2014 DIY New Mexico Elk Hunt - The Land of Enchantment

[Coach1310]

NoWiser- Awesome story so far. Just doing the work and playing your cards right to get in position for the shot is kudos to you!

[Scoot]

SCOOT! This is all your fault. You taught him these horrible tactics.

LOL- I don't know what you're talking about!?!

[NoWiser]

We ran back to camp and quickly ate some grub. We decided not to go up the mountain and harass these elk right away. It was the first day and we did not want to chase them out. So, we turned our attention to a mountain about 5 or 6 miles away. We had met some deer hunters earlier who claimed it was thick with elk. They were relieved to finally find some people with elk tags and wanted us to shoot a couple "so they could finally get some sleep at night." It sounded like a job we could handle so after driving as far as we could, we started the hike towards the top through a field of wildflowers.

After getting about 3/4 of the way up the mountain we started to slowly work our way into the wind towards the north face. Lizards scampered out of our way and hid underneath the lava rock. Almost immediately we started bumping into bachelor groups of mule deer bucks. None were huge but it was fun to see. As we got to the north face of the mountain you could feel the temps drop and immediately started seeing abundant elk sign. We slowed our pace, glassed ahead of us, and dropped a few calls to try to get an answer. But, the elk were not using the area this day and it was a bust. We circled around to the south side and descended the mountain in the intense heat of the midday sun.

Back at camp we decided that for the afternoon we'd each pick a separate canyon and follow it towards the top of the mountain behind camp. The cameras had revealed that there was no elk activity on the tanks down low. Those elk needed water up on the mountain and if we found where they were getting it, we'd be in a good position to put our tag on one. So, I took the northernmost canyon, my cousin took the middle, and my dad took the south one.

It was on my hike up that I came face to face with the most terrifying creature that inhabited these mountains. Everyone had talked to us about the wolves, lions, bears, and rattlers, but nobody had ever mentioned a word about the quail. Now, I'm a grouse hunter and am no stranger to loud flushes, but nothing prepared me for stepping into the middle of a covey as I slowly worked my way up through the rocky canyon. After a minute or two to make sure that my heart was still in working order I took a few more steps and a straggler got up from between my feet. After that, there was no more relaxing as I made my way up. I was on pins and needles the entire time!

Towards the head of the canyon I did eventually find a couple small waterholes in the rocks, but nothing with significant elk sign around it.

Wherever they were watering wasn't here. But, soon I thought I heard a bugle up the mountain. Then another. This warranted some investigation so I quickly hustled up a couple hundred vertical feet until the bugles were perfectly clear. Then, I took some advice I once read on elk. "If you hear them bugle, just walk up to them and shoot them." So, I got the wind in my favor and made quick time walking towards the bugle. Way sooner than I expected I looked up, and there was a 6X6 elk, 100 yards in front of me. He had seen movement but had no idea what I was. A closer look revealed him to be fairly small so I knew I wasn't going to shoot him on the 1st day. I made a few cow calls and could see he was very interested in coming over. But, I was in the wide open and he should have been able to see the cow that was making the sounds. The fact that the sounds were basically coming from nowhere had him suspicious and he slowly walked away.

Right then I heard another, meaner sounding bugle down the ridge. So, I did the same thing and ran right towards it. I had good uphill thermals and the bull was headed downhill. This was perfect! Chasing an elk DOWN a mountain was definitely something I could get used to! For about 1/2 mile I stayed right on his tail, just out of site, until he crossed a ravine. We paralleled each other for another 1/4 mile until he stopped. I quickly snuck down, trying to get as close as possible, his bugles giving away his position every few minutes. All of a sudden there he was, directly across and 120 yards from me. He was a great bull that I'd be happy to get a crack at. But, there was a problem. He had about 20 cows with him. There was no way I could get within bow range with over 40 eyes watching for me. I had a plan, though. I'd challenge him!

Over the course of about 5 minutes I was able to slowly work my way to within 73 yards of the bull. My plan was to wait for him to bugle, and then cut him off with my own bugle. He'd have no choice but to come in for a fight! The wind was good and they had no idea I was there. Perfect. Within minutes he inhaled deeply and let out a scream. I was ready with an arrow knocked and screamed right back at him. The reaction I got was immediate and unexpected........the cows jumped up and ran up the ridge and out of sight, taking the bull with them. I tried to keep up but realized it was a hopeless cause.

It just so happened, though, that I chased them right into the drainage that ended up in the tank 1/2 mile from camp. The herd had been active and needed water, so I double timed it down the mountain to the tank, where I'd be waiting for them.

I sat until dark but only saw one mule deer doe and a big rat that was living under a deadfall near where I was hiding. I walked down to the road and hitched a ride to my atv with some fellow hunters. I returned to camp to find my dad and cousin, who had experienced a slow evening hunt and had found nothing promising for water up the mountain.

I'd like to note here something about the people from New Mexico. I mentioned I had caught a ride with a few of them after dark. The people down there were probably the friendliest I have met anywhere in the entire country. Every single one was super helpful and happy to share any and all information with us. In MN I'm often apprehensive to enter a hunting camp during deer season because more often than not a guy gets the cold shoulder and dirty looks. This was not the case at all down there. Everyone we ran into greeted us with a big smile and was genuinely interested in how our hunt was going and if they could help us in any way. For this reason alone I'd love to go back. I absolutely loved the people down there!

[Scoot]

More great stuff, Jim. Thanks for taking the time to share your adventure- great story and pics so far! I hope you shoot a whopper!!!

[Fishalittle]

Great story. Sorry you missed the giant but that would have been way to easy. The big ones need to be earned a little more....

At least that's what I tell myself since after 7 years in Colorado I only have 1 cow under my belt. Someday....

Skipped this year to spend a little more family time and save for next year!!! So these stories help fill the gap....and make me miss it more!

[NoWiser]

Day 2 dawned clear and cool just like opener. With the waning moon lighting camp we prepped our gear and headed back towards the elk. My dad would be sitting in our blind, once again, while I would hike beyond them to the base of the mountain where I'd try to shoot one of the bulls who were making so much noise the previous morning. The grass was soaking wet from the dew and I was thankful for my gaiters, which kept my boots and lower legs dry.

It wasn't long before I heard my first bull. It was a bull we'd come to know from the sound of his bugle. He sounded more like a dying cow than an elk. We'd watched him extensively the first day and he was an absolute brute. He didn't have the biggest rack (we'd guessed 330-340") but his body was just immense. He was by far the biggest bull we'd seen and dwarfed any elk that got near him. Anytime I heard him, I took notice. I wanted to kill this bull!! His bugle was quite distant and I started towards him but he was too far away, and bugling too infrequently, for me to invest too much time in. Soon more bugles broke out, though far less than the morning before. I could hear elk coming in from the grasslands so I decided my best bet was to intercept them. This was going to be a challenge because the thermals were blowing down the mountain and the elk were headed up. I'd have to get to the side of them and then run in to shooting range at the last minute to keep them from scenting me.

As elk began getting closer I picked my first target. He was a nasty sounding bull headed for the south side of the mountain. I made my way across 3 draws as quickly as I could to try to get close to him. He was following the bottom of a draw which definitely complicated things regarding the wind. Soon he was angling up towards the north and I saw my opportunity. I ran in as quickly and quietly as I could, using the junipers for cover. It was while I was jumping between two of them that the first cow emerged. Busted!! But, while she was nervous, she kept on the path they were taking. The problem was that they were all keeping their eye on me and I couldn't make a move. I ranged the line the elk were taking - 65 yards. Too far for a shot. All I could do was watch helplessly as the bull, a big one, followed the herd up the mountain and out of my life. There was no time to pout, though, as another herd was heading up the next draw. I ran down one hill and then up the other, completely out of breath when I reached the top. I had to rest or there was no possible way I was going to get a shot! I gave myself about 30 seconds to calm down (all the interval training over the summer really paid off) and raced towards the herd. It turns out those 30 seconds cost me an opportunity because I was just behind the herd and couldn't catch up. Another very nice bull was taking up the rear and I ranged him at 75 yards. I tried to follow them up the mountain as far as I could but they were going way too fast for this flatlander.

I made attempts at a few more herds but by now they were moving quick and I never really got close to any more. With the sun high in the sky I headed back towards the truck to see how my dad did. It turns out they had seen elk, but nothing close to the ground blind. The elk had split up from being in one big herd to multiple smaller herds and were not following their usual pattern anymore. I should also mention I didn't have any type of camera with when I hunted like this. Dogging bulls is tough work and I left everything except my bow, rangefinder, binoculars, and license back at the truck.

Like the day before, we ran back to camp quick and ate, got a visit from the friendly local game warden, and then were off on our next adventure for the day...

The plan was to have my cousin drop us off on the north side of the mountain and we'd circle around the west side, hunting into the wind, and return to camp at dark. It was a long trip and we really didn't know how long it would take us. So, the 3 of us jumped on the ATV and headed north. About 1/2 way we met a local guide who was waiting in his truck as his hunter sat on a waterhole. We talked to him for a bit, at which time he warned us that he had just stepped on a rattlesnake hours before. He also was the guide who informed me of the size of the bull I missed opening morning. He was an interesting character and definitely didn't fit my perception of a hunting guide given he could barely walk and could easily count his teeth using just the fingers on his left hand. After bidding farewell to him we continued our journey down the rough road, and soon reached the trail that led up the mountain. To say it was rough would be an understatement. The whole trail was solid rocks. It didn't look like something any man or machine was fit to climb. But, with my dad and I hiking the worst sections and jumping on when we could, we made it to the top.

Before we could even unstrap our bows, we could hear bulls bugling at us. We anxiously got our stuff together to go kill one. I looked back and noticed one front tire on the atv was flat. We wished my cousin good luck getting back to camp with the flat, and we were off. We made a setup on the first bull but he seemed to ignore us. We continued on, climbing and making our way around the mountain but not 10 minutes later I could hear hooves pounding the ground, and coming fast! I whirled around to see a cow elk barreling right at my dad with a bull on her tail. My dad looked confused and the cow stopped, not 10 feet behind him. The bull put on the brakes 40 yards out. I slowly turned and whispered to my dad "don't move" at which point he turned to look at me. The cow took off, followed by the bull. I couldn't believe how close she was to him! We continued on down the mountain and I made a comment about the cow to which he replied "what cow?" I said "the cow that almost ran you over!" It turns out he had never seen her, he was so focused on the bull.

Here is one of the literally hundreds of rubs we saw.

After about another 1/2 hour hike we were, again, into bugling bulls. One was the old cow sounding one and another had a nasty scream! Rain drops started falling and lightening lit up the sky occasionally. A storm was rolling in and getting these elk going!

These two bulls seemed to be sharing a big herd of cows. We had no plan except to get as close as possible. I pulled out our elk decoy and told my dad to get right behind me and crouch down. With our tan backpacks we'd put the decoy in front of us and pretend to be an elk. And, with the wind at our face, it worked! We snuck right up to the herd of elk! Unfortunately all that we got close to were the cows and spikes. The big bulls were at the front and there was no way to get to them without every other elk winding us. Soon the cows moved and we had our chance to get closer. We set up with my dad as the shooter and I challenged them but they could not have cared less. They just moved down a ridge where swirling winds prevented us from continuing our chase.

The lightening was becoming more frequent by now and a quick look around showed multiple burned and split trees. Wisdom told us we needed to drop down to safer country so we quickly crossed a saddle and worked our way down a couple hundred feet. It wasn't long until we heard more bugles coming from a draw ahead of us. So, we made tracks in that direction and reached a glassing point before long. The elk were on a burned hillside that would make getting close to them very difficult. We decided to head towards them anyways and quickly made our way down the opposite side of the valley with bulls bugling EVERYWHERE!! As I've best heard it describled "it sounded like we were in the middle of the movie Jurassic Park!" It was absolutely incredible the bugling that was going on!! We were moving quickly with me in the lead when all of a sudden, 60 yards ahead of us, I saw a 7X7 beating the snot out of a tree. I turned to my dad and said "wait here, I'm going to go kill that bull!" With that I hastily made my way towards the bull, watching for any cows that could give me away. I soon picked out 3 down the mountain a bit from him, but they were far enough to not be a concern. I made it to one last juniper and ranged him.....40 yards. I had no clear shot but when I got around the tree I'd have a perfect 35 yard broadside shot at him! I knocked and arrow, tried to control my nerves, and stepped around the tree. Just as I was putting tension on the string to draw, he noticed his cows had wandered a bit too far, and headed off after them. AAAGGGHHH!!! I gave chase and stayed on his tail, him completely oblivious to my presence, but just couldn't keep up!! After about 200 yards and losing sight of him I decided that I'd better head back and grab Dad. There were bulls bugling on all sides of us by this point and I figured we'd have a good shot at getting one.

I'm almost sure this is the 7 point that I almost had rubbing the tree.

I got back to where I left him and he was nowhere to be found. I made a few cow chirps to get his attention, but no response. I got a sick feeling in my gut that something bad may have happened. I decided to stay put until he came back to look for me so I sat on a log, occasionally making cow calls to try to get his attention. Over an hour had passed with no sign of him and I was starting to get worried, so I hollered through my grunt tube. Still....nothing. I finally decided that it was going to do my no good sitting there on the mountain. I took GPS coordinates of the spot, and set off for the nearest road, a couple miles away.

Eventually I made it to the road and, to my relief, could see him about 1/2 mile south of me, walking towards camp. A truck happened to drive by so I jumped in with them and they gave me a ride to him. He hopped in and they took us to camp. I have to say, I was incredibly relieved. Logic told me that nothing had happened when I was up on the mountain, but it's hard not to think of the worst when someone seems to disappear into thin air. It turns out that after I went after my bull, he picked one out that was close and went after it himself, but never got close enough for a shot.

My cousin pulled up at camp with a fully functional atv. He had caught a ride back to camp with the toothless guide and retrieved our repair kit, generator, and compressor and fixed the tire. We couldn't have been more grateful!!

For the evening Dad sat a tank with no action. My cousin and I took off for the base of the mountain to catch the elk coming down. We saw a 5 point heading for the flats and devised an intricate system of hand signals that he could use from his vantage point to get me within range of the elk. Unfortunately, our signals got crossed and I zigged when I should have zagged. At one point the elk and I were 50 yards away from each other, completely oblivious to the other's existence, heading in opposite directions. I glassed him as he crossed a road and it was too late to do anything. The last remaining daylight faded, and day 2 was in the books.

[HooknHorns]

Thanks for filling us in with all this nonstop action. I didn't even see half the elk you saw in one day in my whole trip. Elk paradise for sure. I hope this ends like it should after all the hard work you guys put in.

[pumper317]

Please don't stop! Pretty please? Thanks a ton for putting this together. I am sure it takes a long time. I too hope this ends with some meat in the freezer for all the work and close calls.

[NoWiser]

Day 3 started the same as the previous two, well before sunrise. The weather, again, was clear and cool, with the big dipper looking as though it would scoop off the top of the mountain.

Dad decided to sit in the blind again, for a third morning, while I decided to head up close to the mountain to dog some bulls. It was a slow morning with very little bugling going on. I gave chase to a couple of herds but just couldn't get on the same ridge as any of them. It seemed that every time I would guess which one a herd was going to use to get up the mountain, they'd pick the one I was just on. It was frustrating and physically exhausting running back and forth. By the time the sun rose above the horizon I already had several miles under my boots. Dad had nothing come even close to the blind. It seemed as though they were slowly moving south, and lessening in numbers each day. When the last elk finally made it to the mountain we met back at the truck and headed to camp for a quick bite to eat. As long as we were there, I used a satellite phone that my cousin rented to call my fiancé and get the latest weather forecast. It was Saturday and we hadn't had any contact with the outside world for a week now. She checked it out and it sounded like the weather was going to cool off by about 10 degrees with a chance of rain on Sunday afternoon. With this information, we ditched our rain gear and packed super light. We'd be traversing the north and east side of the mountain today and it was going to be a heck of a hike so we needed to travel as light as possible. We had my cousin, again, shuttle us up to the north side of the mountain with the atv, where he wished us luck and left to do some scouting.

In short order we heard a bugle ring out and gave chase. But, the wind was sketchy and the bull vanished. The mountain became silent. We continued our hike for about 1/2 hour. I let out a locator bugle and got an immediate response from the ridge across from us. We quickly made a plan and took off after him. When we got to the bottom of the draw I let out a soft cow call and he responded immediately with a bugle. Now we had his position pinpointed and could get close! As quickly and quietly as we could, we closed in to within what we thought to be about 100 yards of the bull. I sent my dad up as the shooter and I fell back as the caller. The plan was to get him to bugle using a cow call, at which point I'd cut him off with a bugle. If he followed the script we'd laid out, he would get up, run at me, and meet his fate as he passed by Dad.

As soon as Dad was ready I let out a couple of social cow calls........nothing. I let out a couple of lost cow calls.....nothing. The bull was gone. I have no idea what happened. I know he didn't wind us, though he could have probably heard us crunching through the pine needles. The confusing part is that we never heard him leave, he just seemed to disappear. Tired and a bit frustrated we sat down to grab a quick snack and study the maps. We had a very long hike ahead of us!

So it went, we circled the east side of the mountain. Uphill, downhill, sidehill, we got a chance to experience it all. It seemed to go on forever. The elk were nowhere to be found. Not a bugle, not a chuck, not a mew. Nothing. We walked, and walked, and walked. And, then it started raining. Hard. We had more than a few miles to go back to camp and no rain gear at all. There was nothing we could do but keep moving, as we slowly became drenched. It was the worst hike I've ever done in my life, with the rain pouring out of the sky, the grass soaking wet, and the trees dripping. Finally, after hours, we were close to camp. Dad veered off to go sit on a tank and I trudged my way down to a muddy road that took me to camp, where my cousin was nice and warm and dry, tucked into his sleeping bag in the fishhouse. Everything I was wearing could have been wrung out like a wash rag, including my socks and boots. Wet feet = trouble and I had worn off the skin on my right heel. It wasn't good. But, there was an hour of light left so I ditched all of my wet clothes and dressed solely in my rain gear. We headed out to where the elk had been crossing the road and I set up to intercept them. But, we didn't hear so much as a bugle or see so much as an elk. I was relieved when shooting light was over and I knew I could go back to a warm supper and a dry sleeping bag. The day was a bust, but still better than any day at work. I took an extra heavy dose of advil not knowing if I'd even be able to move the next morning. Sleep soon overtook me.

With the wet weather I didn't take many pictures this day, so here are a few fillers.

The road in front of camp looking south.

The road in front of camp looking north.

A bull keeping watch over his cows. It's the same 7X7 from Day 2.

[DonBo]

Great story so far. Thanks for taking the time to put it together.

[sportfish]

I'm sure hopping for your luck to change in this great story ! Good job

[Scoot]

With this information, we ditched our rain gear and packed super light.

[Mr.Seaguar]

Reading other peoples DIY elk hunting stories makes it easier for me to not go.

[ozzie]

keep it up NoWiser!!! Love the tale of the hunt!!! Hope this story ends well...

[nofishfisherman]

Come on its Friday afternoon and if I don't get the rest of the story soon I might have no other choice other than to get some work done. Please don't let that happen.

[perchking]

I am hanging on the edge of my seat on this one...

[NoWiser]

Hey guys, sorry! I have 1/2 of day 4 written up but didn't quite get time to pull it off. I offered to help my bother-in-law move this afternoon and just got the call that he is ready to go. I don't have a computer at home so unfortunately the next chapter will not become available until Monday morning. Thanks for all the kind feedback and have a great weekend. We'll wrap this up next week. The most exciting parts are yet to come!

[ozzie]

son of a !!!!!! now that is a real cliff hanger!! well I got something to look forward to now Monday!!

[sportfish]

I hope I have cell service on my SD hunt next week so I have soon good reading !!

[HooknHorns]

Well I normally hate Monday's but I guess this time I'll make an exception.

[Scoot]

Tick tock tick tock...

[NoWiser]

Day 4

We turned the fishhouse heater on overnight, cracked the windows, and ran a fan to try to get our clothes to dry off. It did help, no doubt, but everything was still very wet when the alarm jarred us out of our sleep. Crawling out of bed was not easy, but necessary if we wanted to kill an elk. So, with much stretching and groaning, we applied duct tape and moleskin to our sore feet, threw our soggy clothes on, and struck off to our usual morning spot.

Dad was done hunting out of our blind. The elk seemed to be crossing farther south, and that's where he would be. The road crossed a canyon and it was a natural funnel for the elk. My cousin and I had seen them cross there in the evenings and told him to set up there in the morning. We dropped him off at that spot well before daylight. I then hiked up to the base of the mountain once again, determined to cut one of these bulls off and kill it. My cousin climbed up to a good glassing point on a hill to try to get a read on exactly what these elk were doing.

Random elk picture

I was in position while it was still very dark and heard a bugle ring out north of me. I didn't waste any time cutting the distance and before long I was 100 yards away from him, waiting for shooting light. I stuck with him and when I could finally see my pin, started to close in. When I was at about 70 or 80 yards I could hear him start to destroy a juniper tree. It was perfect. The light was low, thermals were blowing down, and the bull was preoccupied with the tree. I quickly navigated the rocky ground until I was about 40 yards away, but a shrub obscured my view. I couldn't quite see him but it wouldn't be long. As I made it to the offending shrub I felt the deadly cold fingers of a breeze on the back of my neck. I couldn't have been more horrified if it was a zombie from The Walking Dead. About 2 seconds later the bull was hightailing it out of there. To say I was frustrated would be an understatement. The wind should not have been swirling like that before sunrise!! But, there was nothing I could do except find another bull.

Some bugles rang out to the south, so that's the way I headed. I got to a point where I could glass and noticed a speck in the distance. Through the binoculars I could tell it was a bull, and he was going to cross right where my dad would be sitting!! This was going to be perfect, I'd have a great view of him shooting this bull from 3/4 mile away! As the bull descended the hill towards him I started to get nervous, thinking about all of the things that could go wrong at this point. But, the bull kept his course and neither he nor any of his cows seemed the slightest bit alarmed. I was pumped! As the bull got down to the intersection of the canyon and road, I waited for him to jump up and take off running, and for his cows to scatter. Surprisingly they all walked single file down and across the road, and out of sight. I couldn't figure out what happened. Maybe he already had an arrow in an elk by that point?

Another random elk picture

I didn't have long to think, though, as a nasty sounding bugle was heading my way. I did my best to sprint down and then up 3 draws to get in front of the elk. I wanted to see exactly who was making these noises because he sounded like he meant business. I crested the last ridge, out of breath, just in time to see that I was one ridge short. An absolute MONSTER bull was pushing his cows 80 yards away, on a finger ridge that led up the mountain. All I could do was stand there, watch, and drool. There was not enough cover to even think about getting up on this herd. The good news is that they were heading up the same draw where I almost got a shot at the raking 7X7 on day two. I knew that elk were bedding here and that it is where he'd spend the day with his cows. I hiked over to where the herd had walked, found there trail, and marked a good spot. I'd be there tomorrow morning to greet them with a shiny new Slick Trick.

Typical Pinion Juniper country where I chased elk in the mornings

At that I hiked down the mountain to meet Dad and get his story for the morning. Hopefully he had good news!

When I arrived he told the story. He had decided to sit 150 yards farther north where he found a trail coming down the hill. Nothing came by him and when he saw the 5X5 he tried to quick switch spots and get closer, but ended up spooking the herd. Dang! As we were discussing we looked up and saw 4 ears poke over the hilltop. Both of us hit the deck and they disappeared. He ran up to where the bull crossed and got in front of a bush. I dove behind a culvert, and just in time. 4 cows came walking down the hill. We hoped they'd have a bull with, but it was not to be. They walked down and passed within 6 feet of Dad!! Still not even 1/2 through our hunt, he had no interest in shooting one. I watched them pass him before panicking and bolting up towards the mountain. I was sure they got his scent but, when I stood up, I saw another bowhunter walking down the middle of the road, trying to "stalk" them. How he planned on pulling that off is beyond me as there was no way he was getting within 150 yards of these elk like that. In talking to him we learned that so far he had wounded a big bull at 70 yards and missed one at 80, which brings me to a little tangent I'm going to go off on....

People out here were not afraid to take long shots, and it rubbed me the wrong way. 50 was my max in perfect conditions and even that is pushing it for archery tackle in my opinion. I talked to one guy from the first season that gut shot and later found a 367" elk at 76 yards, and another guy who wounded two bulls and a cow with shots over 70 yards. Other guys in his camp had multiple misses at very long ranges. Yet another guy told me the story of a big bull he saw and "if it would have been 10 yards closer it would have been dead." Come to find out it was at 105 yards and he was going to take the shot if it came to 95 yards, since he "had practiced all summer out to 85." It made me sad thinking about all of the elk out there that were running around with arrows stuck in them because people just couldn't practice self discipline. Now, I'm far from perfect and am a relatively inexperienced archery hunter with just a few deer and a turkey under my belt. I completely understand that losing animals will happen if you bowhunt long enough. I've lost deer due to bad hits and a poor setup, and could have just as easily wounded that bull opening morning as missed him because I wasn't careful enough to make sure I cleared that bush. But, those super long range shots were ridiculous. If I'd have been shooting at animals in that 70-80 yard range I'd have been flinging arrows everyday of this hunt. But, I guarantee, the results would have been less than satisfactory. So, I'll come off my high horse now and continue the story.....

After the morning hunt we went back to camp to eat and dry out our soaked clothes. We discussed our plan for the day and decided to get dropped off on the other side of the mountain again, and work our way around the west and south sides, as we did 2 days earlier when get got in on all of the action. The sun was out and we spent about 2 hours at camp, which was by far the most time we took during our entire hunt. Getting into wet clothes, and especially boots, was not going to do anyone any good.

Drying Clothes

Finally, with our gear dry, my cousin buzzed us up to the mountain, and we started our hunt. But, unlike the previous trip through this country, the elk were completely silent. We worked our ways through many of the same draws and it was like they up and vanished. But, I knew they were there. I had seen them head up the mountain in the morning. Finally, after a few miles, I looked ahead and could see a bull rubbing a tree about 70 yards up. I sent Dad ahead a bit and grabbed a shed antler that I found, and began rubbing my own tree, to try to draw him past. I had been talking to a hunting guide near us and he said his #1 elk call is a shed antler. Since cow calls and bugles hadn't been working, I decided something different was worth a shot. But, the results were the same. The bull took off and circled down the mountain and out of our lives. We were now near the draw where I knew many of the big bulls bedded, though, so we were ready to make a play on them. We made it to the top of the draw, only to watch in disgust as the wind started to go nuts on us. In a 10 minute period it would blow in every possible direction. There was no way we were going into that area with unpredictable winds, so we sat down and waited to see if they'd settle down. But, they were stubborn and continued to swirl. Sunset was on the way and we knew, with it, would bring consistent downhill thermals. So, we worked our way down a draw that was parallel to the one the elk were using, and waited.

Checking wind. This little bottle was one of the most important tools I carried. I'd have felt blind without it.

After about an hour the temps began to cool and the air started rushing down the mountain. We hiked over to where we needed to be and waited for the elk to come and play. As daylight turned in to night, the elk remained silent and we hiked back to the truck by the light of our headlamps without so much as an encounter.

I was excited for the next morning's hunt. I'd be waiting for the big elk in the perfect ambush position. Our luck had to change......

[Scoot]

Great stuff, Jim! Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, keeps more elk alive than the messed up mountain winds. If the wind was always steady, or even predictable, it wouldn't be all that tough to kill one. However, it's not and the elk stay alive with their noses over and over. It's easy to fool their ears and not too tough to fool their eyes, but their noses are almost foolproof if the wind is working to their advantage.

[NoWiser]

Day 5

As usual we woke up well before dawn and made our way to our morning area. I had a plan in place for the morning and I was anxious to see how it would play out. It require about a 1 1/4 mile hike and about 600 feet of elevation gain to get where I needed to be in the dark. It was just enough to warm me up for the day.

My plan was to sit about 15 yards down from the top of the ridge that the monster bull took to get up the mountain the previous day. I tucked myself back into some oak brush and knelt down on my little inflatable cushion. This thing is the cat's pajamas! I used it almost every day. It inflated with 2 breaths and kept my knees or butt comfy and warm. I won't go on another hunt without it.

Now the waiting game began. I could hear bulls bugling to the north of me but I wasn't going to chase them. I wanted this particular bull and I'd been defeated too many times trying to guess what ridge an elk was going up and running to cut them off. I was going to stay put and, if the big bull didn't use the ridge, there was a good chance another would. Finally, after about 1 1/2 hours I could hear a very familiar bugle. It was the big one and he was heading in my direction! I knocked an arrow, made sure there would be no brush in the way, and tried my best to keep calm. With each bugle he was getting closer. Soon I could hear his cows nonstop jabbering back and forth. It made me smile, glad to be on a guy's trip like this. Something was wrong, though. The elk were on the next ridge north! I turned around and could already see the cows angling down, headed into the bottom of the draw behind me. By now the thermals had started to go up. This was a good thing as I had no choice but to head down at them. I got a glimpse of the bull, glunking like crazy, as I made my first move to a juniper, on my way to cut them off. I bounced between trees and bushes like a pinball, making my way to the bottom, ranging as I went. It was all going as planned as I closed the distance to under 60 yards. The elk were making so much noise that they took no notice of my footsteps. I had the tree picked out that I needed to get to....and then I heard a bark. And another bark. And then the thunderous sounds of hoofprints as the entire herd stampeded up the mountain. Completely caught off guard and confused, the first thing I did was pull out my windchecker. Sure as heck, the thermals were rising at the top of the draw, but when I got 2/3 of the way down, the cool air was still rushing towards the bottom of the mountain. I'd been winded yet again!

I slogged my way back up to the top of the ridge to gather my thoughts and equipment. 5 or 6 bulls were going insane on the mountain above me, but it was a horrible time of day to chase them. I just knew I'd end up getting betrayed by those nasty thermals again. I had time to sit down and make a plan. I'd told the other two that I wasn't coming back today. I'd spend it on the mountain and either walk back to camp, or hitch a ride with someone.

Pulling out a map I found a nice saddle above where the majority of the elk were bedding. It was near where I'd seen the bull raking the previous day. I decided to make my way up to it, find an elk trail, and plop myself down for awhile. It was a perfect place to catch an elk moving midday across the mountain. I started climbing and an hour later found myself there. I just didn't like the way it looked. There were no good elk trails or tracks, not much for rubs, and all I saw for wildlife was a bunch of snakes. I decided to move down towards the elk to try to find another trail. I very slowly started inching my way down the mountain until I found an area that offered a good view. I sat down, ate lunch, and took a quick snooze. When the elk started their afternoon party of bugling, I'd be there to surprise them.

About 3:00 in the afternoon the bugling picked up. I stretched out and got ready. It was hotter than heck and I was sweating just sitting there. I stood up and continued my journey down the mountain, and into the bulls.

Suddenly a scream rang out from directly across the canyon. I didn't even need binoculars, I looked up and saw a giant. He was standing in an opening, looking over the valley like he owned the place, and I believe he did. He was a massive 6 point with incredibly light colored antlers and mass that made him look like 1/2 moose. I'd seen a lot of bulls up until this point, and this guy was just plain big. But, given where he was located, I had no chance to make a play on him. I tried my best to snap a picture of him through my binoculars but he walked off before I would pull it off. I shook my head in disbelief and continued.

About 300 yards down a bugle rang out across the valley. I contemplated ignoring it because I really didn't want to drop down and climb that far, but I couldn't. I had to try. So, I dove in headfirst and 1/2 hour later I was on top, where the bugle had come from. Another soon rang out from 100 yards away, so I grabbed my bugle and screamed back at them. Immediately he replied, along with another bull up the mountain. So, I bugled back. This went on for 4 or 5 times and they were getting fed up with me but showed no interest in getting closer. I liked my odds when a bull was raking a tree so I decided to see if I could get them to do it. There was a dead tree next to me so I broke off a branch and started beating on the tree, busting limbs, and stomping the ground. The elk farther uphill (left) of me completely sent silent, presumably heading back up the mountain. But, the elk in front of my did just as I wanted and I could hear him beating the dump out of his own tree. It was now or never so I sprinted towards him as fast as I could. About 1/2 way to him I stopped, knocked an arrow, and quick ranged him. He was 75 yards away and oblivious to my existence, intent on making sure that pine tree didn't have a scrap of bark left on it. It was looking good!

I ranged a tree and knew that if I got up to it, I'd have a great chance at pulling off a shot. I took off for it and after about 8 steps something caught my eye that stopped me dead in my tracks. The king of the mountain giant was standing, 24 yards away, broadside. His head turned, staring straight at me. It lasted about 3 seconds and he took off, straight up the mountain, stopping breifly about 80 yards away, to further torment me. He took off again, with the tree raking bull close behind him, knowing something was not right.

I wanted to puke. I just stood there in disbelief, visions of that bull burned into my head. I sat down on a log and thought about this thing called elk hunting, and why anyone would want to put themselves through this kind of torture. If that bull had even made a peep to alert me of his presence, I'd have been able to creep around a tree and got a perfect shot at him. Had he not been there at all, I truly believe I'd have had a great shot at the tree raking bull, who was no slouch himself. The frustration was at an all-time high, but I was making memories for sure!

I decided to side-hill across the mountain towards camp. I saw a few cows and calves, and one raghorn 5 point on my way back, but nothing close. The bugling died down as the sun set. I hiked a draw back towards camp and stumbled across my cousin, who was bear hunting. He had seen this nice bear a bit earlier, but couldn't get a shot off before he was busted.

I did notice something peculiar on the hike back. The thermals stayed very steady going up right until, and past dark. The air was warm, and I couldn't figure out exactly what that meant.

When I reached camp my dad was also disappointed. He had seen a monster bull that morning. With no time to range it he guessed 40 yards and let an arrow fly, only to see it sale safely underneath the bull. Confused, he ranged a rock when the bull left and the actual distance was 57 yards. Like I said, these animals are BIG, and it's incredibly deceiving trying to guess the range of them.

After our standard Mountain House meal, it was off to bed. 5 days of our 8 day season and come and gone, and still no elk on the ground.

[ozzie]

thanks again NoWiser for taking us along on your story!! fun read

[DonBo]

Lots of action for sure. Hope you get'r done.

[Scoot]

I sat down on a log and thought about this thing called elk hunting, and why anyone would want to put themselves through this kind of torture.

What a great, and often incredibly accurate line! This quote sums up my entire 2013 season in MT and anyone who's done much elk hunting can relate to this, without a doubt!

[NoWiser]

Day 6

The alarm, as it always does, interrupted our slumber much too early. But, the beeping noise was accompanied by another noise, which was even less welcome. It was the sound of rain hitting to roof of the fishhouse. I remembered the uphill thermals the night before and knew a weather system had moved in. How long it would stay, was the question. Our boots had finally dried off and we were not looking forward to getting them wet again. But, we didn't drive 29 hours to sit in a fishhouse so we threw on our rain gear, and headed out once again. We didn't have any days to waste!

My plan was the same as the previous day. Get up to the ridge and hope the elk crossed by me. I'd spend the day on the mountain and find my way back at dark. Dad would sit in his morning spot and decide what to do from there.

As it got light I expected the usual activity but the bulls were silent. I might have heard 3 bugles all morning. I had planned on pulling out all the stops and chasing straight after them as they got to their bedding area but that's hard to do when they aren't making any noise. After a few hours of waiting and getting soaked, I decided to try to find somewhere dry to wait out the rain. Most storms down there only last a couple hours and then they are over. I couldn't find a decent tree to hide under so I made my own shelter out of a piece of Tyvek that I always carry with me as an emergency shelter, or as a clean place to set meat as I'm quartering an animal. I draped the tyvek over some low branches, threw my pack down as a pillow, inflated my trusty seat, and hid from the rain. It worked great, though the raindrops on the Tyvek were incredibly loud, reminding me of the snare drums in our middle school band.

From down the mountain came a cow call. I grabbed my bow and crawled out of my shelter, and hid behind a juniper, ready for whatever came my way. As it turns out, what was coming my way was my dad. I cow called back to get his attention. After chatting a bit about our plans, he continued on and I crawled back under the tyvek. But, by now it was apparent that the rain had no intentions of letting up. If I wanted to hunt I was just going to have to deal with being wet. There was no getting around it. So, I gathered my stuff and angled my way up the mountain to where I had gotten so close to the big bull the day before. I let out a locator bugle when I got there with no response at all. I continued my way angling up the mountain, trying to get to the backside of the ridge that seemed to hold all of the elk. I hadn't been there yet but it looked good on the map. It didn't take long and I found myself there, and a bull was bugling, too! With the rain pounding down, noise wasn't an issue. I got in close to the bull and tried cow calling him the rest of the way. He responded by heading in the opposite direction. I followed, doing my best to entice him, but to no avail. Finally I let out a bugle in frustration, hoping maybe that would work. But, no luck. It shut him up for good.

Looking around it was like elk central up here. Every suitable pine tree was rubbed clean of bark. The ground was covered with elk sign. I even stumbled across a few sheds. I liked what I was seeing through the pouring rain.

I worked my way up and over a small rise and caught a flash of tan on the opposite side of the draw. Straining through water covered lenses on the binoculars I could make out that it was a cow. She got up and fed to my right. It was a pretty open area but given the advantage of silence, I decided to make my way towards here. I crept down the valley and soon saw more elk. About 30 cows and a very nice bull. I had a few good trees in front of my, so I continued my descent towards them. When I reached my last tree I ranged them. 79 yards. I decided to try to cow call to the bull and entice him to bugle, at which point I'd cut him off. I let out 2 or 3 social cow calls, not wanting to do anything too drastic. Immediately, the cows jumped to their feet and headed out. They did not want any of it! My last chance was to bugle and make the bull think another was coming in to steal his cows. I screamed my best bugle but it only hastened their retreat up the mountain. Soaked, frustrated, and confused I hiked to a good vantage point where I could see the basin and listen for bugles. Dusk was approaching and it's here that I'd spend the last of the daylight. I sat on a log and didn't hear so much as a peep from the elk for the rest of the evening. I passed the time by watching the rain drops fall off of the bill of my hat. As shooting light was coming to a close the steady rain turned into a steady downpour. I had 2 miles to get back to camp and decided to hike out while there was still some light. Even if I did shoot an elk, I'd have zero blood trail to follow. The entire mountainside had become a river with water running down it. I crossed my fingers, hoping tomorrow would be better....

Filler picture of an outfitter watering his horses in the tank behind our camp.

[sticknstring]

It's the dreaded rough patch that us hunters go through that questions our sanity. But it makes success that much sweeter. Wouldn't be much fun shooting a 380" the first morning down in the flats would it?

Can't wait for day 7!

[ozzie]

are you going to end the hunt and story today or will this be finished up tomorrow?