Country star Chris Janson admits he got 'a little cocky' before grueling Colorado elk hunt

Chris Janson has spent enough time chasing elk through the Colorado mountains that he figured he had the whole thing pretty well dialed in.

Turns out, the elk had other plans.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE FROM OUTKICK OUTDOORS The country music star recently returned from a successful elk hunt in Colorado, where he's been making annual trips for the past six years.

And while he ultimately came home with a beautiful bull, the hunt didn't exactly go according to plan.

Usually, Janson said, he's able to fill his tag within the first day or two.

This time, he figured he'd knock out the hunting early and spend the rest of the trip relaxing on the water.

But one thing about chasing big game — it’ll humble you real fast.

"I went in a little cocky," Janson told OutKick OutDoors.

"I went in a little bit like, 'I got this, and I'll get this done, and I'll get an elk the first day, and then just fish the rest of the trip.' But it didn't happen that way." Watch Chris Janson's entire interview with OutKick OutDoors here : Instead, Janson and his hunting buddies spent the week trekking through the high country, encountering elk but struggling to get everything to come together.

He suspects the unusually dry weather played a role.

With little rain in the area, Janson said, the elk weren't behaving quite the way he'd come to expect during the September rut, when bulls are typically more active and vocal.

"We were up in the high country a lot and just had a lot of opportunities that just didn't come together right at the last little bit," he explained.

And as the days wore on, so did his patience.

"I take hunting so damn serious that I'm almost not even fun to be around sometimes whenever it's not going my way," Janson admitted.