bpnclark
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2005
- Messages
- 902
- Reaction score
- 9
I’m back from NM. This was my first true archery hunt and I knew it was going to be hard but @!*$&#. This was also my first elk hunt during the rut. It was nothing like I have ever experienced before. I don’t know if I can ever go back to late season rifle hunting. It was harder, easier and 5x more exciting all at the same time.
The hunt started off traveling to the area with the highest mountains/cliffs and steepest canyons. After spending 3 days scouting, all the sign we found was months old. We saw no elk and heard no bugling and after walking from 7000 to +9000 feet and +8 miles a day, I was ready to move on. We did see bears (4 in one day!), deer and javelina in the area but no elk.
We ended up moving to the lower elevations and got lost pretty deep on the Gila forest roads. We set up camp and started hunting. After moving camp 2 more times we finally found them. On the first day out we walked a couple miles out and my brother made a bugle. Within seconds something ran up and started snorting but we couldn’t see it. It was an exciting way to start off a morning. Whatever it was, it busted us and we started walking again. Round 2 called in three spikes. They stopped +50 yards away, and if one got any closer, I would have shot it. This was my first elk hunt with a bow and I didn’t care if I shot a cow or bull. My brother would have been pissed, but I didn’t care.
We moved again and found some herds. It looked/sounded like they were just starting to rut, but weren’t fully in it. Bulls were coming to cow calls but would not commit. Most would stay out and scream but would not come in any closer. If I would have had a rifle I could have shot one (or more) everyday. After the first couple days the bugling seemed to be getting worse everyday. They were now starting at dusk and ending way before first light. We could hear them bugling all night long, but an hour before first light they completely stopped. Our strategies changed. It was less calling and the mornings we were trying to ambush them before they made it to their bedding areas, and it was hunting the waterholes at last light. On one of our last morning trips, my brother did call in something strange; it was the guys from the PSE hunting show. They were filming their hunt the same area. It did feel pretty good that professional hunters with 2 guides were having the same problems as we were. I no longer felt like it was just me.
My brother ended up taking a nice 6x6 towards the end of the hunt. I never launched an arrow. I came to full draw once and a couple of times I got caught and could not move. This was my brother’s third trip to the Gila NF area for archery elk and he said our area had the lowest numbers of elk that he has seen out of the other areas he has hunted. I looked at the harvest numbers of the past years and we knew this going in. In 2006 out of 50 tags, 1 person got a bull and 2007, 8 bulls were taken out of 50 tags.
I wasn’t expecting anything on my first archery hunt but after the 4th day of hunting and coming into elk, I thought I was going home with one. And after having rag horns and smaller 5x5s (and a couple of 6x6s) I told myself “No cows or Spikes!!!” I ended up learning a lot and I had a great time. It was by far the hardest hunt I have ever been on. It will be hard going back to late season rifle hunting and I don’t know if I want to. I’ll be putting in again every year but I think it will be for units in the 16s.
Our camera ran out of juice two days before my brother got his bull, so we had to wait until we got back to CA for the photos. It’s probably going to score over +280 and it was one of the biggest ones we saw. My brother was very happy with this one, but was upset that we never really saw any +330 to +400 bulls that he saw in the other units in past years. I think we were also one of the only hunters that took a bull in the area. No one else had antlers hanging out of their vehicles or at camp.
[attachment=55162:n1.jpg]
Now I just need a new bow!
The hunt started off traveling to the area with the highest mountains/cliffs and steepest canyons. After spending 3 days scouting, all the sign we found was months old. We saw no elk and heard no bugling and after walking from 7000 to +9000 feet and +8 miles a day, I was ready to move on. We did see bears (4 in one day!), deer and javelina in the area but no elk.
We ended up moving to the lower elevations and got lost pretty deep on the Gila forest roads. We set up camp and started hunting. After moving camp 2 more times we finally found them. On the first day out we walked a couple miles out and my brother made a bugle. Within seconds something ran up and started snorting but we couldn’t see it. It was an exciting way to start off a morning. Whatever it was, it busted us and we started walking again. Round 2 called in three spikes. They stopped +50 yards away, and if one got any closer, I would have shot it. This was my first elk hunt with a bow and I didn’t care if I shot a cow or bull. My brother would have been pissed, but I didn’t care.
We moved again and found some herds. It looked/sounded like they were just starting to rut, but weren’t fully in it. Bulls were coming to cow calls but would not commit. Most would stay out and scream but would not come in any closer. If I would have had a rifle I could have shot one (or more) everyday. After the first couple days the bugling seemed to be getting worse everyday. They were now starting at dusk and ending way before first light. We could hear them bugling all night long, but an hour before first light they completely stopped. Our strategies changed. It was less calling and the mornings we were trying to ambush them before they made it to their bedding areas, and it was hunting the waterholes at last light. On one of our last morning trips, my brother did call in something strange; it was the guys from the PSE hunting show. They were filming their hunt the same area. It did feel pretty good that professional hunters with 2 guides were having the same problems as we were. I no longer felt like it was just me.
My brother ended up taking a nice 6x6 towards the end of the hunt. I never launched an arrow. I came to full draw once and a couple of times I got caught and could not move. This was my brother’s third trip to the Gila NF area for archery elk and he said our area had the lowest numbers of elk that he has seen out of the other areas he has hunted. I looked at the harvest numbers of the past years and we knew this going in. In 2006 out of 50 tags, 1 person got a bull and 2007, 8 bulls were taken out of 50 tags.
I wasn’t expecting anything on my first archery hunt but after the 4th day of hunting and coming into elk, I thought I was going home with one. And after having rag horns and smaller 5x5s (and a couple of 6x6s) I told myself “No cows or Spikes!!!” I ended up learning a lot and I had a great time. It was by far the hardest hunt I have ever been on. It will be hard going back to late season rifle hunting and I don’t know if I want to. I’ll be putting in again every year but I think it will be for units in the 16s.
Our camera ran out of juice two days before my brother got his bull, so we had to wait until we got back to CA for the photos. It’s probably going to score over +280 and it was one of the biggest ones we saw. My brother was very happy with this one, but was upset that we never really saw any +330 to +400 bulls that he saw in the other units in past years. I think we were also one of the only hunters that took a bull in the area. No one else had antlers hanging out of their vehicles or at camp.
[attachment=55162:n1.jpg]
Now I just need a new bow!
