But what about for turkey with a small gap to opening day and a lot of people buying their carcass tags. Will they have to be picked up at a store, or will they be mailed?
Edit: isn't it March 22- April 15th for the gap from otc sale to opening day. So 24 days.
Also - be a pain to get the sticky residue and left on pieces of tag off horns...
If there is no clarification to Carl's question, and I'm in that situation I will just fold over the notched tag and put it in my pocket, and keep w/ meat. Its designed to rip and be destroyed if trying to undo and reapply elsewhere. This will essentially make my tag useless if one were to attempt to harvest another animal. Next rifle shoot I'll ask and see what the Wardens are looking for.
Actually all apps need to be sent in on or after April 1. :)
I have points for sale.
Good thing Valles Caldera is a zero point draw.
You guys suck!
On a side note, HDE what size bull did you kill?
Would enjoy seeing HD's bull though!! Even a story so I can live it.
I can go camping anytime and its cheap, so basically I put in for good hunts. If I don't draw, its camping and fishing.
Pulled into Cimarron CC the day before the opener to get set up and settle in a little. Wasn't too worried about going and looking around as I had been there in 2013 when dad and my brother hunted it, so had a pretty good idea of where to start (most anywhere you go you'll bump into elk). A few guys in camp I'd talked to said the elk weren't too vocal yet and the first hunt had been a little "tough". Weather forecast was calling for stormy and windy conditions that night and the next day. Goal was to shoot a decent 6 x, didn't have to be the biggest one in the unit. Dad and mom came up that night just to camp and just be there, they pulled in about 11 that night.
Opening day found a nice rain the night before and windy conditions, 15 mph sustained with gusts up to 20 - 25 mph. I went up on the same ridge where dad shot his a few years earlier. When they hunted it, they patterned the elk that year and every morning on that ridge they would come up out of the Valle Vidal valley, go up and over a saddle on this ridge, and bed down on the backside in the dark timber. Like clockwork they did the same thing in 2017. Of course, it was kinda hard to leave elk making noise and carrying on on the side of the ridge I walked up to ambush and get setup on the elk that would be repeating what they did in 2013. Since it was windy, when I heard a bull he wasn't too far off.
As I worked toward the "magic saddle", I set up once and cow called and made a small bull squeal. Like on a leash, a small 5 x 5 came running in and stopped to my left 30 yds away. It was really weird letting him walk. After he had ran off (winded me after enough time to have shot him), I could hear a growler up ahead of me. As I worked down the top of the ridge to the saddle, I realized the elk had already made their way up and were where I should've been about 30 minutes earlier, so I just started moving toward them.
When I was in position above the growler, I noticed I was standing almost at the exact same spot on a logging road where dad's bull crossed over after he'd shot it. I looked down the ridge and a cow was running up toward me with the big bull close behind her weaving his rack in between the trees and limbs. She turned broadside at about 25 yds and he turned as well. As she walked by I started to draw and picture perfect he stepped out with nothing between me and him but air. Problem is, he was on a mission...
I cow called and no stop. I said "hey" and no stop. I followed him at full draw and the cow he was following turned at 40ish yards and he stopped with his backhalf showing, shoulder covered up by some limbs. I took one step forward and as I was settling my pin on him, she moved off and so did he. One more second and cold carbon and steel would've been sent his way. I figured him to be about a 320 bull or so.
I moved up the ridge and cow called again. Within a minute or so, another 5 x stepped out at 20 yds and stood around for a bit bugling and looking for the cow. Wind was in my face this time. That was even more weird to let him walk. He walked up the ridge, stopped, looked, then turned around because he didn't see the cow. Now I had a second chance to shoot him but didn't - never did anything like that before - passing up bulls. A cow then ran between me and him at 15 yds, he turned and trailed after licking his lips and popping his teeth.
The rest of the morning I shadowed the "saddle elk" catching glimpses of the big bull herding his cows. I saw a smaller 6 than he was (definitely a winner for me) go up and over the ridge where they came from and push 3 or 4 cows back over where they were going to their bedding area and thought to myself that I'd shoot him if he gave me the chance. After just experiencing what most of the bigger bulls with cows would do (not stop) and hunting alone so all the elk noises were coming from the shooter (me), figured he'd work just as good.
The rest of the morning for the next couple of hours was a cat and mouse game shadowing the elk, always staying about 100 yds up above them moving along with them. Finally, the elk started slowing up a bit and called the bigger bull to within 50 yds or so, but he wouldn't quite come out of the timber and cross an old grassy chute used as a log drag (probably). Had I had a caller set up 100 yds or so behind me, it would've likely pulled him in closer for a shot.
I crossed the grassy chute, and when I got into the trees, I was standing within 40 yds of the elk, could see cows and spikes standing around doing their thing. I could see the bigger pull moving around pushing cows making figure 8 patterns as he was doing and thought he's fixin' to mess up and get between me and his cows to push them down the ridge. He was about to do just that, then turned up the ridge and circled around the other way. About that time, the bull I'd seen earlier stepped out, and I came to full draw.
At full draw (for about 2 seconds) I thought "should I, shouldn't I?" all the while following him with my 30 yd pin settled behind his shoulder. Didn't take much convincing as he was a good solid 6x and let it fly. Arrow flight was good and saw the arrow disappear behind the shoulder a touch high, but good. He whirled and ran, I cow called right away and saw him stop at about 50 yds and could see his horn tips swinging from side to side as he looked around. Not much longer, half a minute or so, I heard the crashing brush.
I pulled out my inReach to let my wife know and radioed dad that I had just shot a bull. He answered back that he was sitting at the top of hill before it drops down to the creek bottom where I parked that morning. Said he was going to take mom back to camp and come help. Went down to where he was, 27 yds according to the range finder, and started looking for blood. Nothing. Went back up to where I was to make sure I was at the right spot and went back down. Nothing. Did this a few times to really make sure I was at the right spot, I know I was because of the torn up ground.
Finally, started in the direction he ran off and seeing the torn up ground seemed the logical way to go. About 10 yds into it I see the blood, and good blood a blind man could follow. Found my arrow a little farther down the ridge, complete pass through. A short 75 yd blood trail found him piled up. The crashing noise was him going down.
Radioed dad and told him I found him, said he'd start making his way to me. I was about 2 miles from where I'd parked, you could walk on a good admin use only road nearly all the way to him, then a good logging road the rest of the way. Took some pics, skinned and quartered him. When I pulled the last quarter off, dad was about 50 yds from me coming up the ridge. We carried the head and cape down to the logging road and left the quarters and other meat hanging from a meat pole lashed between two trees to packout the next morning. Got back to camp around 3 that afternoon. Cleaned up and cooked up some fresh tenderloin, bacon, potatoes and roasted corn.
Next morning went in with the game cart and packed him out, took my bow along for a bear just in case and nada. Hung the boned meat from a meat pole at camp in game bags and caped him out. Cleaned up (a travel trailer with hot running water while hunting will certainly spoil you in a hurry) and just goofed off the rest of the day. Broke camp the next morning (Sunday) and headed home.
Valle Vidal 2017 - checked!
Ohio, you should repost your story too, nice bull as well!
The only other place(s) that would rival are Valles Caldera and some other WMA's like Sargent's.
All in all I was a little worried about the lack of elk activity described by most. I was told I'd have a hard time sleeping due to all the bugles... not exactly the case. I had visions of hanging elk all through camp.
FYI, it is wise to contact the camp attendant prior to your hunt to reserve a camping spot if you in fact wish to stay at Cimarron. I think a few people were displaced and had to stay at McCrystal.
I tried to jockey a big ol sway bellied bull, he was wide and heavy, but he also had about 50 or more cows with him. He was pushing his cows around on a big bald hillside, quite the sight for a green elk hunter as myself. I don't recall a single satellite in the bunch, the only thing I called in the entire hunt was a spike.
I had a few more encounters with raghorns who never really got spooky, just kind of looked at me and carried on. I did however see several toads, at least 4 with a few other solid 300+ bulls.
The trees created almost a straight line like a fence then broke into more dispersed trees, the bull crossed the imaginary line and looked right at us and bugled then turned his attention back to the raking bull. I ranged him at 51yds, he kept a steady approach and hit a lane and stopped, nothing but air. I draw, I release, and get that sweet pumpkin punched sound... he takes off. The raking bull is confused and looks around.. I still never saw him, but Maria said he was a dink.
Now day light is a factor. We waited a few minutes and went to where he was standing, I kept looking for where he stood and of course my arrow and or some blood. Maria is going the direction she thinks he went, she wouldn't listen to me... women! We find nothing. I know I hit the bull. So back at camp we started talking to some guys who happen to be guides.. they were partying, their hunts were over. 2 guys agreed to help us in the morning.
2 started gridding the downside hill in the direction he left, the other 2 were looking for where the bull was. Turns out I was about 20yds shy of where the elk was, he found kicked up leaves, then Paul starts stooping his head to see under the trees.... is that it, there he is. Sure enough the bull barely went 70yds.
We followed the tracks and didn't find blood until he was 30-40yds away, I don't know if the bull held his breath or what. Then one big splash. While we were taking photos Paul said he was gonna look for my arrow... he found it sticking in a tree!
I found this on a thick hillside JP had pointed me to, the vegetation in some areas is downright thick while in others its just like anywhere else in NM.
