Gila in 10 Days
- Thread starter Ozzy
- Start date
nuevo_eph
Active member
Agreed - more details!
M
MN Public Hunter
Guest
Congrats ! Pic fix
publichunter1
Well-known member
Congrats!
fishing4sanity
Well-known member
Glad that pic got fixed, I was thinking you were hunting some unbelievably steep stuff. Congratulations on a great bull (first or one of many)!
FLXHunter
Member
Congrat on a great hunt and nice bull!
Wow, I have gotten more hits on this than I anticipated. As requested by some of you fine folks, I will provide the story!
While this was my first elk hunt, I almost felt like I had been before after all the reading, map study, and watching of Randy's videos that I had done. Given that the season was October 21-25, I was thinking about post rut bulls. Thick nasty stuff with access to food. There was water all over the area, so that was less of a concern. Hindsight is 20/20, and we started this hunt way too aggressively.
The day before the seasons started, we ditched the truck at a campground next to some other DIYers who were staying in nice campers. We hiked several miles into the area and dropped camp at the bottom of a steep canyon, hoping it would put distance/topography between the other hunters and us. It did just that! The problem was, there were no elk to be found. Day 1 was a bust. We found a little sign, but not much. Adding insult to injury, we heard what sounded like a civil war skirmish back on the mesa we had decided was too easy and too crowded. For the evening sit, we sat a field next to a river where we had seen some fresh bed down sites. Right as shooting light expired, we saw 10 cows heading up the canyon we had come down. We concluded that they were feeding on top of the mesa at night and possibly through the morning. While the bulls may not have been with the cows, we thought following them was better than what we were doing at the time. We decided we would do one more morning sit and then move camp.
That night, it got down to 25 degrees. If my hunting buddies (I was the only one with a tag) weren't discouraged yet, they were now. We could have been a little more prepared for temperatures like that. It was the first of many lessons learned. That morning sit was uneventful and we began moving camp. Getting back up the canyon was not fun. My buddies had overpacked and they were really paying for it. We spent the better part of the day getting everything back to the campground where we had left the truck and the entire hunting party was smoked. We talked to several hunters and it seemed like almost everyone on the mesa had had success. A big herd of elk had moved through the first morning. I would not have enjoyed hunting/shooting nearly shoulder to shoulder with people, but they all had bulls and I did not. I was not discouraged though. I went up to a hill to glass with only 1.5 hours of light left. It was hard to tell, but after about 30 minutes I thought I saw a few cows over a mile away. Once more started trickling into the field I was looking at, I was certain they were elk. And there were over a dozen. Then I saw him. A big bodied elk pushing all the cows I had seen. He was small through the scope, but once he lifted his head and I saw the V coming off of his head, there was no mistaking what he was. A herd bull pushing what was now over 30 cows well after the rut. I formulated a game plan based on the terrain and where I thought the elk would be headed and hurried back to camp.
I got back to camp eager to share the news with my hunting partners. I could tell by the looks on their faces that they had seen him too. We chatted about the bull we had seen, what to do, and even looked at a few pictures my friend had taken through his spotting scope. They had actually been much closer to him from their glassing spot. So when deciding what to do the next day, I elected to trust their plan over mine, as they had a better grasp on what was going on. I was still worried about other hunters, but it was Sunday night, and most guys had headed home. And I was still willing to outwalk them all.
I tossed and turned a lot that night, but morning finally came. After some crappy coffee that I spilled all over the place, we loaded into the truck for a short drive. From there we walked about 30 minutes to the spot my buddies had selected. It wasn't long after shooting light that we spotted the herd we were after. Not long after that though, they began to move. While still grazing, they were covering a lot of ground on a vector away from us. We decided to try a spot and stalk because we knew the bull would be bringing up the rear and we still had enough time to intercept them. One guy and I went down the hill towards the elk while my remaining partner stayed up high with binoculars, directing us to go left, right, forward, to stop moving, and even updates on the bulls location, all through hand signals. It was the most exhilarating 30 minutes of my young hunting career.
Finally, the bull presented himself broadside between some shrubs. He was still a good ways out there, but I had practiced long range shooting. I was nervous, and a little shakier than I would like on the tripod. My buddy was not helping at all by yelling shoot shoot shoot into my ear. But, bull fever took over and I took the shot. The herd started to scatter and I searched for the bull. My partner with me was saying he was down, but I still could not find him through the terrain. I saw a mass of antlers running behind some cows and readied for another shot. He may have been down, but he wasn't out. It was chaos trying to sort through the elk as they ran through small clearings, now closer to us. There was one satellite bull who when viewed from the side, looked like mine, so I had to be very careful to not shoot him. Once I had another ethical shot at the big bull, I shot again, this follow up shot was more rushed than the first and I believe I missed.
Over the next 5 minutes, the bull ran into a gully about 1000 yards away, while the cows and smaller bull all left the area. The bull never came out of the gully and we thought it was all over. We waited 20 more minutes then decided to prepare to recover him. I stayed on scene while my partner went to pick some equipment up at the top of the hill. As I sat there alone, I still felt nervous, and wouldn't feel better until I saw my bull down. Then, my heart sank as I saw my bull limp up out of the gully and head away from me.
I don't need to articulate what I was feeling at this point, as I am sure we have all either lost an animal or made a shot we were not proud of. As Randy says, the elk deserve better. On the bright side, my elk was in bad shape and it was apparent he wasn't going to get too far. Nonetheless, I wanted to end his suffering. I had to control this desire though, if I scared him too bad, he may use his last bit of life to get in a really nasty place and we could risk losing the blood trail. I followed my elk stealthily and he finally bedded down. Once my friends had caught up (quite a bit of time passed before they understood what had happened), we were able to dispatch the bull and begin quartering him. The pack out wasn't too bad, the three of us were able to get him all out in two trips.
Overall, this was the most incredible outdoor adventure I have ever been on. I am officially hooked on elk hunting! We ended up doing about 50 miles of walking in 4 days. We definitely worked for it. I feel very blessed to have been able to recover my bull after a less than stellar shot. I know there are plenty of hunters out there at this very moment searching for bulls they will never recover. I also feel lucky to have had such an opportunity on my first elk hunt. The deck was stacked against us and I was anticipating getting either nothing or a smaller bull. I learned an immense amount that I hope to apply on future elk hunts. A few of the bigger lessons:
1. Be prepared for 10-15 degrees below what the forecast says.
2. Be thorough in your preparation, but be willing to rip your plan to shreds and start fresh if you need to.
3. Practice shooting as it will be in the field. In my training, I shot a lot from comfortable rests that didn't really replicate what I would have to do in the field. Tall grass made the kind of shot I had envisioned impossible. I was proud of my marksmanship before this hunt, but left humbled. The next time I kill an elk, it will be much more efficient.
4. Walking a lot can pay off.
I really appreciate everyone who has reached out to help or just sent positive thoughts my way. This is an awesome community and I am thrilled to be able to share such a story with you all. God Bless.
Ozzy
P.S. A few notes for guys who have commented on the thread:
hank4elk: Don't worry, we got him all out!
MN Public Hunter: Thank you for the pic fix!
While this was my first elk hunt, I almost felt like I had been before after all the reading, map study, and watching of Randy's videos that I had done. Given that the season was October 21-25, I was thinking about post rut bulls. Thick nasty stuff with access to food. There was water all over the area, so that was less of a concern. Hindsight is 20/20, and we started this hunt way too aggressively.
The day before the seasons started, we ditched the truck at a campground next to some other DIYers who were staying in nice campers. We hiked several miles into the area and dropped camp at the bottom of a steep canyon, hoping it would put distance/topography between the other hunters and us. It did just that! The problem was, there were no elk to be found. Day 1 was a bust. We found a little sign, but not much. Adding insult to injury, we heard what sounded like a civil war skirmish back on the mesa we had decided was too easy and too crowded. For the evening sit, we sat a field next to a river where we had seen some fresh bed down sites. Right as shooting light expired, we saw 10 cows heading up the canyon we had come down. We concluded that they were feeding on top of the mesa at night and possibly through the morning. While the bulls may not have been with the cows, we thought following them was better than what we were doing at the time. We decided we would do one more morning sit and then move camp.
That night, it got down to 25 degrees. If my hunting buddies (I was the only one with a tag) weren't discouraged yet, they were now. We could have been a little more prepared for temperatures like that. It was the first of many lessons learned. That morning sit was uneventful and we began moving camp. Getting back up the canyon was not fun. My buddies had overpacked and they were really paying for it. We spent the better part of the day getting everything back to the campground where we had left the truck and the entire hunting party was smoked. We talked to several hunters and it seemed like almost everyone on the mesa had had success. A big herd of elk had moved through the first morning. I would not have enjoyed hunting/shooting nearly shoulder to shoulder with people, but they all had bulls and I did not. I was not discouraged though. I went up to a hill to glass with only 1.5 hours of light left. It was hard to tell, but after about 30 minutes I thought I saw a few cows over a mile away. Once more started trickling into the field I was looking at, I was certain they were elk. And there were over a dozen. Then I saw him. A big bodied elk pushing all the cows I had seen. He was small through the scope, but once he lifted his head and I saw the V coming off of his head, there was no mistaking what he was. A herd bull pushing what was now over 30 cows well after the rut. I formulated a game plan based on the terrain and where I thought the elk would be headed and hurried back to camp.
I got back to camp eager to share the news with my hunting partners. I could tell by the looks on their faces that they had seen him too. We chatted about the bull we had seen, what to do, and even looked at a few pictures my friend had taken through his spotting scope. They had actually been much closer to him from their glassing spot. So when deciding what to do the next day, I elected to trust their plan over mine, as they had a better grasp on what was going on. I was still worried about other hunters, but it was Sunday night, and most guys had headed home. And I was still willing to outwalk them all.
I tossed and turned a lot that night, but morning finally came. After some crappy coffee that I spilled all over the place, we loaded into the truck for a short drive. From there we walked about 30 minutes to the spot my buddies had selected. It wasn't long after shooting light that we spotted the herd we were after. Not long after that though, they began to move. While still grazing, they were covering a lot of ground on a vector away from us. We decided to try a spot and stalk because we knew the bull would be bringing up the rear and we still had enough time to intercept them. One guy and I went down the hill towards the elk while my remaining partner stayed up high with binoculars, directing us to go left, right, forward, to stop moving, and even updates on the bulls location, all through hand signals. It was the most exhilarating 30 minutes of my young hunting career.
Finally, the bull presented himself broadside between some shrubs. He was still a good ways out there, but I had practiced long range shooting. I was nervous, and a little shakier than I would like on the tripod. My buddy was not helping at all by yelling shoot shoot shoot into my ear. But, bull fever took over and I took the shot. The herd started to scatter and I searched for the bull. My partner with me was saying he was down, but I still could not find him through the terrain. I saw a mass of antlers running behind some cows and readied for another shot. He may have been down, but he wasn't out. It was chaos trying to sort through the elk as they ran through small clearings, now closer to us. There was one satellite bull who when viewed from the side, looked like mine, so I had to be very careful to not shoot him. Once I had another ethical shot at the big bull, I shot again, this follow up shot was more rushed than the first and I believe I missed.
Over the next 5 minutes, the bull ran into a gully about 1000 yards away, while the cows and smaller bull all left the area. The bull never came out of the gully and we thought it was all over. We waited 20 more minutes then decided to prepare to recover him. I stayed on scene while my partner went to pick some equipment up at the top of the hill. As I sat there alone, I still felt nervous, and wouldn't feel better until I saw my bull down. Then, my heart sank as I saw my bull limp up out of the gully and head away from me.
I don't need to articulate what I was feeling at this point, as I am sure we have all either lost an animal or made a shot we were not proud of. As Randy says, the elk deserve better. On the bright side, my elk was in bad shape and it was apparent he wasn't going to get too far. Nonetheless, I wanted to end his suffering. I had to control this desire though, if I scared him too bad, he may use his last bit of life to get in a really nasty place and we could risk losing the blood trail. I followed my elk stealthily and he finally bedded down. Once my friends had caught up (quite a bit of time passed before they understood what had happened), we were able to dispatch the bull and begin quartering him. The pack out wasn't too bad, the three of us were able to get him all out in two trips.
Overall, this was the most incredible outdoor adventure I have ever been on. I am officially hooked on elk hunting! We ended up doing about 50 miles of walking in 4 days. We definitely worked for it. I feel very blessed to have been able to recover my bull after a less than stellar shot. I know there are plenty of hunters out there at this very moment searching for bulls they will never recover. I also feel lucky to have had such an opportunity on my first elk hunt. The deck was stacked against us and I was anticipating getting either nothing or a smaller bull. I learned an immense amount that I hope to apply on future elk hunts. A few of the bigger lessons:
1. Be prepared for 10-15 degrees below what the forecast says.
2. Be thorough in your preparation, but be willing to rip your plan to shreds and start fresh if you need to.
3. Practice shooting as it will be in the field. In my training, I shot a lot from comfortable rests that didn't really replicate what I would have to do in the field. Tall grass made the kind of shot I had envisioned impossible. I was proud of my marksmanship before this hunt, but left humbled. The next time I kill an elk, it will be much more efficient.
4. Walking a lot can pay off.
I really appreciate everyone who has reached out to help or just sent positive thoughts my way. This is an awesome community and I am thrilled to be able to share such a story with you all. God Bless.
Ozzy
P.S. A few notes for guys who have commented on the thread:
hank4elk: Don't worry, we got him all out!
MN Public Hunter: Thank you for the pic fix!
nuevo_eph
Active member
Well done! Yes, practice a lot of kneeling and improvised rest shooting. That was a takeaway for me last year as well. I don't even shoot from the bench anymore unless sighting in.
Good luck! Let us know how you make out. Which state?
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