I read on here once that "people that are great deer hunters are usually not very good elk hunters or people that are great elk hunters are usually not very good deer hunters." I think that was said by Umpqua Hunter but I'm not sure: either way I fall under the 1st category!
As many of y'all know, I had a 2nd rifle elk tag in New Mexico. Well the short version is I don't have any elk meat in the freezer or any antlers to adorn my wall.
The long version is this: It seemed everything conspired against me before I was to leave. 1 week before my partner backed out on me. I had to rush to gather some last minute items and fix an axle on my ATV that I had planned to repair when I got back because we were supposed to take his Polaris Ranger instead. 2 days before I was to leave I noticed a coolant leak on my truck, yep there goes the water pump. I get all that done and finally depart for NM. Upon arriving I talk with a border patrol agent and find out he's from TN. The Alabama vs Tennessee game was that weekend so we had some good-natured ribbing about the other's favorite team. He then asks what I'm doing and I tell him hunting elk in the Gila NF. He asks if I have my NM OHV sticker for my ATV. I didn't even realize I needed one so I go online to see where to purchase one (I know I should have known, stupid!). It says you can purchase it at the DMV. I get there, wait 1 1/2 hrs and they don't even know what I'm talking about. They register NM OHVs but not out of state. She makes some calls and I can only purchase it online but I must have a printer. I can't use the printer there (who knows why) so I head to the local library and finally get it done. I'm 1 day and 3 hrs behind schedule but will soon be in elk country.
I arrive to my camping spot and set up the tent and I have only about an hour to scout around the area I have chosen. I'm awakened on the 1st night to a lone bull bugling at about 3 am. Wow is all I can say! The 1st day I saw 2 huge mule deer bucks and some does but only 1 cow elk right before dark. I have a small meadow picked out to hunt on day 2 that is close to camp and it seemed to have some fresh sign to my untrained eyes. I see 3 cows and a spike feeding an hour before dark and decide to wait to see if anything else emerges. The mountain winds are fickle and they soon betray me. Day 3 emerges cloudy and threatening to rain. I see only a few deer in the morning and nothing that evening as a light steady rain comes down. The morning of day 4 is clear and cold as the clouds moved out early in the night. All seems perfect to me but I see nothing as the morning wears on. I decide to hop in the truck and ride some roads for more glass-able country as it seems the locals are all leaving after the morning's hunt. I see a campsite with some guys just sitting by the fire so I decide to stop in. They tell me they are giving up on their 3 elk tags because they have been putting on 7-10 miles per day and haven't seen an elk. They are very friendly and tell me where they haven't seen elk and point me toward a large valley with timbered peaks on both sides to hunt that afternoon. My hopes are high and I set off. An hour before dark I see a huge black bear, fortunately not coming in my direction. He sees me or smells me and runs off as I get my camera out of the pack. 2 golden eagles are circling overhead as I overlook a small opening underneath the 1st ridgeline. No elk are spotted but I can't contain my smile. Eagles, deer, a bear and various other creatures are spotted in this valley which is the most beautiful place I have ever laid eyes on. I didn't see any elk but it was just an awesome day of hunting, maybe one of the best of my life. Being on the mountain in this truly wild place and just experiencing God's unspoiled creation was enough to give me hope for the final day of the season.
The last day I headed to a spot that I heard a bull about 4am the night before. This was the only time other than the night before the season opener that I heard any elk vocalizations at all. It wasn't a bugle: it was about a 3 second note that sounded about halfway between a bugle and a bull (cattle). It was strange as I didn't know elk sounded like that. Upon arriving at the spot I think he was earlier I look at my GPS to see how far I am away from camp: .26 miles! There are elk rubs, droppings and fresh beds everywhere. I now know what truly fresh sign looks like. I find a huge track and start to follow it. It is hard to see in some places because of the rocky terrain but easily found in the bare spots because of the rain 2 days earlier: I won't say I was following him exactly but I know his general direction. After a few minutes I see him about 300-350 yards ahead. I can never see him fully, only glimpses as it is thick where he is. This is what I came for: a true giant of a bull, I would say 320" or better. He is moving now but doesn't know I'm there so he isn't spooked. He is moving almost directly away from me and the wind is light but steady in my face. I'm very confident I can stay on him until he presents me with a shot, but then I realize how fast a non-spooked elk can cover ground when he has an obvious destination on his mind. He goes up one ridge then back down into canyons thick as dog hair. I slow as I go into the canyons thinking he is bedded then look up only to see he is even farther away up the next ridge. He is on a leisurely stroll and my tongue is dragging the ground as we cover more ground up and down! Finally he comes to a huge canyon with 3 ridges he can come up so I just prepare for the shot if he does, well he never emerges and I'm scared he will see/hear/smell me long before I see him if I enter this thick stuff. I go the long way around to the other ridges and look into the canyon as best I can, but eventually I choose to come back that afternoon and see if he comes back out. On my way back in I spook a cow and she runs straight into the canyon he is in. I stay in the area and see 2 more cows right at dark but finally have to give it up, the season is over. Everyone including myself drove or walked right by this area everyday because it was close to the main paved road (3/4 mile), close to the FS road (1/4 or less) and so close to campsites. This bull was definitely feeding there at night and the canyon I lost him in wasn't more than 1 1/4 miles away.
It wasn't everything I expected, it was more. I can say that I never ran into another hunter while I was actually hunting, I saw 9 elk on my 1st trip and I have 5 days of great elk hunting experience. I learned a lot more about camping, how to stay mentally tough when solo and to always hunt until the end. It almost paid off for me and it might be better that I didn't get such a great elk on my 1st try: I might have thought it was easy!
As many of y'all know, I had a 2nd rifle elk tag in New Mexico. Well the short version is I don't have any elk meat in the freezer or any antlers to adorn my wall.
The long version is this: It seemed everything conspired against me before I was to leave. 1 week before my partner backed out on me. I had to rush to gather some last minute items and fix an axle on my ATV that I had planned to repair when I got back because we were supposed to take his Polaris Ranger instead. 2 days before I was to leave I noticed a coolant leak on my truck, yep there goes the water pump. I get all that done and finally depart for NM. Upon arriving I talk with a border patrol agent and find out he's from TN. The Alabama vs Tennessee game was that weekend so we had some good-natured ribbing about the other's favorite team. He then asks what I'm doing and I tell him hunting elk in the Gila NF. He asks if I have my NM OHV sticker for my ATV. I didn't even realize I needed one so I go online to see where to purchase one (I know I should have known, stupid!). It says you can purchase it at the DMV. I get there, wait 1 1/2 hrs and they don't even know what I'm talking about. They register NM OHVs but not out of state. She makes some calls and I can only purchase it online but I must have a printer. I can't use the printer there (who knows why) so I head to the local library and finally get it done. I'm 1 day and 3 hrs behind schedule but will soon be in elk country.
I arrive to my camping spot and set up the tent and I have only about an hour to scout around the area I have chosen. I'm awakened on the 1st night to a lone bull bugling at about 3 am. Wow is all I can say! The 1st day I saw 2 huge mule deer bucks and some does but only 1 cow elk right before dark. I have a small meadow picked out to hunt on day 2 that is close to camp and it seemed to have some fresh sign to my untrained eyes. I see 3 cows and a spike feeding an hour before dark and decide to wait to see if anything else emerges. The mountain winds are fickle and they soon betray me. Day 3 emerges cloudy and threatening to rain. I see only a few deer in the morning and nothing that evening as a light steady rain comes down. The morning of day 4 is clear and cold as the clouds moved out early in the night. All seems perfect to me but I see nothing as the morning wears on. I decide to hop in the truck and ride some roads for more glass-able country as it seems the locals are all leaving after the morning's hunt. I see a campsite with some guys just sitting by the fire so I decide to stop in. They tell me they are giving up on their 3 elk tags because they have been putting on 7-10 miles per day and haven't seen an elk. They are very friendly and tell me where they haven't seen elk and point me toward a large valley with timbered peaks on both sides to hunt that afternoon. My hopes are high and I set off. An hour before dark I see a huge black bear, fortunately not coming in my direction. He sees me or smells me and runs off as I get my camera out of the pack. 2 golden eagles are circling overhead as I overlook a small opening underneath the 1st ridgeline. No elk are spotted but I can't contain my smile. Eagles, deer, a bear and various other creatures are spotted in this valley which is the most beautiful place I have ever laid eyes on. I didn't see any elk but it was just an awesome day of hunting, maybe one of the best of my life. Being on the mountain in this truly wild place and just experiencing God's unspoiled creation was enough to give me hope for the final day of the season.
The last day I headed to a spot that I heard a bull about 4am the night before. This was the only time other than the night before the season opener that I heard any elk vocalizations at all. It wasn't a bugle: it was about a 3 second note that sounded about halfway between a bugle and a bull (cattle). It was strange as I didn't know elk sounded like that. Upon arriving at the spot I think he was earlier I look at my GPS to see how far I am away from camp: .26 miles! There are elk rubs, droppings and fresh beds everywhere. I now know what truly fresh sign looks like. I find a huge track and start to follow it. It is hard to see in some places because of the rocky terrain but easily found in the bare spots because of the rain 2 days earlier: I won't say I was following him exactly but I know his general direction. After a few minutes I see him about 300-350 yards ahead. I can never see him fully, only glimpses as it is thick where he is. This is what I came for: a true giant of a bull, I would say 320" or better. He is moving now but doesn't know I'm there so he isn't spooked. He is moving almost directly away from me and the wind is light but steady in my face. I'm very confident I can stay on him until he presents me with a shot, but then I realize how fast a non-spooked elk can cover ground when he has an obvious destination on his mind. He goes up one ridge then back down into canyons thick as dog hair. I slow as I go into the canyons thinking he is bedded then look up only to see he is even farther away up the next ridge. He is on a leisurely stroll and my tongue is dragging the ground as we cover more ground up and down! Finally he comes to a huge canyon with 3 ridges he can come up so I just prepare for the shot if he does, well he never emerges and I'm scared he will see/hear/smell me long before I see him if I enter this thick stuff. I go the long way around to the other ridges and look into the canyon as best I can, but eventually I choose to come back that afternoon and see if he comes back out. On my way back in I spook a cow and she runs straight into the canyon he is in. I stay in the area and see 2 more cows right at dark but finally have to give it up, the season is over. Everyone including myself drove or walked right by this area everyday because it was close to the main paved road (3/4 mile), close to the FS road (1/4 or less) and so close to campsites. This bull was definitely feeding there at night and the canyon I lost him in wasn't more than 1 1/4 miles away.
It wasn't everything I expected, it was more. I can say that I never ran into another hunter while I was actually hunting, I saw 9 elk on my 1st trip and I have 5 days of great elk hunting experience. I learned a lot more about camping, how to stay mentally tough when solo and to always hunt until the end. It almost paid off for me and it might be better that I didn't get such a great elk on my 1st try: I might have thought it was easy!
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