wmidbrook
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I met Jesse (aka JHO handle Bubba) in NM on 9/9 and we proceded to get settled into the cabin for our upcoming self guided hunt the next day. This was my second year hunting this area and I felt confident that we'd get into some elk.
The canyon I wanted to work had a vehicle parked near the trail and two hunters said they planned on working it. No problem, up to the top of the mesa we went....After about a mile hike in, we heared a bugle and followed suit. As we worked our way down the side of the mesa, I glassed out into an open park to see a nice raghorn 4x5 hop the fence. I got into a better position and watched 4 spikes and a couple of branched antler bulls along with some cows heading towards the tree line of aspens and conifers....
Jesse and I attempted to intercept the group. In route, I discover an elk super trail covered with fresh sign. We skipped on past this spot and headed about 600 yds over to where we thought they might show themselves....In the thickets, I start cow calling an spot elk legs through the vegetation....we could hear the group heading back towards where we'd come from.
We quickly back-tracked over to a little opening in hopes of intercepting them. Sure enough, 3 spikes emerge about 200 yards away running towards the super trail. I got on the cow call and stopped them cold in their tracks...one of the bulls starts running our way. He skirts around at 60 - 80 yards offering no shot. Neither Jesse nor I had the greatest amount of cover and it well could be that the spike detected some motion...eventually, all this cat and mouse with the 3 spikes continued on for a good hour or so before finally the wind swirled and it was game over...Talk about some excitement for Jesses first morning of hunting elk during the rut...well, it was about to get even better.
I suggest to Jesse that we head over to the corner of this mesa where 3 canyons converge and funnel onto the top by way of skirting this open park....hopefully we'll see something.
It was about noon. The overcast skies started spitting out a drop or two of rain. Just as we enter this park on the top of the mesa, I spot an elk's behind....I motion to Jesse to get behind some cover. I call. All we see are antlers charging up the hill straight for me!! The bull stops for a second and stares at the tree Jesse's behind (kudos to Jesse for no motion). He figures it's not a threat and continues on towards me.
Well, the fir tree I'm behind isn't the greatest cover as this bull elk charges to within 20 feet looking for some lovin'...He's within 15 - 20 feet when there's no longer any cover between me and him. I'm on my knees holding still as a rock not daring to draw. He can see enough detail of my face (not enough time to mask up) to recognize the threat and bolts....I draw and whistle (no diaphram call in my mouth darn it, I think)....HE STOPPED! I guess he's at 50 yards, rushed the shot, and whistled an arrow right over the top of the kill zone missing him cleanly...he was only @ yards.
What a first morning.
Monday we went into a canyon with a lot of wallows, we saw nor heard any elk....
After that we were into elk daily.
Highlights:
Tuesday we worked a bull with some cows and never did catch up with the herd before they shut down. Midday we worked our way through some cover and Jesse whispers "Bill"....I look up and see a P&Y sized set of antlers about 20 yards ahead of us thru some firs....dang it, he spots us and off he goes...
Wednesday morning was similar, we chased bugles but never did catch up. That afternoon, we go up onto a different mesa that the rancher recommended. Jesses glassed up a heard. We worked our way over about 1000 yards. We got to a vantage point where there were 20 cows with a spectacular herd bull out in the open above a water hole!! The bull was bedded. The wind was not in our favor and we needed to drop into a wash, and work our way towards the water hole.
We had to belly crawl about 75 yards to get within about 100 yards. The plan was to set up my Montana Elk decoy and try to cow call the bull in...
With Jesse spotting the cows, when none were looking, I belly crawled out about 15 yards, then on signal when no elk were looking, erected the decoy. I then belly crawled back to the only cover between us and the elk. I cow called mixing it up with calf chirps, estrues and regular cow talk....there were two cows that were interested....the herd bull got up and was busy rounding up his herd a bit and trying to sniff some cow crotch. I escalated the excitement in my calls....two cows started coming our way...maybe the bull too I'm thinking!
Jesse was set up on one side of the tree and me on the other. The decoy was working. One cow was fixated on the decoy and the other was going to be within 10 yards of Jesse any second! I'm thinking, "why hasn't Jesse shot!....unbenownst to me, another bull had heard my calls downwind and was running towards us! They caught wind right as another cow that jesse was going to pull back on....busted!!! and that cow whirled around but didn't smell us.
I start cow calling and had that cow at 40 yards...I was about to draw when it meandered further off before I drew....I let off. I cow call more....she was fixated by the decoy!! Dang, talk about a great strategy for work in the open...
Off in the distance we are hearing more bugles....we've got about 20 minutes of light left...another herd comes over the knoll and we see another 4 bulls (all 5x5 or larger...3 are definately P&Y)...the sky is filling with brilliant orange and red hues. There's no way we can get ahead of this herd now with the light waning so we just kicked back and enjoyed the show.
I will never forget seeing 5 very nice bulls skylined against one of the most memorable sunsets I've ever seen! All within a couple hundred yards....
The next morning finds us on the other side of the mesa where the bulls had been heading. We were pinned by swirling winds after watching a bull with a number of cows running from another bull. Jesse had a stalk on cow later that morning. He underestimated the distance to its bed and started talking to me...lol. I see the cow moving thru the brush...cow call, it's heading back to us....smelled us...game over.
We start working our way down the canyon we walked up after spending all day/evening up on top...we've got about an hour of light left. I spot some cows and a spike not 50 yards away and motion to Jesse to stop....I thought we had bumped them...but, I was able to recover with my cow calling...I had several cows stare directly at the tree I was behind...finally, one worked its way to where I a clear shot....thwack!!!!
A clean pass-thru....I thought I had hit the back of the lungs but clipped liver given the blood color/smell.
[attachment=33300:attachment]
I was a little reluctant to post about this but figured by sharing my experience someone else might not make the same mistakes...
The cow was hurtin' judging by the way she couldn't really move well up over the knoll. I had taken my time, was drawn back a full minute or two before she had stepped into the open and she was still walking which resulted in my shot not being absolutely perfect...but, I saw exactly where it hit and knew it was a kill shot at 40 yds.
I follow a decent blood trail up to the knoll....good blood!
One-half hour later, Jesse and I start following the blood trail...it's overcast getting dark but I'm hopeful we'd find my cow real quick. Jesse and I both see another cow not 50 yards from the top of the knoll about 70 yards from where it was shot. Jesse jaw drops as he sees my cow wobble and fall!
I poke my head around a tree and see that the cow still has its head up (mistake #1...we should have backed out of there immediately) while in her "death bed". Jesse wants badly to get a shot at this cow since it's his last day of the hunt....I agree thinking that cow was toast (mistake #2)....well, I cow call and Jesse gets a shot. My cow is now standing stationary but not going anywhere. We back out and I think I'll be finding a dead cow in the morning (mistake #3). Well, turns out we should have come back with flashlights in a couple of hours and followed the bloodtrail. It started raining like crazy that night. I'm still optimistic that the cow would still be there.
We get to where I had flagged a blood spot or two...the rain had washed it all away. We circled around for several hours not finding it. I followed tracks and several trails 500 yds or so before I either lost track or they got mixed in with other tracks....I go back out there later that day and tried to find it...no luck.
It was a great hunt but for the rotten luck of foul weather. My inexperience also worked against us in terms of recovering my mortally wounded animal. Odds are that had we not bumped the cow, I would have found it there the next morning. Live and learn. Like I said earlier, I would not have posted this because I feel rotten about it. But, if someone can hopefully can learn from my mistake in this situation, it's worth it.
The canyon I wanted to work had a vehicle parked near the trail and two hunters said they planned on working it. No problem, up to the top of the mesa we went....After about a mile hike in, we heared a bugle and followed suit. As we worked our way down the side of the mesa, I glassed out into an open park to see a nice raghorn 4x5 hop the fence. I got into a better position and watched 4 spikes and a couple of branched antler bulls along with some cows heading towards the tree line of aspens and conifers....
Jesse and I attempted to intercept the group. In route, I discover an elk super trail covered with fresh sign. We skipped on past this spot and headed about 600 yds over to where we thought they might show themselves....In the thickets, I start cow calling an spot elk legs through the vegetation....we could hear the group heading back towards where we'd come from.
We quickly back-tracked over to a little opening in hopes of intercepting them. Sure enough, 3 spikes emerge about 200 yards away running towards the super trail. I got on the cow call and stopped them cold in their tracks...one of the bulls starts running our way. He skirts around at 60 - 80 yards offering no shot. Neither Jesse nor I had the greatest amount of cover and it well could be that the spike detected some motion...eventually, all this cat and mouse with the 3 spikes continued on for a good hour or so before finally the wind swirled and it was game over...Talk about some excitement for Jesses first morning of hunting elk during the rut...well, it was about to get even better.
I suggest to Jesse that we head over to the corner of this mesa where 3 canyons converge and funnel onto the top by way of skirting this open park....hopefully we'll see something.
It was about noon. The overcast skies started spitting out a drop or two of rain. Just as we enter this park on the top of the mesa, I spot an elk's behind....I motion to Jesse to get behind some cover. I call. All we see are antlers charging up the hill straight for me!! The bull stops for a second and stares at the tree Jesse's behind (kudos to Jesse for no motion). He figures it's not a threat and continues on towards me.
Well, the fir tree I'm behind isn't the greatest cover as this bull elk charges to within 20 feet looking for some lovin'...He's within 15 - 20 feet when there's no longer any cover between me and him. I'm on my knees holding still as a rock not daring to draw. He can see enough detail of my face (not enough time to mask up) to recognize the threat and bolts....I draw and whistle (no diaphram call in my mouth darn it, I think)....HE STOPPED! I guess he's at 50 yards, rushed the shot, and whistled an arrow right over the top of the kill zone missing him cleanly...he was only @ yards.
What a first morning.
Monday we went into a canyon with a lot of wallows, we saw nor heard any elk....
After that we were into elk daily.
Highlights:
Tuesday we worked a bull with some cows and never did catch up with the herd before they shut down. Midday we worked our way through some cover and Jesse whispers "Bill"....I look up and see a P&Y sized set of antlers about 20 yards ahead of us thru some firs....dang it, he spots us and off he goes...
Wednesday morning was similar, we chased bugles but never did catch up. That afternoon, we go up onto a different mesa that the rancher recommended. Jesses glassed up a heard. We worked our way over about 1000 yards. We got to a vantage point where there were 20 cows with a spectacular herd bull out in the open above a water hole!! The bull was bedded. The wind was not in our favor and we needed to drop into a wash, and work our way towards the water hole.
We had to belly crawl about 75 yards to get within about 100 yards. The plan was to set up my Montana Elk decoy and try to cow call the bull in...
With Jesse spotting the cows, when none were looking, I belly crawled out about 15 yards, then on signal when no elk were looking, erected the decoy. I then belly crawled back to the only cover between us and the elk. I cow called mixing it up with calf chirps, estrues and regular cow talk....there were two cows that were interested....the herd bull got up and was busy rounding up his herd a bit and trying to sniff some cow crotch. I escalated the excitement in my calls....two cows started coming our way...maybe the bull too I'm thinking!
Jesse was set up on one side of the tree and me on the other. The decoy was working. One cow was fixated on the decoy and the other was going to be within 10 yards of Jesse any second! I'm thinking, "why hasn't Jesse shot!....unbenownst to me, another bull had heard my calls downwind and was running towards us! They caught wind right as another cow that jesse was going to pull back on....busted!!! and that cow whirled around but didn't smell us.
I start cow calling and had that cow at 40 yards...I was about to draw when it meandered further off before I drew....I let off. I cow call more....she was fixated by the decoy!! Dang, talk about a great strategy for work in the open...
Off in the distance we are hearing more bugles....we've got about 20 minutes of light left...another herd comes over the knoll and we see another 4 bulls (all 5x5 or larger...3 are definately P&Y)...the sky is filling with brilliant orange and red hues. There's no way we can get ahead of this herd now with the light waning so we just kicked back and enjoyed the show.
I will never forget seeing 5 very nice bulls skylined against one of the most memorable sunsets I've ever seen! All within a couple hundred yards....
The next morning finds us on the other side of the mesa where the bulls had been heading. We were pinned by swirling winds after watching a bull with a number of cows running from another bull. Jesse had a stalk on cow later that morning. He underestimated the distance to its bed and started talking to me...lol. I see the cow moving thru the brush...cow call, it's heading back to us....smelled us...game over.
We start working our way down the canyon we walked up after spending all day/evening up on top...we've got about an hour of light left. I spot some cows and a spike not 50 yards away and motion to Jesse to stop....I thought we had bumped them...but, I was able to recover with my cow calling...I had several cows stare directly at the tree I was behind...finally, one worked its way to where I a clear shot....thwack!!!!
A clean pass-thru....I thought I had hit the back of the lungs but clipped liver given the blood color/smell.
[attachment=33300:attachment]
I was a little reluctant to post about this but figured by sharing my experience someone else might not make the same mistakes...
The cow was hurtin' judging by the way she couldn't really move well up over the knoll. I had taken my time, was drawn back a full minute or two before she had stepped into the open and she was still walking which resulted in my shot not being absolutely perfect...but, I saw exactly where it hit and knew it was a kill shot at 40 yds.
I follow a decent blood trail up to the knoll....good blood!
One-half hour later, Jesse and I start following the blood trail...it's overcast getting dark but I'm hopeful we'd find my cow real quick. Jesse and I both see another cow not 50 yards from the top of the knoll about 70 yards from where it was shot. Jesse jaw drops as he sees my cow wobble and fall!
I poke my head around a tree and see that the cow still has its head up (mistake #1...we should have backed out of there immediately) while in her "death bed". Jesse wants badly to get a shot at this cow since it's his last day of the hunt....I agree thinking that cow was toast (mistake #2)....well, I cow call and Jesse gets a shot. My cow is now standing stationary but not going anywhere. We back out and I think I'll be finding a dead cow in the morning (mistake #3). Well, turns out we should have come back with flashlights in a couple of hours and followed the bloodtrail. It started raining like crazy that night. I'm still optimistic that the cow would still be there.
We get to where I had flagged a blood spot or two...the rain had washed it all away. We circled around for several hours not finding it. I followed tracks and several trails 500 yds or so before I either lost track or they got mixed in with other tracks....I go back out there later that day and tried to find it...no luck.
It was a great hunt but for the rotten luck of foul weather. My inexperience also worked against us in terms of recovering my mortally wounded animal. Odds are that had we not bumped the cow, I would have found it there the next morning. Live and learn. Like I said earlier, I would not have posted this because I feel rotten about it. But, if someone can hopefully can learn from my mistake in this situation, it's worth it.
