I spent last week in the forest chasing bull elk with my brother, dad, and cousin. Using muzzleloaders, we went 50% with two bulls taken. Though the focus was on bull elk, we took advantage of the remote area to do a little coyote calling, which I'm also quite passionate about. Following are a few pictures I took during the hunt.

On the way to camp, I passed the National Radio Astronomy Observatory Very Large Array.



And these pronghorn.


After the opening morning hunt, during which I chased a nice six-point bull to no avail, we checked several ponds and tanks for fresh tracks and reviewed some game cam pictures. At one pond, fresh tracks indicated the presence of several coyotes, so my cousin and I decided to make a quick stand on the hike back to the truck. After about five minutes of hand calling, this nice female came charging in. I had hoped to get my cousin his first coyote, but this one came in where he couldn't see it, busted me at about 15 yards, and exited stage left. I got a shot at her just as she went out of sight. The 250 grain Barnes TEZ was very effective...



That night we got back in the elk action and I connected with this little 5x5 bull at about 125 yards.



Though my dad had just had knee surgery, he hiked out to see the bull and help with the quartering and, to a lesser extent, packing.



We broke the bull down using the gutless method and packed him out to the truck. Here's the aftermath.



After the next morning's hunt, my cousin and I tried again, this time successfully, to get his first called coyote, which he shot with a .204 Ruger.



We continued to chase our tails, I mean elk, into Day 3. During a long hike in which my job was to be loud and smelly in an attempt to chase elk to those with unfilled tags, I stopped every so often to squeak a little. On my third attempt, kissing the back of my hand finally paid off when this furry male came in to investigate the squeaking.



While looking for tracks around another remote water tank, we bumped into a pair of badgers rooting around. This one came up for a break and to scowl at us.



I also got to exercise my little S&W .22 to bag an Abert's squirrel.



On the morning of the last day, my cousin put a bullet into this little guy's shoulder, then followed him into a steep canyon for the finishing shot.



Here he is recovering the meat for the pack out.



Off we go.



After getting the bull on ice, we took an afternoon cruise to the nearest highway to see if there is a closer place to camp when we draw tags again in 15 years. At the highway intersection, we saw this example of what I jokingly and somewhat mockingly call New Mexico True.



The elk hunt ended with no further tags filled.

Before packing up and heading out, we headed out Thursday morning hoping to pick up a few more coyotes. On the first stand, I used a custom closed reed call to bring in this rotund female.



Two stands later, I called in another coyote, but he played things a lot smarter, circling us and eventually busting us before we could get a shot. Then on the last stand of the morning, this little guy came busting over the hill to the sounds of a custom open reed call.



Hopefully I get a chance to return to this area for fox and bobcats after the furbearer season starts.

Awsome!!!!

Outstanding hunt report and hunt.

How did the Frankenstud Sling Stud work out for you?

quote:

Originally posted by ted thorn:
How did the Frankenstud Sling Stud work out for you?

Because of my installation, not as well as it should have. In an attempt to minimize hole-cutting through my pack, I only punched a hole in the webbing rather than the full shoulder strap. That allowed it to twist too much. However, I figured out placement, so now I'll go ahead and punch the hole all the way through, which I'm sure will do the trick.

One thing's for sure though, once the sling was engaged in that little sucker, the rifle didn't move! The design is valid, and the construction is rock solid - my implementation wasn't as good as it should have been. No worries, I have a deer hunt next week to give it round 2!

It looks like you had a great hunt and I'm looking forward to hearing about your deer hunt.

Great pictures and as we've come to expect from you excellent story, thanks for sharing it with us!
Always enjoy seeing families getting it done.

That's a great hunt! I'm surprised the badger only looked at you. Around here, if they see you within 100 yards, they come to run you off, or eat you, whichever is their preferred method.

I had to shoot one at 6 feet once.

Congratulations, sounds like a great trip. Nice animals too.

Looks like it was a great time and some good hunting. Your report brings back many good memories as Western New Mexico is one of my all-time favorite places to elk hunt.

That's great! I need to get out and call some coyotes.