I know all the big game hunt seasons are not over, but I thought I would resurrect the thread from earlier this year to see how everyone has done so far.
Turkey season was a bust. Because of COVID, the Caldera was closed to vehicle access. I hiked in 8 miles and sat a pond half way up Redondo Peak. Tried setup after setup and never saw sign of or heard the first turkey. I think they had just not moved in yet. I hunted high and low. Nothing.
A friend gave me a landowner tag for archery elk, which allowed me to hunt in September. Had a great time and shot a big spike. Got to watch some HUGE elk do their thing for two weeks.
Attached FileMy daughter had her rifle bull hunt on the Caldera in mid October. We hunted hard every day, hiking between 10 and 14 miles a day. She got her bull on the evening of the third day. Again, got to watch a LOT of elk and spent some great time together outdoors. The bulls were still screaming and very active.
Attached File Attached FileI skipped my muzzy deer hunt to take my nephew on his elk hunt the last week of October. It was on the same private property I hunted in September. But this time the elk were just gone. There had been a lot of odd occurrences on the property and nearby. Including a bull getting poached on the refuge adjoining the property.
I ended up guiding a young hunter for his first ever elk hunt, along with his Father, on the same private property. We could not have asked for a better hunt. We were into elk within 10 minutes of hunting the first afternoon. They were a little further than he was comfortable shooting, so we just sat and watched it all happen. Ended up with about 40 elk coming out just out of range. Then a parade of javelina, deer, and coyotes. All the way up until shooting time ended. The next morning, he got his cow within a few minutes of the start of shooting time. Good kid and I got to enjoy spending some time with some great people.
Attached FileI have one more elk hunt to guide and then I will focus more on bird hunting. Hope everyone has had some fun hunts with some great stories to tell.