Hell yes! Can't wait for the story

Burtron06 said:

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Me and my daughter got it done in New Mexico! 32" outside spread. Will make a separate post but I love following this thread every year and wanted to contribute.

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Awesome on so many levels!!

Congratulations! You killed an elk, something I will not be able to do this year and many others won't either. Damn successful trip, if you ask me!

And Brad is great people! I've met him a few times and stayed at his house and have nothing but good things to say about him and his family. Extremely hospitable!

Oh yeah, for sure. I didn't mean to downplay my elk. I definitely know how hard it is to kill one, especially with a bow. I'm super happy with it. I was more pointing out how awesome that muley picture, and I assume the story, are.

Thanks.

I haven't posted much, because my outdoor life hasn't been super interesting the last few years, but that changed last night.

I got an email saying the tag I had been denied in the draw, with 21 points, had been turned in, and I was next in line. I tried to tell the story in pictures, but they are not working.

I have 22 resident elk points in Colorado. This will burn them. It will be a rifle hunt in an area where the elk will still be talking a lot. I reached out to everyone I knew that knows the unit. 4 people I know had or have archery tags now. One has filled with a bull that would go close to 300. It took me until about noon to decide today. I only had until 5:30 tonight.

I have the tag in my pocket now.

I decided a tag in the hand was better than points in the draw. I have 3 weeks. I'm not in the worst shape. Round is a shape. I'll be walking my butt off, hopefully literally, for the next 3 weeks. Blowing off my job, too. The work will be there when I get back.

Apparently I have forgotten how to post pictures, or I'm not active enough these days. Thanks to both of you for your kind words and congratulations on your elk!

Burtron06 said:

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Me and my daughter got it done in New Mexico! 32" outside spread. Will make a separate post but I love following this thread every year and wanted to contribute.

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Damn. I see a lot of good mule deer. That is a stud.

Todd 02 said:

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All that hard work my boy did getting his hunter ed certification the night before applications were due paid off. We're hunting elk together in October in NM Unit 52. Muzzleloader. Whoop!

Good luck to everyone else checking their draw results in NM this morning!

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Got back yesterday afternoon from our New Mexico Unit 52 elk hunt.

TL/DR: There are few things in this world heavier than an empty cooler after an unsuccessful hunting trip.

I made four scouting trips throughout this summer up to northern New Mexico to learn the unit and locate hunting spots. Settled on an area in the southwest of the unit and planned to camp in a small Jayco that was my dad's before he passed. I started towards Unit 52 on Monday (10/6). The plan was to get a good camp spot before the crowds arrived and work remotely for a few days, scouting in the mornings and evenings, before my wife and son joined me on Thursday (10/9) evening. About 20 miles from Fort Sumner, NM an uncovered belly dump of gravel threw me the first curve ball of the trip.



I got it tarped and tucked tail back home. Glad I found tarp and tape in Melrose, NM as it rained like all get out between Cannon AFB and Muleshoe, TX.

Spent Tuesday getting our fifth wheel packed and drove out Wednesday. Because of the larger camper, we stayed on the east side of the unit instead of the planned west side. The west side is more mountainous, whereas the east side is more sage and juniper flats.

Had a great day of scouting on Friday (10/10). Saw several cows and had a bull at 30 yards. We marked them and made a plan for opening morning.

We woke up Saturday (10/11) to rain and fog. Turns out that was an indication of how the rest of the trip would go. Remnants of Tropical Storm Raymond would affect the area for the rest of our trip. In short, it was rainy, foggy, and windy all five hunting days. We saw elk on every hike but two and could have harvested plenty of cows if we'd had the proper tags.







All in all, we had a great time. We didn't get to punch our tags, but we learned a whole lot and even found a shed antler. As a father, it was really insightful to spend this much time with my oldest boy. We put about 60 miles on our boots over six days. He is well on his way to becoming a young man now, but occasionally still shows signs of being a little boy.



For now, we refocus our attention on Texas whitetails and sandhill cranes…

Good luck to those of you with Western States tags yet to fill.

Todd 02 said:

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Todd 02 said:

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All that hard work my boy did getting his hunter ed certification the night before applications were due paid off. We're hunting elk together in October in NM Unit 52. Muzzleloader. Whoop!

Good luck to everyone else checking their draw results in NM this morning!

---

Got back yesterday afternoon from our New Mexico Unit 52 elk hunt.

TL/DR: There are few things in this world heavier than an empty cooler after an unsuccessful hunting trip.

I made four scouting trips throughout this summer up to northern New Mexico to learn the unit and locate hunting spots. Settled on an area in the southwest of the unit and planned to camp in a small Jayco that was my dad's before he passed. I started towards Unit 52 on Monday (10/6). The plan was to get a good camp spot before the crowds arrived and work remotely for a few days, scouting in the mornings and evenings, before my wife and son joined me on Thursday (10/9) evening. About 20 miles from Fort Sumner, NM an uncovered belly dump of gravel threw me the first curve ball of the trip.



I got it tarped and tucked tail back home. Glad I found tarp and tape in Melrose, NM as it rained like all get out between Cannon AFB and Muleshoe, TX.

Spent Tuesday getting our fifth wheel packed and drove out Wednesday. Because of the larger camper, we stayed on the east side of the unit instead of the planned west side. The west side is more mountainous, whereas the east side is more sage and juniper flats.

Had a great day of scouting on Friday (10/10). Saw several cows and had a bull at 30 yards. We marked them and made a plan for opening morning.

We woke up Saturday (10/11) to rain and fog. Turns out that was an indication of how the rest of the trip would go. Remnants of Tropical Storm Raymond would affect the area for the rest of our trip. In short, it was rainy, foggy, and windy all five hunting days. We saw elk on every hike but two and could have harvested plenty of cows if we'd had the proper tags.







All in all, we had a great time. We didn't get to punch our tags, but we learned a whole lot and even found a shed antler. As a father, it was really insightful to spend this much time with my oldest boy. We put about 60 miles on our boots over six days. He is well on his way to becoming a young man now, but occasionally still shows signs of being a little boy.



For now, we refocus our attention on Texas whitetails and sandhill cranes…

Good luck to those of you with Western States tags yet to fill.

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That last picture is a bigger trophy than any bull in the woods! Great job.

Good stuff, Todd. Glad to see you and your family are doing well.