12Ring
New member
Well I was lucky enough to draw a either sex tag in the Gila National Forest in my home state of NM. The Gila is a place like no other. It can look like a rocky rain forest at times or a rocky desert. It is always beautiful though.
It's not very often that I draw a tag in the area that I drew, so I decided to take the full two weeks off work. Good thing my wife is cool and knows the deal when it comes to hunting. Either I am trapped indoors during the September elk rut where I'm miserable and wishing I was out chasing bugling elk or she tells me to get out of the house and get into the mountains.
I am a die hard archery hunter and hunt everything except predators, exclusively with archery tackle. I shoot my bow year round to be prepared to take those longer shots that us Western hunters have to take from time to time. It paid off this year.
I had a few close encounters with bull in the first few days of the hunt but wasn't able to get it done. On the fifth day of my hunt, I was slowly walking when I spotted some turkeys. It was 5 hens and 7 chicks. ( I don't even know if they are called chicks.) Well they were just clucking along when a coyote buzzed by them and broke up the flock. I quickly lip squeaked and the coyote came into about 30 yards to quickly for me to even get an arrow on. He spooked out so I hurried to put on a arrow and lip squeaked again. He came bolting in and stopped at what I estimated 35 yards. I gapped my 30 and 40 pin and squeezed the trigger. I heard a loud thump followed for a loud crack.
When I got to where he was standing I saw my arrow all full of blood and broken. Did I mention it is rocky everywhere in the Gila. Good luck not breaking an arrow out there if you shoot. I started tracking the coyote and it didn't take long to find him. He was piled up about 50 yards away. I was all proud of myself for the shot placement I put on him. This was my first archery coyote.
Back to chasing bugling bulls. Days went by with lots of shot opportunities where I passed on cows, spikes and small bulls.
The tenth morning me and my buddy were in between tow big bulls at only 45 yards and 35 yards with not shot at either of them for either of us. One of them was a true GIANT.
That evening my buddy decided to sit water and I decided to go after bugling bulls. After a mile and a half hike I finally heard a few bugling in the distance. I got to with in about 400 yards and tried to call one in but not takers. One of the bull was in a better spot to stalk because of the wind so I decided to go after him.
I spotted him at about 250 yards raking a tree. I mapped out my plan of attack and started leap frogging from tree to tree. I got to my last tree of cover and ranged him a t 51 yards and he was quartering away perfectly. Right when I started to draw he stopped raking and started walking straight right so he was still 50 yards away. I drew when his head was behind a bush and cow called when he was in my little shooting lane. He stopped with part of the bush covering the shoulder so I leaned out a little, hugged my pin on the crease and let it fly.
I heard a loud crack and I thought I must have hit leg bone. I was wrong. The crack was the arrow hitting the offside shoulder. He snapped off the arrow and went about 10 yards. He coughed twice and I saw blood squirt out of the entrance hole. I knew he was done at that point. I watched him go another 10 yards or so before he started doing the little dance and then he went down.
It was a great two weeks in some of the most rugged country NM has to offer. I love New Mexico.
It's not very often that I draw a tag in the area that I drew, so I decided to take the full two weeks off work. Good thing my wife is cool and knows the deal when it comes to hunting. Either I am trapped indoors during the September elk rut where I'm miserable and wishing I was out chasing bugling elk or she tells me to get out of the house and get into the mountains.
I am a die hard archery hunter and hunt everything except predators, exclusively with archery tackle. I shoot my bow year round to be prepared to take those longer shots that us Western hunters have to take from time to time. It paid off this year.
I had a few close encounters with bull in the first few days of the hunt but wasn't able to get it done. On the fifth day of my hunt, I was slowly walking when I spotted some turkeys. It was 5 hens and 7 chicks. ( I don't even know if they are called chicks.) Well they were just clucking along when a coyote buzzed by them and broke up the flock. I quickly lip squeaked and the coyote came into about 30 yards to quickly for me to even get an arrow on. He spooked out so I hurried to put on a arrow and lip squeaked again. He came bolting in and stopped at what I estimated 35 yards. I gapped my 30 and 40 pin and squeezed the trigger. I heard a loud thump followed for a loud crack.
When I got to where he was standing I saw my arrow all full of blood and broken. Did I mention it is rocky everywhere in the Gila. Good luck not breaking an arrow out there if you shoot. I started tracking the coyote and it didn't take long to find him. He was piled up about 50 yards away. I was all proud of myself for the shot placement I put on him. This was my first archery coyote.
Back to chasing bugling bulls. Days went by with lots of shot opportunities where I passed on cows, spikes and small bulls.
The tenth morning me and my buddy were in between tow big bulls at only 45 yards and 35 yards with not shot at either of them for either of us. One of them was a true GIANT.
That evening my buddy decided to sit water and I decided to go after bugling bulls. After a mile and a half hike I finally heard a few bugling in the distance. I got to with in about 400 yards and tried to call one in but not takers. One of the bull was in a better spot to stalk because of the wind so I decided to go after him.
I spotted him at about 250 yards raking a tree. I mapped out my plan of attack and started leap frogging from tree to tree. I got to my last tree of cover and ranged him a t 51 yards and he was quartering away perfectly. Right when I started to draw he stopped raking and started walking straight right so he was still 50 yards away. I drew when his head was behind a bush and cow called when he was in my little shooting lane. He stopped with part of the bush covering the shoulder so I leaned out a little, hugged my pin on the crease and let it fly.
I heard a loud crack and I thought I must have hit leg bone. I was wrong. The crack was the arrow hitting the offside shoulder. He snapped off the arrow and went about 10 yards. He coughed twice and I saw blood squirt out of the entrance hole. I knew he was done at that point. I watched him go another 10 yards or so before he started doing the little dance and then he went down.
It was a great two weeks in some of the most rugged country NM has to offer. I love New Mexico.
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