sn.outdoors
Well-known member
Average Joe's 2019
- Thread starter Lostinthewoods
- Start date
sn.outdoors
Well-known member
Finally home, spending some long overdue time with the family and getting things cleaned up.
Dan should be getting home soon as well. We had a rough go at it at the end of his hunt, but we had a ton of fun and learned a lot.
We'll get the stories posted as soon as possible.
Dan should be getting home soon as well. We had a rough go at it at the end of his hunt, but we had a ton of fun and learned a lot.
We'll get the stories posted as soon as possible.
Last edited:
SPDSpappy
Active member
Nice rack!!
dirtclod Az.
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And everyone gets a nice soak in the tub to end a great hunt. 
Crossbowguy
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Very nice bull can't wait to hear about all of it!
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Alright, I am home, have a lot of pictures to upload, and a lot of stories.
In a nice way of putting it... this was a very "education filled" trip.
I did some dumb things, had some interesting events happen, but I am transparent so I'll be sure to write it all up!
Let me share some pictures first and then start putting together some stories.
In a nice way of putting it... this was a very "education filled" trip.
I did some dumb things, had some interesting events happen, but I am transparent so I'll be sure to write it all up!
Let me share some pictures first and then start putting together some stories.
sn.outdoors
Well-known member
My wife gave me a firm NO on this spot. It's literally the only remaining wall space "large" enough to fit an elk head. Guess I'll have to do some reorganizing, or take down her ridiculously large windmill piece that serves no purpose nor has any sentimental value... Maybe she won't notice. 
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(Rob’s bull)
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Dorito covered turkey
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Stories later....
dirtclod Az.
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Beauty spot for the Elk head,Take down windmill and head blocks the walkway!My wife gave me a firm NO on this spot. It's literally the only remaining wall space "large" enough to fit an elk head. Guess I'll have to do some reorganizing, or take down her ridiculously large windmill piece that serves no purpose nor has any sentimental value... Maybe she won't notice.
View attachment 115422
My wife gave me a firm NO on this spot. It's literally the only remaining wall space "large" enough to fit an elk head. Guess I'll have to do some reorganizing, or take down her ridiculously large windmill piece that serves no purpose nor has any sentimental value... Maybe she won't notice.
View attachment 115422
Crossbowguy
Well-known member
Good luck with that!!!My wife gave me a firm NO on this spot. It's literally the only remaining wall space "large" enough to fit an elk head. Guess I'll have to do some reorganizing, or take down her ridiculously large windmill piece that serves no purpose nor has any sentimental value... Maybe she won't notice.
View attachment 115422
Crossbowguy
Well-known member
That's a really nice Muley Buck!!!!
(Rob’s bull)
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We aren't forgetting about this..... life has been crazy since we came back. One of my troops got into a nasty motorcycle accident and that is a big priority right now. We will get some updates posted here soon enough!
Crossbowguy
Well-known member
Hope everything works out with your airmen! hope it nothing too serious, and they are back to full duty soon!!!
SPDSpappy
Active member
Your troops come first! I hope they heal soon!!!
sn.outdoors
Well-known member
Life has been crazy busy since I got home from the mountains, but the photos and stories are finally finished. I'll get them posted soon.
sn.outdoors
Well-known member
Looking back on the path which led me to where I am today. Starting my elk hunting experience in this great state back in 2014 was truly a blessing that I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to fully comprehend, but, nonetheless, I’m extremely grateful for somehow ending up in New Mexico. The fair winds of good fortune blew me in the right direction, and I landed in an elk hunting paradise.
-------
As you know, most hunts actually start long before the opening day of the season. With highly controlled tag allocations, seemingly endless numbers of hunt choices, and low draw odds, the hunt in New Mexico actually starts with your application.
Back in March the NMDGF draw deadline was looming, and by that I mean it was only 2 hours away, when I asked my coworker, Alan, if he’d put in for his tags yet. “Nope,” he replied. That’s just unacceptable behavior for someone who lives in arguably one of the best, if not THE best elk hunting states in the union. I already had my applications in for a few weeks and had been talking with Alan about putting in for elk together.
He’d hunted elk in Colorado OTC units numerous times and was able to kill a cow, but had never been able to seal the deal on a bull. I convinced him, with minutes to spare, to add his name to my application. If we drew, we’d hunt in NM. If we didn’t, we’d go to Colorado OTC. My elk hunting goal for 2019 would be to get Alan an elk, preferably a bull, hopefully a nice one.
When draw results came out, we learned we’d not only drawn a tag, but we’d drawn our first choice! A second season archery, high demand, quality hunt with very limited tags. Draw odds were really low, but we were the lucky ones! I was pumped! I’d dreamt of hunting that unit for a long time, and now it was going to be a reality.
After the initial excitement wore off, the pressure of wanting to provide Alan with a great elk hunting experience started to weigh on me. I’d never been to the unit before and being on the other side of the planet, scouting wasn’t an option. Work kept me busy, and my ability to E-scout was severely hampered by numerous technical limitations. It was frustrating, but I managed to narrow it down to two areas. Both looked good and the day before heading up to the mountains (two days prior to the start of the hunt) I literally flipped a coin to decide which place we’d hunt. If the first area was full of hunters or just wasn’t what I’d thought it would be, I’d still have enough time to switch to the other area.
I could have physically scouted the area instead of hunting in Oregon, but I’d rather hunt than scout. I felt confident in my e-scouting, and we kept our expectations realistic. I was going to hold out for a nice bull. If it wasn’t as big or bigger than anything I’d killed before, I wasn’t going to shoot it. I was prepared to leave my tag unfilled if a nice mature bull didn’t give me an opportunity. My first priority was to get Alan an opportunity. My only concern was whether or not I could convince him to pass on cows and spikes. I was confident we’d have no shortage of opportunities at branched antler bulls, and if the elk were going to act like NM elk we’d have plenty of bugles to chase. If everything worked out as I planned, we wouldn’t even have an opportunity to shoot a cow.
-------
As you know, most hunts actually start long before the opening day of the season. With highly controlled tag allocations, seemingly endless numbers of hunt choices, and low draw odds, the hunt in New Mexico actually starts with your application.
Back in March the NMDGF draw deadline was looming, and by that I mean it was only 2 hours away, when I asked my coworker, Alan, if he’d put in for his tags yet. “Nope,” he replied. That’s just unacceptable behavior for someone who lives in arguably one of the best, if not THE best elk hunting states in the union. I already had my applications in for a few weeks and had been talking with Alan about putting in for elk together.
He’d hunted elk in Colorado OTC units numerous times and was able to kill a cow, but had never been able to seal the deal on a bull. I convinced him, with minutes to spare, to add his name to my application. If we drew, we’d hunt in NM. If we didn’t, we’d go to Colorado OTC. My elk hunting goal for 2019 would be to get Alan an elk, preferably a bull, hopefully a nice one.
When draw results came out, we learned we’d not only drawn a tag, but we’d drawn our first choice! A second season archery, high demand, quality hunt with very limited tags. Draw odds were really low, but we were the lucky ones! I was pumped! I’d dreamt of hunting that unit for a long time, and now it was going to be a reality.
After the initial excitement wore off, the pressure of wanting to provide Alan with a great elk hunting experience started to weigh on me. I’d never been to the unit before and being on the other side of the planet, scouting wasn’t an option. Work kept me busy, and my ability to E-scout was severely hampered by numerous technical limitations. It was frustrating, but I managed to narrow it down to two areas. Both looked good and the day before heading up to the mountains (two days prior to the start of the hunt) I literally flipped a coin to decide which place we’d hunt. If the first area was full of hunters or just wasn’t what I’d thought it would be, I’d still have enough time to switch to the other area.
I could have physically scouted the area instead of hunting in Oregon, but I’d rather hunt than scout. I felt confident in my e-scouting, and we kept our expectations realistic. I was going to hold out for a nice bull. If it wasn’t as big or bigger than anything I’d killed before, I wasn’t going to shoot it. I was prepared to leave my tag unfilled if a nice mature bull didn’t give me an opportunity. My first priority was to get Alan an opportunity. My only concern was whether or not I could convince him to pass on cows and spikes. I was confident we’d have no shortage of opportunities at branched antler bulls, and if the elk were going to act like NM elk we’d have plenty of bugles to chase. If everything worked out as I planned, we wouldn’t even have an opportunity to shoot a cow.
sn.outdoors
Well-known member
Now to the hunt….
After a quick turn and burn from the Oregon hunt, and a quick breakfast with the kiddos, I was on the road again.
This time it was only a few hours vs. the 24hrs to Oregon. I’d have a day and a half to scout before opening day. The plan was to get to the end of a long forest service road and see if it connected with a trail that went into the wilderness area nearby. The road was nearly washed out, and had almost zero evidence of vehicle traffic. It was the kind of road that only the dedicated or dumb would travel on…. Since I’m a little bit of both I never hesitated to press on.
I got to the end of the road around 4pm, and the first thing I heard after opening my truck door was… Bugles. Lots of them. I also had cellphone service.
“Welp… I guess this spot will work.”
I waited till after dark to setup my tent and the entire time I was working, the elk continued to bugle. Maybe I was too close… I debated moving back down the road, but ultimately decided it probably wouldn’t matter a whole lot. So I stayed. The bugles kept me up most of the night, and since I had successfully scouted at least one herd of elk with my ears, I decided to be lazy and sleep in till 7 the next morning vs waking up early and walking up the trail in the dark.
Alan was going to meet me in town around noon, so I didn’t have much time to scout and get a better feel for the area. I packed light for the quick hike (a thermos of coffee, binos, spotting scope and my phone…. No pack, no water, nothing) I just wanted to cover a few miles on the trail and see if any of the spots were decent for glassing.
I didn’t make it more than half a mile before my plans were rudely interrupted by a herd of elk bugling up a storm just up the trail. The wind was in my face so I slowly crept ahead until I saw the first few elk. I saw 5 or 6 cows and a really nice 6pt bull, probably Pope & Young at least. A great bull for Alan.
I never made it up to the glassing spot. I did see some really nice bucks though. I couldn’t get a pick of the biggest one, but he was very large. Kind of wish I had a deer tag for the unit.
After Alan got to camp we spent the afternoon shooting our bows and going over the game plan. The plan was super simple… Wake up early, and kill the bulls that kept us up all night with their excessive bugling.
After a quick turn and burn from the Oregon hunt, and a quick breakfast with the kiddos, I was on the road again.
This time it was only a few hours vs. the 24hrs to Oregon. I’d have a day and a half to scout before opening day. The plan was to get to the end of a long forest service road and see if it connected with a trail that went into the wilderness area nearby. The road was nearly washed out, and had almost zero evidence of vehicle traffic. It was the kind of road that only the dedicated or dumb would travel on…. Since I’m a little bit of both I never hesitated to press on.
I got to the end of the road around 4pm, and the first thing I heard after opening my truck door was… Bugles. Lots of them. I also had cellphone service.
“Welp… I guess this spot will work.”
I waited till after dark to setup my tent and the entire time I was working, the elk continued to bugle. Maybe I was too close… I debated moving back down the road, but ultimately decided it probably wouldn’t matter a whole lot. So I stayed. The bugles kept me up most of the night, and since I had successfully scouted at least one herd of elk with my ears, I decided to be lazy and sleep in till 7 the next morning vs waking up early and walking up the trail in the dark.
Alan was going to meet me in town around noon, so I didn’t have much time to scout and get a better feel for the area. I packed light for the quick hike (a thermos of coffee, binos, spotting scope and my phone…. No pack, no water, nothing) I just wanted to cover a few miles on the trail and see if any of the spots were decent for glassing.
I didn’t make it more than half a mile before my plans were rudely interrupted by a herd of elk bugling up a storm just up the trail. The wind was in my face so I slowly crept ahead until I saw the first few elk. I saw 5 or 6 cows and a really nice 6pt bull, probably Pope & Young at least. A great bull for Alan.
I never made it up to the glassing spot. I did see some really nice bucks though. I couldn’t get a pick of the biggest one, but he was very large. Kind of wish I had a deer tag for the unit.
After Alan got to camp we spent the afternoon shooting our bows and going over the game plan. The plan was super simple… Wake up early, and kill the bulls that kept us up all night with their excessive bugling.
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