Average Joe's 2018

I have some decent 4g where I'm at so I figured I'd pay an update of this adventure I'm on.

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Day 0

I spent the morning of day zero at the bow shop doing some very last minute tuning that I would have done myself, but I don't have the right limb adapters for my new bow. Luckily the shop wasn't terribly busy and we were able to get it back to shooting lasers in no time.

I picked Ryan up at the airport early afternoon and we were headed for the mountains.

About an hour away from where we were planning to hunt, we spotted a cow elk off the side of the road in an area we can hunt. So we stopped the truck and tried to make a move on her, but she was gone before we could get close enough. The rest of the ride was uneventful.

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Day 1

Since we'd never been to the area before, we made the decision to start hiking out of camp at sunrise so we could see what was around us. The plan was to hike in about 4 miles and setup in a spot that we thought would overlooked a lot of beautiful terrain. As I was picking up my bow and getting ready to head up the hill I started to say, "I really have zero expecta...." when I spotted 2 elk feeding in a meadow less than 1000yds from the tent. "...there's elk...... Right there."

I guess we weren't going to be hiking in to find elk. They were right outside camp!



By the time we got to where the elk were, they were deep into their sanctuary of thick new growth. They had a few sentries posted up, keeping an eye out for danger.





We saw a few spikes, a raghorn, and several cows feeding throughout the new growth, and watched them until the disappeared or bedded down for the day. Knowing that they were probably going to stay in that spot for the entire day, we decided to go explore a little bit of the area.

Around noon we sat down to take a break, eat some food, and swap socks after hiking a few miles. After sitting for 45 minutes, Ryan spotted an elk slowly moving down the ridge in front of us. The wind was perfect for a stalk, so we let the elk settle into it's spot, put our boots on, and slowly made our way into it's bedroom. The area was steep, thick with short new growth, and loaded with tons of deadfall.

When we got to what we thought was "the spot" we stood still for a few minutes to look, listen and smell. We knew the elk was close, but couldn't find it. We also had no clue if it was a cow, calf, or bull. After we didn't see or hear anything, we decided to move down the hill a few yards and wait again.

As soon as we took our first steps, the elk stood up and busted down the hill to the bottom of the drainage. He turned out to be a nice young 6 point. He stood at 100yds and looked back up at us, trying to figure out what the heck we were. After he calmed down a bit, we tried to move a little closer, but he wasn't having any of it. He trotted up the other side of the drainage and out of our lives. So close.

After the encounter, we hiked back to the drainage we saw the elk earlier that morning and glassed it for a few hours before we finally spotted the herd feeding. They were in a small meadow surrounded by re-prod and feeding uphill, into the wind. We decided to work parallel to the herd and hope they popped out on our side of the new growth before dark.

As last light was fleeting away, the sound of large animals started getting danger close. We could hear them feeding closer and closer to the edge, but couldn't see anything. We tried to make a move when, boom, there they were. 60yds away and staring right at us. We messed up.

They busted out of there and never gave us a shot. Again, so close.

We ran into another hunter when we got back to the road and offered to lend a hand if he needed it, since he was hunting solo and was going to be in the same area we were.

We hiked back to camp bewildered at how well the first day went. We couldn't believe we got into elk on day one, and had 2 separate opportunities. Even though we never drew back our bows, we counted the day as a success, but it also felt a little too good to be true.

So far so good.Keep at it and you'll be packing meat in no time.Hows the Mustache doin'?

Day 2

We spent the morning of day 2 glassing the drainage we saw the 6 point in the day before. We didn't see any elk, but we did see 12 other hunters working the opposite ridge. No surprise that we didn't see any elk walking around in the open.





Since there was a boat load of people in the "easy" to hunt spot, we decided to hike down into a deep hell hole to see if we could find any fresh sign.



Well... The deadfall and terribleness in bottom of the drainage was way worse than we thought it would be, and to make it even better, there was no fresh elk sign anywhere we went.



There was plenty of old elk sign in there, and it had all of the characteristics of being a sanctuary... but they hadn't been there in a while.

By the time we made it 3/4 of the way out of the hell hole it was about 6pm. We stopped to take a breather and stared at the other side of the canyon. I saw something moving in a tiny meadow well over a mile away halfway up the other side, and asked Ryan, "what would you do if we spotted an elk over there?"

He said we'd go back to camp...

I said, "oh, cuz there's an elk right over there." We glassed up 2 really nice bulls feeding their way to the top of the opposite ridge. There was no way we could make it there during the day, so we packed up our stuff and walked a few miles to the drainage we dubbed Spike Meadow the night before. We didn't see any elk, and finished the night off with a short, but steep walk back to the road in the dark.

We made it about 100yds up the road before there hunter we ran into the way before pulled up behind us. He offered us a ride, we accepted, and asked him how his day went...

Well, his day went a little better than ours, but he sure was flustered and tired from covering a ton of ground and killing an elk many miles away from camp. He was so far from camp that he actually had to hitchhike a ride back.

We congratulate him on killing a bull and told him we'd help him pack it out after our morning hunt. He couldn't believe we would actually be willing to help him out, but we swore we'd be there and it would be our pleasure. We set a time and place to meet up, and promised we'd be there.

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Day 3

We decided to hunt close to camp since we were going to help Ben (the stranger who killed the bull) pack his animal out, and we'd seen a ton of elk so close. So we sat on the hill 200yds above camp, and glassed the drainages we'd seen them in the first morning. Sure enough, we spotted a herd with 2 spikes, 2 raghorns, a decent young bull and a handful of cows and calves. All of them were less than 400yds off the road. We couldn't believe it. All that hiking in the "backcountry" with more hunters than elk, and then we see a dozen or so elk right off the road.

We boogied over to try to cut the herd off before they got into the new growth, but we just couldn't get there in time. The entire herd vanished into the reprod and we lost them. So we walked back to the truck and met up with Ben.







We helped him get his bull unstuck, broke it down, and packed it out of there in one trip. It was fun sharing time and stories with a complete stranger, and helping someone who would have been in a rough spot without a few extra hands.

It's amazing to me how complete strangers can instantly bond over a common hobby. Hunting seems to be one of the strongest forms of camaraderie we share. As long as ego is taken out of the equation, just about anyone who hunts can easily spend time and get along with other hunters.

After we got the meat off the mountain, Ryan and I decided to refill our water, soak our feet, and wash some clothes in the creek. It was a nice break and helped boost our morale quite a bit.



We tried to get back on the elk we'd seen in the morning, but they were gone. Well... They certainly weren't where we thought they'd be.

We saw nothing that night. It wasn't awesome, but that's hunting.

The morning of day 4 was utterly uneventful. We didn't see a single animal. We walked through a few miles of new growth, hoping to turn something up, but couldn't find anything other than boot tracks. So we decided to pack up 2 days worth of food, and head back in to the hell hole where we'd seen the bulls on the night of day 2.



Our plan of attack was to come in from the top, and slowly work down the side of canyon. Hopefully we'd be able to peak their interest with some calls and get them on their feet. And if that didn't work, we would hopefully be at the bottom of the drainage by the time the thermals shifted, and could start working our way back up an adjacent finger ridge.







We found a ton of old bull sign, but couldn't locate any animals. It's definitely an area we like to hang out, but again, the freshest sign in there was boot tracks and lots of these....



We marked a bunch of good spots and decided to not spend the night on the trail because we were feeling a little lazy and our cots sounded much more appealing after doing two 1/4 mile, 1500 foot climbs and not finding any elk. Additionally, we had to leave midday the next day so I could be at work for an important meeting I couldn't get out of.

We didn't get back to camp until a few hours after dark and we were dead tired. So the morning of day 5 we chose to be super lazy and glass elk from the tent.





The herd came back, and was in the same place we saw them the first morning. We ate our breakfasts and walked up the drainage to Spike Meadow, and found the elk exactly where we thought they'd be.

The only problem was the terribly inconsistent wind. It was calm, and the winds were swirling every direction. It was extremely frustrating. We could hear them walking around, mewing, calling, and even heard a bugle, but we couldn't get close.

After driving a ton of miles to the house, spending the night with the wife and kids, going to work, and driving back to the mountains, we were back at it. We headed straight to Spike Meadow this morning, and guess what?



Found em again.

We're currently sitting a few hundred yards above them and waiting them out. The winds are kinda garbage, but we're hoping they'll settle down and do the same thing they've been doing the last few nights. I feel pretty good about our chances of getting close to them tonight. Let's just hope the wind and the elk cooperate.

Well... The winds didn't cooperate. The bulls were in the thick new growth, 40 yards away from Ryan when the busted him. They then ran over to me and skirted by at around 65yds. We didn't see or hear any of the cows tonight, just the 2 bulls who winded us both.

We're going to sit in a new spot tomorrow morning and try to glass up a different group. Its been a frustrating hunt so far, and the elk have not been talkative. We only have a day and a half to get it done, and we'll be giving it all we have. It takes less than 30 seconds to completely turn the hunt around. Hopefully we get those 30 seconds tomorrow.

Looks like some good action at least - keep after em! You'll get a shot!

dirtclod Az. said:

So far so good.Keep at it and you'll be packing meat in no time.Hows the Mustache doin'?

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The mustache must be bad luck.



Had a random group of cows sneak up on me just before noon. Chased them all over the mountain and every time things were looking good, the wind swirled and they boogied out.

We're back above spike meadow, listening to a bunch of elk breaking twigs and mewing. The wind is much stronger today, so hopefully it stays a bit more consistent than it has been the last few days.

We snuck down into the meadow...



But the elk had other plans tonight. Have I ever mentioned that I hate elk hunting? I should say, I hate going into a place blind, not scouting, finding plenty of elk, and then not being able to get on their schedule.

All that's left is a few hours in the morning before we have to pack up and get Ryan to the airport. Wish us luck because we're going to need it.

Six clean arrows that were never even pointed at an elk.



Ryan had a spike walk past within range but couldn't get him to stop in a good spot. Our time here in Oregon is over, and thus marks the first elk tag I haven't filled. I guess it was bound to happen eventually. God I hate tag soup. Maybe if I tag out early in NM I'll be able to get back up here, but I don't think it's going to happen.

I might go sit a spot in Idaho tonight for deer. I need to kill something soon to get this bad juju off.

Curious what benefit using 6 vanes on your shafts gives you? I’m a relative neophyte when it comes to arrow building so genuinely curious!

MN_Bowhunter4 said:

Curious what benefit using 6 vanes on your shafts gives you? I’m a relative neophyte when it comes to arrow building so genuinely curious!

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**I'll caveat the following statements with the fact that I'm not an archery expert, but I've shot a lot of arrows over my lifetime and I've killed a few handfuls of animal.**

The biggest benefit I've seen is that these little tiny vanes have noticeably less wind drift than blazers. (At least, the tail of the arrow stays inline with the head much better in a cross wind.) The vanes i'm using are only 1.75" x 0.375" vs 2" x .57", which is significantly less side surface area, but I should have the same steering power by adding the 3 extra vanes. Also, the x-vanes weigh 3.5gr vs 6 for the blazer, so there's really no point of impact change due to weight.

I'm sure there's a fine-line of deminishing returns at some point. Do 3 blazers work? Yep. Could a slightly lower profile 4-fletch work? Yep. 5" feathers work great too. I haven't finished testing these different setups yet, but I've settled on this configuration because they shoot great and I ran out of time before the season started. I'm honestly just tinkering to see what works and doesn't work, and if I find something that works better I'll use it.

Great story! Tags don't always need filled for a successful hunt. Good luck on your next one..

sn.outdoors said:

**I'll caveat the following statements with the fact that I'm not an archery expert, but I've shot a lot of arrows over my lifetime and I've killed a few handfuls of animal.**

The biggest benefit I've seen is that these little tiny vanes have noticeably less wind drift than blazers. (At least, the tail of the arrow stays inline with the head much better in a cross wind.) The vanes i'm using are only 1.75" x 0.375" vs 2" x .57", which is significantly less side surface area, but I should have the same steering power by adding the 3 extra vanes. Also, the x-vanes weigh 3.5gr vs 6 for the blazer, so there's really no point of impact change due to weight.

I'm sure there's a fine-line of deminishing returns at some point. Do 3 blazers work? Yep. Could a slightly lower profile 4-fletch work? Yep. 5" feathers work great too. I haven't finished testing these different setups yet, but I've settled on this configuration because they shoot great and I ran out of time before the season started. I'm honestly just tinkering to see what works and doesn't work, and if I find something that works better I'll use it.

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Honest answer, thanks! Like I said I'm just getting into the world of arrow building (have always just bought them finished off the shelf in the past) and I find it very rewarding. Seeing the 6 vanes was a new one for me and I'm looking to learn, so thanks for sharing. Great thread and great pics! Sounds like your season is off to a fun start.

Being able to get into elk every day sounds like a lot of fun to me!

LCH said:

Great story! Tags don't always need filled for a successful hunt. Good luck on your next one..

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Thanks! I totally agree. I forget who said it, but I believe it's a common saying that "you never fail as long as you learn," or something to that affect. We learned a lot about that area, and I feel like we just kind of figured out a good plan on how to hunt it the last day.

"We didn't lose the game; we just ran out of time." ~ Vince Lombardi

I’m on the road for New Mexico! I should be in the mountains tomorrow evening or Wednesday morning!

I cannot wait!!!

Elk season is a few days away!

Go get em, Dan!