NM unit 9 - pics - unsuccessful

muleymaddness · Sep 18, 2007

Well - my hunt didn't go quite as expected. I arrived earlier than anticipated, but left earlier than anticipated. My dad began having very bad back and knee pain and we ended our hunt a little early; I know he felt bad. The hunt was tough. I knew it was going to be tough, but what caught me by surprise was the terrain. I was expecting more openness, and more glassing. That mountain is thick! We had a good time, hunted some great ground, got me in the mountains, and I heard my first bugles. It seems like they can erupt a canyon once they start. Unfortunately, I didn't hear too much. I think I was catching the beginning; and I confirmed this with many of the locals who were also very friendly and helpful. I was hoping to have filled the freezer with at least a cow. Lessons learned and next year will be better. We still had a blast even though we came home empty handed and early.

Driving down fs239 - awesome scenery with the leaves beginning to change.

Our home for a few nights with all the necessary essentials.

Me looking over into the Floyd Lee ranch. What a awesome sight! This is where I heard my first elk bugle. It erupted the entire canyon below and just seemed to echo.

Leaves changing color...

Rain moving in.

NMHUNTNUTT1 · Sep 18, 2007

Hey there Cory , glad to hear from you. Wished you could have let the air out of one , but it's tough to hunt that unit. I know two guys who both arrowed raghorns .They said it was pretty tough and the bulls weren't very vocal and those were were the only bulls that they saw. My buddy also missed a small 3x3 bull at 20 yards up on the mesa, kills me to have a bull that close and not make the shot. He was going back and haven't heard back from him yet.Did you guys go over to SM Mesa? Did you see many elk?
Welp brother , you got your first taste of that unit , like I said it's not the best but it's still pretty good. Hope you learned it some and come back in 08....

NMHUNTNUTT1 · Sep 18, 2007

By the way , thanks for the pics of your hunt....Larry

muleymaddness · Sep 19, 2007

We went over to the mesa, but didn't stay long. I figured my odds would be better if I concentrated on one area, so that's what I did. We didn't see many elk. I heard that the elk were still up high with good vegetation from the rains up high and no cold weather pushing them down. I heard bugles on a few occasions, but certainly not every day.

I'll definitely be back. Still planning on where I'll put in on....as always.