Our Story
hand-cut, painted and tested in the field by friends and family.
The Caddis Cow™ didn’t begin as a product.
It began as a solution.
In the early 1990s, while hunting the Gila in New Mexico, I noticed a pattern. Bulls would respond to calls and close the distance—but stop just outside of bow range unless cows were nearby.
Seeing cows gave them the confidence to commit.
So I built my own.
The earliest versions were hand-cut, given away and tested in the field. Over decades of hunting in New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming, the design was refined through real experience—not theory.
Every Caddis Cow™ today is still handcrafted in small batches, built with the same purpose it always had: helping bulls take those final steps closer.
Opening Day, September 2020 – An excellent Caddis Cow setup. Inside 20 yards.
Tom, not an elk caller, arrived from Houston, TX the day before with his trusty Hoochie Mama. On this setup, the Caddis Cow paired effectively with the call.
Meet Ricardo - Founder, Gila Elk Bait
I am Ricardo, also known as Richard, and my roots began back within the pecan groves of the Mesilla Valley. My journey into elk hunting started in the late 1980s in the Jemez Mountains. After marrying into a family from Jemez Pueblo, New Mexico, who are renowned for their remarkable hunting abilities, I gained invaluable insights and skills. Their expertise is something for which I am deeply grateful.
Back in those days, I wore camo from Surplus City and Gander Mountain, endlessly replayed Dwight Schuh and Larry Jones’ Elk Fever VHS tape, and packed whatever equipment would squeeze into a big fanny pack, which seems amusing now.
In the early 1990s living in Las Cruces, while hunting in the Gila, I noticed bulls responded to my calls, even though I did not always know what I was saying, but they would not approach unless cows were nearby. That observation inspired me to make my first handmade decoy, as nothing like it existed at the time.
Front and back of my ride. Elk. Water. New Mexico.
