Big Game Hunting > Out Of State Hunting
My New Mexico elk hunt (previously known as big bull down)
boneaddict:
It was dark when we pulled in. We were near a river and there were lots of bugs and frogs and I couldn't hear a blasted thing. We headed up the mountain and came out on top of a ridge. the sky was gorgeous. It was a good spot to stop for the evening. We grabbed our bedrolls and got ready to nab some sleep. I grabbed the bugled and ripped one. Instant answer back. He was a long ways away. I kept at it, and he was on his way. Booner was laying in his sleeping bag and I was kneeling beside him when I brought him screaming in. He winded us right at the edge of the mag light. Then I went to sleep after monitoring an awesome meteor shower. I awoke in the night to a set of antlers over my head. I didn't have m glasses on, but could still see bone. I managed to slip my eyes on, and about that time booner rolled over and the bull slipped off into the woods. The next morning, I unhooked the trailer and headed up the road for a scouting mission to find a better camping spot. At 7500 feet, I found the perfect spot. There was a logging road here. I worked my wa a couple hundred yards down it and let a bugle rip. Instant scream back about 100 yeards down the hill. I beat t back down to the truck and picked u the trailer and Idabooner so that we could claim our spot. I was thinking about Jackelope at this point. I know he wanted big bull pics, but I didn't want to educate my quarry.
It didn't take long and our camp was up. Since we had th trailer, I brought the big wall tent I had picked up this summer. Hotel Kikendall was born. Booner and I then hit the road and began driving some of the outskirts of our unit. Straight up the road from camp a couple Javelina ran across the road. I tried to nab a picture of them, but only woods showed up. It was beautiful there. The monsoons were over and everything looked like out spring. Flowers were blooming that we see in April and May. There were huge pines, oak, and juniper at 8000-9000 feet. Afer scouring the unit, we determined that we were in the right area. More my kind of hunting country. Remember there was a hunt going on at the same time we were scouting.
There is a Javelina in this pic somewhere, but you can get an idea of what it was like.
boneaddict:
I chose the steep heavier timbered country over the more open mesas. I was more familiar with the big pines and fir than the open Junipe stuff. I was listening to and talking to about 7 different bulls when I took these pics. I had bulls below me and above me. I had three days to scout. the bad thing was the bulls were prime and hot now. they were in the part of the rut where they were challenging each other and gathering cows. This is the best time to be elk calling. A warden stopped by and talked for an houror so, and he said the second season was nocking them dead. We saw several nice bulls going down the road. There were 10 in front of the taxidermy shop in the small town that we went to to get gas.
boneaddict:
So I get back to camp from scouting and "my elk" is talking. About that time some other guys way down the ridge start bugling. I'm ashamed to admit this, but I didn't want them to screw up "our bull". I grabbed the call bearmanric made for me and hit the trail, camera sitting in the front seat of my truck. I had no intention of calling this guy in. I gave a couple blows, and here he comes. I'm standing behind a tree in a white t-shirt and levis. the next thing I know, this 8x9 370 bull steps out at 20 yards. I guess that saved his life for the night. I slipped out and he continued his maddog bugling. This brought another bull down the ridge, and as night fell we had two bulls screaming at each other, one about 50 yards on one side of camp and one on the other. We finally went to bed, and I layed there listening to them scream insults at each other and ripping up trees. Here is one of the rubs we woke up to in the morn.
note the tent in the background....
huntingnut:
That sounds pretty exciting. I can't wait to get into archery hunting during the rut. I pass on archery elk this to do one last modern hunt with my dad. Trying to get him into archery. Sounds like everything feel into place once you got there. Congrats.
boneaddict:
Its insanely fun huntingnut.
I patterned bulls for the next couple days. each day the bulls grew more and more quiet. The day before the hunt started, I figured my bull out. I had him walk by screaming within 20 yards of me with his 10 cows. I made it back to camp feeling pretty confident. I was really nervous when we crawled into the tent. That night the camp bull was back and was literally standing in fron of our wall tent bugling at us. i chose to go after "my bull" and headed up the mountain. All was quiet with NO bugles. I climbed the 1000 feet up to 9,000 as fast as I could. I was in position right at light, and on que, here he comes. His head was low and he was in the lead. Just as the day before, he turned to rub a tree and I released on him with the Sapphire Hawk longbow. I told booner that I would use it for the first three days and the compound for the last three. He adjusted his shoulder just as I released, and I hit the should blade. This can be devistating. The large two bladed head split the blade and got into one lung. The bull charged ahead bout 30 yards then went down, got up and started thrashing things. He went down again, then tried to get up. I had one shot at him and I took it. I put an arrow through his jugular. That was enough. He bled out. From there the work began. As I was cutting him up, another two bulls and cows came through the saddle I was in. Then about 20 minutes later, two more came through with their cows. One was a bit bigger than mine. Oh well....next year.
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