A " BIG" thanks to all

[ewade73]

North Idaho Public Land 8x6

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Here is some pics. and the story of how I came across this "BIG" North Idaho public land 8x6. It started 8 years ago when my cousin from northern Washington called me and said he was looking for an elk hunting partner. I was already an avid bow hunter so elk was definitely on my list so plans where made and i have been hooked ever since.It was our second year in when we came across the "ELKNUT PLAYBOOK" and looking back I can truly say that is when I became a true elk hunter. Being from Northern Calif. I only get to spend 2 weeks a year learning from actual elk so having someone like Paul a.k.a"ELKNUT" and all of the fine folks on this forum willing to share REAL first hand knowledge and tactics of elk is a true game changer for so many of us. So THANKS again because this and all of our bulls have been a result of this forum.
A year to remember would be an understatement for 2016. This would be my Dads 4th year hunting with us and he took his first bull( an absolutely beautiful 6x6) and I was able to connect on this for sure my biggest bull to date. probably ever. With the last 2 weeks of sept. to hunt we pulled in to camp on Sunday sept.18 and made camp. Probably had 2 hours to hunt that evening but after driving close to 18 hours and setting up camp it wasn't that hard to just hangout and get things ready for the mornings hunt.
Monday Sept.19 our first day hunting. We decided we would spend the morning looking over some new country and try some location bugles every 1/2 mile or so out a ridge.NOTHING. Plan 2 my dad and i head out to some more familiar ground and my cousin goes to check out another new spot.An hour later we are in a small saddle with a good wind due to a front moving in. We decide to go ahead and make a setup. I started giving some lost-pleading cow calls(my preferred method of locating bulls) and was instantly answered by three different bulls.That was a first for me and pretty cool. The other thing that was new to me was they where all on the south side of the mountain in thier "feeding areas" and not on the northside timber like normal at 1p.m. The closest bull was probably 300 yards below us ,one was even farther down below him and one was on the ridge to the east. I believe my bull was the one below us .He wasn't moving but would chuckle back to my calls. The bull to the east was coming in but held up about 150 yards out and would scream back at me once in a while. We had found some bulls the first day and I didn't want to blow them out right away so I got my dad and backed out due to it just being way to open to call my way to them. Theres nothing like hearing that first bugle of the season. Times that by 3 and i was pumped.So my dad and I relocate about 1/2 mile away and make another stand. Nothing going here but I cant stop thinking about the 3 bulls. All I have to do is talk my dad into the plan.I tell him If we drop elevation there is a trail that should lead us right to where the bull that was below us is and i think we should go and pick a fight with him. It was now 2;30 p.m. and i told him we would give it an hour and then start heading back to camp.He was in.So we dropped our elevation to his and came in from the west.The wind was perfect blowing uphill to where we where when we first heard them and with him not wanting to move up earlier i figured he probably had some cows. With it being as open as it was I was really just hoping to get him close enough for my dad to just see and hear him.We side hill as close as we can get before it starts to drop and make a corner where he should be. So I point to my dad where to sit and goes and gets set up. He ends up sitting behind a bush that is no taller than his knee when standing so when he sat down he could see over the top of it (so he thought). So I move back from where we came from and down hill into a small depression in the hill.Im probably 30 yards below my dad and 40 yards back.I get into a spot with the most wood i can find for raking and give out some chuckles. 2 bulls answer but not the one that should be in front of us. In my mind I am watching him gather up his cows and start moving them down the trail and then he will come back to take care of business especially when i start with the short screams. To me this is the call that gets me more opportunity than anything it seems when im close calling his cows with chuckles will piss him off but short screaming at his cows multiple times makes them see red.This would be my lip bawl. So I give out a mild scream with some chuckles and start raking.I get responses from the other 2 again. I grab the biggest sticks i can find and make as much noise as i can raking and stomping the ground then let out with a couple of strong short screams wait 20 seconds then another one. Back to raking and stomping. It has now been close to 10 min.and am starting to think maybe he just got his cows and left. Here is one of my secrets(at least it works for me) Maybe it will help someone else.When I bugle I just use a normal soft flexible tube. I try to sound like a first year 6 point(say a 17 year old kid) feeling his oats for the first time. I feel my calling doesnt need to be as good because he is new to this game. I look at it like this if i was on one side of the park with my girlfriends and im either 25 or 42 years old if theres a 17 year old punk over there cat calling my girls i aint going nowhere and if he really pisses me off (by short screaming at them) I AM NOT SCARED TO GO OVER THERE AND TEACH HIM A LESSON. Now if there was a 20 or 40 something year old over there calling my girls im taking them to another park. If I can avoid that confrontation i am. So i dont really feel I have given this bull anything to fear i am just anoying him and am getting ready to piss him off. 2 more short screams and there he is with a big moaning grunt. Sounds like he is 80 yards around the corner so i give scream with 2 grunts.I start raking again and give out a popping grunt. wait nothing.one more challenge nothing. rake. nothing 2 more short screams and I hear crunch,crunch, crunch. He's coming. I look up at my dad and he just sits there.crunch,crunch,crunch he is on a steady walk so I look around the logs im behind and sure enough its the bull. I look at my dad and nothing the bull is 20 yards broadside in front of him in the wide open and still coming toward me. Any second this bull is going to be directly between us. He comes into my sight and i look at my dad again and he hasnt even moved. The bull gets directly across from me i pull back guess 30 yards and have to shoot because 2 more steps and hes getting my wind. I shoot and he whirled around and ran back past my dad at 20 yards again and i was able to stop him with another challenge. He was probably 60 from me but couldnt get another one in him. He was 35 yards from my dad but facing away from him. So he takes off.I look up at my dad and he doesnt know what to do. I range the tree I remember him being behind and it was 20 yards but am not sure exactly where he was. I start to walk up to my dad and get to the tree the bull was behind looking for tracks on the ground, every yard I went past that tree made me feel better about my shot. At 26 yards I could see where he whirled around and there was my arrow laying on the ground. I asked my dad if he shot at the bull and he said it was facing away from him so he didnt shoot. So Iasked why he didnt shoot when it was 20 yards broadside and he said he didnt see it so I reached down grabed my bloody arrow and said well i did. He had no Idea i even shot but that was when he heard and saw the bull whirl around and when it ran past him at 20 yards he said all he could see was the tops of his horns because of the little bush he sat behind and the downhill angle behind it. At this point I really wasnt sure what I saw. I dont get to see alot of bulls close up but I know if he has two points behind his fourths then he is a six point but neither of us could describe what we actually saw. We both thought he was big but couldnt beleive that big. We talked waited and I prayed for a quick kill and it started to rain so we got on blood and the bull didnt even go 100 yards. The next day you could actually see where the bull died from where my dad was sitting.It truly was an amazing moment to be able to walk up on such an amazing animal and have my dad at my side.The mass of this bull is something that pictures just dont do justice to. This bull died in a hole from a root ball and i think it could have been his bed because about 30 yards away there where 3 more beds. Was wondering if anyone has ever seen something like that before.
tuesday sept.20 i packed meat and horns ALL DAY it was awesome

Wednsday sept.21 my dad killed a great 6x6 (i will share that story also soon)

Thursday I packed meat ALL DAY again and loved it.My dad is 69 years old and was not allowed to pack any meat and my cousin had a bum knee this year so i got to pack all the meat and horns out myself. Probably the most memorable and rewarding parts of the hunt for me

Friday finished packing meat , packed camp and drove to my cousins house

North Idaho

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[ewade73]

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[ewade73]

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Heres some more pics. and thanks again for all the help

[Marshmstr]

Wow...awesome bull!!


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[Timber]

Job well done! Glad you had the opportunity to do this with your father! Just made some great stories and memories for a lifetime! Looks like some steep country as expected in N. Idaho. Did you guys use horses to get in there? If not your dad must be in great shape or one TOUGH fella , probably better than most half his age. CONGRATS!!!

[Indian Summer]

Wow man those are some nice bulls! That one you got is truly the bull of a lifetime. One of a kind. Love it. Congratulations!!!!

[WapitiTalk1]

Epic hunt for sure! That photo of you and your dad in front of the wall tent is a blow up/framer for sure. Congrats on two great bulls and thanks for sharing your hunt with us.

[Old school]

Thanks for sharing a recap of your hunt with us. Sounds like you had a great time with your dad. Great pics.

--Mitch

[Timber]

Epic hunt for sure! That photo of you and your dad in front of the wall tent is a blow up/framer for sure. Congrats on two great bulls and thanks for sharing your hunt with us.

I wish they had "like" buttons on here. That picture is awesome it reminds me of some of those pictures from long ago (black and white) from hunt camps.

[Swede]

Great story and congratulations. Those old burns have great feed and usually have elk like an ice cream store has kids.

[Lefty]

Those are great pics of a fantastic hunt. Congratulations!!!

A hunt like that makes so much effort worth while

[oldnovice]

So glad you and your dad get to do this together! I am 63 and I doubt my son is interested in hunting at all. My dad and I did some fishing when I was young.

[CurlyTail]

Great Bull - except everybody knows that there are no big elk in Idaho!

I really enjoyed the detailed, blow by blow description of the encounter. Lots to be learned - and man you were truly aggressive on the calls which I think is smart.

Interesting how two guys a short distance apart can have such a different view of the same scene - thank goodness you were both hunting and calling. What a heartbreaker that would be to call in that magnificent animal and have your shooter not even see it!

Thanks for sharing. Can't wait to hear about your dads bull.

[Shadrap23]

great bull and awesome story...
congrats on a bull of a lifetime.

[one_elk]

Thanks for sharing the pics and the story, got to believe that is a dream of alot of dads that hunt, to have that kind of success with son or daughter....

[MT Bound]

Wow what an amazing hunt and an amazing bull, some good memories right there! way to get it done, some good calling tricks right there.

[JJ Overkill]

Wow. What a magnificent bull. Very unique and different. Congrats on a successful hunt and wonderful memory's.

[ewade73]

Timber we did not have any horses although I sure wish we did. Thanks for all the comments and I am very thankful my dad was on this trip. I was able to take my son (5years old) deer hunting over the weekend and know it will be something he will never forget. Getting the 3 of us together in a elk camp is going to be a challenge but I hope it can happen. Maybe I will make another post to ask some of the guys at what age they where willing to take there kids on a true DIY elk hunt and advice on getting them out of school for 2 weeks since I have a wife.

[Dr. Rx]

that was a great story.. good for you and your dad!

I'm from northern California, chico to be exact.. it's good to know there are others who like to elk hunt out of state.

Kris

[Toothy]

great report and pics.. truly impressive.