A little Pre-elk Season Story.

[Bill Watts II]

In appreciation of all who have bought items from me in the classified helping fund my upcoming Brown bear hunt I would like to share my 2010 New Mexico Gila Wilderness elk with you. Some of you may have already read this story, but I know most haven't. I hope you enjoy it.
 

 

This will probably take a few days to complete. Hope you don't mind.;^)
Anyway, after a dry spell on drawing any good western big game tags, I drew a New Mexico "Gila Wilderness" tag for September 11th-18th. The Gila is a designated wilderness area and motor vehicles are prohibited. Your choices are either horses, or hike in. Horses are evil, so I chose to hike in.

I'll save you all the details on the fitness, but will just say that many, many, nights prior to this hunt I'd fall into bed "wrestling sore", and that being in good condition made all the difference in the world!

I chose to hunt with my Laclair Shrew "lil favorite" recurve. It is a 60#@26", 54", 2-piece takedown with lots of pretty wood that I couldn't even start to tell you what the heck it is. It just shoots really, really good, and because it's only 54" makes me look bigger! I used some carbon shafts that I cut in half to make take-down arrows, and tipped them with 275gr Grizzly single-bev broadheads. (190gr head w/steel adapters) I forgot my quiver, so I made one out of one of my arrows, a piece of foam, a piece of an old kwickee quiver, and some tent cord.

I planned for a 10 day trip which would be a 7 day hunt with a couple days on the front for scouting, and a day on the tail end for getting out. My pack was about 45-50 lbs. (I honestly believe I can get it lighter.) A tent, sleeping bag, air mattress, food, clothes, and various whatnot.

I flew into El Paso, Texas, rented a car, and drove up through New Mexico to the trailhead on the noth side of the unit. I parked the car, talked to a few other hunters rigging their horses and mules, and headed back in.

Here's a picture of me loaded up and ready to go. Notice how clean-shaven and respectable I look, if you would

[Bill Watts II]

Some don't believe horses are evil and use them to get in deep. I met this couple on the way in.
I think they have the right idea on how to access the wilderness!

[Bill Watts II]

At the trailhead I found this wood arrow stuck in a stump.  Seems another traditional hunter also hunted the wilderness in the first season!

[Bear Heart]

How do you make takedown arrows?

[Bill Watts II]

My first day was pretty much just getting in as far as I could to the spots I researched. I figured I put on 12-15 miles the first day and set up camp on a desolate shelf overlooking a deep canyon. I was about 1/4 of a mile from water, and 3/4 of a mile from a set of finger ridges and a killer saddle that I found on my map.
While watering that evening I found this in the sofft mud by the spring. A gentle little reminder that there are other big carnivores besides man who roam these hills.
 

[Bill Watts II]

The first night I had elk coming out of the finger ridges and filtering through camp, bugling all night long. There was no need to scout much because it was obvious where they were coming from. I spent the next day setting up my gear studying maps and stump shooting.
This year I tried some takedown arrows I made out of some heritage 250's with AFC inserts for the male ferule. The takedowns allowed me to carry all 8 arrows in a 2"x17" tube that would slide down inside my pack maintaining a low profile. They were a perfect match for my takedown bow, neither needing a tool to assemble. Four broadheaded arrows and one judo went into my quiver.

 

[DarkTimber]

Just what I needed with 3 long months until September!!    

[Angus]

Originally posted by DarkTimber:
Just what I needed with 3 long months until September!!      

Too TRUE!!!  We suffer in relative silence here...

[fnshtr]

 

More... MORE... MORE PLEASE>>>

I need a fix while the clock ticks!!!

[Bill Watts II]

Pieces slipped together like a graphite flyrod.

 

 

[Bill Watts II]

Perfect pack bow.
 

[Matty]

Thats sweet!  just about 3 months for us here!
Love the take down arrows Ive always wondered who used them and how hey flew, assuming of course that there would be a very stiff spot in the middle..let us know! Thanks

[Ragin Bull]

       

[Matty]

Thats sweet!  just about 3 months for us here!
Love the take down arrows Ive always wondered who used them and how hey flew, assuming of course that there would be a very stiff spot in the middle..let us know! Thanks

[Bill Watts II]

The arrows do fly just a little stiff, but not much.  I had to bump the weight of my heads up a few grains and went to a longer head and that had them flying great.

[Bill Watts II]

First morning hunting had me on a heard bull not 1/4 mile from camp. I heard him while I got dressed. I heard him while I ate. And I heard him while I chased him but never saw him. :^) Actually he was a herd bull with a handfull of cows, but wasn't the biggest bull around so he was not interested in confronting another bull which made locating him difficult once you got within 100 yards. He would answer a bugle with a bugle, wouldn't bugle to a cow call, and if you even so much as thought of grunting at him would gather his cows and flee. I hunted him for three mornings before actually seeing him and could see why he didn't want to fight. He was a relatively young 300" 6x6 that wouldn't stand much of a chance against a mature bull. Don't get me wrong, I would have shot him in a heartbeat, but as skitterish as he was made hunting him hard.
During the afternoon I scouted a bit and studiied the maps until about 3:00pm. I found a nice saddle that was worth investigating and worked my way up the ridge towards it. There was plenty of elk sign, but none of it looked huntworthy-fresh. One of the best pieces of advice I got from a great elk hunter was "that you need to hunt the elk where they are, not where they were. Learn what THAT sign looks like and you'll be in elk!" The easiest sign is the droppings. If they are still "greasy" to the touch then they are no more than 8 hours old. If they are not greasy but still moist and stink then they are a couple days old. Dry and hard are old and just mean that and elk was once there.

As I neared the saddle I began to find fresh sign and then "smelled" elk! I slipped up over the lower peak of one side of the saddle and saw four elk backs feeding in the ferns. I dropped down on all fours and watched until they raised their heads. They did, and all four were raghorn bulls. They were 45 yards away and I deemed them all too small to pursue any further. After a couple minutes I decided that maybe they weren't that small, and if I could stalk within my shot range that maybe I'd shoot one.

Within 1/2 hour I managed to get within 20 yards of all of them. Two sparred with each other and two fed the whole time. Once within range I looked for the biggest of the group. One I stretched to be about a 230" 5x6 and decided that when he gave me the shot, I take it.

It was right then that I realized the potential of the unit was in, and what a BIG elk was! While I was tightening my fingers on the string, a huge bugle came down the high side of the saddle and within seconds a huge 360+" 6x7 appeared. He came straight into the other bulls, who all just moved out of his way and let him pass, stopped 20 yards in front of me, and then bugled right directly at me. I nearly crapped myself. He then moved off to my left slightly and at 15 yards I meant to give him a cow call to stop him, but for some reason turkey-putted at him. Instantly I realized what I did and panicked. The bull didn't. He stopped and looked for a turkey. I was expecting him to turn himself inside out escaping and found myself raising up off my knees, half drawing the bow, and then realising he was still there. It was enouugh of a hesitation that he figured out I wasn't a harmless turkey, but a shook up, unprepared dangerous kind of turkey that he wanteed no part of.

All the bulls ran off and I was left in the middle of that saddle dumbfounded! With all the preparations I made for this hunt the one thing I didn't do was mentally prepare for "the moment" and promptly failed with the first test.

It was a long 1.5 mile hike back to camp in the dark.

In the picture you can see what my breakfast was every morning. A 1400 calorie concoction of instant oatmeal, pecans, dried fruit, and protein powder. They were all premixed and individually bagged. All I had to do was pour hot water in the bag, zip it closed, mix it, cut off a corner and drink the mix. Quite the efficient little system!

 

[VictoryHunter]

[Shinken]

 

Shoot straight, Shinken

   

[Jeff D. Holchin]

This is great - don't cheat us backcountry hunters out of the smallest details, like your pack, tent, sleeping bag, food, water filter, stove, boots, clothes, etc.  We have plenty of time!

[Bill Watts II]

Will do Jeff!

This hunt is a few years old and I have changed a few things, but some things just worked great and I still use them.

 

Here is a view just outside of camp looking op the drainage I was hunting. Every night the bulls would come from my right side, up the drainage and bugle as they would work their way down it to the parks and springs below. I would fall asleep every night listening to dozens of bulls bugling all around me, and occasionally be awoken by one within 100yards of my tent.
The nearest road to where I was is on the far side of that hill in the background. It was about 7 miles as the crow flies, and about a 12-15mile hike.