Just returned from a 5 day muzzleloader hunt in New Mexico. I have to admit it was a lot more difficult than I expected to locate and get on elk. Seems the conditions were not ideal. The rut seemed to be ending as we arrived. Bugling pretty much ended the first morning. They had a lot of rain leading up to the hunt which provided a lot of food and water sources for the elk. A lot of folks said that the key to finding elk in this unit was to find water. That was not the case this year. We also dealt with a lot of wind and some rain.
Despite the conditions, we pushed hard for the full 5 days. I blew an opportunity opening morning which haunted me for a while. We ended up hiking over 30 miles during the 5 day hunt. For our last hunt we decided to use whitetail tactics and setup in a couple locations where we saw elk two evenings prior. I hiked in to my location where the wind was in my face. Just after 6 pm I saw a brown patch in the sage that appeared out of nowhere. Looking through my binoculars I quickly saw that it was a lone mature bull. I ranged him at 186 yds. Got my gun rested on a branch in front of me and took aim. After the shot he didn’t seem to even flinch. I quickly reloaded. This time I aimed right on the shoulder. He folded up on the second shot. When I walked up to him. I saw that both shots had found their mark. A last hour bull. I’m still feeling like it was a dream but I feel blessed for the opportunity.
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Despite the conditions, we pushed hard for the full 5 days. I blew an opportunity opening morning which haunted me for a while. We ended up hiking over 30 miles during the 5 day hunt. For our last hunt we decided to use whitetail tactics and setup in a couple locations where we saw elk two evenings prior. I hiked in to my location where the wind was in my face. Just after 6 pm I saw a brown patch in the sage that appeared out of nowhere. Looking through my binoculars I quickly saw that it was a lone mature bull. I ranged him at 186 yds. Got my gun rested on a branch in front of me and took aim. After the shot he didn’t seem to even flinch. I quickly reloaded. This time I aimed right on the shoulder. He folded up on the second shot. When I walked up to him. I saw that both shots had found their mark. A last hour bull. I’m still feeling like it was a dream but I feel blessed for the opportunity.
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