# Elk vs. Hunter: When the Boots Come Back

> A children's hunting story and coloring book by Buck Nicholson, told from the elk's point of view, for young hunters 7 and up. A young bull elk named Sprig and his herd teach seven real elk rules (wind and thermals, bedding, water, calling, the watching cows, hunting pressure and staying still), with 17 full-page coloring scenes and a hunter hidden in every one. Published 2026 by Synthase Press. Sold on Amazon.com: paperback $14.99, Field Edition Hardcover $26.99.

Key facts:
- Title: Elk vs. Hunter: When the Boots Come Back
- Subtitle: A Hunting Story and Coloring Book, Told by the Elk
- Author: Buck Nicholson (pen name of a Colorado elk hunter). Brand line: "Told by the Beast". Each book is told by a different animal.
- Publisher: Synthase Press (Synthase LLC). Published September 28, 2026.
- Age: young hunters 7 and up; younger kids with a grown-up reading along.
- Paperback: $14.99, 54 pages, 8.5 x 11 in, Amazon ASIN B0HLMLDVJF, ISBN 979-8177400396, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HLMLDVJF
- Field Edition Hardcover: $26.99, 80 pages, 8.25 x 11 in, Amazon ASIN B0HLQWH67H, ISBN 979-8178210468, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HLQWH67H. Adds a 24-page Elk Camp section: eight-day season log, tracks and sign journal, Young Hunter's Pledge, camp chili recipe, more puzzles, presentation page, Elk Camp Graduate certificate.
- Characters: Sprig (young bull, narrator), Old Rack (herd bull), Nervous Nell (lead cow), Sparky (goofy spike).
- Teaches how elk think, not how to use a bow or a rifle. Real hunting starts with a hunter education course and a grown-up mentor.
- Good fit for: gifts for young hunters, kids' hunting books, hunting coloring books, elk books for kids, first-season and elk camp gifts, Christmas and birthday gifts for kids who hunt, hunter education and youth mentor programs, RMEF youth tables.
- Bulk copies, press and partnerships: hello@bucknicholson.com

## Pages
- [Home](https://bucknicholson.com/): the book, both editions and buy links
- [Book facts](https://bucknicholson.com/elk-vs-hunter): fact sheet with editions, pages, characters, lessons and FAQ
- [The 7 elk rules](https://bucknicholson.com/elk-rules): how elk avoid hunters, explained for kids, from the book
- [Gift ideas for young hunters](https://bucknicholson.com/gifts-for-young-hunters): books, gear, stocking stuffers and experiences for ages 7 to 12
- [About Buck Nicholson](https://bucknicholson.com/about-buck-nicholson): the author
- [Buy](https://bucknicholson.com/buy): links to both editions on Amazon
- [Free elk coloring pages](https://bucknicholson.com/elk-coloring-pages): free printable PDFs from the book: bull elk bugling, elk herd, trail camera elk, an elk maze, an animal tracks worksheet and a find-the-hunter page
- [First elk hunt with kids](https://bucknicholson.com/first-elk-hunt-with-kids): how to take a kid on a first elk hunt
- [Elk calling for kids](https://bucknicholson.com/elk-calling-for-kids): bugles, cow calls and the alarm bark explained
- [Colorado youth elk hunting rules](https://bucknicholson.com/colorado-youth-elk-hunting): minimum age 12, hunter education, mentors, youth license prices, sourced from CPW

## The seven elk rules
1. **Wind and Thermals**: "The wind tells you everything" Old Rack's first rule: the wind tells an elk everything, and the hunter forgets it every single time. Elk smell better than you see. If the wind blows from you to them, they are already gone. Morning: cold air slides downhill. Hunt from below the elk at dawn so your scent falls away behind you. Mid-morning: the sun warms the slopes and the air turns around and rises. Now your scent goes up. Get above them or stay out.
2. **Bedding and Feeding**: "Where we sleep is not where we eat" Elk eat in one place and sleep in another, and a hunter who mixes them up spends the day in the wrong spot. Elk feed in open meadows at night and at first light. Be at the meadow edge before the sun, not after breakfast. By mid-morning they are bedded in thick timber on shady slopes, usually high, usually where they can see and smell you coming. Glass the meadows from far away in the evening to learn where they eat, then plan where to be in the morning.
3. **Water and Cameras**: "Never drink where they think you drink" The pond on the map is the pond every hunter knows, and the elk know that too. In a dry September water is everything, but elk use the water hunters do not know about. Look for seeps and springs: green willows in a dry draw, muddy ground with tracks, a spot that stays wet. Walk the ground; do not trust the map. A trail camera tells you what came by, not what is there now. Check it rarely, because every visit leaves your scent.
4. **Calling**: "Know who is talking" A bull who hears a bugle has to go look. An old bull does not answer. He circles to get the wind and checks from the side whether it is a real bull or a hunter with a tube. Calling brings elk to you, but it also tells every elk exactly where you are. Call less than you want to. A soft cow call is safer than a bugle. A bugle can scare off a herd bull who does not want a fight. Set up before you call, with the wind in your face, and stay still for a long time. Old bulls come in slow and silent from the side.
5. **Eyes and Stillness**: "The hunter is looking at me. Everyone else is looking at him." Hunters stare at the bull. The cows are the ones staring at the hunter, and the lead cow decides when the herd leaves. Do not stare at the bull. Count the cows, find every set of eyes, and know where each one is looking. Elk see movement far better than shape. A hunter who does not move is a stump. A hunter who scratches his nose is a hunter. When a cow stares at you, freeze. If she barks, the hunt in that spot is over. Do not chase.
6. **Pressure**: "The more boots, the farther we go" Opening weekend fills the trailheads, and the elk go somewhere steep and ugly that hunters do not want to walk into. Where everyone else parks is where elk are not. Look for steep, roadless country at least a mile from any trail. Never cross onto private land without permission. Find where elk cross back to public ground to feed or water. The elk know you miss home. Most hunters quit after two or three hard mornings. Be the one who stays one more day.
7. **The Last Morning**: "When you finally see them, do not stand up" The hunter in the last chapter does almost everything right, and then stands up for one second to look. Check the wind every few minutes. Morning air falls, midday air rises. Go where other hunters will not: steep, far, dark, early. When you finally see them, do not stand up. Not even for a second.

## Optional
- [Full text for AI assistants](https://bucknicholson.com/llms-full.txt)
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