SideXSide Action - March 2008 - 88

Hunting Elk With Rhinos s a hunter, there is much excitement in drawing that coveted early season elk tag. There is a feeling of being lucky enough to be chosen to try to harvest this magnificent animal. This excitement hit home twice in our family, once for my father, Mitch, and again for my 17 year-old sister, Tahshena. Now the fun began! First on the list was making sure the Rhino was ready to go. It would not be its first hunting trip, nor its last. We began recruiting our friends and their own Yamaha Rhinos for help on these hunts of a lifetime. The first week in September was the beginning of our scouting expeditions. We set up our base camp in a small town on the Mogollon Rim in eastern Arizona. From this location, we started each day by firing up the Rhinos and cruising off into the woods. We spotted many great bull elk that were of the quality we were looking for. Using UTVs, instead of beating up our trucks, was definitely the way to go. Many of the roads in the area were narrow with overgrown brush making them only accessible with a side x side. The weather was exceptionally hot, dry, and dusty. Goggles were a must, to say the least. I videotaped numerous elk on our pre-season scouting, and we were getting anxious to follow Mitch as he carried his Hoyt bow off into the woods during the hunt. Friday finally came and I woke up to the sound of the idling Rhinos. Five of us loaded up our gear and headed off to the “spot.” We saw turkeys, mule deer, and even a black bear, but could not find a bull the caliber Mitch desired. Our hope started running thin as the weekend faded. Work and families were calling our friends back home to Phoenix. However, our hopes were still high and bulls were still A bugling as the sun set on the sixth day of the hunt. Day seven started with only my dad and me in camp. It was now just a father and son hunt. We left two Rhino's behind and traveled to another mountain where we had previously seen elk. We located a respectable bull from the Rhino and decided to start the stalk on him. After tail-chasing him for almost a mile, he turned around and came straight for us. We hunkered down behind a few bushes and waited to see what would happen. Our hearts were pounding as he bugled from behind the trees not THE HUNT IS ON: Myself and my father were all that were left after seven days with no sightings of a bull (top). Stalking the elk was made easier with the Rhinos but the Arizona heat was beat on us. Our home away from home (bottom left). more than 40 yards away. I sat on the right side of my dad, watching everything unfold in my video camera as the elk started to step out into the open. I told my dad to draw his bow back when I could see the elk’s head. It would've been a perfect broadside shot if the bull would have taken on more step, but he stopped. We froze as well. Mitch had his bow at full draw, and I had the camera capturing the moment on tape. Did he see us? Did he smell us? What should we do now?! After what seemed like forever, 88 SIDE X SIDE ACTION MAGAZINE

SideXSide Action - March 2008

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