Arizona Elk - God, I love this place!

Hunting in a downpour is a pain. Filming in a downpour is a disaster.

Left the room at 3:20 this morn. Drove out way north, hoping the tain would be less. It had stopped, so we drove every little road calling and listening. Not a peep.

Then drizzle started again. We crossed a track that looked extremely fresh. For sure from this morning.

With other options, we bailed out and followed the tracks in the sand. Was actually an easy track to follow, except for when they would get amongst the cows.

We followed for about the quarter mile, when the track started to meander and go into thicket cover. We followed into the thick stuff for about two hundred hards. Even in the ever increasing rain, I could smell elk.

I turned to Mason and told him I thought the bull was in this patch, not too far ahead. The tain was now coming down hard. The ground was so quiet. Only down side was the most of the rain made it hard to hear, but hard for the bull to hear us, also.

I was going as slow as I could, while still making progress on the tracks. Mason was right on me geeks with the tripod fully extended and the bulky rain cover draped over the camera.

As I came around the next big juniper, I was staring eye to eye with a six point bull. I can assure you her was more surprised to see me than I was to find him. He stood less than 20 yards away, looking at me with the "what the hell is going on look."

I whispered to Mason that the bull was to my left, looking at us. While I loaded a round, Mason got the camera ready to focus.

Knowing his next breath hung in the balance, the bull whirled as I shouldered my rifle, stepping behind the cluster of juniper. A cow call stopped him, though completely obscured by brush. We took one step forward to find a small slot in the brush. That was all it took. He bounded off and no calling was going to stop him this time.

Having ben in this situation before, I told Mason to follow a fast as he could. I unloaded the rifle and took off running as fast as I couldacross these rolling PJ ridges. After busting a bull, you can make all the noise you want for the next half mile or so, the distance I normally see them run before slowing back down to a trot/walk.

A after while, the bull started walking, but doing some serious loops and zig zags. You could see where he would stop and look back.

Oops, battery dying. Will finish in an hour. Still have my tag in my pocket.
 
Tain, rain, it's all the same. Man, give me a break. My smart phone doesn't have spell check.

Anyhow, as I was writing.

The bull has started to slow down and was doing the normal meander that elk will travel. I was trying to loop upwind, when it allowed, hoping to find him watching his back trail. Sometime, looping downwind, in case he would have doubled back.

None of that mattered. He was heading northwest. The rain was now pelting. Track was so easy to follow, he could have just as well hunt orange flagging on the trees. Sugar sand that had a crust on top from last night's rain was dry underneath that layer. His prints were breaking the crust, leaving dry sand in his wake.

Once more, he cross a group of cattle. Thankfully he was headed downhill and the dew claws left an impression unique from the mess of cattle print left by the range cows standing in the rain looking at us like we were idiots, most of which is a correct observation on their part.

As he started out of this big gentled slope basin, he was not walking real fast. His stride was short and we seemed to be gaining ground. I expected that at any second, I would see the silhouette of bull that emerged from the rain. Visibility was only a couple hundred yards, at best. If we had any shots, it was going to be close. I worried that the camera could not focus very far in this torrent.

The bull turned north and straightlined for the PJ ridges forming the north rim of the basin. I followed as fast as I could. It was flat and thick, but the track was still easy to follow, even when he crossed some areas of rock and gravel.

Finally, the GPS said we had reached the edge of the BLM ground. This was the most visibly posted private ground around and my GPS concurred with the ownership.

The chase was called off. We had trailed the bull for 2.8 miles, jumping him once and getting within archery range. We were now 1.85 miles from the truck, as the crow flies. The rain was getting even worse. Everything was drenched, including my body, but from sweat, not rain.

I turned to Mason and expressed my disappointment that the bull did not give us another chance, or that he did not stand around for a couple more seconds. Mason is very good and there is no way to get the tripod down, the camera rolling, and a good focus in the short time the bull stared me down. Just not practical. Add the burden of having a rain protector on the camera and things are even more difficult.

It was a long wet walk back to the truck. By 10:00 we were back at the truck. Three hours of trailing had not provided so much as a clip of the bull. Such is the world of TV. The cameras were giving us some signals of suffering from the moisture and humidity. We decided to crank up the heat and see if we could sit out the rain and get the equipment back in order.

The rain refused to stop. The cameras got back to order. I decided we would drive to town, grab a quick bite, dry out some gear, then head out in an hour or two. The forecast is for continued rain all day and all night. If it was a small drizzle, things would be much easier. But, none of us can dictate the weather when we hunt and I only have the rest of the day to find a bull. I will be out in the rain this afternoon and evening, hoping beyond hope, that by some great stroke of luck, a bull stands for our cameras while I place a bullet in his vitals.

Gonna grab a quick nap before then.
 
Long term forecast says that some of that rain is headed our way and we really need it. Hopefully it will clear out your way and head over here!

Good luck.
 
Good luck! I think you found a pattern that will work. Cover ground as fast as you can and cut fresh tracks and get on them! I love still hunting in rainy/snowy weather. You can get in really tight!
 
Good luck Fin, hopefully you fair better then I did on my crazy mtn trip. Nothing besides atv's where they shouldn't be and a nice wolf family staying the night with my horse and I.
 
Long time with no update, I hope Randy woke up from his nap.;)

Hopefully there is a reason for the delay in update.
 
Trying to catch a bite to eat before the eateries close. If this wasn't captured on film, people would think I was full of BS.

No elk. As close as you can get without actually killing one. Will tell the story when I get to my computer.

Mason had offered to film the early morning hunt, if I can get him to his flight on time. Love a guy who will give it every possible effort and then some.
 
Thats to bad you have had some tough luck this fall with the last couple hunts hope you can break your streak soon. BTW I enjoy reading your llive hunt updates and following you through the hunt thanks.
 
If this was a soccer match this would be called injury or added time. Many goals scored in the last moments of a momentous contest.
 
Extra innings! Sometimes you gotta swing at the high ones when the game is on the line. Hoping for a successful morning!
 
Hunting doesn't mean killing. Don't let it get you down. Re-group and get ready for your next adventure.
 
I was watching and waiting! Too bad things didn't work out. Great write ups and thanks for taking us along.
 
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