Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Episode 48: It’s Only Gotta Work Once, Part 1
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Episode 48: It’s Only Gotta Work Once, Part 1
Episode 48 — It’s Only Gotta Work Once, Part 1
Show Summary
Draw lightning striking twice, rain jackets left on couches, vacuum-sealed underwear, and wallows hidden deep in the timber—this is the setup for Caitlin’s second consecutive New Mexico elk tag. In Part 1, Mike, Caitlin, Hunter, and Jeremy take listeners through the opening days: the long overnight drive, grumpy mornings, blown stalks, swirling winds, and the electrifying moments when bulls bugled back. It’s the foundation of a week that proves the old saying: it only has to work once.
Highlights
Tag of a lifetime (again): Caitlin draws the premier New Mexico archery elk tag for the second straight year—odds defied.
Team assembled: Mike (caller/host), Caitlin (archer), Hunter (first-time elk hunter), Jeremy (newlywed guest & veteran elk hunter).
Community support: GT & Necie taking care of the kids, making the backcountry hunt possible.
Backcountry logistics: six days / five nights on the Valles Caldera with packs built for meat and camp crammed inside.
Stormy start: soaked gear, sideways rain, lightning on the ridges, morale tested early.
Hunter’s initiation: all-night drive, first elk hunt, hard fall in the dark timber, bruise for the ages.
Early encounters:
A five-point bull comes in to cow calls—too close for comfort.
A solid six-point responds to bugles and branch-breaking but never closes the final distance.
The wallow discovery: stumbling into a hidden water source that becomes the focal point of the hunt.
Quote that sticks: “It only has to work once.”
Tactics & Lessons
Pre-rut uncertainty: when cow calls fizzle, bugling + breaking branches can trigger curiosity.
Wind roulette: swirling thermals on the caldera make patience and zig-zagging essential.
Wallow strategy: elk will check water midday—sometimes at a sprint. Mark them, sit them.
Mental grind: success often comes after days of “wrong” decisions.
People
Mike Ruhl — Host, caller, logistics lead.
Caitlin — Tag holder and archer.
Hunter — Nephew, first elk hunt, field bruises and new lessons.
Jeremy Romero — Guest, advisor, extra rain jacket provider, veteran of the same tag.
GT & Necie— Unsung MVPs at home with the boys.
Quotables
“I vacuum-sealed my underwear.”
“Turkey isn’t big game.”
“It only has to work once.”
Links & Contact
Website: OutdoorRuhls.com
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: @outdoorruhls
View all episodes
By Outdoor RuhlsEpisode 48 — It’s Only Gotta Work Once, Part 1
Show Summary
Draw lightning striking twice, rain jackets left on couches, vacuum-sealed underwear, and wallows hidden deep in the timber—this is the setup for Caitlin’s second consecutive New Mexico elk tag. In Part 1, Mike, Caitlin, Hunter, and Jeremy take listeners through the opening days: the long overnight drive, grumpy mornings, blown stalks, swirling winds, and the electrifying moments when bulls bugled back. It’s the foundation of a week that proves the old saying: it only has to work once.
Highlights
Tag of a lifetime (again): Caitlin draws the premier New Mexico archery elk tag for the second straight year—odds defied.
Team assembled: Mike (caller/host), Caitlin (archer), Hunter (first-time elk hunter), Jeremy (newlywed guest & veteran elk hunter).
Community support: GT & Necie taking care of the kids, making the backcountry hunt possible.
Backcountry logistics: six days / five nights on the Valles Caldera with packs built for meat and camp crammed inside.
Stormy start: soaked gear, sideways rain, lightning on the ridges, morale tested early.
Hunter’s initiation: all-night drive, first elk hunt, hard fall in the dark timber, bruise for the ages.
Early encounters:
A five-point bull comes in to cow calls—too close for comfort.
A solid six-point responds to bugles and branch-breaking but never closes the final distance.
The wallow discovery: stumbling into a hidden water source that becomes the focal point of the hunt.
Quote that sticks: “It only has to work once.”
Tactics & Lessons
Pre-rut uncertainty: when cow calls fizzle, bugling + breaking branches can trigger curiosity.
Wind roulette: swirling thermals on the caldera make patience and zig-zagging essential.
Wallow strategy: elk will check water midday—sometimes at a sprint. Mark them, sit them.
Mental grind: success often comes after days of “wrong” decisions.
People
Mike Ruhl — Host, caller, logistics lead.
Caitlin — Tag holder and archer.
Hunter — Nephew, first elk hunt, field bruises and new lessons.
Jeremy Romero — Guest, advisor, extra rain jacket provider, veteran of the same tag.
GT & Necie— Unsung MVPs at home with the boys.
Quotables
“I vacuum-sealed my underwear.”
“Turkey isn’t big game.”
“It only has to work once.”
Links & Contact
Website: OutdoorRuhls.com
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: @outdoorruhls