Elk Hunting

When this Iowa bowhunter received notification last summer that he had drawn an elk tag for the Gila National Forest in western New Mexico he had no idea he was about to embark on the elk hunt of a lifetime. In fact, he was more than a little apprehensive. Despite the fact that he had taken bulls in New Mexico on two other elk hunts in the area, he knew the drought of 2002 was sure to have a detrimental affect on the area's elk. When the elk are in less than optimum condition the bulls don't grow their best antlers and the cows often fail to even come into estrous. When that happens, the rut - the bowhunters only real hope for a big bull - barely materializes. So it was with mixed emotions that Joe prepared for his early September trip to New Mexico.

The elk hunt started like any early September elk hunt,” said the elk hunter. “It was slow. They checked some waterholes but nothing impressed them. The bulls were very quiet and we never heard a bugle until the third day. It wasn't until the fifth day of the elk hunt that we started to get into consistent action.

The spot they chose to elk hunt that morning was an area where one of the elk hunting guide's friends had found a huge set of sheds in 2000. The antlers scored 380 inches with a spread equal to the shortest beam. The friend, who is also an elk guide, was not necessarily hoping they'd get the bull, but he did say there were other nice bulls in that drainage too.

It was September 5, 2002; a day that dawned cold and clear. As they sat in the truck waiting for light, shapes began appearing and moving around them. They were elk and they were just 50 yards from the truck. The vehicle didn't bother them in the least as they slowly fed down the hill. They quietly got out of the truck and the bugling started.

After an hour they finally caught up with a bugling bull only to find that there were actually two - both 5X5's and not big enough. The elk hunting guide managed to call in two other bulls but they were even smaller. The majority of bugling was coming from a deep ravine on the opposite side of the big drainage but it was too late for them to get there before the action died. Finally, around 10:00 A.M. everything fell quiet. They decided to try to get on one of the bulls on the opposite mountain that afternoon.

By noon it turned overcast and by early afternoon it was drizzling. They found a two-track lane that led right up the canyon and decided to use it. They walked about a mile before the elk hunting guide bugled. Almost instantly he was answered; it was 4:30.

The elk hunting guide and elk hunter began to side-hill around the mountain as they climbed, trying to get above the bull. They had to go slow because there were other elk in the area. Soon the bulls were bugling almost non-stop. They knew we were getting closer as the bugles became louder and louder. The elk hunting guide decided to set up above the bull with the weakest bugle. He told the elk hunter many times the biggest bull doesn't always have the loudest bugle.

They called and bugled to this bull for 20 minutes. He was excited and they caught a glimpse of him down in a ravine, but he wouldn't come in. The only thing that came their way was a small group of cows and they bee-lined it up the mountain. The elk hunting guide said they had to follow them and get to the top of the mountain before the bulls did. That was easier said than done. At 6' tall and 240 pounds with a tradition of hunting mainly in the flatlands of Iowa, the elk hunter is no gazelle. Thank God those cows weren't moving fast.

They were feeding at a steady pace up the mountain. They had been shadowing them for several hundred yards when the elk hunter heard a branch break to his right over on the next ridge. Then a bull let out a piercing bugle. The elk hunting guide and elk hunter dove into action. They stalked to the edge of the ridge they were on and looking down the slope the elk hunting guide spotted a small group of cows. For some reason the elk hunter was looking further down the mountain and saw an antler. Actually what he saw was a set of extremely long front points sticking out from behind a small spruce tree. The bull had probably been raking that tree.

The elk hunting guide whispered, 'Joe, there's a 6X6 behind the cows; shoot it!' The elk hunting guide cow called and the 320-class bull stopped at 20 yards, staring straight at them. When he didn't shoot, the elk hunting guide turned back to the elk hunter with a confused look. That's when he motioned down the hill to the other bull. The elk hunter still couldn't see his whole rack but the elk hunting guide was ahead of him and had a better angle. He also had a set of 10 power Leica binoculars. The elk hunter had a 320-inch bull broadside at twenty yards staring at him - a bull he would have shot under any other conditions - and a larger bull that was standing 25 yards beyond wondering what the heck is going on and out of the corner of his eye he sees the elk hunting guide's hands start shaking violently as he tries to hold the binoculars steady. That moment will last forever in the elk hunters mind.

The elk hunter picked up his rangefinder and zapped the tree the bull was behind: 46 yards. The elk hunting guide looked up and whispered, 'I never saw that bull'. He replied, 'Just stop him'. The elk hunting guide knew what he meant because they had been through this routine a time or two. He still had no idea the bull was world-class, which was probably a good thing. The old bull quickly figured us out and decided it was time to leave. He swapped ends and started down the mountain.

In the same blink of an eye the elk hunter drew back and the elk hunting guide cow called - stopping the bull long enough for the elk hunter to put his 50-yard pin on him. The elk hunter used a vertical pin bow sight from Trophy Ridge because it helps him keep the bow upright on steep slopes and he was glad he had it this day. The bow sight picture looked good so he squeezed the bow release and watched as the red and white fletching headed down the mountain. It was getting late in the afternoon and there were dark pockets in the timber, so he wasn't able to follow the arrow the whole way. He heard the hollow thump of the impact and the bull crashed down the side of the mountain. The elk hunting guide looked up and said, 'you hit him. I saw blood on his side'.

The next few moments were a confusing blur of brown and tan. Elk were running everywhere. The elk hunter is not sure how many cows and satellite bulls were in the group but it sounded like a cattle stampede. They waited a few minutes for things to settle down and then they slowly walked to the spot where they last saw the bull. Right away the elk hunting guide spotted a football-sized pool of blood but there was a bit of stomach contents mixed in. The elk hunting guide said, 'I think you may have hit him a bit far back. This bull is over 380 and we are not going to bump him. We'll come back and find him in the morning.' The elk hunter couldn't have agreed more.

Any elk hunter who has gone to bed with a possible wounded animal out in the woods knows the kind of night he spent. Sleep was very difficult and he rolled around every five minutes. Dawn couldn't come soon enough for him. The elk hunter relived the shot a thousand times and by morning he was confident that we would find this bull. On a previous elk hunt together he had watched the elk hunting guide trail a nice 5X6 bull by his hoof prints until he was able to get a 48-yard shot. He knew he was a great tracker, and he sure was happy to have him along for this one.

They made it back to the first spot of blood around 7:15 the next morning. The elk hunter found his arrow a few feet away from the blood trail and it was covered with dried blood. The blood trail was sparse in the beginning but as they continued down the mountain it slowly started to get heavier. They reached the bottom of the canyon and had followed the trail uphill for about 20 yards when the elk hunting guide whispered, 'There he is!'

As they got closer, the elk hunter could clearly see the huge rack for the first time. Words cannot describe how he felt walking up on such a tremendous animal. He was dead; the 125-grain broadhead had done its job. He hit the third to last rib on the left, the entry side, and the arrow exited the opposite side right behind the front shoulder. Amazingly, it then passed completely through the upper right leg of the bull. The Ironhead had produced awesome penetration. For the first time in his life the elk hunting guide had no idea what this bull would score. He had never seen anything like it. And, of course, neither had the elk hunter. They just sat and admired the bull for a long time.

They took pictures - lots of pictures - and then they began the process of packing this critter out. They had him back at the camp by 1:00 that afternoon. He caused quite a stir everywhere they stopped.

An official measurer from Arizona,  scored the elk hunter's bull 60 days after the kill. He arrived at a gross typical score of 421 inches gross and a net of 404 5/8 inches. The elk hunter is unsure if he will enter the bull. If it is entered and this score is upheld, the bull would be the new number two Yellowstone elk, trailing only the 409 2/8 inch bull shot by Chuck Adams during the fall of 2000.

Elk Hunting Arizona

This Arizona elk hunt was on public hunting land. Such elk hunts are surprisingly affordable (under $3,000) because no lease fees or landowner tags are involved. When you consider the quality of the animals present, this may be the most affordable trophy elk hunt in the world. But, of course there's a catch; getting the tag is tough. Arizona elk permits come only through a low odds drawing. This elk hunter spent five years accumulating preference points before getting his tag.