A-con
New member
I’m back from my two state archery elk hunt, and I did not kill a bull.
I had a great time, and saw lots of elk, including some great bulls, but I wasn’t able to “close the deal”.
Hears a run down of the action.
In new Mexico, I spent Saturday hunting unproductive areas, and saw nothing. Sunday I was hiking in an hour before dawn when I herd two bulls bugling a mile away. I headed for them and by dawn, I was in a timbered canyon, between the bulls. The smaller “sounding” bull moved off quickly when I cow called, so I closed on the “big” sounding one.
He was slowly heading away in to the wind and I chased him, getting within 100 yds or less several times. I only got a few glimpses of him in the timber but he looked like a good 6X6 with seven or eight cows. After a five mile + chase through several canyons and past a water hole he finally shut up and got lost in a deep timbered canyon. That night I sat on the water hole, and listened to the “smaller” sounding bull screaming a half-mile away. He wasn’t coming in, so I went to him. At about 150 yds, I spotted a decent 5X5, maybe 280”, but he wasn’t doing the screaming. I closed to 100 yds when a big 6X6 came out of the timber and chased the 5X5 off. I was down wind with trees between me and the bull (and his cows) and creep up to about 70 yds when the 5X5 circled around and busted me, barking and running off, taking the herd bull and his cows. As darkness closed, I last saw them cross a shallow canyon where they stopped and the screaming started again.
The next morning, I hiked in to the same area an hour before dawn and they were in the same spot, still making a lot of noise. I turned off my headlamp and dropped into the canyon, worked my way right under them, and had creep up just under the rim, about 50 yds away, wind in my favor and ten minuets till legal shooting time. I was just thinking “I’ve got him now” when I herd a commotion behind them and the whole herd bolted outta there. I looked up over the rim and saw some bozo stumbling through the wood with a flashlight. Curses! Foiled again.
I decided to leave them alone for a day and spent that night and the next morning chasing bugles in another area, always behind them, getting close but not close enough.
I made one more attempt to find the 6X6, but all I found was the 5X5, who started to come to a cow call, but light ran out.
I decided to skip the last day so I could head to AZ. And spend a day scouting.
I located several noisy bulls, set up a camp, and the night before opening day, driving back to camp at dusk we spotted some cows 50 yds off the main road. We stopped to watch and a 300 class 6X6 stepped out of the woods and started bugling at my truck!
Close to the road and stupid! Just my kind of elk !
The next morning, well before dawn I parked ½ mile away and headed for the last place I saw the 300 bull. Nothing there but I herd the loudest, deepest bugle I have ever herd from about a mile south, got back to my truck and drove within a half mile and started hiking. By dawn, I was near a thick tree line, and on the other side in a meadow was a huge bull with at least 20 cows, a forky and several spikes. I got within 80 yds when I herd another hunter cow calling wildly, about the same distance from the bull to the east, in the thick trees. I crawled to about 60 yds and another hunter started cow calling to the west. I stayed quite, and the bull totally ignored both cow callers, but several of his cows went to investigate the first cow caller, and came back very nervous, leading the whole herd to the south/east, up a mountain and gone. Later that morning, I bumped into the first “cow caller” and it was a “U.S.O” guide with two clients. Figures, don’t it?
That afternoon, I went to a tank and watched as several coyotes and a fox came in to water. An hour before dark, the bugling started. Two bulls were coming in from different direction, and the closer they got, the madder they sounded. Twenty minuets of light left and the first bull showed up with five cows. He was big, and of course, I was on the wrong side of a 100 yrd wide pond. I was slowly moving in when the second bull showed up, he was even bigger. Both of these bulls were 6X6, and would have scored upwards of 320” IMHO. I was creeping in slow and quite when these bulls met in some thick brush, I saw them circle and then they crashed together and started fighting. If I didn’t have “bull fever” yet, I sure did now, I was shaking. I ran right at them, cow were sounding the alarm and running everywhere, but the bulls were focused on each other. The fight lasted maybe five seconds, and I got within 40 yds when the bigger bull backed off and left with only two of his original ten cows. I could see the first bull clearly, but brush blocked any shot, so I sidestepped as he waked around strutting. I finally found a shooting lane, it was almost dark. I guessed 38 yds, drew my bow and the bull stepped into the lane. With the 40 yd pin on his heart and the 30 yd pin near the top of his lungs, I launched an arrow. The bull jumped and bucked his hind legs, and I thought I had him. Then he ran 50 yds, bugled at me, gathered his cows and ran back up the hill into the brush. I spent the next two hours looking for blood but found nothing in the dark. The next day, my brother and I spent all morning and into the afternoon searching everywhere and finally found my arrow, with no blood. I don’t know what happened other than I blew the shot.
That evening, my brother posted up a ¼ mile away with a video camera, and I sat the same tank. The bull came in again, without a scratch. This time he had more cows and a 5X5 satellite. I was putting a great stalk on him when the wind changed direction, you can guess what happened. The next morning, time to drive home.
My brother has video of the bull I shot at, but from that distance, it is very grainy. We will try to get a still off of it and post it.
I had a great time, and saw lots of elk, including some great bulls, but I wasn’t able to “close the deal”.
Hears a run down of the action.
In new Mexico, I spent Saturday hunting unproductive areas, and saw nothing. Sunday I was hiking in an hour before dawn when I herd two bulls bugling a mile away. I headed for them and by dawn, I was in a timbered canyon, between the bulls. The smaller “sounding” bull moved off quickly when I cow called, so I closed on the “big” sounding one.
He was slowly heading away in to the wind and I chased him, getting within 100 yds or less several times. I only got a few glimpses of him in the timber but he looked like a good 6X6 with seven or eight cows. After a five mile + chase through several canyons and past a water hole he finally shut up and got lost in a deep timbered canyon. That night I sat on the water hole, and listened to the “smaller” sounding bull screaming a half-mile away. He wasn’t coming in, so I went to him. At about 150 yds, I spotted a decent 5X5, maybe 280”, but he wasn’t doing the screaming. I closed to 100 yds when a big 6X6 came out of the timber and chased the 5X5 off. I was down wind with trees between me and the bull (and his cows) and creep up to about 70 yds when the 5X5 circled around and busted me, barking and running off, taking the herd bull and his cows. As darkness closed, I last saw them cross a shallow canyon where they stopped and the screaming started again.
The next morning, I hiked in to the same area an hour before dawn and they were in the same spot, still making a lot of noise. I turned off my headlamp and dropped into the canyon, worked my way right under them, and had creep up just under the rim, about 50 yds away, wind in my favor and ten minuets till legal shooting time. I was just thinking “I’ve got him now” when I herd a commotion behind them and the whole herd bolted outta there. I looked up over the rim and saw some bozo stumbling through the wood with a flashlight. Curses! Foiled again.
I decided to leave them alone for a day and spent that night and the next morning chasing bugles in another area, always behind them, getting close but not close enough.
I made one more attempt to find the 6X6, but all I found was the 5X5, who started to come to a cow call, but light ran out.
I decided to skip the last day so I could head to AZ. And spend a day scouting.
I located several noisy bulls, set up a camp, and the night before opening day, driving back to camp at dusk we spotted some cows 50 yds off the main road. We stopped to watch and a 300 class 6X6 stepped out of the woods and started bugling at my truck!
Close to the road and stupid! Just my kind of elk !
The next morning, well before dawn I parked ½ mile away and headed for the last place I saw the 300 bull. Nothing there but I herd the loudest, deepest bugle I have ever herd from about a mile south, got back to my truck and drove within a half mile and started hiking. By dawn, I was near a thick tree line, and on the other side in a meadow was a huge bull with at least 20 cows, a forky and several spikes. I got within 80 yds when I herd another hunter cow calling wildly, about the same distance from the bull to the east, in the thick trees. I crawled to about 60 yds and another hunter started cow calling to the west. I stayed quite, and the bull totally ignored both cow callers, but several of his cows went to investigate the first cow caller, and came back very nervous, leading the whole herd to the south/east, up a mountain and gone. Later that morning, I bumped into the first “cow caller” and it was a “U.S.O” guide with two clients. Figures, don’t it?
That afternoon, I went to a tank and watched as several coyotes and a fox came in to water. An hour before dark, the bugling started. Two bulls were coming in from different direction, and the closer they got, the madder they sounded. Twenty minuets of light left and the first bull showed up with five cows. He was big, and of course, I was on the wrong side of a 100 yrd wide pond. I was slowly moving in when the second bull showed up, he was even bigger. Both of these bulls were 6X6, and would have scored upwards of 320” IMHO. I was creeping in slow and quite when these bulls met in some thick brush, I saw them circle and then they crashed together and started fighting. If I didn’t have “bull fever” yet, I sure did now, I was shaking. I ran right at them, cow were sounding the alarm and running everywhere, but the bulls were focused on each other. The fight lasted maybe five seconds, and I got within 40 yds when the bigger bull backed off and left with only two of his original ten cows. I could see the first bull clearly, but brush blocked any shot, so I sidestepped as he waked around strutting. I finally found a shooting lane, it was almost dark. I guessed 38 yds, drew my bow and the bull stepped into the lane. With the 40 yd pin on his heart and the 30 yd pin near the top of his lungs, I launched an arrow. The bull jumped and bucked his hind legs, and I thought I had him. Then he ran 50 yds, bugled at me, gathered his cows and ran back up the hill into the brush. I spent the next two hours looking for blood but found nothing in the dark. The next day, my brother and I spent all morning and into the afternoon searching everywhere and finally found my arrow, with no blood. I don’t know what happened other than I blew the shot.
That evening, my brother posted up a ¼ mile away with a video camera, and I sat the same tank. The bull came in again, without a scratch. This time he had more cows and a 5X5 satellite. I was putting a great stalk on him when the wind changed direction, you can guess what happened. The next morning, time to drive home.
My brother has video of the bull I shot at, but from that distance, it is very grainy. We will try to get a still off of it and post it.
