2018 Public Land DIY New Mexico Elk Hunt - Pic heavy

Tubb2402

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Joined
Oct 4, 2017
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92
Location
Mississippi
In an effort for others to learn from my mistakes, I’d like to share this year’s elk hunt. I’m 34 years old and live in Mississippi. I’m married and have twin boys age 3. I grew up in Texas and have always enjoyed hunting but for the most part it has always been dove, quail, and duck hunting with a little deer hunting here and there. I’ve always had this dream to go elk hunting but I lived in Texas where there is very little public land and virtually no elk. I went on my first elk hunt last year in 2017 but was unsuccessful (see 2017 story here). Even though I was unsuccessful in terms of harvesting an elk in 2017, I gained lots of valuable knowledge from it that greatly attributed to my 2018 hunt.

One of the biggest lessons was to start applying for draw hunts. So for me I made a short term plan and a long term plan. My short term plan is to go elk hunting every year, and long term plan is to draw trophy units. That way by the time I draw a trophy unit I know what I’m doing. I’m not in the financial situation or have the time to hunt in every western state. So I focused on 3 states, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. All 3 states are the closest to Mississippi. Arizona is blend of random draw and bonus point system, which makes a great state for long term and short term. Colorado over-the-counter is always my fall back option to go every year and building preference points is my long term strategy. Since New Mexico has no bonus or preference point system, everyone has the same chance of drawing. This makes a great option for both short term and long term strategies. I want to thank goHUNT.com and Randy Newberg for their help. Between Brady’s insider strategy articles and Newberg’s youtube videos they really helped me understand these systems, especially for someone who has no points.

So now that I had my strategy, I applied in each of my three states. I tend to apply closer to the deadline as I really do not want to draw two tags in the same year, at least right now in this stage of life. The nice thing about applying in AZ, CO, and NM is there is very little overlap between draw dates. This year I applied in AZ first in February, and results came out March 17. Then since I didn’t draw a tag in AZ, I applied in NM by March 21[SUP]st[/SUP] and results came out April 18. I did have to apply in CO by April 3 so there was a little overlap and would risk the possibility of drawing 2 tags. However, since CO has a preference point system and I have no points I found it best to apply for premium units that I knew I couldn’t draw with my points. I just assumed that I probably wouldn’t draw a tag in 2018 and would just do over-the-counter CO, but I got lucky and drew my second choice for New Mexico.

I was so excited when I saw the draw results come out, and called a buddy of mine that lived a few hours away in Albuquerque NM. We had both applied for the same units and wanted to see if he drew as well. Unfortunately, he did not draw but was still excited to come along.

For this year my season was the last 5 days of October. It was going to be a post-rut hunt with bulls headed for sanctuary. Now that I had my tag I needed to dial in my hunting location. To do this I used OnXmaps and Randy Newberg’s E-Scouting series. I also bought a book written by Jack Ward Thomas North American Elk: Ecology and Management. This book was hard to find but the Wildlife Management Institute had it for ~$60. This was something last year taught me, I needed to learn more about elk. Last year I focused a lot on getting the right gear, which took away time I should have been focusing on elk behavior. I can’t say how valuable the new E-Scouting series is that Newberg put out on his youtube channel. This really helped me find the spot on the spot. Using Onxmaps I created 4 hunting areas A-D, each with 4-5 glassing spots, on the edge of a burn or in a burn, in the purple area on the “Roadless area” setting. I also marked all water location, trailheads, hunting pressure, and potential feeding areas.

Now that I had my location dialed in, I was ready for October. My wife was happy I had someone to go with me and I also picked up a Garmin Inreach Mini to make sure I could communicate with her if needed. In preparation for this year’s hunt I wanted to keep my pack light so I created an excel sheet and listed everything I was taking on the trip. Then pulled out the food scale and weighed every item. This really helps know what I need to bring vs what is nice to bring. It also helped me know in the future which pieces of gear I might want to upgrade. See list below.
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Since the hunt was only 5 days I wanted time to scout at least a day before season opened. So I left Mississippi on Wednesday afternoon October 24[SUP]th[/SUP], and drove 11 hours all the way to Lubbock, TX. I went to Texas Tech University and still have several friends in Lubbock, which helped cut down cost as I was able to crash on a friend’s couch. The next day I drove on into NM. Along the way I did stop and saw some Antelope feeding, and a pretty area that had great fall colors.
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I was able to make it to my camp location by noon on Thursday. I had chosen an area that was close to my A and B areas and a little closer to area A. I just set up in the National Forest off of a dirt road that was easy to drive the truck. Just for reference my camp setup is a 2-man tent and I sleep on a cot. I also setup a table and chairs under a folding canopy to cook at night. After I got setup, I had a day and a half to explore my unit and e-scouting areas A-D. The plan for me was pretty simple and repeatable. I basically was living by the rule of you don’t leave elk to find elk. If I found elk I was staying in that spot until I either killed one, blew them out of there, or ran out of season. See table below for day by day plan. For me my goal was to kill a legal elk. I’m new at this and do not have a lot of experience. So while it may be nice to kill a trophy I was there to learn and take the first legal bull, because knowing me I’ll screw up the first encounter.
New Mexico ELK Hunt Plan
Day 1Wednesday 10/24/2018 - TravelLeave drive to Lubbock, TX
Day 2Thursday 10/25/2018 - Travel/Scouting DayLeave Lubbock and arrive between 1-2pm. 1-2hr hike to primary evening glassing spot till 6:45pm. Walk out in dark 1-2 hours; eat, sleep by 9:00pm
Day 3Friday 10/26/2018 - Scouting DayLeave at trailhead at 4:30am hike to primary morning glassing spot, then:
Scenario 1 - Elk from previous evening) If I see elk from previous evening about 10am do mock stalk and get into position to make shot based on location of previous evening. Then walk out in dark and mark path for opening morning.
Scenario 2 - No Elk from previous evening but Elk from Morning) If no elk from previous evening and but find some that morning. Watch them into bedding area and mark on GPS. Then about 10am do mock stalk and get into position to make shot for evening confirm location of bull. Then walk out in dark and mark path for opening morning.
Scenario 3 - No Elk) If no elk at all wait till 30 min after day light, then move to next morning spot. Then if still no elk go to afternoon glassing spot.
Day 4Saturday 10/27/2018 - Season OpensLeave at trailhead at 4:30am hike to primary morning glassing spot, then:
Scenario 1 - Elk from previous evening) If I see elk from previous evening about 10am do mock stalk and get into position to make shot based on location of previous evening. Then walk out in dark and mark path for opening morning.
Scenario 2 - No Elk from previous evening but Elk from Morning) If no elk from previous evening and but find some that morning. Watch them into bedding area and mark on GPS. Then about 10am do mock stalk and get into position to make shot for evening confirm location of bull. Then walk out in dark and mark path for opening morning.
Scenario 3 - No Elk) If no elk at all wait till 30 min after day light, then move to next morning spot. Then if still no elk go to afternoon glassing spot.
Day 5Sunday 10/28/2018 - Season OpenLeave at trailhead at 4:30am hike to primary morning glassing spot, then:
Scenario 1 - Elk from previous evening) If I see elk from previous evening about 10am do mock stalk and get into position to make shot based on location of previous evening. Then walk out in dark and mark path for opening morning.
Scenario 2 - No Elk from previous evening but Elk from Morning) If no elk from previous evening and but find some that morning. Watch them into bedding area and mark on GPS. Then about 10am do mock stalk and get into position to make shot for evening confirm location of bull. Then walk out in dark and mark path for opening morning.
Scenario 3 - No Elk) If no elk at all wait till 30 min after day light, then move to next morning spot. Then if still no elk go to afternoon glassing spot.
Day 6Monday 10/29/2018 - Season OpenLeave at trailhead at 4:30am hike to primary morning glassing spot, then:
Scenario 1 - Elk from previous evening) If I see elk from previous evening about 10am do mock stalk and get into position to make shot based on location of previous evening. Then walk out in dark and mark path for opening morning.
Scenario 2 - No Elk from previous evening but Elk from Morning) If no elk from previous evening and but find some that morning. Watch them into bedding area and mark on GPS. Then about 10am do mock stalk and get into position to make shot for evening confirm location of bull. Then walk out in dark and mark path for opening morning.
Scenario 3 - No Elk) If no elk at all wait till 30 min after day light, then move to next morning spot. Then if still no elk go to afternoon glassing spot.
Day 7Tuesday 10/30/2018 - Season OpenLeave at trailhead at 4:30am hike to primary morning glassing spot, then:
Scenario 1 - Elk from previous evening) If I see elk from previous evening about 10am do mock stalk and get into position to make shot based on location of previous evening. Then walk out in dark and mark path for opening morning.
Scenario 2 - No Elk from previous evening but Elk from Morning) If no elk from previous evening and but find some that morning. Watch them into bedding area and mark on GPS. Then about 10am do mock stalk and get into position to make shot for evening confirm location of bull. Then walk out in dark and mark path for opening morning.
Scenario 3 - No Elk) If no elk at all wait till 30 min after day light, then move to next morning spot. Then if still no elk go to afternoon glassing spot.
Day 8Wednesday 10/31/2018 - Season Ends 6:40pmLeave at 4:30am:
Scenario - If all locations have been exhausted do something crazy.
6:40pm - hike out get camp ready to leave next morning. Bed by midnight.
Day 9Thursday 11/1/2018 - Potential Travel DayLeave at 6am; arrive home by 10pm

Well I got to my area A number one glassing spot about 2PM. It was in the mid-50s and the sun was shining, with 15-20 MPH wind. My spot was only about 1.5 miles from the trail head. I was really excited when I saw my first sign of elk. Fresh droppings, probably from that morning.
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2018 Public Land DIY New Mexico Elk Hunt - Cont..

It was a good spot, but I noticed a road also came very close to it. While this road was closed I thought it might attract more hunting pressure. So decided to go to my number two glassing spot about half a mile away. On my way in I found this really old tree that had been cut down, with a bunch of rings.
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When I got there I realized this was great spot. Where I was it was a 2-mile-wide horseshoe shaped ridgeline overlooking a deep canyon. I sat down and glassed into the canyon and saw 3 bulls bedded. They were somewhere between 1000 and 1500 yards away, and about 800 foot of elevation drop between us. While I stayed there glassing the temperature dropped and my hands were freezing. About 7PM I starting hearing some bulls bugle. This was so cool to hear, but was surprised to hear it, as I was under the impression they stopped after the rut. So I’m not sure if it was a second estrus cycle, or the rut happens a little later in the southern states, but it was fun. The sound was coming behind me, so I quickly got up checked my wind and made my way toward the sound. It was blowing right in my face as I made my way over I spotted an entire herd of cow elk with about 3 bulls with them. One was a decent 5x5. I would have shot him as again my goal was to kill the first legal elk I was, but it was only Thursday and season didn’t open till Saturday.
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Needless to say I was excited. I had located elk, and since I didn’t want to blow this herd out of there I decided to leave. They were headed right for me and came within 100 yards. I made a big loop away from them and headed down the mountain checking my wind to make sure they never smelled me.

The next day (Friday) I came back into the same spot, following the rule of don’t leave elk to find elk. That morning I walked in the dark to my location. As I came up to the meadow the herd had moved across it and was still up in the trees. I stayed in the trees and started to make my way up closer as I wanted to get to the ridgeline and look down into the canyon. Well they spotted me, and I hit the ground and stayed still. Luckily they didn’t blow out of there. I can only contribute this to my Sitka gear. I assume they didn’t know what I was, as they just watched me and slowly moved on. Being cautious not to spook them any more, by the time I made it to the ridgeline it was 8:30am and any activity in the canyon was complete. So about 10am I decided to cook some mountain house biscuits and gravy. After that it was nap time. I slept up on the ridge for about an hour to hour and half. I woke up to a couple guys from Maine that also had a tag for this unit, coming to glass. We talked about our strategies and what we had seen so far. I had told them I would shoot the first legal bull and about the night before. They decided to glass for a minute and then went to another spot over on the next ridge. That evening was pretty loud, there were probably 6 elk bugling throughout the woods. While I didn’t have the encounter as the day before I had seen about 10 nice bulls feeding down in the canyon. As it got dark I made my way down the mountain and back to camp.

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My buddy that lived in NM was supposed to meet me Friday night after he got off work. Unfortunately, he had a leak in his house with about an inch of water on his hardwoods. So it seemed again that I would be going solo. My wife was upset but there was not much I could do about it. Luckily I had the Garmin InReach mini so I could text if needed.

The next morning was opening day, and at 4:00am I headed back to the same spot. It was in the mid-30s when I left my truck. I was hoping to see the same herd that morning as I had the day before. On my walk in I squatted down resting, as I stood up my rifle had come out of my gun bearer, and fell to the ground. It was a small drop and everything seemed to be fine. As I made my way to the meadow, sure enough the elk were there. I walked over to the tree line and because it was just coming off a full moon I could actually see elk with my binos in the dark. While waiting for daylight a guide and his client came into the same spot. I whistled at them and let them know I was there as it was still dark. They came over and we talked for a bit. Again I told them my strategy and what I had seen, he then told me some of his knowledge about the area. They were after a trophy so we really were not competing, for the same bull. They were nice enough not to push ahead and blow the herd out of there. That herd moved on that morning and I never saw the herd bull. While I could hear him I would have had to cross an open meadow and there were just too many eyes that could have spotted me. As the guide, his client and myself made it to the ridgeline I got to talking to the client and he was from Mississippi as well. We actually lived about 10 minutes from each other. Small world. When daylight broke, we spotted 3 bulls feeding in a meadow on the ridge next to me where the guys from Maine were. I thought about making a stalk but it was ~600 ft in elevation drop off my ridgeline and then a 1000 ft vertical elevation gain to get to underneath them. While I could have done it, I don’t think I would have been there in time, especially before the thermals changed. So being opening day I decided to just glass and watch where they were going. Hoping to make a stalk that evening. Well as the morning went on we herd the a few shots on the back side of the mountain. Then the guide and client didn’t see anything they wanted to pursue and decided to drop off into the canyon to find something else. Before he left I got their number as I might need help packing out now that I was running solo. So I was actually glad I ran into them. As they left I kept watching those three bulls. About 15 min after the guide left I’m guessing those gun shots spooked a bunch of bulls. In several small groups over about an hour ~30 bulls all walked across the ridge line. Most of them were 5x5 with only a couple large bulls. They were on an elk trail about 2 miles away and all bedded on the ridge next to me. I couldn’t help but think how blessed I was to find this spot. I glassed most of the morning watching to see where the bulls were going to bed. I thought I might be able to make a stalk and get into position that afternoon. So I go on OnX and found the trail to go around to the top of the ridge next to me. I soon realized this was going to be a 5 to 6 hour hike, as it was pretty steep. So being by myself I decided to just see if they came down into the meadow between us like they did on Thursday. Then I took a long nap on the top of the ridge. I woke up and the sun had come out and burned the left side of my face. (rookie mistake) That evening I was glassing and found those same bulls from that morning about 600 yards (LOS) slowly walking towards me. I thought they are reading my playbook. However, as time passed they never came out into the meadow, and stayed in the trees. I checked to see if any of those bulls down in the canyon came back out but I’m guessing the guide may have bumped them out of there, as I never saw any. I stayed till dark and hiked out, hoping tomorrow would be better luck. My plan was to go back to the same meadow and see if those bulls decided to come on down over night, and if not I was prepared to make a stalk up where I saw them.

So Sunday morning I got up a little later and made it to my spot about 30 min before daylight. I walked down and sat under a tree. I got out my binos and again could see elk in the moonlight above me at the top of the meadow. I checked my wind and it was blowing downhill just as I thought it would. It was hard to make out if it was bulls or cows, so I just waited there until daybreak. Luckily no one else came into my spot that morning. As it got light enough to see them I could tell it was bulls. Just as I had planned, several of those bulls came on down into the meadow over-night. I saw a 4x4, three 5x5s. So I ranged the largest 5x5 and his ballistic range was 280 yards. I ranged him again and it was 160 yards. I thought I must have ranged below him or hit a tree. So I ranged him a third time and got close to 280 again. The bull was standing there broadside with his head down feeding. This was a shot I was comfortable making. So I dialed up my Leopold CDS, steadied myself on a tree next to me, and squeezed the trigger. As I fired I lost the bull in my scope and quick focused back on him. He just stood there but now looked up, so I got back on him and fired again. This time I saw my shot, I was shooting over his back. As he trotted off I got out my binos to confirm I didn’t hit him. I didn’t want to keep shooting if something was off with my equipment so I just took a quick photo with my phone. After that I was a little discouraged, thinking this was my chance and I blew it. As the bulls moved on I went and confirmed there was no blood.

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2018 Public Land DIY New Mexico Elk Hunt - Cont..

I didn’t know what to think. Was it from me dropping my rifle the day before, did I miss range it, did I just screw up the shot. All these questions were running threw my head. So, since I only had 3 bullets remaining and wasn’t sure what actually happened, I decided to leave and go test my rifle. On my way out I ran into the game warden and a group of folks from Oregon. The game warden checked my tags and license and since the folks from Oregon had harvested a nice 6x6 he was a little busier with them. I was able to ask the game warden where was a good place to go test my rifle and he suggested some BLM land about 30 min away. When I got there I had remembered to bring some targets so I quickly did a 100, 200, 300, 400 yrd test. Rifle was dead on. Now having confidence back in my rifle I knew it wasn’t my equipment but more likely me. I think I missed ranged the elk. While it could have been me and my lack of shooting abilities. I had practiced in the off season several times making 300 yard shots pretty easily. Not to mention I would have had to make that mistake twice. So I concluded that I just miss ranged the elk.

I went and got some real food in town and then took a good long nap at camp on my cot. To be honest this was good for me. I had been by myself since Thursday and these small things really picked up my spirits, especially after missing a shooter elk. I left camp and headed back into my glassing spot. I thought the elk never smelled me, never saw me, but only heard my shots. They might still be there, and either way I could see several places from there. As I walked up to the meadow it was about 6:00pm, I quickly said a prayer and started up to the ridgeline. On my way up I heard a bugle to my right and it was close. I quickly pulled out OnXmaps to see what was above me and notice there was another smaller meadow on the hill next me. I knew that this is where the elk was bugling from. It was about 250 feet of elevation gain to get to the meadow over about 700yds. So I dropped my pack and just took my rifle. I checked my wind and I had a favorable small cross wind. As I got up to the meadow I saw a cow elk, then several more cows. Then the herd bull let out a loud bugle from up in the tree line. I stayed there nervously waiting, thinking how lucky am I to get a second chance. Then I spotted him, a decent size 6x6 came down into the meadow. I watch and thought if he walks about 15 yards down to that cow I’ve got a clear shot. They were about 170 vertical feet above me. So I ranged the cow 5 different times trying not to make the same mistake as earlier. It ranged about the same distance every time, 130-yards ballistic range. Well about 2 mins later the bull followed the script and stopped broadside feeding. I braced myself against a tree and squeezed the trigger. Direct hit, he took one step and fell over dead.

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I was a little in shock and thought, I did it. Wow what a roller coaster of a day. As I made my way up to him I was so excited, I took my time and enjoyed the moment. I had notice over that last few days I had intermittent cell service on the mountain. So I gave it a try and was able to share some of the experience with my wife and family. As it was getting dark, I had to go to work and break down the elk.

I had never broken down an elk before but watched a few videos on it. I only had the Gerber Vital but had several replacement blades, which was good because I probably broke 6 of those things. I probably would not have broken so many if I had some help, but it worked just fine. After breaking down the first side of the elk I stood up to take a break and in the distance I noticed a set of eyes close together watching me. This is when I started to get nervous. I quickly realized I was standing next to a carcass in the dark 2 miles from the truck, all by myself with only a rifle that’s pretty much worthless in the dark, and some kind of cat watching me. The moon didn’t rise until later at night so it was pitch black. Had there been some moon light I probably could have seen him with the scope. The trailhead had a nice sign on it saying cougar in the area, and I thought well I think I’ve found him. So needless to say I did the second side in a hurry and constantly checking the cat. Over the next hour he made a big circle and got above me, which made him easier to keep an eye on. After hanging all the meat in one of the tree I decided not to pack out any meat. I did this to not to attract the cat and be mobile in the event of an encounter. I just hoped the cat would go after some of the carcass and not my meat in the tree. I walked out and oddly the cat started to walk down with me, matching my elevation. This made me even more nervous. So I said a little pray and made my way back to the truck just fine.

It was about 9:30pm when I got back to the truck and it had been a long day. So I headed back into town for a nice meal. The next day I slept in till daylight and came back to my meat untouched. So it seemed I was worried for nothing. I spent the day boning out the meat and found my bullet. Then started the grueling pack out. I figured I could do it since I had all day and it was mainly downhill on the pack out. I figured it would take about 4 trips. Head and trim meet on first round, back quarter, back-straps and tenderloins on the second round, and finally thought I’m tired and everything is coming out on this last round. So back quarter and two remaining front quarters on third round. The front quartets were pretty blood shot as the bullet went through both shoulders. So it wasn’t too bad.

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On one of my trips out I ran into the Oregon folks again at the trail head. They said they met the guys from Maine and were able to take a nice 5x5. I had a fun trip and made some memories that will last a lifetime. I was extremely blessed to have this experience and it could not have worked out better.
 
Congrats on your hunt.You put the time in on gaining knowledge and you see how that pays off.Its an incredible place to hunt and visit.I drew for the first time in NM this year and filled my tag first hour opening morning.Then I went to see bandelier,Valle bandera,cone rocks.I had a great trip and can't wait to draw again.Luckily my unit isn't super hard to draw and I had the place to myself
 
Outstanding work man that’s absolutely outstanding! You really did your time and it paid off proving that luck does indeed favor the prepared! Congratulations!
 
Anyone got Cliff notes?:D

Hahaha... I know it's long but wanted to paint the picture. Here are the cliff notes


2018 NM Elk Hunt, 1.5 days scouting, 2 days hunting. 6x6 bull down on second day of hunt. Cat watching as elk was quarter out in the dark, Freezer full.
 
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