Tomorrow morning my wife and I are heading toward Raton NM on our annual cow elk hunt. We are stopping to eat at the "Big Texan" famous for the free 72 oz. steak.....nope, not me.

I hope to post a story and pictures sometime late next week.

Good Luck! And have a safe trip.

Good luck on the hunt.

May the hunt be memorable and the meals of the futre a reminder of the great times on the hunt.

Even bad times when hunting and fishing are often treasured down the road.

Be Safe, have a great hunt.

Ted-

Here's hoping you have a safe trip and successful and memorable hunt. We'll be anxiously awaiting the photos and stories.

Bobby

shoot the medium sized one,and safe travels

Ted:

Are you hunting at Vermejo Park? If so, don't shoot them all. In 2 weeks I'll be going there for my 9th hunt.

Have a safe trip an a successful hunt.

Better place to eat in Amarillo right on the other side of the freeway:
http://coyotebluff.com/

Big Texan has really gone downhill.

safe hunt and travel to you and your wife!

Ted,

Have fun.

Mark

I ranched in the area for years--
take your long insulated underwear and hold on to your hat, the wind does blow there.
have fun its great hunting country.
SSR

Shot my ought-six today and everthing was as if I hadn't left Missouri...ready to rock in the morning.

oooooohhhhh, somethings' gonna die

Good Hunting and clean 1-shot Kills!

I met up with Bridger Patrini of Tri-State Outfitters early this morning and headed into the mesa country of the T-O Ranch about 15 miles East of Raton.

For the first time in a 22 year marriage my wife rode along to see the sights and take some pictures.

We looked at a lot of beautiful country that a picture can't capture but after a couple hours we saw a heard of elk a good ways up one of the mesas. We parked the truck and started up the mountain on the side that hid us really well.

It took a about 15 minuets to get to were we could poke our heads up through the brush and check on the heard. They were feeding on the hillside at about 200 yards and there were to many to count.

I scooted and crawled along until I ran out of cover and started sizing up the heard . There was a good size girl standing broadside with no others around and definitely was not a spike so I held low third shoulder and let a bullet fly.

At the shot more elk appeared (2 bulls) as they all ran down the mesa into the giant valley bellow....right past my wife. The cow I shot ran with them but started to get pretty sick in about 50 yards or so and laid down on the rim and died. I looked off into the west and the heard was still running but over a mile away now.

For the rifle and bullet guys....
Remington 700 ADL 3x9x40 VX II and 150 grn Accubonds over 56 grns of I4350

I found the bullet just under the hide on the far shoulder skinning her.

It was a short hunt but I enjoyed sharing it with my wife.

My wife took this shot from the valley below at full 10X zoom. We could just see the elk from there.



After the shot the elk ran down off the mesa and through the valley past my camera tote-en wife.



There are a half dozen "white sides" running ahead of the elk in this picture.





She's not the biggest girl I've killed but she just fine! I wish you could tell how high up we are and the masa tops in the background are huge!

didn't know i got ESP did ya?
nice work ted!! looks like a 2yr old.
not as much meat but every bit is
melt in your mouth tender.
you sure didn't waste any time

Hey Ted, Congratulations on a fine 1-shot Kill! Real nice flicks your wife took too.

Congratulations, looks like a great hunt. I've gotta get into a regular routine of going to get a cow elk in that country. Any contact info would be greatly appreciated, please PM me if you have time.

Kudos to your wife for gettin' out there with y'all. May every bite of that elk be strengthening to all of your family's body, mind, and spirit.

CongratulaTions.

And in a spot that is easy to get to also.


And now some fine eating for the rest of the year.

Ted,

It was nice to meet you and your wife last night for dinner with Snellstrom and his family. Hope you had a safe trip home. Drop a line next time you are out.

quote:

Originally posted by taylorce1:
Ted,

It was nice to meet you and your wife last night for dinner with Snellstrom and his family. Hope you had a safe trip home. Drop a line next time you are out.

You bet I will. We had a great time, I will keep in touch.

Congrats on the cow elk hunt. I did mine on the Vermejo Dec 4 and got a nice two year old cow.
Sorry, no pictures. I used my custom Mauser in .35 Whelen with the 225 gr. Barnes TSX. I was a bit worried as I'd never used a solid copper bullet on game before. The bullet hit just behind the short ribs as she ran up the hill and exited between the right shoulder and neck. Internal damage was massive. In all the 54 years I've hunted, never have I had an animal go down so fast. That cow elk bounce when she hit the ground. Maybe there is something to those all copper bullets after all.
Again, congrats on your cow elk.
Paul B.

Good job, Ted.

That will be some fine table fare.

Congratulations! Bridger and his family are a pretty good individuals.

Congratulations Ted. Together with all the deer this year you are going to need another freezer.