First off I think I'm the luckiest guy on the planet right now!! The Nevada draw results came out yesterday and I found out that I drew a mule deer tag and the bull elk tag that was my first choice. Muzzleloader 072-074 September 17-30. During all of the excitement of the elk tag I then looked up to see what area I drew for deer and it was 194-196. For all of you that don't know, this deer tag is possibly the best rifle tag that you can get in Nevada. It's about a 1 in 20 chance of drawing for a resident and I drew it with 3 points. Needless to say that I almost had an accident in my pants.
Now that the excitement is at a 9 out of 10 I'm realizing that I've never actually hunted with my muzzleloader and I have no clue what to expect in my elk area. All I hear and read about is really steep mountains and really rugged terrain. This will be a DIY with my buddy and I'm really concerned about the need for horses. Last year my buddy drew a rifle bull elk tag in area 6 and we had to hunt for 10 days before getting a shot. We ended up taking a nice 6x6 at 700 yds and I know that this isn't even a thought for muzzleloader. What should I expect to find during the rut? Do I need to invest in a bull and cow call? Do I need to hunt like an archer with cover up and extreme camo? I believe that it will be a lot easier to get within range of a great bull, but we're talking within 100 yds with open sights. Any help would be much appreciated!!