Had a great adventure this past weekend! The GTeam headed out to Arizona for Juniors only Cow Elk Hunt for our first elk hunting experience. My son Joaquin and Gil's boy Timothy drew tags and had been anxiously waiting to get out and see what we could do on elk.
The hunt started long before opening day with much time spent doing research and gathering intel on the areas we would be concentrating on, a big THANK YOU to Shake N Bake for some excellent information. We decided to start opening day at the base of a canyon that we scouted the evening before that had lots of rutting action, bulls bugling til dark. It turned out to be an excellent choice. We positioned ourselves at the edge of the timber and listened for the bugling, it didn't take long before the first bugle. We got the wind in our favor with cow call in hand and headed towards the elk.
As we progressed into the canyon the bugle got louder and we figured the cows would be close. The canyon was heavily timbered and made spotting the elk very difficult. We stayed focused on the opposite side of the canyon that the sounds were coming from,bugling and cow chirps. Not long after we settle in to a spot Timothy saw movement as a bull went across a small opening followed by a cow but no shot as they kept moving. We shifted around trying to get better angles but the timber didn't offer much of a chance and the elk were on the move up the canyon.
With the wind in our favor Gil and I took Timothy and Joaquin to the bottom of the draw to get an upward angle under the timber, leaving our other brother Rudy and Gil's boy Adam to watch from our previous location to reduce sound. This turned out to be a great decision as we got to the bottom Timothy spots an elk about 125 yds up the draw feeding. It was a small bull but we knew there were a few more elk in there and set up in case a cow appeared.
The brush was still hampering the views as Timothy and Joaquin set up for a shot, as we figured a cow walks out but is not in a good position for a shot. Timothy having spotted the cow was going to be primary shooter and Joaquin would back him up but as they were setting up Timothy turned to Gil and told him to let Joaquin, being the younger hunter set up as the primary shooter giving up what could be his only opportunity at a cow. Joaquin's eyes lit up and his breathing got a little faster when he heard this. The boys shifted positions giving Joaquin a clear view of the cow and now just waiting for the proper angle, as the cow turned I told him to shoot as soon as the vitals were in his crosshairs. The rifle went off immediately and cow jerked up from the impact and went down then jumped up only to be dropped again by Timothy who was set-up as back up.
We were all in awe as we approached the massive animal and overjoyed with the success. It was an amazing experience to be part of this and to be humbled by Timothy's generosity to offer up his shot to his younger cousin. I am very grateful to the entire GTeam especially Gil in raising some amazing kids, it took a great effort from everyone out there to make this happen. We kept at it for 2 more days after opener, with a couple of close calls but unfortunately Timothy didn't fill his tag but succeeded in more ways than he can imagine. We will be back for sure as this was a blast! Thanks for your time and GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!
The hunt started long before opening day with much time spent doing research and gathering intel on the areas we would be concentrating on, a big THANK YOU to Shake N Bake for some excellent information. We decided to start opening day at the base of a canyon that we scouted the evening before that had lots of rutting action, bulls bugling til dark. It turned out to be an excellent choice. We positioned ourselves at the edge of the timber and listened for the bugling, it didn't take long before the first bugle. We got the wind in our favor with cow call in hand and headed towards the elk.
As we progressed into the canyon the bugle got louder and we figured the cows would be close. The canyon was heavily timbered and made spotting the elk very difficult. We stayed focused on the opposite side of the canyon that the sounds were coming from,bugling and cow chirps. Not long after we settle in to a spot Timothy saw movement as a bull went across a small opening followed by a cow but no shot as they kept moving. We shifted around trying to get better angles but the timber didn't offer much of a chance and the elk were on the move up the canyon.
With the wind in our favor Gil and I took Timothy and Joaquin to the bottom of the draw to get an upward angle under the timber, leaving our other brother Rudy and Gil's boy Adam to watch from our previous location to reduce sound. This turned out to be a great decision as we got to the bottom Timothy spots an elk about 125 yds up the draw feeding. It was a small bull but we knew there were a few more elk in there and set up in case a cow appeared.
The brush was still hampering the views as Timothy and Joaquin set up for a shot, as we figured a cow walks out but is not in a good position for a shot. Timothy having spotted the cow was going to be primary shooter and Joaquin would back him up but as they were setting up Timothy turned to Gil and told him to let Joaquin, being the younger hunter set up as the primary shooter giving up what could be his only opportunity at a cow. Joaquin's eyes lit up and his breathing got a little faster when he heard this. The boys shifted positions giving Joaquin a clear view of the cow and now just waiting for the proper angle, as the cow turned I told him to shoot as soon as the vitals were in his crosshairs. The rifle went off immediately and cow jerked up from the impact and went down then jumped up only to be dropped again by Timothy who was set-up as back up.
We were all in awe as we approached the massive animal and overjoyed with the success. It was an amazing experience to be part of this and to be humbled by Timothy's generosity to offer up his shot to his younger cousin. I am very grateful to the entire GTeam especially Gil in raising some amazing kids, it took a great effort from everyone out there to make this happen. We kept at it for 2 more days after opener, with a couple of close calls but unfortunately Timothy didn't fill his tag but succeeded in more ways than he can imagine. We will be back for sure as this was a blast! Thanks for your time and GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!
Thanks Danny for all your help!
