New Mexico Archery Elk with Fin and Corey Jacobsen

patience is probably the best tool in a hunters belt most times. hard earned bull there Corey. I'm sure that was equally or more difficult on the camera guy to sit that still behind a bush in the beating sun and wind for over three hours.
 
Big Fin, with that wind and did Corey try any cow calls to get him to stand up or investigate? Looks like that may of been a good spot to knock the dust off your Montana Decoy. Do you even use that method anymore?

Given the wind and distance Corey made a heck of a shot, congrats to both!

Corey's theory is that if a bull doesn't know you are there, keep it that way. The other camera and I were tucked down off the ridge glassing some other elk off in the distance, thinking if Corey blew the stalk this bull would head the same direction and I might get a shot. As a result, I didn't get to watch this until we reviewed it on footage.

I think a decoy would have just alerted the elk to Corey. It was a 40 yard shot and he made it count. The second shot was for insurance. When you see the big cloud of dust come from behind the tree, that was the bull hitting the dirt.

It was a long brutal pack out that night, and if not for the burden already placed on the camera crew I would have asked them to film it. Five miles over hills of football-shaped lava rocks. We took the entire elk in one trip, worried about spoilage in this crazy temps and virtually no shade. The camera guys were great help, even though they already carry forty pounds of production gear. Every one of us took a digger of some sort that night. Besides the blood and bruises, the only casualty was a broken camera mic. I loaned out one of my trekking poles to Marcus. In addition to all his hunting gear, Corey had a load that included a boned hind, the head, and antlers. Added to my normal pack, I had a boned hind, the backstraps and tenderloins. Each camera guy had a front and a share of the trim.

We had one more day to hunt, but we got back so late that night and nobody had much appetite for pushing any further just to try fill one more tag. Plus, we needed to get the elk to a cold place, which thankfully Hank4elk here on Hunt Talk was happy to help with.
 
A solid 10 in my book!!
But then I'm biased.
I not only know the areas of the hunt & recognize the landmarks,but had the pleasure of meeting the whole crew. Before & after the hunt.
Love the no music,& can hear how loud walking quietly in NM can be......and how many ankle breakers we do have strewn about.

The smiles were still there at the end,tho strained from exertion. Corey was all smiles still & beet red from that wait for the bull to get up.
Randy was showing signs of the struggle but still had the smile & jokes/comments.
The 2 sherpa/photographers wolfed down supper like the stars & showed the 80 mi trek was as mean as it showed on Corey & Randy.
I got to help a bit with logistics/equipment & as we were loading trailers after supper it's hailing & raining off & on. Corey offers me the meat as they have plenty & the season just started.
Wow,a bonus.
As we are loading my coolers with the excellent meat from that nice bull so they could get on the road for their next adventure ,there is an older local woman with a flat...in a puddle in the gravel lot. Getting dark & cold in the wind.
Without skipping a beat Randy goes right over & says "I got it ,you guys finish the loading" only to be muscled out by Marcus for the task of getting the lady back on the road.

This is who he is. One of the good guys.
Corey too.

I'm celebrating the grand finally tonight with a chunk of BS from that bull for dinner.
 
I get a lot of tv time for the next day or two while I recover. I've tried putting it on the Outdoor network lately. I just can't seem to watch it much any more. I keep finding that I'm grabbing my phone and getting on you tube or a podcast. All of the product placement and editing. You all have a great program with these daily episodes and I very much look forward to the next.
 
Congrats to all on the hunt as this has been one of my favorite series. Pretty cool to see everyone come together to help on the processing (including hank4elk). Thanks for the videos and doing what you do.
 
What a great adventure from beginning to end. Congrats to all who helped. Awesome series!!
 
Nice assist Hank4....cool to hear how this site connects the dots with fellowship.
 
Well Done Randy and Crew! I thoroughly enjoyed that day to day you tube adventure. Seems like NM is a tuff place, that spot anyhow. Hope to see a few more webisode's.... Very awesome! You need a pack goat webisode exclusive.... wink wink
Matt
 
It was nice seeing this as a series and then seeing what you had to cut out for TV. I hope to see more of these this way, it tells the story much better.
 
My takeaway: PERSISTENCE!

Really enjoyed the lack of over production and music....such a large part of hunting is using your ears, greatly appreciated.

Reminds me of my younger years when my father would tell me I burnt more energy in protein in the hunt than I gained in meat.

Oh the joy of a well earned kill.
 
Randy, looks like the move forward w/ your internet presence is proving successful. Takes courage to be forward thinking and take that leap of faith --- kudos to Matthew and others behind the scenes! Stay healthy and go get 'em!!!
 
Loved it, Randy! I would vote for this format over the regular episodes, hands down. I'm always watching to learn something new and being able to see how and why you guys put your strategy to action was cool to see. Also reminded me how grueling these hunts are and why they're worth it.
 
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