ashersdad
Well-known member
Outstanding! Super happy for you!
Back to New Mexico - Archery elk this time
- Thread starter seeth07
- Start date
Stoked for you!! 5yds is a dream. Heck yeah!
huntandfly
Well-known member
Leaving for NM archery elk in 3 days, this has me jacked up! Congrats on getting a bull with your bow, that’s a cool accomplishment!
noharleyyet
Well-known member
Good work seeth congrats!
Gellar
Well-known member
How come the cousin/girlfriend doesn’t have to help pack?
Looks like a good elk! Congratulations!
Wyhunter
Well-known member
Any bull with a bow is a trophy! Congrats. Man... I've never packed a bull less than 2.5 miles. Sounds like a dream hunt
seeth07
Well-known member
Shot to camp after a 17 mile sxs ride in 5h and 40 minutes. Two extra hands is great! His girlfriend did not come with this morning because she wanted to pack up camp because they had to leave by noon today. They left 30 mintues late.
Looks like one of those red wolfs is stealing something. Congrats bro!
Red dog bankies I bet. Happy dogs.
seeth07
Well-known member
We found a deer an an elk shed. Dogs got both. Deer is half gone already! Elk will take much longer
npaden
Well-known member
Congrats. Sounds like a memory that will last a long, long time.
Nick87
Well-known member
Congrats, enjoy it!
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2016
- Messages
- 955
Congratulations!!!!! Great bull!
seeth07
Well-known member
With so much going on between returning to work and more hunts just around the corner, not sure how much time I'll have to do this hunt justice with a full hunt recap but I'm sure going to try. Was a super fun hunt with so many cool encounters but was also an incredible amount of work. This hunt didn't have much for glass able terrain and the bulls only bugled for a bit in the morning and a bit before dark. That meant it was going to have to be our legs that did the scouting and force the encounters into our laps rather than use our eyes. Each day we stopped for a couple hours midday to refuel and nap. The problem with early season archery is there is only about 10 hours total of darkness which means only about 6 hours of sleep at most each night.
Day 1 morning hike: 10.46 miles with 1243 elevation gain and loss.
Day 1 evening hike: 3.58 miles with 825 elevation gain and loss.
Day 2 morning hike: 8.41 miles with 1279 elevation gain and 1386 elevation loss.
Day 2 evening hike: 2.79 miles with 530 elevation gain and loss.
Day 3 morning hike: 4.05 miles with 145 elevation gain and 2134 elevation loss.
Day 3 evening hike: 5.61 miles with 911 elevation gain and 1893 elevation loss.
Day 4 morning hike: 3.88 miles with 1440 elevation gain and 182 elevation loss
Day 4 evening hike: 2.4 miles with 379 elevation gain and 1371 elevation loss.
Day 5 morning hike #1: 1.59 miles with 211 elevation gain and loss.
Day 5 morning hike #2: 2.5 miles with 471 elevation gain and 860 elevation loss.
*includes a long adrenaline packed chase of a monster herd bull that lead to one of the satellites eventually landing into my lap
*includes two pack trips down and one back up to the nearest road loaded with the elk.
Total miles hiked = 45.27
Total elevation gained = 7,434 feet
Total elevation loss = 10,635 feet
Day 1 morning hike: 10.46 miles with 1243 elevation gain and loss.
Day 1 evening hike: 3.58 miles with 825 elevation gain and loss.
Day 2 morning hike: 8.41 miles with 1279 elevation gain and 1386 elevation loss.
Day 2 evening hike: 2.79 miles with 530 elevation gain and loss.
Day 3 morning hike: 4.05 miles with 145 elevation gain and 2134 elevation loss.
Day 3 evening hike: 5.61 miles with 911 elevation gain and 1893 elevation loss.
Day 4 morning hike: 3.88 miles with 1440 elevation gain and 182 elevation loss
Day 4 evening hike: 2.4 miles with 379 elevation gain and 1371 elevation loss.
Day 5 morning hike #1: 1.59 miles with 211 elevation gain and loss.
Day 5 morning hike #2: 2.5 miles with 471 elevation gain and 860 elevation loss.
*includes a long adrenaline packed chase of a monster herd bull that lead to one of the satellites eventually landing into my lap
*includes two pack trips down and one back up to the nearest road loaded with the elk.
Total miles hiked = 45.27
Total elevation gained = 7,434 feet
Total elevation loss = 10,635 feet
seeth07
Well-known member
We arrived at the base of the mountains early evening on the 3rd of Sept, last Wednesday. We drove up and got to see some absolutely gorgeous country on the short way up and up into the Caldera. The massive open park in the Caldera is surely a sight to behold filled with endless grass as far as the eye can see as well as plenty of water. It didn't take long for my trained eye to catch a herd of elk out grazing. Unlike Yellowstone, there was only a singular car parked taking photographs of them out at probably 1000 yards or more.
As we got close to the exit, we noticed two trucks parked and sure enough around the corner was another herd of elk with a very nice herd bull only a couple hundred yards from the road. I quickly looked at onX and realized they were only a mere 190 yards from the fence and my unit! While it didn't directly relate in my mind as a huntable group of elk, it was reassuring that there was at least elk very close to where I could hunt.
We continue to head down the highway and up a few forest service roads to get to the general area I had wished to set camp. Along the way through my unit, it was extremely nice to have seen only one for sure hunt camp and only one truck parked likely out for an evening elk hunt. My assumption all along was that this would be a very low pressure hunt and right away it appeared to be correct.
We find a nice pull off at an old gravel pit and it was a perfect spot to set up camp in a secluded area off the road. The nice thing about our setup now is that we can have camp setup and ready in under 15 minutes. We do that and with it being 7pm already, we decide to make some supper and sit outside in our chairs and relax hoping to maybe hear a bugle. No such luck so we retire for the evening early just after dark and get a nice almost full 8 hours of sleep before the 5am alarm goes off to kick off the first hunting day.
As we got close to the exit, we noticed two trucks parked and sure enough around the corner was another herd of elk with a very nice herd bull only a couple hundred yards from the road. I quickly looked at onX and realized they were only a mere 190 yards from the fence and my unit! While it didn't directly relate in my mind as a huntable group of elk, it was reassuring that there was at least elk very close to where I could hunt.
We continue to head down the highway and up a few forest service roads to get to the general area I had wished to set camp. Along the way through my unit, it was extremely nice to have seen only one for sure hunt camp and only one truck parked likely out for an evening elk hunt. My assumption all along was that this would be a very low pressure hunt and right away it appeared to be correct.
We find a nice pull off at an old gravel pit and it was a perfect spot to set up camp in a secluded area off the road. The nice thing about our setup now is that we can have camp setup and ready in under 15 minutes. We do that and with it being 7pm already, we decide to make some supper and sit outside in our chairs and relax hoping to maybe hear a bugle. No such luck so we retire for the evening early just after dark and get a nice almost full 8 hours of sleep before the 5am alarm goes off to kick off the first hunting day.
seeth07
Well-known member
Up and ready to go, our plan today was pretty simple - hike directly from camp up to a bench above us that followed around the mountain quite a ways and then drop slightly down to a marked drinker and check it out.
Once it started to get light out, we immediately began seeing elk sign. Rubs, poop and tracks. Some fresh and some old. No bugles though, did a bit of calling and heard nothing. We had made our way to the drinker to find out it was completely dry. We were only 2ish hours into our hike so we decided to push further away from camp and check up higher and then drop down into some meadows we could see on the map and then proceed to follow that drainage out and wind down back to camp.
It wasn't long after we left that drinker and gaining some elevation that we noticed the habitat just ever so slightly changed. There was more juniper ground cover and more mature aspens with less ponderosa pines. The sign also changed, a lot more of it. More fresh too. Then we heard that beautiful mountain sound - a bugle from a bull elk! Without calling back, we chose to make our way towards him with each of his bugles. That was until we hit the preserve fence. Crap, he is on the other side.
We sit down and create a setup to do some cow calling to see if he is willing to play. In that process we realize that he actually isn't very far away, maybe no more than 150 yards and that he isn't alone. There are at least two other bulls bugling as well with him. Also based on the bugles, he sounds bedded.
Not wanting to wait them out all day so we could continue exploring and scouting, I decide to just try and make something happen. I grab my bugle tube and let one out. He was indeed close because I can hear him stand out and responds with a loud authoritative bugle - no longer a lazy one. There is all kinds of branch breaking and although I can't see anything, I can picture him pushing his cows up and heading off. Not bad for a first morning I thought - to be that close to what sounded like a good bull and to have an arrow nocked and ready just a few hours into our trip.
We continue onward and down into the meadows. Much to my surprise, the first meadow had a huge water hole and it was for sure being used by elk. I had brought a trail camera along so I got that setup on it and we continued down and slowly all the way back to camp without much too more exciting happening.
Once it started to get light out, we immediately began seeing elk sign. Rubs, poop and tracks. Some fresh and some old. No bugles though, did a bit of calling and heard nothing. We had made our way to the drinker to find out it was completely dry. We were only 2ish hours into our hike so we decided to push further away from camp and check up higher and then drop down into some meadows we could see on the map and then proceed to follow that drainage out and wind down back to camp.
It wasn't long after we left that drinker and gaining some elevation that we noticed the habitat just ever so slightly changed. There was more juniper ground cover and more mature aspens with less ponderosa pines. The sign also changed, a lot more of it. More fresh too. Then we heard that beautiful mountain sound - a bugle from a bull elk! Without calling back, we chose to make our way towards him with each of his bugles. That was until we hit the preserve fence. Crap, he is on the other side.
We sit down and create a setup to do some cow calling to see if he is willing to play. In that process we realize that he actually isn't very far away, maybe no more than 150 yards and that he isn't alone. There are at least two other bulls bugling as well with him. Also based on the bugles, he sounds bedded.
Not wanting to wait them out all day so we could continue exploring and scouting, I decide to just try and make something happen. I grab my bugle tube and let one out. He was indeed close because I can hear him stand out and responds with a loud authoritative bugle - no longer a lazy one. There is all kinds of branch breaking and although I can't see anything, I can picture him pushing his cows up and heading off. Not bad for a first morning I thought - to be that close to what sounded like a good bull and to have an arrow nocked and ready just a few hours into our trip.
We continue onward and down into the meadows. Much to my surprise, the first meadow had a huge water hole and it was for sure being used by elk. I had brought a trail camera along so I got that setup on it and we continued down and slowly all the way back to camp without much too more exciting happening.
Westelker
Well-known member
That's a great unit! Good luck! Following.
7mm08mo
Well-known member
Good luck
