My brother and I put in for the second rifle elk season in the Gila National Forest, New Mexico and were drawn! Huntin’ Fool suggested we talk to outfitter Gary Webb in this area. We followed that suggestion, and the process went well. We felt confident with our decision. This would be my second elk hunt, both in New Mexico. I had had success on my first hunt with a mediocre 5x5 on our first day about eight minutes into the season, so I was pretty excited about this hunt.
When we showed up, it was obvious that they had good animals, a very nice camp and equipment, and did everything they said they would. Julie, Gary’s wife, kept us very well fed. It was about a three-hour ride into camp, including a steep descent on a switchback trail into the canyon, which was challenging. Combining horseback riding with hunting was something I’d always wanted to do, so for me, this was a bucket list hunt.
On our first day, we emerged from our tents at 4:00 a.m. I learned that my sleeping bag was less than adequate, so on subsequent nights, I layered up since temperatures were a little below freezing. After breakfast, we loaded our backpacks and guns onto the horses and led them out of the canyon. The area we were hunting required us to exit the canyon on a switchback trail that was rocky and quite treacherous, but thanks to sure-footed horses, we made it to the top.
I was impressed with how beautiful the scenery was that surrounded us. I was also struck by how quiet it was. We covered a lot of ground that day, which would have been impossible without horses. Although we didn’t see any elk, I was happy to be there enjoying the experience.
Tuesday, October 24th was typical. We woke up around 4:00 a.m., joining Gary, Julie, and our guide, Jake, by the fire along with the hunters from Texas who were leaving since they already got their elk. Julie was cooking up biscuits in a Dutch oven that would go with a southern mixture of eggs, sausage, tomato salsa, and some other southern tasting goodies to start the day off right.
While Gary and Jake saddled the horses, Steve and I got our backpacks loaded with the usuals – sandwiches and snacks from Julie, a canteen of water, a spare pullover, spare ammo, and binoculars. We walked out from camp a little after 6:00, leading our horses. Jake was in front, followed by me and my horse, Notch, and then Steve was partnered with Mangus. It was a crisp, clear morning with stars shining brilliantly and no moon in the sky. Up until that point in the trip, we hadn’t seen many elk, but the bulls that were taken were very nice!
After about 20 minutes of leading, we mounted our horses and followed Jake. After another 20 minutes, the sun was making its way above the horizon and we arrived at the trail split. We chose the trail to our right, which spilled us into a canyon with many burnt timbers from years ago. Jake was winding his way between the pines, glassing periodically, when he suddenly stopped. He raised his binoculars, looked backed, and said, “There’s elk!”
We immediately dismounted and tied our horses with their lead ropes to the nearby pine trees. Jake snuck through the pines and glassed ahead. He looked back with two fingers raised and said, “Two bulls!” I felt a surge of excitement. I chambered a 162 grain Hornady 7mm Remington Magnum into the chamber of my Kimber Mountain Ascent rifle, following as stealthily as I could. Stepping around rocks, sticks, and logs of that rugged country, I wondered if we would get a shot. Jake said, “They’re about 550 yards away.
We’re gonna run out of cover on this left side,” so we worked our way to the right. We then doubled back because the elk had moved. We were in the bottom of the canyon and worked our way toward the bulls, still hidden at that point.
We worked our way uphill, but the grade wasn’t the problem. My adrenaline and the anticipation had me out of breath. We had worked our way to a point where we were hidden from the view of the elk and were walking fast in a half-crouch to keep a low profile.
Jake said, “When we see them, they’ll be in range, so get ready!”
We were toward the right side of the canyon’s bottom, which was bending toward the left. We rounded the curve, and on the hillside was a bull elk. Jake ranged him and said he was about 250 yards away. I hurried up to a tall, burnt pine tree stump about 10 yards ahead, rested my rifle against the left side, and flipped the safety to the firing position. I took aim and found him in my new Leupold scope. I placed the crosshairs in the center of his vitals, slowed my breathing, and told myself, “Don’t jerk, squeeze.” I squeezed the three pound trigger, and the rifle bucked. I felt good about the shot. I chambered another round and looked for the bull in my scope.
Jake said, “You hit him. Shoot him again.”
I asked, “Where is he? I can’t find him.”
Jake said, “He’s on the ground. You smoked him!”
Walking up that mountain to see him took what seemed like forever. Jake led the way, and when he saw the bull, he turned back to me and said, “You’re not going to be disappointed!” I sure wasn’t!
Steve was so excited. He said, “He’s a monster! What a beautiful bull!” I felt kind of numb. I really wasn’t expecting it to actually happen. It was a great hunt!
We took a lot of pictures with Jake and Steve’s phones. Mine was dead. Jake got to work quartering him and Steve, and I helped where we could. He was good. After he was done caping and quartering the bull, Jake went back to get a couple mules and we waited for him on the mountain. He figured it would take him 40 minutes to get back, 40 to saddle them up, and another 40 to return. He arrived about 2 hours and 20 minutes later. He brought the mules up the mountain and left the horses in the bottom of the canyon. We packed up the meat, rack, and cape onto the mules. Jake led one mule and I led the other down the mountain to where the horses were waiting. We mounted our horses and followed Jake, who was riding his horse with both mules following him. We got back to camp at around 4:00. What a great day!
The hunt was more than I could have expected. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience than spending the week with my brother in a primitive setting, riding horses in a beautiful place, and enjoying food prepared by a great cook.
Login