Main Discussion Area > Shooting and Hunting
Elk hunt thus far...and it's over :(
Mesophilic:
I've got 10 more days on my elk hunt. The first four have been awesome and depressing at the same time.
Pros: The scenery up here in the Santa Fe National Forest, near the Valles Caldera in NM is amazing. I really wish I'd had my big Nikon instead of my phone yesterday. In the rainbow pic below, I swear thats the closest I've ever been to the end of a rainbow, it appeared to touch down less than 100 yards in front of me. Yesterday watched a herd in the caldera, 41 head including a beautiful trophy bull and a younger 2x2 (or 4 point depending on how you score). But alas, the caldera is protected and not part of my unit. I'll post a pic but the cell didnt do nearly as good a job as with the rainbows...just look for the little tan dots ;)
Cons: I have yet to see an elk in my hunting unit. Plenty of scat but the rain keeps washing away tracks each day and making the turds seem fresher than they might otherwise be , and I'm not seeing any fresh tracks after the rains either. Getting pretty dispirited and hard to keep up the motivation. The rut hasn't started and bugling may be more harm than good. Haven't been able to even get any response with a cow call. I've put in so many miles on foot, going on little sleep, that I'm exhausted and getting sloppy so I'm going to take tomorrow off. Also tons of campers and hikers in the area. In fact, yesterday I sat under a fir tree for several hours, 2 of which were pouring rain, watching a draw for the elk to move up it...instead a handful of hippie folks came up it picking mushrooms (my internal monologue was full of profane words that don't even exist in the English language).
I know this is an amazing opportunity that a lot of folks would go nuts over, and I still have 10 days left. But I'm getting pretty bummed at knowing they're out there, but not even glimpsing one in my unit, or even a hind end running away through the forest is getting me down. Hopefully all the city folks have finally gone home from the long Labor Day weekend and the wildlife can relax a little in the coming days.
mullet:
I'd be glad to take over the last 10 days. Take a break and start fresh.
PEARL DRUMS:
Advice from my perspective; be grateful you are there and have the opportunity to use your eyes, legs and mind. The rest is all secondary. Hippies, no elk, mushrooms, rain and rainbows are the smallest part of it.
Mesophilic:
I've never been drawn for elk, been along for the ride a couple of times during rifle seasons and that's a whole different strategy in full rut. Let me ask you guys something, considering I'm hunting tradbow, would you concentrate on putting in miles (on foot) or hunker down and work a smaller area that you know they've been in, even if you can't pin down how recently? Or something in the middle?
Morgan:
Diesel, that capture of the rainbow is stunning. I can’t offer advice on elk hunting strategy, but my personal opinion is that if there’s been lots of human traffic recently in the area, I’d stay put in a spot that has been heavily traveled by the elk, preferably a bottleneck or convergence of heavy trails somewhere and make as little impact as possible. At least for a few days while the smell of hippie washes away.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
Go to full version