Well, it looks like another calendar year of hunting is over. It’s been a pretty successful year for me and mine, with hunts ranging from local coyote calling to a hunt in Quebec for black bears in which my wife shot her first (and likely not last ) bear. We rounded out the year with a much-anticipated cow elk hunt in western New Mexico using muzzleloaders.

Another member of this forum, CRUSHER, made the long journey from his home in East Texas to join me on this hunt. Some of you may recall that he invited a couple of us down to his place to help reduce the hog population. Despite our wives’ fears, none of us were killed or maimed by crazy internet predators , and the grounds for a solid friendship were laid. It was a real pleasure having CRUSHER along for the hunt, and a kick in the seat to be there when he got his first North American elk (no, red stags in NZ don’t count). Also on the hunt was my hunting buddy Mike, my dad, and my brother.

We traveled to the hunt area on Thanksgiving Day and got there in time for a little scouting before dark. We also scouted around the next morning and saw good indications of plenty of elk in the area. We spent that afternoon solidifying camp, collecting firewood, confirming all rifles were ready to roll for opening morning on Saturday, and telling lies around the campfire.



The wind kicked up over night, really rocking and rolling the little camper I was bunked in. Opening day dawned cold and windy. We arose with high spirits despite the wind and hit the forest early in two hunting parties. We only saw one old cow who did not offer a shot. After regrouping, we surveyed some likely areas and decided on a push through an area that frequently holds elk. It was a nice little hike through some foothills on the leeward side a large butte, but all we had to show for it was the dozen javelina my brother spotted. We spent the evening driving and glassing for a good opportunity in the consistent wind, but none were presented before dark.

The second day also started off cold and windy, and we feared that this weather was keeping the elk mostly at bay. On the way out of camp, CRUSHER commented that on days like this critters in his neck of the woods would be tucked in tight on the lee side of timber or other cover where they could see a long ways downwind. At first light, we were overlooking a large grassy opening, and lo and behold, we spotted a sizeable group of elk at the far (upwind) end of it near the treeline. I knew of a road that would put us within striking distance of these elk (assuming they stayed put), so off we went. We hurried across the wide open in the truck, then ditched in some trees downwind of the herd. We grabbed our guns and headed into the wind towards the last known position of the elk. As we approached, we glassed closely in an attempt to locate the elk. They didn’t appear to be in the clearing, so we had a quick powwow and determined that they were likely headed uphill into the rougher country (near where we'd walked the day before) to bed out of the wind. Our only chance was to try to cut them off before they got into the dark timber. We circled wider, hoping to get ahead of them. I was starting to think they’d beat us when I spotted a couple moving through the trees about 150 yards ahead of us. We’d just barely caught them! Hurriedly, we made our final stalk, getting into position just as the last two elk in the herd passed by at about 90 yards. Having come so far, CRUSHER was up first. As the large cow passed through the last available shooting lane, he took his shoot. From my observation point slightly behind and to his side, I was able to see the cow react like she’d been solidly hit. However, in the thick trees there was no way to keep our eyes on her to make sure she’d gone down.

At the shot, the entire herd reversed course, streaming back from whence they’d come. This really worked to our advantage, as our buddy Mike had stayed slightly behind CRUSHER and me as we approached. When the elk regrouped in the open, Mike was waiting for them and made what he believed was a nice shot on another big cow. Of course this really got them excited, and they came thundering back towards me on their way to the thick timber. As they streamed by me at about 75 yards, I selected one large cow that was separated from the rest by a wide margin. As she passed through a large opening in the trees, I gave her a good lead and sent a Barnes on the way. She piled up in a cloud of dust. A finisher to the head was required (my lead wasn’t quite sufficient as you can see in the picture) and I had my cow.

(An aside for the armchair elk hunters: Yes, I shot at a running elk; yes, some of you will almost certainly berate or chastise me for that; and no, I don’t care. The shot was clear and I was confident that, with my familiarity and practice with my Encore, I could make it. Hopefully that’s not too blunt, but I don’t really want my thread to degrade into another pissing match about ethics and perceived propriety. I have my methods, others have theirs. We all enjoy the hunt and that’s what counts in the end. Thanks, and on with the story.)

We easily located CRUSHER’s downed elk, but Mike’s proved to be a different story. We reenacted the hunt, with me playing elk and Mike playing hunter. When I reached the location of the cow when he shot, I could find no sign of a hit. We followed the tracks and circled around near the shot area, but still found nothing. After a pretty thorough search, we started to doubt that the elk had been hit. Refusing to give up so easily, we decided that with three of us we could easily range wider and look for blood or a downed elk. We planned a circular route through thickly forested “bowl” we were in, with the eventual goal a return to the two dead elk, which were only about 60 yards apart. I struck out on the widest path, hoping for good sign, but not really expecting it. I was surprised when after just a short while I heard Mike and CRUSHER hollering that they’d found the elk. She’d gone several hundred yards before collapsing under some juniper trees.

We were jubilant! Three elk down before the sun was fully risen on the second day of the hunt. What a hoot!

CRUSHER’s elk:


My elk:


Mike’s elk:


Now we had our hands full though. We located a rough two-track ranch road up through the pasture that got within a few hundred yards of the elk. I hiked out to the truck, dashed to camp, and retrieved a small trailer used to haul the ATV and supplies. I drug it up the little road, getting it close enough that were able to load all three elk on the trailer. It sure is nice when they don’t have to come out in pieces on your back!

We had the elk back in camp by about 10:30, where we met my dad and brother. Fortune had also shined on my dad, who killed a nice fat cow about the same time we were field dressing ours.



We got all four elk hung up and skinned just in time to hit the hills for the afternoon to see if my brother could fill the last tag in camp. It wasn’t his night. The next day wasn’t his day either. Ol’ Murphy was hanging pretty tight to him, but on the morning of the fourth day he bucked bad luck and shot this tasty little calf.



That's it, hope you enjoyed the tale. 2008 is over. Luckily I don't have long to wait, as January 1 brings an ibex hunt in the rugged Florida Mountains of southern New Mexico to kick off 2009.

Hey way to go filling all those cow tags!
I recognize a couple of homely mugs in those pictures and I don't mean just the elk!
The only thing that could have been better on that hunt is if I were there to share the campfire and skinning jobs with you guys, of course you would have had to pack more groceries, scotch and beer but I usually can pull my own weight.
Congratulations all the way around guys, way to go.

Wow... You folks really had a great time!

That's a whole lotta meat!

I enjoyed the pics and the report great job!

Congrats to all of you!

Ro

Very nice story and pictures, DesertRam, thanks for telling and sharing!

Hunting does and cow elk can be as much fun as going for trophies.

Great story and pictures! Weidmannsheil to all successful hunters!

- mike

Hey DR,

Congrats!! It looks like y'all had a great time! I am available for the first elk steak dinner.

Bob

Thanks fellas. And Bob, any time you get even close to LC, let me know and I'll be happy to cook a slab of elk backstrap for you!

this was the outcome of some pig hunts I gave away 2 years ago on this site I have been super happy with all the people I have met and hunted with from here. I hope they are as pleased as I am.

I had a hard time buying that the front quarters and trimmings of 1 elk makes 125 pounds of ground meat but it does.

It was a great time and the desertram family are fantastic hosts. a great time was had and I did not even have to file a hunt report. we will hunt together as often as I can swing it. we often laugh about the guys we met on the internet for a rural out of cell range pig hunt in west texas everyones wife was worried but we have had many great adventures as a result.

snellstrom I owe your oldest a pig hunt you need to let me know when it will be good for your schedules to make that work.

Troy,

Congratulations ona great hunt. Good luck on the ibex.

Bill

Congrats to all! A lot of good eatin' there.