27October2008
My 2008 New Mexico Unit 16C Elk Hunt With Wade Johnson Outfitters - Prior To Hunting
Posted by Darrell under: Elk.
Fortunately, I was successful during my Elk Hunt and am thrilled to have taken this nice 6×6 New Mexico Bull. As you can probably tell from the picture, the bull has one broken point - which is OK with me as in my opinion it is that much more authentic. That is me on the left and my guide Butch on the right.
Caleb and I had a great time on this hunt and with Wade Johnson and his guides. This was a really fun trip and I am looking forward to hunting with Wade and Butch (my guide for the week) again in the future. The best way to describe the hunt is a simple day by day, so here goes:
Day Minus 2:
Caleb and I left for New Mexico a few days early. I wanted to be able to take my time driving out and enjoy the scenery. We arrived in Albuquerque two days before my hunt was to begin. We spent part of the day at the local shooting range making sure my Browning X-Bolt Medallion .325 rifle was still hitting true. I was dead on at 200 yards and a little high at 100 yards - just like it was supposed to be. The range had some iron targets sat at 563 yards and I hit these 5 out of 5 times which really boosted my confidence. I highly recommend the Albuquerque Shooting Range Park, as it is a first class operation with some real pros running it. I will warn you, however, that it is out in the middle of nowhere!
Day Minus 1:
Caleb and I arrived at Wade and Andrea Johnson’s Lodge in Apache Creek, NM at about 11:30 the day before our hunt was to begin. Andrea had went to the store for supplies and Wade was out in the mountains with his guides scouting. I wasn’t too concerned. However, another party had arrived before me and they were very concerned. I plan on doing a post in the near future (which was inspired by this party) about how not to act with an outfitter. Sometimes it is best to simply relax, roll with things, and wait before passing judgement. Anyway, Andrea (Wade Johnson’s wife) and one of the other guide’s significant other arrived back at the lodge around 2:00. Andrea was super nice and after explaining that Wade and the guides were up scouting in the mountains she invited us to make ourselves at home there at the lodge.
Caleb and I had an enjoyable afternoon and evening talking with Andrea and a couple of other hunters from Washington and Utah and then gorged ourselves on a big home cooked meal of spaghetti. We were disappointed to find out that the season had not been overly successful to date. Only 20% of the week 1 rifle hunters returned home with bulls! This worried me and I had to fight remain optimistic.
After dinner, we left the lodge and headed for the mountain tent camp where we would be staying. It was about a hour and a half drive and I followed Wade to the camp, arriving about 9:30 pm. Caleb and I were given a quick tour of camp and then busied ourselves preparing our gear for the following morning. Neither of us slept much that night as we were really looking forward to opening morning.
My next posts will include the details of day 1 and days 2 -4 of my NM elk hunt.
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