales. "Some of the Aspen country is looking pretty good, too," he added.

Southwestern Colorado also has "lots of elk," Tony Gurzick, area wildlife manager in Durango said.

"I think the elk will be high and in the dark timber cover and hard to dig out due to the hot weather," said the Division’s Cedaredge District Wildlife Manager Roger Lowry.

"Elk are abundant but hunters will have to work hard to find them and push them out of the timbered areas," predicted North Eagle district manager Craig Wescoatt.

Paonia district manager Kirk Madariaga agreed. "The elk will be tied tightly to the water sources until they get pushed around a bit," Madariaga said. "It could be a little hard to find bucks but there should be good hunting if it snows."

Conditions in the Meeker area are similar, according to biologist Jeff Madison. Due to the poor hunting conditions last year, there has been a good carryover of both deer and elk. Madison thinks there could be a very good hunting season if the weather cooperates and brings snow in the first season.