Until the regulations change, two of us got to hunt the last out-of-state cow hunt from the draw.
We left central Iowa on the evening of Dec 8, picked up the land/cabin owner from WI when he arrived in Albuquerque on the 9th and made it to the cabin in the late afternoon. From Albuquerque, south to Socorro, west to Pie Town and south 20 miles to the cabin.
Day 1, we saw 20 head of elk in one group within the first hour, but they winded us from 375 yards and that was that. We walked about 7 miles that morning b/c my hunting partner was new to the area. He was in awe of the Ponderosa pines.
Day 2, fresh snow, but no elk seen by the hunters. Jim, the owner took a walk and saw a couple head in the afternoon.
Day 3, more snow, no elk in the AM. We took a drive nearly to the top of Mangas Mountain, but it was snowing badly, so we headed to Quemado for lunch. No elk in the PM for the hunters, but Jim saw a 3 cows from 40 yards away.
Day 4, more snow for the morning hunt, but no elk. In the PM, Randy finally had a shot and dropped her from 165 yards. It started snowing again, and I was at a higher elevation about 2 miles south of him and caught a lot of snow. It was ugly for me and all I wanted to do was get back to the cabin.
Day 5, the last day and there was a lot of fresh snow on the ground. I headed out at 6 AM, and saw fresh tracks within a few hundred yards, but by 9:30, I had not seen anything. I contemplated staying in what we called the high meadow for the day, but common sense said "go get something to eat" and go out in the PM. I was thinking about pancakes as I shuffled down a trail on one side of a ravine, when to my surprise, two cows were headed up a trail on the other side of the ravine - about 30 yards across from me. As I shouldered my Encore, a 3rd cow presented a better shot and that's the one I took. At the shot, the lead cows bolted in the direction from whence they came. The target cow haunched-up and did not move. I saw no blood but could not picture missing her. As I was reloading, she bolted up the mountain and thankfully not down into the ravine. I didn't like what I saw - no blood and a pretty spry looking cow headed up the mountain. After I crossed the ravine - no small task - I found her about 30 yards up the hill. I can tell you for a fact that I made a better shot on a cow at 185 yards than I did on this gal from 30 yards. Regardless, she died and slid down the hill pretty easily.
The good news was that we could load the truck that afternoon for our trip home the next morning. We had two cows (whole) in the back of the truck. While fueling in Liberal, KS, my buddy went in for ice. The clerk said, "Are you with that guy in the silver pick-up?" A police car had pulled up and 3 officers got out. I was a little nervous, but they were curious to look at the elk and talk deer hunting a bit.
It was a perfect trip!
Gun 1: Savage ML-II shooting BH 209 and TMZ 290
Gun 2: Encore shooting BH 209 and TMZ 290
Merry Christmas to all from the cob pile.
We left central Iowa on the evening of Dec 8, picked up the land/cabin owner from WI when he arrived in Albuquerque on the 9th and made it to the cabin in the late afternoon. From Albuquerque, south to Socorro, west to Pie Town and south 20 miles to the cabin.
Day 1, we saw 20 head of elk in one group within the first hour, but they winded us from 375 yards and that was that. We walked about 7 miles that morning b/c my hunting partner was new to the area. He was in awe of the Ponderosa pines.
Day 2, fresh snow, but no elk seen by the hunters. Jim, the owner took a walk and saw a couple head in the afternoon.
Day 3, more snow, no elk in the AM. We took a drive nearly to the top of Mangas Mountain, but it was snowing badly, so we headed to Quemado for lunch. No elk in the PM for the hunters, but Jim saw a 3 cows from 40 yards away.
Day 4, more snow for the morning hunt, but no elk. In the PM, Randy finally had a shot and dropped her from 165 yards. It started snowing again, and I was at a higher elevation about 2 miles south of him and caught a lot of snow. It was ugly for me and all I wanted to do was get back to the cabin.
Day 5, the last day and there was a lot of fresh snow on the ground. I headed out at 6 AM, and saw fresh tracks within a few hundred yards, but by 9:30, I had not seen anything. I contemplated staying in what we called the high meadow for the day, but common sense said "go get something to eat" and go out in the PM. I was thinking about pancakes as I shuffled down a trail on one side of a ravine, when to my surprise, two cows were headed up a trail on the other side of the ravine - about 30 yards across from me. As I shouldered my Encore, a 3rd cow presented a better shot and that's the one I took. At the shot, the lead cows bolted in the direction from whence they came. The target cow haunched-up and did not move. I saw no blood but could not picture missing her. As I was reloading, she bolted up the mountain and thankfully not down into the ravine. I didn't like what I saw - no blood and a pretty spry looking cow headed up the mountain. After I crossed the ravine - no small task - I found her about 30 yards up the hill. I can tell you for a fact that I made a better shot on a cow at 185 yards than I did on this gal from 30 yards. Regardless, she died and slid down the hill pretty easily.
The good news was that we could load the truck that afternoon for our trip home the next morning. We had two cows (whole) in the back of the truck. While fueling in Liberal, KS, my buddy went in for ice. The clerk said, "Are you with that guy in the silver pick-up?" A police car had pulled up and 3 officers got out. I was a little nervous, but they were curious to look at the elk and talk deer hunting a bit.
It was a perfect trip!
Gun 1: Savage ML-II shooting BH 209 and TMZ 290
Gun 2: Encore shooting BH 209 and TMZ 290
Merry Christmas to all from the cob pile.
