Can kids kill elk! Yes, they can!

DesertRam

Director
Staff member
Over the past several years, the New Mexico Game and Fish has made a pretty solid effort to increase the number of opportunities for young hunters in the state. There are designated youth hunts for most big game species in New Mexico, so this spring I applied for several hunts for each of my two older kids, a 12-year old girl and 10-year old boy. Competition for these tags is fierce though, and neither kid pulled a tag. Fortunately, the Game and Fish recognizes that youth hunts are hard to draw, so after the draw is over, they make additional tags available for youth hunters who applied for, but did not draw, a big game tag in the regular draw. These youth encouragement hunts are for cow elk in various units across the state, and are offered “over the counter” on a first come, first served basis. Hunts are scheduled over Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks so as to minimize interference with school. When they went on sale, I was able to purchase a cow elk tag for each kid. The season started the day after Thanksgiving.

With elk licenses in hand, the planning began. First up was to get a suitable elk rifle for my son, who has previously used his sister’s .243 or mom’s .257 Roberts. After a wide-ranging search, we settled on a Marlin X7 Youth in .308 Winchester. We selected this rifle because it is 1) affordable, 2) no-nonsense (boy-proof), 3) handled well, and 4) one of the few youth rifles with a full-length barrel (which will serve Erik well when its time to put a longer stock on it). My daughter Regan typically hunts with a Ruger Hawkeye in .243, but for elk I wanted something with a bit more punch. We decided that she would hunt with her mom’s .338 Federal, which is set up exactly like her .243, right down to the length of pull and same scope. This made practicing easy, since she could continue to use her .243 to hone her marksmanship.

As usual, the kids were busy throughout the fall, so we got a late start on hunt preparations. We had just three weeks to go before we started getting in some serious range time. The kids rose to the challenge though, and proved that they were ready. Both kids have hunted and killed whitetail deer in Texas, so they’re not complete novices. We focused on shooting the rifles from field positions, primarily standing from shooting sticks (Primos Trigger Sticks). I got them some Shoot-n-C deer targets so we could practice good shot placement. By the time season rolled around, both kids were able to reliably put all their shots into the kill zone at reasonable hunting ranges. I was confident that if we could get within range of some elk, they’d be in trouble.

We had planned to depart for elk camp the day before Thanksgiving, but while preparing our new camper for the trip, I discovered that the dealer had not, in fact, winterized the unit as promised and agreed to, so I had to make a last-minute trip back for that service on Wednesday, thus postponing our departure. So, we spent Thanksgiving Day finishing our loading, driving four hours to the Gila National Forest, and setting up camp. We got all set up and had Thanksgiving dinner in the comfort of Mama’s new camper.
ElkCamp2015_zpsagsooufx.jpg

TdayDinner_zpsg7eyizbk.jpg


Since we hadn’t had time to really look the area over yet, I expected that the first day would be mostly for scouting and getting things figured out. I’ve hunted this unit before a couple times with my wife and mom, so I had a good idea where to start looking for elk. We left camp before daylight and were in position overlooking a large prairie that I know elk really like. I was a bit surprised to find no elk there, or other nearby haunts in which I’ve seen them in the past. With the best morning time gone, we spent some time in the truck doing some windshield scouting and checking for sign. We had fun looking over the countryside, watching antelope, and even taking some time for a little rock climbing, but we saw no elk or even anything promising for an evening hunt. So, we returned to camp for lunch and planning. We left out of camp in mid-afternoon, with plans to drive up into some higher, thicker country and spend time sneaking over various points along a long ridge to peek into sheltered areas where I hoped elk would be hiding from the stiff wind. To get there, we first had to drive up a steep, rocky trail more suited to ATVs than full-size trucks. Things were going well until we attempted to climb a long muddy slope, which was much slicker than I expected. With little warning, gravity took over, happily pushing my big, heavy truck right off into a deep nasty ditch.
TruckStuck1_zpseftodehc.jpg


I tried for a while to get out on my own, but soon recognized that my attempts were only making things worse. We were only a mile or so from the main road, so I set out walking for assistance. Luckily, I’d gone only a few hundred yards when some fellows came along in a Polaris Ranger, which we hooked up to the rear of the truck. With just a little tug, the truck was moving again. After many thanks to these good Samaritans, we were on our way. Since they were headed for the same area I was initially aiming for, and were better outfitted in their smaller lighter rig to get there, we turned back and went looking elsewhere for some cow elk, once again coming up dry.

The second day was much like the first, though during one hike we took time out to see if we could call in a coyote.
ErikCoyoteStand_zpsypytephn.jpg

ReganCoyoteStand_zpsysq3xybb.jpg


We had no luck at that either, though it did offer a nice midday break. We also climbed through a nice little valley with water, feed, and some good elk sign, so at least we had a place to return to for the evening hunt.
TroyReganErikCanyonHike_zps7gs8qy30.jpg


After lunch, we stopped in at the camp of some fellows we know from back home. Their boys had been successful on a couple nice cows, and they offered their insight on where to continue our search. One place they recommended was where we had just come from, so I was confident that we had the right plan for the evening. We quickly traveled there, and spent until dark glassing wide, grassy openings and peeking over into a deep, dark canyon. As pretty as the setting was though, again we saw no elk. After two days without an elk sighting, in an area where elk are quite abundant, I was getting a little nervous about successfully completing this “easy” hunt.

Based on the sign we’d seen during the second day, we planned to return to that location for day three and spend some more time out in the canyons where the elk were likely bedding. There were several other really good locations on the way there though, so we left camp late enough so that we could try to glass up some elk there before getting serious. Legal shooting light came as we traveled toward our planned hunting area. Not long after we could see well, I spotted several elk moving away from us into heavy timber. I brought the truck to an abrupt stop in the bar ditch along the road and told the kids to grab their rifles. While they clambered out of the truck, I gathered up the shooting sticks and kept tabs on the elk, which were still slowly walking towards cover. We finally got our poop in a group and headed out towards the elk.

We made a short little sneak and got set up in the shade of a small pinon tree where we would be hard to see. Erik was up for first shot and in short order had his .308 settled in on the Trigger Sticks. I used my custom Orion bite reed elk call to cow talk the elk to a stop. A nice big cow stopped near the top of the hill and turned broadside to look back for the lost elk. When she did, Erik took his shot. Despite all his practice, elk fever got the better of him and he missed cleanly. When I saw the bullet impact the hill above and behind the big cow, I told him he’d missed and to reload quickly. I whispered for him to slow down, take his time, and remember to breathe and squeeze. I got the elk back in my binocular just as he took his second shot, I heard the sound of a solid hit and then Regan saying “she’s down, she’s down.” What?!? No way! There’s still an elk standing in my bino field of view. Unbeknownst to me, Erik had spotted another cow, closer to us and lower down the hill and switched because he thought he had a better shot. I dropped the bino from my face and easily spotted a cow elk lying in the grass kicking her back leg. Fantastic! Since this was the last cow in line, the others ahead of her hadn’t quite figured out what was going on, and were still standing in a group milling around. Seeing this, I told Regan to take the sticks from Erik and get set up. She got lined up just as the elk started moving again, this time a bit more hastily. I asked Regan if she was ready and she immediately responded “yes.” I told her to get ready for a shot at a large cow towards the back of the group, then I started cow talking again. This got several animals to stop again, including the cow Regan and I had selected. As soon as the big cow stopped and turned, Regan sent a 185 grain .338 bullet on its way. We were rewarded with the sound of the bullet impacting elk, which staggered and nearly fell. Regan quickly reloaded and prepared for a follow-up shot, but the cow had turned to face us, offering a poor shot angle. I told Regan to shoot again as soon as she turned, but when she did, she immediately started trotting with the rest of the herd. I kept cow calling, but this time they weren’t stopping, so I told Regan to take her second shot at the elk, which was obviously quite sick had slowed to a walk. With her inexperience, she didn’t lead the animal, and put her second bullet just behind the ribs and out of the vitals. With that, the elk went over the hill and were lost from sight. I was confident that both shots had hit the cow and that her elk wouldn’t go far.

With the immediate excitement over, we took some time to recount the shots and get ready for the approach, and hopefully recover, of two elk. I headed back to the truck and rounded up all the gloves, knives, and packs we’d need. I rejoined the kids and we started out for Erik’s elk, which we could still see laying in the grass, apparently quite dead. As we neared her though, I saw her ear swivel in our direction. I whispered to Erik that she was still alive and we’d need to circle around her and make a finishing shot to the back of the head. These words had barely left my mouth when the cow jumped up and set out away from us at a trot! I told Erik “Shoot, shoot,” which he did. The excitement and fear of losing his elk were too much though, and missed that running shot, as well as another shot after she slowed to a walk. When he tried to reload for another try, only to find out that he’d run the rifle dry, he got really flustered. The elk was still just walking slowly away from us, so Regan told Erik “Here, take my rifle and get a good shoot.” We got repositioned and waited for her to come out of some trees. When she cleared the trees, I gave a short cow call and she stopped, mostly broadside. Erik had the rifle on the sticks and was ready. He’d calmed down a little and I talked him through what would be the final shot, reminding him again to breathe and squeeze slowly. At the shot, the elk crumpled in a heap, this time down for good. We more cautiously approached the downed elk, but there was no further movement.
Erik29Nov2015Elk1_zpsk8uzslrn.jpg

Erik29Nov2015Elk2_zps6rmtqner.jpg


These kids have killed rabbits and deer before, but this first elk was special. I had planned to give Erik a custom knife that I had Steve (Rainshadow of Predator Masters) make for me several years ago. As I did so, I was nearly overcome by the emotion of the morning. I was caught off guard by the rush of pride mixed with a bit of sadness at this moment. Even now I can’t fully describe how the moment made me feel. I would later tell the kids that this day was the best hunting day of my life.

After punching the tag and field dressing Erik’s elk, we set out to find Regan’s. We hiked up the hill to where the herd had been standing when Regan took her first shot. After about 30 minutes of careful searching, we were unable to locate blood in the rocky terrain or tracks in the frozen soil. Since we knew the direction the elk headed after the shots, we slowly started working that way, criss-crossing the travel path while watching for blood, kicked over rocks, or broken vegetation. We made it about 60-70 yards from the location of the second hit when I spotted a patch of elk hide shining in the sun just up the hill from us. With this discovery, I told Regan that she should just run to the top of the hill for a look. She did so and quickly spotted her elk! She too got very excited as she tagged her very first elk.
Regan29Nov2015Elk1_zpszoskv0wt.jpg

Regan29Nov2015Elk2_zpslvycmzsi.jpg


After pictures and field dressing, we made sure we had all our gear and started back to the truck for the game cart. We dropped most of the hunting gear at the truck, grabbed the wheeled game cart that I’ve come to rely on for recovery, and headed back out for the elk. Since Regan’s was laying in the open and in the sun (Erik’s was in shade of a large Ponderosa), we decided to get it out first. As usual, I halved the elk to make transport easier.
Regan29Nov2015ElkRecovery1_zpseyv6m0nl.jpg

Regan29Nov2015ElkRecovery2_zpsogmtzecu.jpg


The deep bar ditch along the road served us well, making loading the heavy elk into the truck much easier than it would have been otherwise.
LoadingElk_zpsypha3s7x.jpg


Four trips later, we had both elk loaded into the truck bed for the trip back to camp. The kids implored me to be sneaky and park the truck where their mom couldn’t see us drive up. They tried to trick her into believing we’d come up dry again, but the ruse was short-lived when she noted the blood and silly grins.

The work was far from over though, so we got to it. I set up the skinning rack on my truck and started skinning and quartering the elk to be put on ice.
ElkHanging_zps76ujwidi.jpg


Not long after getting started, I realized it was beer-thirty, so I broke out my custom-painted Yeti Colster (thanks JTPinTX!) and cracked a cold one while we continued the work.
BloodyYeti_zpswda7h8hg.jpg


We finished the job before dark and got cleaned up. With the hunt winding down, we spent our last night in camp playing games. Turns out the kids really like five-card draw…
FamilyGameNight_zpsoqcdfsgk.jpg
 
Nice work.. wow do i have a pile of questions for you.. (as a dad to a 8 and 10yr old that are telling me they really want to go too.)

Hopefully the AZ kids Elk lottery will be kind to me this next year.

Thank you for sharing, taking the time to photo, and type it up..
 
Awesome read. Took my son (8) on his first deer hunt this year. We didn't connect but I had the best time with him. You really worked hard for your kids and I know they appreciate it. This should be hunt of the month.
 
That's awesome... I know that feeling you described... I have done kinda the same thing with my daughter trailing shot whitetails... I have walked up on them and acted like I did not see it and head the other way, to let her find it herself.. It's a very satisfying feeling to watch your kids get it done... Congrats... Living the dream;)
 
Oh yeah... I like Jeff's trade mark paw print put to use... I don't drink anymore but that's definitely a reason to crack open a cold one
 
Thank you tonyb for reviving this story. Somehow missed it the first time around.

Thanks Troy, for sharing your hunt with us. Brings back lots of fond memories of those first hunts w/my son (48 years ago
ohmy.gif
) and the preparations/anticipation. The anticipation and preparation for the hunt is half the fun and will be fondly remembered in later years.

Is there a deadline on Hunter of the Month? If not, this one should be "grandfathered" in, it's a classic!

Regards,
hm
 
Back
Top