Average Joe Hunting Adventures with Dan and CJ

Joined
Sep 28, 2016
Messages
318
Location
NM
Really nice clean looking mounts.

Paul and Vince at Imperial Taxidermy in Santa Fe are awesome at what they do, and I can't thank them enough.

When I brought in my elk cape it had 2 holes in it's neck a cyst on its face and brisket, Paul and Vince never blinked and eye. They said it wouldn't be a problem. That was the first time I'd ever heard a taxidermist not complain about holes and repairs. If I'm blessed with more great animals I know where I'm taking them.

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OP
Lostinthewoods
Joined
Dec 10, 2016
Messages
363
Location
Coast to coast
14 days from today and I'll be pulling into elk camp and hitting NM opener!!!!!!
I'm so fricken excited!!!!!

To make it more interesting I'm leaving the country for a week (work related)
So I basically come back, finish packing, and head out.


Nothing like crazy jet lag rolled into a 24 hour road trip ;)
 
Joined
Sep 28, 2016
Messages
318
Location
NM
Yesterday I put on a few hundred miles on my truck and burned a few ounces of boot leather to check the trail cameras I put out mid July. Unfortunately the 2 I was most excited about were stolen... Should have figured I wasn't the only person to find a spot that wasn't far from a road and easy to get to....

The cameras that weren't stolen are very far from the road, and a solid kick in the nuts to get to, but there's elk there. Overall I got 22 different bulls and at least that many cows in the month the cameras were out.

These are the biggest bulls, but by no means am I "targeting" them. I'll probably shoot the first branch antlered bull that walks in front of me. I have too much other hunting that needs to get done to worry about shooting a big bull.

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OP
Lostinthewoods
Joined
Dec 10, 2016
Messages
363
Location
Coast to coast
With just a few days left until I leave, I decided to do my pre season check and torque on my treestands, straps, and harnesses.


I'm ready to go!

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Joined
Sep 28, 2016
Messages
318
Location
NM
Well, I've finally decided how I'm going to schedule my hunts this fall, and picked up my OTC deer and elk tags yesterday.

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I'm going to try to kill an elk this weekend, but if I don't pull it off I'll go back up there 16-24 September. I'm still undecided if I want to hold out for a decent bull or not.

The antelope season is 10-24 Sep, but I have to be at work the week of the 11th so I'll spend all day the 10th chasing them and after work each day. Since I've never killed an antelope, I'm going to shoot whatever gives me the first opportunity. I also really like antelope meat, so I'll take what I can get.

The moose hunt is my primary focus of the season for me, which is the reason I might shoot the first elk that comes into range. I'd love to get an elk this weekend so I can have more leave for the moose hunt if needed. Right now my calendar is marked out for 30 Sept to 15 Oct and 10-24 Nov if needed. The moose area has a lot of bears too, so if I cross paths with a nice one I'll shoot him.

Deer is kind of the odd ball out in the hierarchy of prioritization. There are so many general seasons all over the state that I'll probably be one of the weekend warriors. I don't plan on taking any leave to deer hunt, and I will focus most of my e-scouting efforts on the December archery seasons.... Hunting deer in the snow is by my favorite deer hunting, always has been.

My wife's deer tag is for November, and if I kill a moose in October I'll take leave to devote some solid effort into her hunt. I have a few places that we could take the kids with us and probably find something decent animals. I might not be able to stalk into range with the wife and kids, but I'm confident in my wife's ability to close in and seal the deal.

All in all it's going to be a busy fall. I'd be lying if I said I was 100% confident, but I have my doubts. It's going to be tough hunting areas I've never hunted before, but I think I have a few good spots and the mental toughness to give it everything I have.

The season is upon us! Hopefully we'll have some updates this weekend.
 
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Joined
Sep 28, 2016
Messages
318
Location
NM
I'm heading out for elk camp in a few hours and I've already found my first obstacle.


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I think your safest bet is to stay home and give me your tags... You can never be too safe ;)

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OP
Lostinthewoods
Joined
Dec 10, 2016
Messages
363
Location
Coast to coast
So far so good! The beast is happy she's getting some miles thrown at her....

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If all goes well I'll be hunting tomorrow evening.


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Joined
Sep 28, 2016
Messages
318
Location
NM
So far so good! The beast is happy she's getting some miles thrown at her....

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If all goes well I'll be hunting tomorrow evening.


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Careful... She could keel over any day. ;)

Mine's a spring chicken compared to yours. Lol.

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Wanna know a great tip to add more $$$ into your hunting fund? Don't have vehicle payments. Sure my truck has the classic hemi tick, and it shakes a little, but she's been reliable(ish) and I've paid zero interest on it. It won't be too long and I'll have enough cash to upgrade to a new-to-me hunting rig.

Dan and I will both be in the elk mountains tonight. I won't have service, but I'll be texting Dan on my inreach. He'll do his best to keep you updated.

Good luck to everyone on these early hunts. Stay safe, hunt hard, and have fun!
 
Joined
Sep 28, 2016
Messages
318
Location
NM
Just got back from the mountains. It was a good trip. More to follow after I get some sleep.

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Joined
Sep 28, 2016
Messages
318
Location
NM
I wasn't planning on elk hunting this weekend until literally last Wednesday. I was going to hunt deer closer to home, but I figured this weekend would be a good scouting trip for later this month. Thursday night I threw my pack together and got everything I needed set aside so I could grab and go after work.

I skipped out of the office early, and was able to make it to the mountain with enough time to setup my shelter and do some glassing before sunset.

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The view from my shelter was pretty solid.

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I only saw one elk (a young 5x5) Friday night, but he snuck past me at 50yds without giving me a good shot. I didn't hear any bugles or other elk sounds. There was absolutely zero wind, which made it eerily quiet. There weren't any bugs or birds making sounds either. With the almost full moon on top of the silence, it was one of the strangest nights I've ever slept outside.

I was up and at it around 5am, and I got to the spot I wanted to glass from 30 minutes before shooting light. I found several groups of elk, and tried making my way to the closest herd before the thermals switched. There was almost zero wind and you could hear a church mouse; moving in close was pretty much impossible. I made it to within 200yds before the elk showed me how important cardio is. They moved across the valley faster than I'd ever be able to, and they were gone.

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Since it was so quiet I figured my best chance of killing something would be to sit in a pinch point that had 2 wallows and several trails skirting the edge of the meadow. It was also pretty warm, so you never know when something will come down to water.

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Off to the right, and tucked away from the large meadow in the pic, was a nice thick patch of grass which had a lot of elk tracks and droppings in it. The wind was perfect for anything that would come into the large meadow or the opening to my right. So I nestled myself between 3 large spruces and got comfortable.

Sitting in one spot is not my favorite thing to do, so I spent the time playing with different settings on my camera. Around noon, while I was taking some long exposure shots of the flowing water next to me, a large bull with a split g3 came out on the other side of the meadow. He was the biggest bull I had on trail camera, and he looked a lot bigger in person. He was too far for a shot, and there was no way to sneak closer.

By the time I put my binos back in the harness, picked up the camera, realized after pressing the shutter I had the exposure set WAY too long, the bull was gone. He slurped some water, laid down in the wallow for a few seconds then left. I missed the shot with my camera. Rookie move.

Other than seeing the big bull, the day as a whole was utterly boring. The only sounds were the occasional squirrel dropping a pine cone or barking at me. I split my time between napping and snapping pics of everything around me.

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I was happy to be in the woods. No emails to answer, no technology to distract me (other than my camera), and no sign of other people. I was alone with my thoughts, and enjoying the solitude. It was the most peaceful 8 hrs of my life....

Until I heard a branch break on the other side of the creek, and saw an antler through the trees.

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Joined
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Messages
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Location
NM
I don't know if the animal was bedded right there or if he somehow snuck in without me hearing it. Regardless, I ranged the spot I thought he would walk through. As I ranged it, he stepped into the view through my rangefinder and stopped to tickle his antlers on a small fir tree. 61.7yds. He looked familiar.

I dropped the rangefinder, adjusted my slider, and drew back. At full draw I chuckled inwardly as I realized I hadn't set my feet properly. I didn't want to cut corners and possibly mess up the shot, so I let down my bow, fixed my feet, and went through my shot sequence properly this time. I floated my pin on his chest and executed a crisp release. The familiar pop of a double lung hit was matched with blood coming out of both sides as he turned and ran up the hill out of sight.

A few seconds of running, a cough and the sound of lungs deflating were followed by the crash of a large animal falling down a steep hill. It was silent for a few more seconds, then animals were running everywhere. Some went up the scree slope above the meadow. While others ran through the thick woods. I knew the animal I shot was dead, but I always proceed with caution after a shot. Hearing all of the animals take off put a small amount of doubt in my mind, but I was confident in my shot.

I don't know when it happened, but sometime between shooting my first deer when I was 12 and now, I've gotten over the adrenaline rush. If you'd have seen me shooting this animal, you wouldn't have been able to tell if I was even excited. In the heat of the moment I block out everything and focus entirely on accomplishing the task of killing the animal in front of me. I am definitely excited, but I don't feel any of it. I wouldn't make a good TV hunter.

As the mental video of the shot and post shot events rolled through my mind, I took a knee, exhaled for the first time in a while, and then sat with my back against the large, old spruce tree I spent all day under. Over the next 20 minutes I sat taking it all in and reflecting on my life's events which brought me to this point

As a kid growing up in WI, images of hunting in the mountains only existed in magazines, TV shows, and my dreams. My passion for hunting has burned bright since before my first memories when father took me hunting and fishing. Since then I've walked far more wilderness than I ever dreamt I could, and I've killed animals in places I didn't even know existed. I have been extremely blessed to have experienced as much as I have. Tucked away in this remote drainage, far away from the places that lit my passion, I was living my dream.

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After finding my arrow, I texted Dan on my inreach, and took up the bloodtrail. Momentary doubt set in as I didn't find much blood for the first 20 yards. I took it slow to avoid bumping him. I could have mistaken a lung hit for a liver hit, and didn't want to mess it up. 50 yards into the tracking job the figurative faucet turned on and my doubts were gone. Another few paces of easy tracking and there he was.

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He rolled about 20 yards down the hill and died less than 50 yards from where I arrowed him. I couldn't have been more happy with him and the experience.

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He's the same 6x6 I got on my trail camera in mid August.

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And then the work started. This bull was 4 miles away from the truck with a 2k foot climb in between. I packed my first load back to camp that night and slept until 6am before continuing the pack. I did it in 3 loads and it took 15.5 hours to get the last load back to the truck.

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Joined
Sep 28, 2016
Messages
318
Location
NM
I got home at midnight last night and slept like a champ.

The day after I get back from hunting is similar to Christmas for my kids. They're always excited to see what I brought home this time.

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I am still in a state of disbelief. I just killed a great bull, my first true OTC bull ever. I packed it out solo, and did it all in one weekend. I've held 5 elk tags since 2014 and I've killed 5 elk in 9 days of hunting. Like I said before, it's been an amazing blessing, and I couldn't be more thankful.
 
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MT_Wyatt

WKR
Joined
Aug 20, 2014
Messages
1,920
Location
Montana
Dude that is an epic read, and really great photos. Congrats! Getting it done solo like that is a unique thing and something to always cherish. And the trail cam pic!


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realunlucky

Super Moderator
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Jan 20, 2013
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Eastern Utah
Congratulations solo elk are never forgotten. Truly enjoyed the pictures and write up

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