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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 3,639
Campfire Tracker
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OP
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 3,639 |
Tom and I were hunting (either sex) elk on a ranch near Buena Vista, New Mexico. It was a typical five day hunt and we were on the fifth day with no elk in the bag yet. The clock registered 9:30 AM as we came around a flank of pinions and an anterless elk stood crystal clear at a lazered 350 yards.....just right for my .30-06 and it's 180 grain Accubonds. At the sound of the shot the elk simply dropped in her tracks. It turned out to be a trifle high as the bullet destroyed a section of vertebrae instead of hitting lower in the chest cavity as I wanted.....but it was still a DRT shot and I wasn't complaining at all.
That's when our guide, Ted, saw more elk behind her and they weren't at all concerned by our presence and the sound of the shot. Tom immediately picked out another cow lazered at 375 yards and dropped her with another spinal shot.....this time in the neck.....His .325 WSM with handloaded 200 grain A-Frames was more than a match for the cow as it dropped and didn't move at all after that.
Total elapsed time was about ten seconds and our hunt was over. By 6:00 PM that same day the elk was gutted, skinned, quartered, boned, cut, wrapped and in the freezer. We stayed at the ranch house another day to allow the meat to cool in the freezer and drove home. Needless to say it was a lot happier ride home with two (partially) frozen elk in the box of the pickup truck than if the last day of our hunt had been uneventful.
I'll post photos Monday as I'm not home right now.
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 4,669
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
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Nice !! Hope you got to back the pickup right up to the elk. Glad you had a good time in Colorado, come back next year. Bob
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Joined: Feb 2011
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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Molon Labe
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 10,914
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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Posts: 10,914 |
Congrats on bringing home some meat and on a good little story! memtb
You should not use a rifle that will kill an animal when everything goes right; you should use one that will do the job when everything goes wrong." -Bob Hagel
“I’d like to be a good rifleman…..but, I prefer to be a good hunter”! memtb 2024
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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 3,639
Campfire Tracker
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OP
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 3,639 |
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 10,258
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 10,258 |
Ed
A person who asks a question is a fool for 5 minutes the person who never asks is a fool forever.
The worst slaves are those that put the chains on themselves.
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Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 29,628
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 29,628 |
Dang man dems good eats right there what a great time I love it when it all comes together at the last minute like that just feels so right to have the full experience!
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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 3,639
Campfire Tracker
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OP
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 3,639 |
Dang man dems good eats right there what a great time I love it when it all comes together at the last minute like that just feels so right to have the full experience! I've killed four elk in my life.....three of them on the last day of the hunt and one on the last hour of the last day.
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Joined: May 2016
Posts: 3,734
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
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Excellent! Could I get you to post a link to your Outfitter or Ranch Contact? I am planning on a cow hunt in late 2018 myself, thanks Pard!
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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 3,639
Campfire Tracker
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OP
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 3,639 |
Excellent! Could I get you to post a link to your Outfitter or Ranch Contact? I am planning on a cow hunt in late 2018 myself, thanks Pard! The ranch and their ranch forman have recently split apart.....The ranch forman did all the guiding and preparation for the hunt but at this juncture it's not at all clear if the ranch owner(s) will continue hunts. I may be looking for a place to hunt again next year as well.....The ranch owners are good friends of mine and the relationship goes back to 1960 so it's possible that since I need no guide, I may be allowed a tag but that too is not clear..... Sorry but I have no link to offer as I'm not at all sure there will be hunting allowed in the future.
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Joined: May 2016
Posts: 3,734
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
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That's OK, I fully understand how that can sometimes happen. I've hunted places in Texas (Exotics) that changed hands, etc. I was impressed by the sheer size of those cows! My goodness!
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,611
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
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Posts: 1,611 |
That's a great way to end a hunt and some mighty fine eating.
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Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 95,655
Campfire Oracle
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Campfire Oracle
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 95,655 |
Good deal, but you might want to read up on ageing meat un the general big game thread. My Dad fed me a lot of less than tender deer and elk.
Ecc 10:2 The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but that of a fool to the left.
A Nation which leaves God behind is soon left behind.
"The Lord never asked anyone to be a tax collector, lowyer, or Redskins fan".
I Dindo Nuffin
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Campfire Outfitter
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Joined: Dec 2004
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Campfire Tracker
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OP
Campfire Tracker
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Good deal, but you might want to read up on ageing meat un the general big game thread. My Dad fed me a lot of less than tender deer and elk. Thanks for the tip....I'll do just that.
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