Great Eight Elk Hunt

Dates – September 25-28, 2013

Location – Rio Hondo Land and Cattle Company Ranch, Tinnie, New Mexico, between Roswell and Ruidoso

Outfitter – Rio Hondo Land and Cattle Company, www.rhlcc.com

Agent – Jim Welles – JFW Ranch Consulting, www.newmexicobiggamehunting.com, (regular poster on AR)

Guide – Anthony Manfredi

Game Sought – BIG elk!

Game Taken – Very BIG elk!

Game Seen – Mule deer, elk, coyotes, bear scat

Gun and Ammo Used – Winchester Model 70 in .300 Win Mag, Swarovski Z5 3.5x18x44, RWS 184 grain Rap-X bullets

Preface

I just returned to the US from a stint in Cairo, Egypt and was looking for a fun place to hunt elk within a reasonable distance from Midland, Texas. Also, I arrived a bit late to put in for any draw areas so I was somewhat limited to hunting private ranch areas in Southern Colorado and New Mexico. I hunted antelope with Jim Welles earlier in the fall and had worked with him in the past finding him to be an expert on New Mexico hunting and ranches. He suggested I look at a couple of private ranches he knew about that would fit my needs. I settled on the Rio Hondo for a couple of reasons – it is 3 ½ hours from my house, it was a big area and I did not have to deal with horses or sleep on the ground. I have been spoiled by Africa and other places and prefer not to “rough it” if I have the choice.

The only negative was that this was a high fenced area. I have hunted high fence areas before and found most to be less than a hunt and more of a shoot. However, this area was 6500 acres (10 square miles) and Jim said it would be a challenge and that I would see a lot of elk. He was right on both accounts.

I decided to try it and see for myself.

Summary

Yes, I did take a super 8x8 bull. It was fantastic. I saw more elk on this three day hunt than I had seen in 30 previous elk hunting days in Wyoming and Colorado. I saw more big elk than I had ever seen. Yes, this is a high fence area and you would expect to see some big elk and many of them but this exceeded what I expected. I hunted in the rut with elk bugling at each other and at us as we called. On several occasions we had bulls come to within 30 yards of us before catching a scent or seeing us. It was amazing. Would I ever see this on public land? I doubt it. Even the best public draw areas will not match this.

Here is a picture of the Great Eight Bull.



Details

The Rio Hondo Land and Cattle Company Ranch is big. I am not sure of the total acreage but it stretches from just west of Roswell, NM to somewhere close to Ruidoso NM. It is in the foothills of the mountains that make up the southern end of Rockies. It was also called the Diamond A Ranch and has changed hands several times over the years. This area of New Mexico is ripe with history being the battleground during the Lincoln County Wars in the late 1800’s. Billy the Kid did his first killing in this area. It is rolling, rocky hills with a lot of draws and canyons. The area I hunted was relatively open due to the management of the land and cattle. The area had burned off in a fire a few years ago decimating the mule deer but leaving the elk and aoudad in good shape. The re-growth of the trees and grass is excellent providing a lot of food and browse for the animals. The area backs up to an Indian controlled hunt area so access is limited. This is all private land and hunted sparingly.

Troy Omness, the wildlife manager on this ranch, has been there 19 years managing the land, the animals and monitoring the game populations to optimum carrying capacity. My guide, Anthony , is a wildlife biologist and former game warden. He went to college with Troy and has guided this ranch for the last 6 or more years. They both know their “stuff”.

The hunting lodge is large and pretty cool. It is built for large groups which they host for deer and aoudad hunts. I was the only one in the adobe constructed lodge. Check out the Rio Hondo website above for pictures of it. There is a lot of history in the lodge and artifacts there. Being the only hunter there, I brought my own food. There was no need for a cook as there are restaurants within close driving distance to the lodge. Frankly, I am tired of bad food, no showers and sleeping in a bag (yes, this qualifies as whining) unless I am in a remote area and mentally prepped to live like a cave man.


The Hunt

This was a normal except for the abundance of rut crazed bulls that called at each other and us repeatedly. We basically drove a few of the roads in the area glassing and listening for bulls, then calling the ones we thought would be of substantial size. We spotted numerous elk as we drove but like in most areas, the older ones were not standing around waiting for something to happen. They were holed up in thick brush and canyons and needed extra coaxing to get them out. Anthony cow called infrequently and that usually did the trick to get a response. However, we had to sneak them a bit to get a look at them. We were fooled by several that had big bugle/roars but small horns. We had one monster elk that sounded like a calf that fooled us as well. He snuck off into a canyon not to be seen or heard again.

On the Great Eight Bull, we spotted him bedded in dark shadows just seeing the horns above the knee high grass that was flourishing due to the recent rains. We saw the rack and thought he was a reasonably good elk. We sat for awhile looking at him and started counting points and came up with sixteen and not the usual twelve. We inched in closer and got a spotting scope on him and saw the extra tines that made him the Great Eight Bull. We slipped out of the area to avoid pushing him off the area he was in and made a plan for later in the day.

Well, later in the day came and went without a sign of him. We called and stalked and glassed but to no avail. I was a bit disappointed but Anthony said we would find him the next day – which is what every guide says when we cannot find one a second time. We glassed other bulls and bumped a really nice one he called the “C-clamp Bull” because the top part of this rack formed a “C” shape like a c-clamp. This bull had main beams about 55” long or longer which made him a really big bull. I was tempted to chase him but we talked ourselves into trying for the Great Eight Bull the next day. That night, Anthony and Troy (ranch manager) told me that they had only seen the C-clamp Bull one time the year before and once on a trail camera this year. Both had not seen the Great Eight Bull either. So much for pasture shooting in a high fenced area.

On the other hand, we saw and took pictures of several bulls they both had seen several times. The ones they had seen regularly were “just bulls” – nice 6x6’s but nothing huge. We also bumped a nice 7x6 that was very wide. He moved up the hit list to #2 should we not find the Great Eight again. He was stunning in width and mass and had an extra brow tine.

Next morning, we went straight to the area to find the Great Eight but he was not there. We scouted and glassed a couple hours and found another big bull that we called the “Cradle Arm Bull” because his long brow tines curved up like arms cradling a baby. He had exceptionally long tines across his rack. He was a stunner for sure. As we looked at him and tried to turn him with a call, he wandered over a hill into a canyon and we never saw him again. He was really nice and I would have shot him twice never thinking about the Great Eight again, but it was not meant to be.

As grace would have it, we called several bulls getting some responses that we checked out, then out stepped the Great Eight from a thicket. He never called back to us and was very settled in where he was but he got up to look around at the couple of bulls that responded to us with one coming to us at a trot.
He spotted the one running to us and that pushed him a few steps out in the open where I was able to get and make a killing shot. We never hesitated on taking him when we got a great look him. I even took a quick picture before he noticed us. When he did sense us, I shot.


Just before the shot.



There was no ground shrinkage on him. He was a Great Eight.[\b]










[b]Hazards of stalking in the desert



Eye Candy for Bow Hunters

















Lots of Elk Sign





A Friend that Eats Rats is a Friend of Mine






The Scenery While Driving







Yard Art in Tinnie, New Mexico











Perspective

1. High fence hunting is not all bad. In a big area that is managed for hunting and not shooting, this can work. I hunted really big high fence area in Zimbabwe and it was fine (Bubye Conservancy – 700,000 acres). Canned hunting is a different issue. The area I hunted, the elk were born and raised there and knew every inch of the place.

2. I may try bow hunting or cross bow hunting. I was an avowed “anti” when it comes to bow hunting based on what I see on TV hunting shows and Ted Nugent, but getting close to these elk using calls and stalking was cool. If I could be assured that I would kill that elk cleanly and quickly, I may become a convert.

3. I really struggle with the complexities and competition of hunting public areas in the US. I have been in areas loaded with guides, horses, vehicles, people, camp followers, etc. I do not like it and do not hunt those areas any longer. Further, for the money I spend, I prefer a more predictable situation with guides/lodges and access to areas. I am getting old and more opinionated, but I believe hunting is privilege and not a right. Owning guns is a right, but hunting is a privilege. I would do more public land hunting if the state game departments had a more stringent testing/hunter education system that took the careless and slob hunters out of the mix. Yes, this is a lightning rod for argument but I believe that hunting in the US is a privilege and a sport and should be priced and treated as such.

4. I am going back to this place. It was fun and challenging. I like big elk also.

Thanks

Heartfelt thanks to Jim Welles for putting me onto this outfit and place. I had a great time and Jim did a perfect job of managing my expectations. Also thanks to Anthony Manfredi. He sees these elk a lot and knows “good” from “great” and he put me on a great bull, a once in a lifetime bull. He was careful and strong to not let me shoot something that was not super. He is an excellent judge of size and an excellent caller. There were a couple of times that I thought I would have an elk in my lap looking for a cow to breed.



THE END

What a Toad!!!! Congrats on your Bull!!!

Holy smokes. Wow that is one fantastic bull. Congrats!!!!

Ouch, that is a beautiful bull Elk!

I like him, nice job and Waidmannsheil!

Let the naysayers eat dirt, 6500 acres is a lot of land to cover.

The Jicarilla Indians have a fenced elk ranch of 14,000 acres within 200 miles of this place and they also charge 9000, but you have to pay a guide on top of that $175-300 a day.

wonderful elk and looks like a nice experience.

WOW!!..Nice Bull..Congrats

Congrats on the very impressive elk! I'm looking into the Barbary Sheep hunt that Jim posted.

Massive beams on the huge rack.
Congrats, you did well and got a terrific bull.
George

what a bull!!!

Fantastic bull!!