Idaho Bound.. it's time.

[WapitiTalk1]

Heading to ID at zero dark thirty Saturday morning. Taking off from work at noon tomorrow to throw the finishing touches on my gear. Will be hunting in a southern area of the panhandle. My early season WA hunt was a great tune up. Legs and cardio are feeling pretty damn good. Joe and I will be parking at an obscure spot and taking my quad and his 4 stroke Yamaha on a local (super secret squirrel) trail that connects with a road that is compeltely washed out. We'll trek up that around 10 miles to a trailhead that leads to a very deep and dark hole. Joe hunted this area 3 years ago and had some big fun. He scouted it three weeks ago and all signs point toward a very good hunt. Really looking forward to this trip for many reasons. The goal is two bulls but as always, we'll see. Hoping to come back and post up more than some nice mountain scenery pictures Talk to you guys (and Colette) soon. RJ

[MTLongdraw]

Have Fun. I leave Saturday early too. 9 miles deep on my hooves. Only can make it two days this year (wish I would have known I was gonna be a bowhunter when I got married in the middle of September ) I have a great feeling this year. Good Luck RJ.

[dotman]

Good luck! Lookin fwd to pics.

[ElkNut1]

Go getem Rory, we're pulling for you bud!!!

ElkNut1

[Panhandle Archer]

Good Luck! I have a buddy who hunts the lower panhandle and he has been hearing bugles at first light.

Careful on the atv/bike-- forest service will undoubtedly be out patrolling and looking for people on designated trails due to the high fire risk.

[WapitiTalk1]

Good Luck! I have a buddy who hunts the lower panhandle and he has been hearing bugles at first light.

Careful on the atv/bike-- forest service will undoubtedly be out patrolling and looking for people on designated trails due to the high fire risk.

Roger that.. It's actually a legal road to drive ATVs on just in such bad shape you can't get a truck on it Hope there are no area closures due to fire risk. I guess I'll find out soon enough.

[Panhandle Archer]

Roger that.. It's actually a legal road to drive ATVs on just in such bad shape you can't get a truck on it Hope there are no area closures due to fire risk. I guess I'll find out soon enough

Great. Just wanted to give you a heads up that I have seen FS on patrol, and a hefty fine would not be fun (especially when you're out in the woods having fun chasing elk!). Best of luck btw, keep us updated on how your hunt goes.

[WapitiTalk1]

Loaded and ready to go. Leave at 0300 to pick up Joe at 0400 and head for the Gem state. After a 9 or so hour drive, we'll park, secure the trailer, unload my Polaris, Joe's 4 stroke Yamaha, hook up the Yutrax trailer to my quad, throw our rucks and resupply duffles in the trailer, and hit the ATV trail. After a 1 1/2 hour trek (trails, logging roads), we'll arrive at the actual trail head and dawn our packs to head in on a 2 1/2 mile jaunt for 6 days. After the first 6 days, we'll come back to where we parked the vehicles and either resupply with our duffles containing an additional 7 days of chow or head to area 2. Hopefully, we'll be returning before the 6 day mark to pack out our first elk. The weather forecast looks hot but I hear the wapiti are starting to vocalize pretty good in the early morning. Talk to you guys (and gals) when I return. We don't get cell service in the hole we're heading to. Wishing each and every one of you who are heading out the best of luck and a safe September elk season.. It's been a loooooong off season. RJ

Photo525 (640x480).jpg (109.59 KiB) Viewed 4726 times

[pointysticks]

nice rig!!
i have a similar truck!! how heavy does that trailer end up being?

[Vanish]

Best of luck!

[WapitiTalk1]

nice rig!!
i have a similar truck!! how heavy does that trailer end up being?

Not sure but it pulls very nice with a quad, Joe's bike, and a handfull of gear in it.

[WapitiTalk1]

Back from the Gem state. Joe and I hunted almost two weeks in an area he found a few years ago. We were into multiple bulls all but two days (sometimes two or three on a morning hunt and several more in a different draw for an evening hunt). I'm not kidding a bit when I say, we heard what must have been close to 300 total bugles (obviously, not from 300 bulls). Joe hit a branch and hit below a nice 5 point and I drew back three or four times but did not have a clear shot, or, the bull slammed on the brakes over 30 yards head on and I didn't pull the trigger as that is too far for a frontal shot for me. All in all a great hunt with me conversating with a bunch of bulls. I got some pretty good video with my little action cam of elk talk exchange between me and numerous bullwinkles. We'll be back there next year but have to deploy a different strategy. It is the thickest, densest place I've ever hunted but the bull population warrants my return in 2013. Even the wallows we frequented has such tiny open areas to get a shot, we had minimal opportunitities to shoot even though I got Joe within 50 yards of several nice herd bulls. Perhaps it's time to evolve a bit and look into some tree standing. RJ

[flystrait]

Sounds like the places I know of in Idaho. Glad you had a great time and got into alot of elk, I'm sure you will get them next year!

[T/H]

Back from the Gem state. Joe and I hunted almost two weeks in an area he found a few years ago. We were into multiple bulls all but two days (sometimes two or three on a morning hunt and several more in a different draw for an evening hunt). I'm not kidding a bit when I say, we heard what must have been close to 300 total bugles (obviously, not from 300 bulls). Joe hit a branch and hit below a nice 5 point and I drew back three or four times but did not have a clear shot, or, the bull slammed on the brakes over 30 yards head on and I didn't pull the trigger as that is too far for a frontal shot for me. All in all a great hunt with me conversating with a bunch of bulls. I got some pretty good video with my little action cam of elk talk exchange between me and numerous bullwinkles. We'll be back there next year but have to deploy a different strategy. It is the thickest, densest place I've ever hunted but the bull population warrants my return in 2013. Even the wallows we frequented has such tiny open areas to get a shot, we had minimal opportunitities to shoot even though I got Joe within 50 yards of several nice herd bulls. Perhaps it's time to evolve a bit and look into some tree standing. RJ

tree stand? did i read that correctly? are you feeling well Rory? sounds like a fun hunt though regardless.

[WapitiTalk1]

Back from the Gem state. Joe and I hunted almost two weeks in an area he found a few years ago. We were into multiple bulls all but two days (sometimes two or three on a morning hunt and several more in a different draw for an evening hunt). I'm not kidding a bit when I say, we heard what must have been close to 300 total bugles (obviously, not from 300 bulls). Joe hit a branch and hit below a nice 5 point and I drew back three or four times but did not have a clear shot, or, the bull slammed on the brakes over 30 yards head on and I didn't pull the trigger as that is too far for a frontal shot for me. All in all a great hunt with me conversating with a bunch of bulls. I got some pretty good video with my little action cam of elk talk exchange between me and numerous bullwinkles. We'll be back there next year but have to deploy a different strategy. It is the thickest, densest place I've ever hunted but the bull population warrants my return in 2013. Even the wallows we frequented has such tiny open areas to get a shot, we had minimal opportunitities to shoot even though I got Joe within 50 yards of several nice herd bulls. Perhaps it's time to evolve a bit and look into some tree standing. RJ

tree stand? did i read that correctly? are you feeling well Rory? sounds like a fun hunt though regardless.

LOL.. I know David. We did more hole diving and climbing out of the nastiest choked sidehills I've ever hunted. I was into daily bulls and was close to them but there is no way to get a shot. I'll post up some of the footage I took with the action cam and you'll see the stuff we were in. Two or three screamers at a time within 30-50 yeards and zero shooting lanes. Even the dirt and wet wallows were tight. Joe's shot came at one of the wet wallows but touched a branch. Not sure what we're gonna do but have got to revisit how to hunt this area to facilitate a shot.