And so it begins

[Willie makit]

Hello all, am shifting from lurker to poster today , I just returned from my first "elk hunt", I’m from Louisiana and been applying to AZ and NM for a couple years now and decided to go take a look first hand and what I’m getting myself into, lol. I found a stretch of my long off days, cheap flight to Vegas, reasonable car to rent, an AZ hunter ed class and a plan to swing down through Flagstaff area.

What a trip indeed, I talked to a local for about an hour and he gave me some places to ride and look so Idled through a lot of woods roads and did about a 4 hour hike through the woods and got an idea of the terrain and I must say other than the altitude, steep drains and lack of underbrush it is surprisingly similar to here. Think I was 6-7k ft range and was in pine woods that had been select cut some years ago and was really wide open with little to no browse, just what the heck do these elk live on, Rocks? There was quite a bit of small underbrush with stickers but was all still in its winter clothing.

Did not see an elk but saw lots of droppings and rubs that appeared to me to be too high on the trees to be deer, but then again I’ve never seen a mulie either. There were some rubs along some roads identical to white tails down south that I saw. Below is a couple pics from my "hunt", the track looks awfully round compared to what I have looked at online and the rub looked impressive to a newbie flatlander.

[Swede]

Willie the elk forage heavy on grass, brush, forbs, moss and then finally rocks. Watch out for those that become rock eaters. They get pretty ornery as the stones pass through their digestive tract. LOL

[Willie makit]

Whew, Glad I didn't see one then, think this area the menu was down to pine trees or rocks, either way don't think they would've been in any good mood. Did see an interesting looking flowery type plant, petals looked almost like felt or maybe wool.

[ElkNut1]

Willie, welcome I can see the fire starting to burn within, very cool. Way to get out & get a feel for things. The locals can be a wealth of knowledge, very nice you touched on that resource!

ElkNut1

[Willie makit]

Yes, the local guy I talked to was really cool and informative. I actually passed a couple folks in full camo coming out of the woods and by the time I turned around they had gone. One truck had a UTV and a paraplane on his trailer, thats pretty hard core scouting and I'd imagine a blast to do.

Glad I did the Hunter ed (other than the obvious BP) although it was 90% kids in the class it was well laid out and my "field walk" was with some guys around my age from Utah and I got some insight from them as well.

[buglmin]

The guys you seen with the paraplane wasnt scoting, they were looking for sheds. They use the plane to fly low and then radio the location to the guys on the ground. Shed hunting has gotten very big in AZ.
Love huning AZ, but I know I'll never draw again. Plus for a non resident, the tags are starting to get out of reach for the blue collared guys. State like Utah and Wyoming are better choices. But something bout the big bulls in AZ and NM makes ya keep putting in.
What units do you apply for in NM?

[>>>---WW---->]

Hmmmm! I wonder if that is how USO got by with their fly overs. Just shed hunting I suppose.

[Willie makit]

I've been putting in 34 and 36 the last few years, I'm still undecided for this year.
Still debating on using a guide for my first elk trip, time is running short though.

[Magic]

Willie makit, I was out of town and (almost) missed your intro thread. Anyway, Welcome to ElkNut Forums. I am East of you and across the Mighty M.

[Willie makit]

Cool, you can pick me up on your way out west.