Thanks to all...

O

outtabreath

Guest
Well, I'm back from my hunt in NM unit 52 and I got my first elk! Nothing huge ( a 3x4 raghorn), but I was the only one of my party of four that dropped one. The was my first elk hunt and it was unguided on public land. I just wanted to say thanks to everyone on this site. I read a million posts on this site and learned alot before I left. My main concerns were field dressing and packing the critter out ( which usually means up or down). I learned quite a few handy tricks from this site and was quite prepared for the task at hand. I managed to get the animal dressed, quartered , and hung in about three hours from start to finish. My buddy and I hauled out the head lashed to a pole. It was a very exhausting hike up. Of course I picked the steepest part of the mountain to shoot him. The next morning we awoke to three or four inches of snow. I really didn't want to burn up my friends hunting time, so decided to go start packing myself. The area they wanted to hunt that morning was directly downhill from my elk. I used my GPS to find a spot on the road that was closest to my animal and parked my truck. I hiked up the mountain and began building a travois out of aspen trunks. I figured the snow might just make the task a little easier. After about thirty minutes I had the thing together and began strapping the quarters to the sled. I loaded two at first and then tested it. It seemd fine. I loaded the other two quarters and the hide on. My journey down the mountain began. It worked well, but it was difficult to steer. Several times I had to hike down and clear a bit of a path. When I got closer to the road the slope flattened out a bit and it became increasingly more difficult to pull the sled. Then there were the deadfall sections. That was an utter joy.
I had to stop and fix the sled once. I finally got to a point where the sled just wasn't going to help me anymore. i called my buddies on the radio and begged for help. I really wanted to get it down myself, but enough was enough. They asked how far from the truck. I wasn't really sure, so i pulled out my GPS and got back on the radio. " Boys, I'm 290 feet from the truck!" It took the four of us another fifteen minutes to cover that distance.
Sorry for the long rant, but just wanted to says thanks to all for all the tips ( plus I wanted to tell the story, and my wife is about done with listening to a new elkaholic). Thanks again. Trey
 
congrats on killin a bull from our home state NM!! my cousins killed a small 6x6 bull and 5x5 bull up there at unit 52...on san antonio...of course with a horse!!

but still congrats!! hope to see the pictures!!


vinihunt
 
Kudos on your first elk! Thanks for the story...any pix?

Chef

"I Love Animals...They're Delicious!"
 
Thanks! Yes, I have pics, but haven't had much luck posting them on this site. Anybody want to help me?
 
Hey Man congrats! good job packing the meat out and very smart way to use the GPS; for me is very helpfull.
Elkadict.
 
Awesome, was wondering how you did, great job. GPS are so handy it is amazing.

All your work paid off!

Did the other guys have any action? How was hunting pressure?

DonV
 
Congraulation on the elk.

Do you have any pictures of the sled you built? Would be interested in how that works.

Can surely relate to the comment about your wife. I run into that all the time even before the season starts.

Mark
 
I'll send the pics to Sam. I'll tell you this, if you can pack the whole thing out in one trip then i guess the sled worked out pretty well. Beats spending the entire day packing. As for my buddies...well I guess they couldn't shoot straight. I was the only one in our group of four that took home the bacon. That sure goes along way with the wife as far as justifying all the money and time that goes into it. I felt pretty blessed to get any shot off. For the first time elk hunting I'm stoked that I got one down on the ground ( much less down the mountain). And man are those backstraps good. I'm probably half elk after the meals I've had this week. Thanks again. Research pays off. Cyber-scouting. What a world.
 
bullhead.jpg


pullingitdown.jpg


there ya go-that sled looks like it worked pretty slick.


-sam
 
Nice pictures! You earned that one for sure!

Chef

"I Love Animals...They're Delicious!"
 

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