2014 New Mexico Elk Hunt

[NoWiser]

Well, the 2014 hunting season is slowly fading in our rearview mirrors and it's time to start thinking about tag applications and dreaming about future hunts. So, I figured I'll post up my 2014 archery elk hunt for any interested in following along.

2014 started out with the disappointing news that my dad and I were not lucky enough to draw a Wyoming general tag. It did not come as a surprise as we had no preference points but we were hoping for some luck in the random draw. Since the New Mexico draw was still open, I decided to put us in for a tag there. It would be a long shot but I knew what our odds would be if we didn't at least try. We sent in our applications and soon found out that not only did we draw tags, but we got our first choice! I was stunned! This was a hunt a guy can lose a lot of sleep over, especially for one who'd only seen about 5 elk in his life up until that point! The summer was spent researching, making contact with previous hunters, and printing out custom maps. Physical fitness was also a priority and the local sledding hill and gym became my second home on mornings before work. Before we knew it, September had arrived, and we were off! My cousin would also be joining us on the trip to both help out, when needed, and hunt for bears.



Our trip started after work on Friday, September 5th. We left the metro area and pointed the truck to the SW with a fishhouse in tow. It would be our home for the next two weeks. The drive to our first scouting destination (our season didn't open until the 11th) was over 26 hours long and, aside from almost running out of gas twice and one flat tire, was rather uneventful. New Mexico is a beautiful state. I had always pictured it as a barren desert but it seemed the entire way through it we were never out of sight of a mountain.


We arrived to our hunting unit at about 5:00 on Saturday evening just in time for a complete downpour of rain. Luckily it only lasted a few minutes as we were making the climb up into the mountains. Our primary spot that we planned on camping in had 4 big camper trailers parked in it so we moved on to our backup spot, where we found 4 more camps. A deer hunter happened to come out of the woods when we pulled up so we went to chat with him. He enthusiastically claimed "there are elk EVERYWHERE!" and quickly led us with his ATV to a great camping spot down the trail a ways. He kindly filled us in an everything he had seen in the last week and pointed out some spots to hunt on the map. A nicer guy we couldn't have asked to meet this early in our trip. Suffering from some major sleep deprivation we crashed for the night.

The next morning we decided to hike up the mountain to some burned areas I had scouted on Google Earth. It also happened to be the area our new friend recommended. On the way we could hear a group of bulls bugling up a storm on top of the mountain. From the sounds of it there were at least a half dozen and they were not happy with each other. It was a great feeling to hear bugles again.

The bugling was coming from the upper left of this picture:




We hiked through the burn but did not see any elk or any fresh sign. There was a tank that I wanted to check out but we never made it that far. The tough terrain and lack of fresh sign made us decide that it wasn't worth the hike. It would also take about 3 hours to get from camp to this tank between the hike and atv ride and we were not willing to give up that much of our hunting day for one spot. So, we climbed up a ridge and hiked our way back, glassing along the way.









Back at camp we ate a quick lunch and I took a quick nap before my cousin and I hiked up the mountain a ways to find a spring that I had marked from my online scouting. It looked good and we put a camera on it. The three of us then headed down the road a few miles and looked for some more springs I had marked but the trip turned out to be a bust. We drove around that end of the unit a bit at dusk to familiarize ourselves with it and then headed back to our shack. We were not entirely impressed with the area. The mountains were steep, much of them were burned, and there were camps set up everywhere, including a USO camp that was only 1/2 mile away. A few people we talked to had mentioned that they were less than friendly with DIY guys. We decided that the next day we'd head all the way to the other end of the unit where I had gotten some good information from our own Randy Newberg. We'd spend a day or two there and then decide what the plan was for opening day. Monday morning we pulled the camera to find this



and left camp.

The 40 mile drive to the other side of the unit took just over 3 hours on the rough "roads". We arrived in time to put a couple of cameras up on some tanks and familiarize ourselves with the area. We ate supper listening to bugles off to our north and crashed, still tired from the drive down there.

The next morning our plan was to split up and listen for bugling. This would be the easiest way to determine where the elk were in the area. Dad went south on the atv and my cousin and I went north with the truck. As we drove we could hear a fair amount of bugling off to the SW in the big grassy flats. We climbed a ridge and, as it got light, could start to pick out the shapes of elk off in the distance with our binoculars. The lighter it got the more amazed we were. There were elk absolutely everywhere! We tucked ourselves into some rocks and watched, in complete awe, as 200-300 elk filed past us and made their way up the mountain. In this herd was at least 20 what I would consider big bulls and a few absolute monsters. One came out that was a true giant. I have no idea how to score elk but there is no doubt this guy was pushing 400". I was kicking myself for not bringing a camera! Unfortunately it was the first and the last time we would see him. By mid morning the entire herd had filtered back up the mountain. We hiked down to the road to find my dad, who was excited as all heck because he saw a nice bull as he pulled up. It was hard to keep a straight face when we had to tell him that we saw 20 nice bulls and a few hundred elk. We just hoped they would do the same thing the next day so that he could get a chance to witness it.

As long as the elk were safely up the mountain we decided to check out the route they had taken. About a mile from the road there was a canyon they had to cross and we wanted to see where they did it at. It didn't take long for us to find a trail beaten 10" into the ground where they all seemed to cross. We marked it on the GPS and crossed our fingers this was a pattern they'd repeat because, if so, we'd have a perfect ambush point for our opening morning less than 48 hours away.



The rest of the day was spent mostly relaxing and enjoying the mountains. Evening was spent eating supper and listening to bugles echo off in the distance from the same area they had the night before.....perfect!

Our camp



Wednesday morning we arose well before sunrise to make it out to the same vantage point we used the day before. It was a relief to see that all of the elk seemed to be right where they were the morning before. We listened to their bugles and watched them slowly make their way in our direction. Then, to our horror, we watched an atv putt right down the road where they were about to cross. It was a hunting guide for a neighboring unit we had met the day before. He seemed like a heck of a nice guy but he was about to unknowingly spook all of our elk off! A decent 5X5 with a dozen cows darted across the road right in front of him and we were sure it was ruined. Then he darted back across, rounded up 6 more cows, and was on his way. The guide parked the atv and walked right at the big herd, completely unaware of our presence and that he was about to foil our plan! Fortunately he ended up in an area where the elk could not see or hear him and the big herd started pouring across the road. I snapped pictures and Dad tried to count them. He got to 150 before he gave up, but figures it was approximately half of them.














We watched as they crossed in the same spot and made their way up the mountain just as they had did the day before. This couldn't have been more perfect! We grabbed some breakfast and then headed back to their canyon crossing where we fashioned a ground blind. This was going to be too easy. Heck, if they crossed slowly enough, we'd probably have our two bulls before noon opening day! Something told me it would not quite work out like that but it was worth a try. The rest of the day dragged on and sleep did not come easy that night. We had a plan that should put us within 15 yards of 250 head of elk come opening morning.......

 

[Trigger50]

Looking forward to the rest of the story !

 

[NoWiser]

Opening morning dawned clear and cool with temps in the upper 30's or lower 40's. We were up in plenty of time to eat a good breakfast, but none of us had an appetite. We were just too anxious to get the hunt underway. We rolled out with the truck and parked it in the exact same place we had the previous two mornings. We wanted to keep everything the same with the hope that the elk would follow suit.

Uncasing the bows we started the hike through the dew-soaked grass until we finally hit an elk trail that would take us to the canyon, where we would descend and follow it up to our blind. My cousin split off about 200 yards shy of our destination, where he had a nice spot tucked away in the rocks, to observe the morning's hunt. Elk were already bugling like mad on the base of the mountain as he wished us luck and we parted ways. Soon we were crouched in the blind, shivering from the chilly air and our anticipation. As the sun slowly crested the mountain to our east, the bugling at the base of the mountain continued. There were bulls spread out everywhere and I really, really wanted to go chase them. But, we had a plan and I was going to stick to it. I knew the bulk of the elk should be out feeding in the flats and that before long they'd be headed back to the mountain, right into the trap that we'd set for them.

Here is a picture from our blind, looking uphill to where they should come from.



Here is a picture looking downhill from the blind. The mountain in the background was where the elk would go for the day.



Before the morning hunt my dad and I had talked it over. He wanted me to have first shot at a bull, being I did the bulk of the planning and research for the trip. I, on the other hand, wanted him to take the first shot. We finally settled on an agreement and it was decided that he would be in the shooter position but, if I saw a bull that I really wanted, I'd get the shot. Given all of the bulls I'd seen the previous two mornings, it was going to have to be a big one. Dad would be less picky. Being he would be taking first shot, he sat to my left, which put him in a better position to shoot. I could still shoot from where I was but it would require me to get above the brush a bit more, not a big deal.

Here is a picture of my dad and I in the blind, from my cousin's vantage point.



Soon the sun was shining down on us and the air was warming up. We could hear bugling slowly getting closer to us, just as we expected. But, we had a problem. We were sitting on an east facing slope. As long as the thermals were going down there is no way the elk could smell us. It would sweep our scent down the hill and into the canyon, far from the elk. But, the elk were coming later than we'd hoped and our hillside was warming up fast causing the winds to swirl. There was nothing we could do at this point but hope for the best. The elk were getting close and even a cloud coming over at the right moment could save us. We had to wait it out.

Suddenly, as the elk should have been cresting the hill above us, ready to head down in front of the blind, we heard this extremely loud barking. I know that elk bark when they are alarmed but I'd never heard it before and never imagined it could sound like it did. I automatically assumed it was a coyote or wolf. We hunkered down and soon it stopped.

Suddenly, we could hear the telltale sound of hooves on rock. The herd was getting close! The first cows appeared in front of us but not where they were supposed to! They were 80 yards too far north! If they descended the hill there, we'd have no shot. But, they wanted to cross the canyon in the same place so they angled towards us. Cow, cow, cow, cow, BULL!!! A huge 6 point came down in the middle of the herd. He was a monster!

Here is a picture of the 6 point my cousin took, as he was heading down to us. Unfortunately he was having trouble with condensation on the camera, but you can kind of get an idea of the size of the bull.



I whispered to my dad that I'd gladly shoot him when a true giant stepped out. My jaw dropped. I got a quick glance at his antlers but knew better than to focus on them. He looked like about a 7X9. He dwarfed the 6 point. My attention immediately focused on him, though the 6 point was now at 35 yards and broadside. This bull was in the back of the herd making sure the cows were where he wanted them. He was headed towards us, but slowly. I handed my rangefinder to my dad and clipped the release onto my loop. I figured he was at about 50 yards and my dad says "80". Dang these are big animals!! Slowly he made his way towards us. 71, 66, 63, 58, 49. 49 yards....I was 100% comfortable with this shot on a relaxed animal. I'd practiced all summer at ranges well beyond this with my broadheads. I rose to my knees and came to full draw. Surprisingly I wasn't the least bit nervous and was steady as I've ever been. The bull was quartering to me behind a bush. He needed to take another step, which he soon did, putting him completely broadside. I focused on a spot immediately behind his shoulder, took a couple of controlled breaths, and released......

 

[Festus]

I'm on board - let's ride this thing home now......

 

[dcopas78]

Looking forward to the rest!!!

 

[bonedogg]

totally hooked, keep at er, no time to slow down now!!!

 

[MTsage]

Cool story great pics and details, looking forward to the rest. Thanks for saving this to break up January winter!

 

[nmelktrout]

Right on! Keep the story coming!
-Cody

 

[Z Barebow]

You better not get your story telling technique from Scoot! You have me hooked. Give me more as fast as you can!

 

[NoWiser]

.....and watched in horror as my arrow hit a twig from the groundblind and sailed harmlessly four feet to the left of the bull!! I hadn't knelt up high enough to clear the bush! No doubt I had just missed the biggest bull I'd ever get a shot at in my life. But, I was relieved to know that it was a clean miss and the bull came away without a scratch. Wounding that bull would have ruined the entire rest of my trip. We would later talk to a guide who had watched the herd that morning through his binoculars. He had been chasing that bull for a few years and said it would easily score in the mid 380s. The 6 point that was with it would have been in the mid to upper 350s, according to him. Now, I've never shot an elk before and the score was the last thing I was concerned about, but it reaffirmed that I had missed a giant.

So, after watching the arrow shatter into the rocks beyond the bull, we waited for a bit longer to make sure no more elk were coming. Only about 1/10th of the elk we had seen the previous day crossed in this spot. The big herd was breaking up as the rut started kicking in. We met up with my cousin (who had a nice bull walking around right below him for quite a while that morning). He had watched the whole thing unfold.

Here is my dad and I shortly after I whiffed on the bull.

 

[MT_elk]

Wow! Sounds like a blast! What an exciting hunt.

 

[JLS]

A la Homer Simpson, "Doooooh"!

Keep it coming!

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

I am fired up to hear how this goes!

 

[NoWiser]

We ran back to camp and quickly ate some grub. We decided not to go up the mountain and chase 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 get 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, it 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 that. 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!

 

[hank4elk]

Good stuff!!!
There's a few elk around these parts........and most everyone is into hunting here and helpful. Maybe not tie an elk to a tree for you helpful , but at least friendly.

 

[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 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. They had seen elk, but nothing in range. .

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. He wasn't huge, but I'd have been thrilled with him.



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.

In the evening 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.

 

[nmelktrout]

By the way, this is the best hunting story I've read in a while. Good stuff, NoWiser.

 

[JLS]

Day 2 and I'm already wondering why I've never hunted in New Mexico.

 

[Roamer]

A great story I'm love in it. Can't wait for more

 

[Yotkilr]

Keep it coming I'm hooked