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Idaho Bound

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Idaho Bound

Postby 7mmfan » 10 10, 2022 •  [Post 1]

I'll be shoving off in 3 business days for Idaho. I was the only person in my 6 person group this year to get an elk tag due to Idaho's 2 year old non-resident tag system disaster. My Dad is retired this year and luckily will be able to go with me to provide moral support and a strong back. We'll be setting up base camp on Thursday afternoon and then Friday morning packing into our desired basin to hunt opening day on Saturday. The weather will be comfortable, unfortunately. I sure would love to see highs in the 40's and lows in the 20's with a chance of snow. Water will be very important this year for those animals with how dry it has been. Luckily, our basin has a lot of water. Should be a good hunt. I'll update as I can.
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Re: Idaho Bound

Postby Swede » 10 10, 2022 •  [Post 2]

Best wishes 7mm. May the wind be blowing in your face and have enough moisture on the ground so that you can walk silently.
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Re: Idaho Bound

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 10 10, 2022 •  [Post 3]

Excellent. Have a safe and successful hunt brother.
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Re: Idaho Bound

Postby Old school » 10 10, 2022 •  [Post 4]

Hope you have a great hunt. I’m in Idaho now (not hunting) and the weather here is supposed to change tomorrow to highs in the low 60’s and lows around 30. Went out and hiked some today - it’s way dry where I am in central Idaho but the color is sure beautiful. Enjoy your time in the mountains.
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Re: Idaho Bound

Postby Elkhunttoo » 10 10, 2022 •  [Post 5]

Good luck
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Re: Idaho Bound

Postby 7mmfan » 10 24, 2022 •  [Post 6]

Came home with a heavy cooler once again. The hunting was difficult. The day we hiked into spike camp, it topped out in the mid 60's. Saturday, the opener was warm, but windy. However Sunday and Monday were downright hot, hitting the 70's for sure. Animals were not in their usual locals. The elk were timbered up at slightly higher elevations and the deer that usually reside in this basin were nowhere to be found. Wolves had been in the area as well, indicated by a semi-fresh deer kill and tracks on the road. We heard them twice during the hunt, on the next large main ridge to our west.

Saturday morning I got up early and got setup on a high vantage point in the basin we like to hunt and just listened. I was hoping to hear bugling below me like in years past. I was greeted with silence. I did some cow calling just to see if I could trigger something, but it was more of the same. As daylight broke, I glassed all the likely areas but came up empty. By the end of the day, we had completely circumnavigated the basin and glassed everything from multiple angles. We saw 5 does. It was clear they were not in the area.

Sunday morning I got up with the intent to glass right at first light and then bail. I had a week to hunt, I was not going to spend it waiting for animals to show up. I quickly glassed the likely areas, and then moved to get a view of the way upper end of the basin and it's timberline. I had not glassed it at first light the day before. The first spot I put my binos on had elk in it, but only for a moment. If I had been 2 minutes later glassing that spot I never would have seen those animals. Luck was beginning to sway in my favor. They were a little over a mile away as the crow flies, and about 500' of elevation above me so I packed up my stuff and got to high stepping. I reached the end ridge where I had seen the elk about 45 minutes later. By that time, the sun was up and the thermals were already changing. I opted to work up the shady side of the hill to try and keep the wind in my favor. I came around the corner on the trail I was on and ran into a gentleman coming down the trail from above. This surprised me, as we don't often see others in this area. We chatted for a couple minutes and he told me that he was just deer hunting. I told him about an average 3 point I had just seen down around the corner from me, and he informed me that there was a bull bugling his head off in the next canyon. We shook hands and parted ways.

As I worked up and over the ridge into the next canyon, I could smell elk, and the amount of sign on the ground was intense. There were clearly a lot of elk in this canyon. The bull was silent by now, but I knew based on the condition where they had likely headed. I decided to wait for them to come back out that evening, and Dad and I posted up in a good vantage point. We stayed until dark, no elk heard or seen. Dad got a great nap in.

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I decided that the next morning I would be right back in that spot at first light. Everything went according to plan, except the elk were not there. They had missed the memo apparently. At this point, my clock began ticking again. I didn't know for sure where they were, but had a good idea. However, I couldn't sit around and wait. I gave myself the morning to see if I could track them down and if I couldn't I was moving on. I began moving along an old road grade, cow calling periodically. As I was stepping over a log I kicked a branch and made a bunch of racket. I followed it up with a cow call and got an immediate cow call back from the timber below me. I called again and threw in some calf chirps and got a deep growling bugle back from the bull. BINGO. I knew where the herd was now, but they were immediately downhill of me in a timbered flat and the thermals were running down right to them. I quickly backed out and decided to approach from downhill. I spent an hour getting around downhill of them and worked ever so slowly into the heavily timbered flat they were residing in. It took me nearly 2 hours to move 50 yards into the timber, just creeping.

As I glassed ahead through tiny gaps in the timber, I finally spied the creamy color of an elk rump. Then another, and then an ear. Suddenly there were a dozen elk in front me inside 40 yards, all quietly feeding. Over the next half hour I was able to identify that all the animals in front of me were cows. Most had slowly worked their way downhill and out of sight so I started slowly creeping forward again. As I slid out from behind a cluster of trees I looked down and there was a cow 25 yards away staring at me. I slid back behind the cluster of trees I'd just come from and sat down quietly. She never spooked, and I had the wind. She started coming up the hill towards me, head bobbing, trying to figure out what I was. She was very curious and got to within about 15 feet of me. Eventually though, she decided that I shouldn't be there, and stomped her feet and trotted off a few yards. This was enough to get the herd up and on their feet. I knew it was likely now or never so I stood up and got ready.

My scope was already dialed down to it's lowest setting, and caps open so I shouldered my rifle and started quickly scanning all my available openings. ANTLERS! A bull was moving from left to right downhill. I quickly got him in the scope but he never slowed down enough in my few gaps to get a shot. Then another bull, same thing. Elk were walking down hill, some were trotting, and I kept scanning my gap for potential targets. Finally, I saw tan stop in the farthest line of sight opening I had, about 60 yards out. I pulled up my rifle and noted that it was a spike. I quickly dialed my scope all the way to 14x to confirm it was indeed a spike, and decided I could not pass up this opportunity. All I could see was his head and neck, so I flicked off the safety, settled the crosshairs high on his neck and squeezed. At the report, elk erupted all around me. I saw more antlers pass through gaps in front of me, but I never took my eyes off the exact spot the spike had been. I began moving forward laser focused on that one gap. I finally broke out into the more open timber at about 40 yards and could see him laying on the ground, right where he'd stood moments before. My shot was true and he'd died instantly.

I'm always amazed by the size of these animals, even spikes. They are such amazing creatures. As is my tradition, I sat down next to him, and honored him with a couple moments of silence. I ate my obligatory Snickers bar, and then took a deep breath, said thank you, and began hiking to the ridgeline to find my Dad who was going to glass some canyons that morning. I was able to hale him on the radio a few minutes later and got him coming my way. He had not heard the rifle shot so when he came around the bend in the trail he was shocked when I told him there was an elk down in the woods below me. We shared a good father/son hug and headed back into the timber to get to work.

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The rest is the same old story of long walks and heavy packs that we all know. I am grateful that I was able to get the opportunity to bring home so much great meat again from the Spud state, my family and I will cherish it for the next several months. I was also very grateful to share it with my Father. He is as selfless of a human being as there is. He hiked his butt off, more than carrying his weight, on a hunt that he had no tag for. He just wanted to be there to share the load with me. The hunt itself, from getting the bugle response to applying knowledge of the ground, the animals, and skills gained from years of hunting them and putting it all together to achieve success by sneaking into the bedding area from downwind was so fun and gratifying. I sure hope that I get the opportunity to do it again next year.

Thanks for following along.
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Re: Idaho Bound

Postby 7mmfan » 10 24, 2022 •  [Post 7]

Couple more.
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Re: Idaho Bound

Postby Swede » 10 24, 2022 •  [Post 8]

Congratulations 7mm. It was fun going along with you on your exciting hunt. Thanks for sharing.
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Re: Idaho Bound

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 10 24, 2022 •  [Post 9]

Boom! Nice work mister.
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Re: Idaho Bound

Postby Tigger » 10 25, 2022 •  [Post 10]

Yahoo! nice hunt! congrats. i love it when a plan comes together. Did the deer hunter get the 3X3?
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Re: Idaho Bound

Postby 7mmfan » 10 25, 2022 •  [Post 11]

Tigger wrote:Yahoo! nice hunt! congrats. i love it when a plan comes together. Did the deer hunter get the 3X3?


He opted to pass on the buck. Sent a guy and his young son into the area later in the hunt after it, but they couldn’t turn it up either. Maybe it was a figment of my imagination?
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Re: Idaho Bound

Postby Billy Goat » 10 25, 2022 •  [Post 12]

dude, congrats, and thanks for the play by play.

I applaud your discipline in working so hard to "beat" the wind.

attaboys!
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Re: Idaho Bound

Postby 7mmfan » 10 26, 2022 •  [Post 13]

Thanks guys. Definitely left me with the itch to want to be back in the elk woods.

One question I'll bounce off you elk professionals. When the cow got the herd up, most animals didn't spook, they just also got up and started moving. I could see flashes of brown and tan moving through the gaps in the trees. given the limited sight distance, and overall unspooked nature of the herd, do you think I could have gotten away with quickly moving forward another 30-50 feet? it would seem to me that the elk would have the same issues with sight distance and openings that I did, and that I could probably get away with some movement in that situation and just be taken for another animal of the herd moving about. That extra distance might have gotten me a better sight line that maybe I'd have been able to see the other bulls in the group better.

Thoughts?
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Re: Idaho Bound

Postby Swede » 10 26, 2022 •  [Post 14]

I am no professional, but I am experienced. I would not second guess your success. Coulda, woulda, shoulda questions are problematic. Could you have moved and not been busted? I am not sure I could have answered that question if I was there at the time. Moving when elk are visible is always very risky.
I am reminded of the guy that killed a spike on opening morning some years ago. He knew there were larger bulls around and could only complain about not getting one of those. We were together and heard animal movement coming our way, and he was going to illegally shoot that elk if it was a bull if he could get a shot. It turned out it was another hunter, but I could not feel sorry for him, and would have gladly tagged one just like his.
You got a nice bull 7mm. Sincere congratulations.
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Re: Idaho Bound

Postby 7mmfan » 10 26, 2022 •  [Post 15]

It is not that I'm unhappy with a spike. I've killed 4 Idaho spikes in a row and will gladly kill 4 more! It's more of a "for future reference" thought.

That spike might have not stopped in that gap and I very well could have sat there and watched all the bulls pass through with no shot. I know it's hard to ask a question of guys that weren't there, just hoping to glean some insight from people that have had a similar experience.
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Re: Idaho Bound

Postby six » 10 26, 2022 •  [Post 16]

Seriously congratulations. I've only killed two elk so I don't have a lot of experience. Actually I kill every legal elk I can get in range of.

I have passed a lot of small whitetail bucks in hopes a bigger one will be along shortly.
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Re: Idaho Bound

Postby Swede » 10 26, 2022 •  [Post 17]

About 95% of the time, I take the first legal elk that is not a calf. I have never shot a calf. One time I passed on three cows and waited for the bull I saw coming. I had a good shot opportunity at each cow, but the bull lingered behind and when it came to the opening, it ran almost all of the way through. Fortunately, it stopped just in time. In that case I made a good guess and was rewarded for waiting.
A couple of seasons back I shot a cow leading a herd. I could hear the herd coming and suspected a bull would be with the cows. I will never know if I was right. When I shot, the elk all blew out of the area, and I did not see anything behind the first couple of cows. I think that is where you are on this incident.
I have a couple of old adages to consider. "A bird in the hand if worth two in the bush", and "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth."
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Re: Idaho Bound

Postby 7mmfan » 10 26, 2022 •  [Post 18]

Ok, maybe I'm wording this incorrectly. Forget that I killed that spike, or even had the opportunity to shoot it. I have no regrets with that, ate some tonight :D

Let's envision this similar hypothetical situation. ..I've worked into the bedding area from downwind and am eventually busted by a cow. When she stomps off it gets the herd up, but not spooked. Through the small gaps I have, I see a few elk move through. At this moment I have a choice; sit and wait for an opportunity, or quickly press forward further into the timber and herd hoping for a better opportunity. Do you think in the thick timber, with elk on their feet moving around, that I could move forward quickly and quietly without causing too much commotion? Given I don't run smack into one in the process. You can see in my pictures how tight the timber is, and limited sight distance.
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Re: Idaho Bound

Postby Swede » 10 26, 2022 •  [Post 19]

My concern is that you would get busted. Maybe you wouldn't, maybe you could have closed the gap and got a big bull. We will never know, but I'm not so lucky. I think you made the best decision, but I can't be sure. Elk can live to get old, because of a keen sense of what is happening around them.
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Re: Idaho Bound

Postby 7mmfan » 10 26, 2022 •  [Post 20]

Swede wrote:My concern is that you would get busted. Maybe you wouldn't, maybe you could have closed the gap and got a big bull. We will never know, but I'm not so lucky. I think you made the best decision, but I can't be sure. Elk can live to get old, because of a keen sense of what is happening around them.



Let's take the big bull factor out. Purely trying to press further in. Assume at this point no bull of any form has been spotted. I suppose the answer is maybe, as is usually the case. Sometimes a guy could get away with it, sometimes not.
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Re: Idaho Bound

Postby Tigger » 10 27, 2022 •  [Post 21]

1 elk has 2 eyes. 2 elk have 4 eyes. 3 elk have 6 eyes. notice a pattern? We can do the same with noses and ears.

it only takes 1 eye, ear, or nose to goof up the whole encounter and then you are eating salad all winter.
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Re: Idaho Bound

Postby 7mmfan » 10 27, 2022 •  [Post 22]

I suppose you can't argue with success. It's tucked away in the memory bank for next time now.
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Re: Idaho Bound

Postby Swede » 10 27, 2022 •  [Post 23]

I guess the way to think about your situation is, it is possible to get an elk doing what you proposed, but it has its risks. It goes back to that bird in the hand analogy.
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Re: Idaho Bound

Postby Elkhunttoo » 10 28, 2022 •  [Post 24]

Congrats 7mm…great writing on what sounds like a great experience… I’m glad you and your dad were able to enjoy it together!

As far as the moving goes. It seems to me that when one elk gets antsy the others hit the alert button in their heads and they are all just waiting for one of them to burst out of there for any reason so they can all go. I say it’s a 50/50 chance on the moving part. So next time you are in that situation try it and then you can tell us all how it goes so we can know ;) … congrats again on an Idaho bull
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