I'm on the road to go see BradMnt346 with a cow tag in my pocket. Getting past Amarillo is the worst part of this drive. I usually hammock camp at Palo Duro since that is close to half way for me but the weather tonight is going to suck too much for that. I'm going to try to push through to Raton before stopping.

I just got back in from a Mule Deer hunt in the Ruby Mountain Range in Central/Eastern Nevada just East of the town of Elko. For those of you who aren't familiar with the State of Nevada despite what you see from the highway, we have a lot of diverse terrain worthy of making a trip. The area is best described as large expanses of desert with islands of alpine rock that at times resemble parts of Colorado or Utah.

The Rubys, in particular, have a lot of water from heavy snowfall and an ample number of springs. The combination of good water sources, steep hillsides, and desert hills makes for some prime mule deer habitat. In fact, the range is known around here for producing some monster bucks.


There are no amenities or towns on the East side of the range so bring a trailer or RV. You have to drive 30-40 miles for gas and food (the town of Arthur on the map above doesn't exist). 50 miles for extra bullets so come prepared.



Day 1: 10/4
Our group consisted of myself and my friend Dietrich who were both sporting doe tags and Dietrich son who had a youth tag (in Nevada Youth Tags can shoot any kind of deer) and was working for a buck. We were running a little late out of Reno headed to Elko so we didn't get as much time as we wanted. I drove out with my buddies 17-year-old son in a Tahoe while my friend Dietrich drove out in the RV. After, listening to more rap than I care to ever listen to again we made it to Elko around 3pm.

This is a popular hunting area so we figured if we stayed away from Lamoille Canyon (worth going to if you are ever in the area) we could get around to the Eastside and avoid the crowds a bit. We ended up driving up through Secret Pass and Highway 229 and scouting that area.
While the area had great habitat it had fairly poor access across private land so we opted to push a little further South. There honestly weren't a lot of mid-week hunters and the ones we did run into were really happy to talk and coordinate with us so we didn't interfere with anyone else hunts

Day 2: 10/05 Birthday Hunt
The first day of actual hunting was my 39th birthday and it couldn't have been better spent. We started with us getting out to the Gardner Creek Canyon and moving along a series of ridges and glassing the creek between the mountains and some nearby alfalfa fields. Just after sunrise a barrage of gunshots could be heard in the canyon below us and the gig was up. No deer would be moving up the canyon for the rest of the morning. No big deal because the range delivered on a great sunrise and spectacular fall colors:

Sunrise over Garner Creek Canyon

Hiking out in Fall colors
That afternoon we decided to move South into bigger terrain and get away from the other hunting parties so we headed down to Luttz Canyon. A short drive in lead us to a big open canyon starting at about 6,500ft up to 10,500ft peaks overhead. With smaller ridges and tributary features in between.
We again stationed our selves again on a hillside overlooking a water source and again seemed to be getting skunked. At about 5:45 Dietrich spotted a group of about 12 muleys at about 1.7 kilometers away on the other side of the canyon. With sunset at 6:17 we had to get our move on to get into range. Needless to say, we couldn't quite get the drop on them.
We glassed 11 doe and one buck and Dietrich ( a much better shot than myself) attempted a 340-yard uphill shot but to no avail. Day 1 wrapped up with a big fat goose egg.


Luttz Canyon from the valley below

Day 3: 10/06
From the position, the previous day were we saw the deer last we found a group of trees and boulders to provide good cover. So the morning started early with an easy one-mile hike out to that outcropping. We were able to set up before sunrise as a group of three. While waiting at dawn we thought we had finally gotten the drop on the muleys.
Our plans came crashing down when the wind picked up from the East and must have carried our scent. All of a sudden the hillside below us exploded with crashing brush and by the time we could get a good view a group of four doe exploded across the canyon floor. They never gave us a profile and covered 400 yards in a matter of a minute. We were crushed.

After lunch and some long depreciating talk about our hunting skills, we settled on coming back to the same spot that afternoon around 4 pm and taking up a similar position. This time we were there for about an hour when I first spotted the original group of 12 coming down the ridge above us. Timid at first they stuck to the upper flanks for quite some time at a range of 450 yds. They slowly and sure worked their way down. 11 does and 1 buck trailing the group.

At 250 yards it was clear they weren't coming closer so we attempted to sync our shots. The 17y/o would fire first at the buck with the two adults taking does. As it turned out both of us would harvest does with quality shots and my friend's son would miss in hear breaking fashion.


Day 4: Teenage Redemption
After missing from 250 yds with a perfect broadside shot our young teenager needed some vindication (it should be said this kid shoots better than almost any adult on this board so I was blown away when he missed at 250). I assumed that we wouldn't see the deer back in the same location as the previous day's massacre. The only choice for us was to get up early and head high into the mountains chasing a big boy.

4 am came early (especially after the previous night's birthday libations) and we head as far up the canyon as we could get in the vehicle then again on foot. We glassed the surrounding ridges for about and hour before we saw a group on the ridge above us at about 8,000 ft. Just over 500 yards away. We crossed a beaver pond and up the opposite side of the ridge to conceal our position hoping to put us within a hunred yards.

To no avail. We made it to a spectacular shooting position in just over 20 minutes but the deer had moved and now working their way over the next ridge. We would repeat scenario yet again along a steep rugged hillside with poor cover. After moving position several times over 2 miles and almost 1,00ft elevation gain I was able to spot the group as they moved through an opening in the trees on, yet again, the next ridge.
As the brush was getting thicker we knew we were out of time. The kid took a 390 yard shot from ridge top to opposing ridge and made a perfect chest shot. I was stunned. It would take us almost half an hour, downclimbing a small cliff and climbing back up the other side, to get to his deer.



TLDR Version:
The Ruby Mountains have great mule deer hunting and we had a spectacular trip. I hunted with a teenager who made a mistake early on but redeemed himself by stalking a group for over two miles in really rough terrain and finishing with an almost perfect 1/4 mile chest shot on a deer.
I highly recommend hunting the Ruby Range.



One last parting shot of the Ruby Range

Y'all throw up a prayer for me- heading south (to NM) for my muzzloader Elk hunt with the old man!

Arrive today and do some scouting tomorrow hopefully. Season starts Sat am. I'm sincerely looking forward to some great time on the mountain with my Dad, and hopefully we can get a pair of bulls on the ground as icing on the cake!

See y'all next week on the Meat Pole!!!
BTHOflorida for me

Ok. Here are a few pictures from my unsuccessful Wyoming Elk Trip. This was all in units 84 and 86. I am headed back to Unit 9 next week in hopes of at least shooting a cow. If anyone has thoughts on the area west of Laramie please let me know.

I spent 5 days scouting before the rifle season started on 9/26.

I just got up on the ridge >10k feet and kept moving until I found elk. I would typically glass a spot in the evening and a morning and then move camp to the next ridge/basin.



I found elk on day 3 about 12 miles from the trailhead. There was a giant 7x7 and a smaller 6x7 with a few other satellite bulls mixed in.
Spotted them from here


Smaller 6x7


7x7



I stayed on these elk for 2 days then headed back to the trailhead to meet my brother and dad who drove up to be meat packers. We went to another trailhead that was closer to these elk, but still about 5 miles back after a river crossing. We had a few inches of snow above 8000 feet, but we were able to find them again 3 days before rifle season. My plan was to try and stay on these elk until rifle season start, but if an opportunity arose I would sneak in with my bow, but I did not want to push the elk.


Then Sunday and Monday night it snowed, and snowed, and snowed. Our tipi center pole broke twice in the middle of the night from the weight of the snow. Weather app said it got down to 8 degrees where we were those nights. All in all over 2 feet accumulated.

After the first light snow


Smaller gear tipi weathered the larger snow dump.



The elk were bugling like crazy until this hit, then we never heard another bugle.

We were seeing the elk up around 10,000 feet but the snow hit and they disappeared. We assumed down the mountain so we moved camp down about 3/4 of a mile.

We didn't see another elk until the night before rifle season. We spotted the 6x7 right before dark about 2 miles and 1500 feet lower than where we had been seeing him. I was still feeling pretty good at this point thinking I could get on this elk again in the morning. I get set up on a ridge looking across the drainage thinking the elk would be heading down from where we saw them the night before as going up the mountain in the evening and coming down the mountain in the morning had been their MO. Well we saw nothing opening morning and went down to follow his tracks from the night before. As best as we could tell they went straight up and over the mountain.

After this we saw some spattering of cows (with no bull) and a spike here and there. We were pretty sure they moved down into the timber, but with no bugling and not responding calls they were impossible to find.

All in all it was beautiful country and a great time with my brother and dad. I was looking for adventure and elk, and I definitely got the adventure part.

Here are a few more pics of time in yellowstone and grand tetons with the fam before the elk hunting.







We woke up the last morning and there was a bull and cow moose 100 yards from our campsite

Great trips/pics everyone. Good luck everybody that's out this week.

Got some of my meat hotshotted home tonight. This turns me on more than horns!

My son turned 12 in August and gets to hunt big game this year in Colorado for the first time. I got him 2 tags for elk this year. Both are private land only. One tag was for the first season, 5 days, and was either sex with point restrictions on bulls. The other tag was for a cow but only in the western part of the unit and we only have a small place to hunt there. The season runs from mid August to mid November, so there is a lot of time.

We started hunting for a cow as soon as we pulled the cattle off the west pasture, mid September. We got on a cow one of the first nights out. We were still legal, but she was a little out of his comfortable range, it was a little dark because of cloud cover, and she was very close to the fence, so we decided to let her walk. Next few nights the wind was wrong so we spent most of our time moving to keep from getting winded.

We hunted as much as his homework allowed. We had decided to take a night off one Saturday when my hired man called and said there were elk in the first meadow. Away we go. We get up there and find the elk. We crawl much further than my knees liked to get close enough. Just as we were getting to the last bit of cover, a doe sees us and gets upset. The elk don't spook but get suspicious. The cows bunch up. There is a bull there, small 5 point. He stands off to the side broadside. I thought there was a cow that had cleared, but when he looked through his scope he saw one behind her in the brush that I missed. Good boy! They end up drifting back into the brush. Next night, same thing. Bull gives us all sorts of opportunities, cows wouldn't clear.

We hunted without a lot of action. Last week GottaRide came up. He has a cow tag too. The three of us hunt it pretty hard. A few screw ups on our part and very few elk and we are getting nervous.

Last Saturday my son's either sex season starts. We hunt the home place and leave the west pasture to GottaRide. Nothing except some shots from the neighbors. Sunday morning not even that.

We stared doing some research on recipes of tag soup.

Sunday night we walk out to a point we call 10 miss. Great spot to glass from, not a great spot to shoot from. I start my glassing routine and CRAP! There is a bull in the hay meadow right below us. He was alone. We boogied down the back side of the hill and snuck down the draw to the edge of the meadow. We both got set up prone (I have a tag too) and waited for him to turn. He never had a clue we were there. His first shot was a hit, but I couldn't tell how well. We put another one in him just to be sure. About to put a 3rd in him when he tips over.







My son's first elk is a bigger bull than I have ever shot. Very proud dad.



To top off a great day, we get a text from GottaRide right before dark that he filled his cow tag too!

We even managed to catch a few fish.

So awesome. Great job, dad.

Awesome first bull! Hell, awesome bull period!

I'm driving up to western Colorado (Grand Junction area) for 3rd rifle leaving the evening of November 3 and back by Sunday the 12th, coming back through Denver (to Houston). If any of you guys have meat at a processor between here and there, or anything else (legal) that i could help by hauling back I should have plenty of room, post up and I should be able to help you out

Awesome job Dad!

I'm proud of my cousin, Brad, and of his son. BradMtn346 worked his tail off for that outcome. I was watching an area in the west pasture when I got the text, "Big bull down!" I was going to head that way to help but BradMtn346 said to stay and keep trying to find one. 15 minutes before end of legal shooting I started heading back toward the truck. I came over a rise and saw some bushes that sure looked like elk. Put the glasses on them and sure enough, it was a small bunch about 200 yards away. Only one cow was giving me a shot and because of the angle, I had to shoot from both knees with my bipod. I hit a little higher than I wanted but it worked. It was 45 minutes between the bull going down and my cow.


Tomorrow morning will be spent getting it in the coolers and then starting the drive back. I hate to leave. It has been an awesome week.

Headed back to WY this morning. Hopefully will be glassing up unit 9 when the sun comes up tomorrow morning.

I need meat. Will be shooting the first elk I see.

Got a beautiful 5x5 down in New Mexico.

Unit 17, Muzzleloader @ 320 - 400+ yards. Took 4 shots to get him down, despite the firs shot being perfectly in his boiler... Awesome hunt with my Dad, cherished memories! Full write up is hanging on the Meat Pole Thread







some of the other bulls we spotted






even had some quail almost jump over my legs as I was sitting up one evening... ha ha!