Well, I guess it all started back in June when we learned that my 13 year old daughter, Daylin, had drawn a youth elk tag. After successfuly compeleting her Hunter's Education class when she was 11, she had flat struck out the previous two years of applying for elk and deer in NM. Her third time applying was definitely a charm, as she drew her 1st choice elk tag.
Daylin, my brother Chris, and myself made several scouting/camping trips throughout the summer to familiarize ourselves with the area. As the scouting trips passed by, we slowly began finding some really nice bulls. Things were looking up as the hunt drew closer and closer.
Before we knew it, the alarm clock was sounding at 3:45am the morning of the opener. By 4:30 am, we were on the trail hiking into one of the core areas we had scouted. An hour before sunrise, we had bulls bugling in all directions. As the sun came up, the bugling continued and we attempted a silent stalk on what sounded like an extremely aggressive herd bull. We ended up stalking within 85 yds of this bull, but could never get a clear view of his rack or a clean shooting lane for Daylin. We had 3 different bulls come in on us that morning, but we could never get a good look or shot opportunity. The wind started swirling around 10am, so we decided to quietly back out of there and return in the evening.
That afternoon we started our hike back into the area and about half way up the mountain I could already hear two bulls bugling right where I expected them to be. We had the wind in our favor, so we slowly took our time and silently stalked to within 300yds of this bugling bull and his 12-15 cows. After glassing the hillside intensely for 45 minutes, I was finally able to locate this bull tucked up in the dark timber. He slowly worked his way out of the dark timber and presented Daylin with a great broadside shot opportunity at 279 yds. She was setup on shooting sticks and calmly touched off her first round. I was fairly confident she connected on her first shot, but I told her to shot again. Her second shot dropped the bull right in his tracks. When we walked up on him, both her shots were about 2" apart and right through the lungs. We field dressed him that evening and got back to the trailhead around 10pm. The next morning we went back in with horses (thanks John and Ana) and got him packed off the mountain by 11am. For all that helped us this hunt (in particular NMPaul), my daughter and I would like to thank you. It was a great hunt that both of us will remember for a long time.
Daylin, my brother Chris, and myself made several scouting/camping trips throughout the summer to familiarize ourselves with the area. As the scouting trips passed by, we slowly began finding some really nice bulls. Things were looking up as the hunt drew closer and closer.
Before we knew it, the alarm clock was sounding at 3:45am the morning of the opener. By 4:30 am, we were on the trail hiking into one of the core areas we had scouted. An hour before sunrise, we had bulls bugling in all directions. As the sun came up, the bugling continued and we attempted a silent stalk on what sounded like an extremely aggressive herd bull. We ended up stalking within 85 yds of this bull, but could never get a clear view of his rack or a clean shooting lane for Daylin. We had 3 different bulls come in on us that morning, but we could never get a good look or shot opportunity. The wind started swirling around 10am, so we decided to quietly back out of there and return in the evening.
That afternoon we started our hike back into the area and about half way up the mountain I could already hear two bulls bugling right where I expected them to be. We had the wind in our favor, so we slowly took our time and silently stalked to within 300yds of this bugling bull and his 12-15 cows. After glassing the hillside intensely for 45 minutes, I was finally able to locate this bull tucked up in the dark timber. He slowly worked his way out of the dark timber and presented Daylin with a great broadside shot opportunity at 279 yds. She was setup on shooting sticks and calmly touched off her first round. I was fairly confident she connected on her first shot, but I told her to shot again. Her second shot dropped the bull right in his tracks. When we walked up on him, both her shots were about 2" apart and right through the lungs. We field dressed him that evening and got back to the trailhead around 10pm. The next morning we went back in with horses (thanks John and Ana) and got him packed off the mountain by 11am. For all that helped us this hunt (in particular NMPaul), my daughter and I would like to thank you. It was a great hunt that both of us will remember for a long time.
