king' s outdoor world - Index

king' s outdoor world - Hunting Illustrated - October/November 2007 - Index

Sneaking in closer, Bill heard a
noise behind him and turned just
in time to see the monarch bull
coming straight towards him at just
10 yards. Dropping to his knees, Bill
pulled back on his recurve bow and let
an arrow fly...
Earlier in 2006, Bill Clark
received his letter from the New
Mexico Fish & Game stating that he
had not drawn his first choice for elk,
or even his second choice. However,
Bill had drawn his third choice for
elk. It just so happened that this was
in an area that wasn't known lately
for producing record book bulls.
In fact, it was an arid region in the
central part of the state that Bill had
difficulty getting excited about. Bill
is an accomplished bow hunter and
has many trophies hanging on his
wall from all over the world. Bill
had taken six to seven bull elk in the
past, and was apprehensive about
what opportunities there would be
in this unit for finding a trophy bull.
However, he began to prepare for
the hunt anyway knowing that it was
better than not having any elk tag at
all.
Heading into the field on
September 10th, Bill decided to scout
out an area he was familiar with first.
Later in the season, he would focus
his hunting in some of the prime spots when the rut was kicking in to full swing. Bill's first
area was a disappointment and Bill decided to try a different location the next morning.
The following morning brought with it a thunderstorm that lasted for over two hours but,
as the clouds finally broke and the sunshine appeared, Bill set out for a remote canyon to
do some glassing and calling to see if he could get any response. There was no sign of elk
and the lack of return bugles forced Bill to continue into yet another canyon. After about
fifteen minutes of calling into this third canyon, Bill finally got a response. After another
return call he figured the bull was about a mile deep in the canyon. The game began and
Bill started to close the distance.
Bill caught his first glimpse of the bull when he was still 900 yards away. It didn't
take much, even at that distance, to know he was looking at a possible 400-class elk. The
game was on! The bull disappeared, but Bill continued his pursuit by skillfully bugling,
cow calling and raking branches to keep the big bull interested. Knowing he had finally
moved into close range of the bull after a pursuit lasting over an hour, Bill was hoping for
an ambush.
Bill was just ten yards away when the bull made his way through the trees. The
encounter happened quickly and, before he knew it, Bill had put a well-placed arrow
through the bull's heart. Tracking was easy; just 100 yards away lay a magnificent bull
from the Land of Enchantment. With main beams pushing 59-inches and front brow tines
measuring over 24-inches long, this beautiful 6x6 point bull taken on public land scores
416 2/8 SCI. This bull is the largest typical elk taken with traditional archery equipment
and is a pending #1 or #2 archery typical bull for the state of New Mexico.
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