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[Prof. Salt]

I got a cow elk tag for New Mexico and spent a week with family chasing these giant deer up and down the mountains. The altitude makes climbing a bit more difficult that I'm use to, but we got it done on the third day. We watched a pair of cows out past 500 yards in a draw below the crest we were sitting on. It took three hours before the elk decided to walk our way, and at 365 yards the leader turned broadside to us and began working up a draw that would take her farther away from us and out of view.

I set the shooting sticks firmly and made the long (at least for me) shot, and the elk fell straight to the ground. But as I was racking another round just in case, she got up and continued to walk up the draw. When she stopped, most of her body was protected within some thick oak growth but her head and neck were visible. As she stood, I lined up and made another shot. I could not see from that distance but it hit her in the throat ...but still she stood there and I loaded another shell. A third shot turned her around and she walked slowly back down the hill before collapsing behind some junipers. Elk are not easy animals to put down, and once we climbed down to her I could see that the first shot had broken one shoulder (later I found it had also broken the body of one spine bone). The second shot went through her neck, opening up blood vessels that would have made a blood trail short and easy to follow. The third shot was off the mark and hit her in the lower jaw. While she was standing I could hear the guide's advice in my head: fire until the elk is down. So I did.

We descended the mountain to that area and within a few minutes located the elk. After a few quick photos I got busy field-dressing my prize. I had never been left alone to dress out an elk and man are they big! I'm 6'4" tall and my long arms were almost not long enough to reach forward and remove the heart and wind pipe. Eventually I got the job done, without spilling anything that wasn't supposed to be spilled, and we waited for the guide to come back. He had radioed that my brother-in-law and his son both had elk down, so we needed to wait about an hour for him to get to us. We were happy to wait in the still darkness. The stars were phenomenal, and the milky way stretched across the sky looking like a string of lit up pillows. The comet that I thought was gone was still hanging there with its tail angling towards the galaxy as it showed us its glory. What a view! We stood and watched satellites crawl across the sky as we waited, and time moved all too quick. The guide eventually got there and helped us get the beast to the ranch HQ to hang and cool overnight.

The next afternoon my son got his chance, but when it was time to fire he aimed for a high shoulder shot. That works great on deer, but with elk it can wound them but allow them to run off beyond our reach. This one walked behind some brush so after 15 minutes we slowly advanced while staying down wind and out of sight. The guide spotted her at 20 yards and before Matthew could make a second shot she bolted into the timber. Two hours of tracking a faint blood trail found us at the ranch border fence, where she had jumped into the neighbor's ranch. That was the end of my boy's hunt with a painful lesson learned.

If you ever get the chance to go on an elk hunt, take it. The animals are big and tough (and delicious), and you will earn any chance you get at them. The views, adventure and comradery will stay with you for a lifetime!


Glassing early in the morning for elk in the draws below us.


I was happy to have a good one down, but it was a lot of work making it happen!


Matthew watching the elk that I ended up shooting. He had fallen on his rifle earlier in the day on a slippery hillside and we didn't want to risk a long shot with a rifle that needed to be sighted in again to ensure accuracy.


The guide and Matthew watching bedded elk across the valley. We ended up stalking up on those, but it didn't turn out as we hoped.