mudingbuck
PMA Member
A little hill climb and 3d shooting for a Sunday workout!
lottery winner!!!!
- Thread starter mudingbuck
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I have a friend that is handicapped and 16A is where they hold this hunt.He shot a couple really good bulls there and saw 6 bears last time he was there from the time he pulled the trigger until meat was in truck.A tag might be something to think about.I think I saw you were using a guide,who if you don'e mind me asking
mudingbuck
PMA Member
All American Outfitters! Brandon specializes in handicap hunts!
mudingbuck
PMA Member
The loading has begun!!!! We leave Wednesday @ 3 am. Going to try to get to Albuquerque the first day and a short 3 hour drive on Thursday!!! 
HorseDoctor
PMA Member
Have fun & good luck!!!
Hardwood11
It is going to be a good fall!
Good luck and I see you got the coolers ready!!
Brett Morris
PMA Member
Good luck!!
mudingbuck
PMA Member
After 4 short years of trying to get an elk tag for one of the best units in the world, we finally drew a New Mexico 16A elk tag. To say I was excited would be an understatement. I trained like no other for this hunt. Losing 30 pounds and was in the best shape of my life.We drove 20 hours to our guides and saw all kinds of elk just as we were getting in the area. We meet our guide Brandon and he showed us where we were staying and was telling us all the right things. Everything else went down hill from there. He told us we would be sitting on watering holes and wallows. Thats how you hunt them this time of year he says. I thought to myself I didn't train to sit in a blind, but if that up my odds of sticking a giant Gila bull I'll do anything. We drove the trailer with the quads out to an area that was on our unit and close to where we would be hunting, that was an hour away on a pretty crappy gravel road. From there we went back to the bunk house and prepped for the next day. 3 AM we get up and finished loading and getting ready. 4 AM we left the bunk house and drove that hour to our quads. We didn't know if we were even going the right way because Brandon pulled out of the drive and was gone. Anyways we made it out there and then drove the quads 45 minutes to the spot where Brandon was going to have Adam sit. The sun was just coming up when we got there, perfect! Other then the fact that there was already another hunter in the area. Brandon had Adam hunt it anyways. Then we went to my spot, a wallow, and just as I was getting to the blind i heard a bull bugling!!! As soon as I settled into the double bull he shut up! I didn't see anything until last light and that was a young 260 class bull at 70 yards. The night before Brandon was saying don't shoot that little 300 class bulls wait for the 350/400 class. So I didn't even try, not that I really had a shot because I only saw him for a few seconds. Dark came, Brandon met me at my quad and we picked Adam up and then made the 35 min quad ride back to the truck. We finally got back to the bunk house just before 11 PM. Ate dinner and went to bed.
We did that for the next 7 days. About every other day I saw elk, but never had a shot at any bulls and never saw anything bigger then that 260 6x6 I saw on the first day. I had so much more luck then Adam. He never saw anything, after 3 days we convinced Brandon to take Adam and go after the elk. They did that for an hour and still never heard or seen anything. Walking back to the quads they bumped a couple of elk that were about 200 yards away. Brandon tells him, "Well at least you didn't get skunked." Then put him back in the same blind where he didn't see anything. The next day we finally talked him to moving Adam. I was in a spot that I felt could get it done so I wasn't to worried about moving. We both rather be chasing them. Adams brakes went out on his quad the 2nd day and the third day he got a flat as they took off, Brandon didn't come back and find him for an hour and a half. After Brandon moved Adam all he saw were other hunters.
We never shot anything and Adam never saw anything. If you would have told us we would go to the Gila and never get a shot at a bull I would have have thought you were crazy. We feel that Brandon went out to the water hole and the wallow the day before we got there and pooped up a couple of double bulls in the middle of no where and never brushed them in or anything. He said the elk don't mind them. We both brushed them in, but still didn't feel to confident.
On top of all that we had hub on the trailer seize up on the way home. Mydon't give a poop attitude decided to bolt the tire back on and drive it slowly to town, where we found a little shop, the owner stopped what he was doing and help us get the old hub off. Then we found a farm store that had trailer parts. Took a couple trips, but we found the right parts. Then ole boy helped put it back together. Then after 4 hours of helping us only wanted 70 bucks. We gave him more than double and he barely took it!
168 hrs since September 1, In that time I spent 97 hours in the blind, 28 hours driving, 24.5 hours sleeping, and 14 hours of shower and prepping for the next day. That only left 4.5 hours to eat dinner and get to know our guide.
Long story short, we got dooped by a junk @$$ guide. Semi guided at best. If you ever get the chance to hunt the Gila don't waste your time with Brandon Gaudelli owner of All American Outfitters.
Heres a few pix of my week.
We did that for the next 7 days. About every other day I saw elk, but never had a shot at any bulls and never saw anything bigger then that 260 6x6 I saw on the first day. I had so much more luck then Adam. He never saw anything, after 3 days we convinced Brandon to take Adam and go after the elk. They did that for an hour and still never heard or seen anything. Walking back to the quads they bumped a couple of elk that were about 200 yards away. Brandon tells him, "Well at least you didn't get skunked." Then put him back in the same blind where he didn't see anything. The next day we finally talked him to moving Adam. I was in a spot that I felt could get it done so I wasn't to worried about moving. We both rather be chasing them. Adams brakes went out on his quad the 2nd day and the third day he got a flat as they took off, Brandon didn't come back and find him for an hour and a half. After Brandon moved Adam all he saw were other hunters.
We never shot anything and Adam never saw anything. If you would have told us we would go to the Gila and never get a shot at a bull I would have have thought you were crazy. We feel that Brandon went out to the water hole and the wallow the day before we got there and pooped up a couple of double bulls in the middle of no where and never brushed them in or anything. He said the elk don't mind them. We both brushed them in, but still didn't feel to confident.
On top of all that we had hub on the trailer seize up on the way home. Mydon't give a poop attitude decided to bolt the tire back on and drive it slowly to town, where we found a little shop, the owner stopped what he was doing and help us get the old hub off. Then we found a farm store that had trailer parts. Took a couple trips, but we found the right parts. Then ole boy helped put it back together. Then after 4 hours of helping us only wanted 70 bucks. We gave him more than double and he barely took it!
168 hrs since September 1, In that time I spent 97 hours in the blind, 28 hours driving, 24.5 hours sleeping, and 14 hours of shower and prepping for the next day. That only left 4.5 hours to eat dinner and get to know our guide.
Long story short, we got dooped by a junk @$$ guide. Semi guided at best. If you ever get the chance to hunt the Gila don't waste your time with Brandon Gaudelli owner of All American Outfitters.
Heres a few pix of my week.
bigbuckhunter88
PMA Member
That completely blows. Any plans for a return trip this year to try and fill the tag. I would be spreading the word to every avenue possible
mudingbuck
PMA Member
The tags we got were outfitters tags, that increased our odds by 10%. So we can't hunt with out our guide. 0 chance i return to hunt with that guy.
Ishi
PMA Member
I've been out of the state the last two days but I did read your partners thread on another forum yesterday.
Total BS that the outfitter made you guys hunt out of a blind.
You two got hosed bad.... like really bad!
We all know nothing is guaranteed but hunting elk out off a blind in New Mexico during September in the Gila region is just crazy
Total BS that the outfitter made you guys hunt out of a blind.
You two got hosed bad.... like really bad!
We all know nothing is guaranteed but hunting elk out off a blind in New Mexico during September in the Gila region is just crazy
AZHunter
Iowa Boy At Heart
I was just thinking about your hunt the other day. While sitting water and wallows can be effective this time of year in the SW, its definitely not the preferred method. And with all the rain the Gila got this summer, there is water everywhere, so its less effective. As for not really needing to brush in blinds for elk, that's typically correct. Having said all of that, it sounds like you definitely got hosed and I'm sorry to hear that. That sucks royally!
Hardwood11
It is going to be a good fall!
Not having to brush in a blind for elk, surprises the heck out of me. I would never have guessed that!
AZHunter
Iowa Boy At Heart
Having been busted by white tail in south Texas in a blind that wasn't very well brushed in, and reading stories here in IW, I was also surprised to learn that our elk, mule deer, and even Coues whitetail don't really care whether the blind is brushed in or not. But I know guys who have arrowed all of the above from blinds that were completely exposed on the banks/edges of stock tanks and other areas.