Idaho 2022 Recap

[Lilhowie83]

It's finally time to getting around to recapping the 2022 season for me and my boys here in Idaho. I was planning to keep things updated a little better as the hunts went on, but I have been way too busy and just haven't had time. I finally finished some side hustle projects this past weekend and should have plenty of time to get things caught up in the next couple of days. I have enjoyed following everyone's hunt updates and recaps so far and look forward to more. So here goes with mine.

We started application season as follows,

Me: Idaho Bighorn Sheep-unsuccessful

Wife: Idaho moose-unsuccessful

Oldest Daughter: Idaho Moose-unsuccessful (her biggest dream is to shoot a big Shiras Moose)

Oldest Son: Idaho CH elk- unsuccessful
Idaho Pronghorn-succesful

Second Son:Idaho Pronghorn- successful (ever since he went through hunters ed, he has wanted to shoot a Pronghorn more than anything. Also he couldn't apply for elk because he drew last year)

Third Son: Idaho Elk- unsuccessful
Idaho Pronghorn-successful

So we started the year with 3 Pronghorn tags, OTC elk for me, 3 sons and my daughter and OTC deer tags for me, 3 sons and daughter.

During application season I also found out that @JohnCushman drew an Idaho moose tag in my home unit and the same unit that I apply my wife and daughter in. So I had a pretty good handle on moose in the unit and give John some pretty good Intel. Although I wasn't able to make it on his hunt, it was still fun to interact with John and help him with his moose hunt.

I started the year getting back in hiking shape by hiking around the home unit trying to get my eyes on some moose for John. As early in the year as it was I only found a few small bulls and some cows, the bigger bulls tend to start showing up more in the fall. But it was good to be back out in the mountains getting my mountain legs back under me.




We took a couple of trips up to the unit that my boys had antelope tags in and did some scouting and became familiar with the lay of the land. I also took the boys and we did a couple of overnight hikes in the zone we were hunting elk in to become familiar with the area, since we had never hunted it before.



We finished the summer by taking a group of youth from our church on a couple night hike to Upper Palisade Lake. It was a very fun but wet trip.



After that trip it was time for kids to get ready for school and get started on football and soccer practices and start a very busy fall.

I also have to give a shout out to @BAKPAKR who new I was looking for some Mystery Ranch Metcalfs and gave me a lead on a good sale as well as shared a promo code with me so I was able to get three quality backpacks that we put to good use this fall.

Also @Backofbeyond who sold me a used Mossberg .243 that my 10 year old was able to use to harvest his first big game animal.

 

[Lilhowie83]

The Antelope hunt started for the three boys on September 25th but we couldn't go opening day because we had commitments at church. So I had checked with the football coach of the older two boys and they were okay to miss practice on Monday but my oldest boy especially that was going to be his only time to get out for antelope. We got to the unit well before light and got to a good glassing spot. After only seeing does for the first couple of hours we decided to move spots. As we were driving we spotted a group of antelope about 300 yards off the road on a chunk of BLM. We looked at them for a minute and there was a buck in there that my oldest boy was happy to go after since this was his first antelope and since today and tomorrow morning we're his only chance to get out due to football.

I had the two younger boys stay at the car while me and my oldest snuck along a tree lined creek bank for about a hundred yards. We got to about 200 yards and the antelope had just bedded down, so we got my boy set up and made a little commotion in doing so in hopes that the antelope would stand up. Sure enough the plan worked and my boy dropped the buck as quick as he had stood up. We walked over got him cleaned up and quarters and got everything on ice so we could keep hunting for the other two.

Not a big buck but he has a little character the way that left horn hooks back.

 

[JohnCushman]

I couldn't have done it without you. Thank you so much!! The jerky is amazing too

 

[Lilhowie83]

I couldn't have done it without you. Thank you so much!! The jerky is amazing too

Glad to here. I wish I could have been there for your moose hunt. I've been trying to talk my kids into giving up sports for a couple of years so we could just focus on hunting, but it hasn't worked yet.

 

[Lilhowie83]

Next up was my middle boy, the one who is obsessed with antelope.

I failed to mention that in my first post that I had this same antelope tag when I was 13 and I remember going up into this big basin that was above 8,000 feet and I was awestruck that there was antelope up in this high mountain basin and I have been trying to get back and hunt antelope in this basin ever since. So needless to say I was beside myself when my boys drew this tag.

So with my middle boy on deck we made the slow 25 mile drive on forest service roads up into this basin. As soon as we got into the basin I spotted a group of antelope up on the hill and as soon as I put my binoculars up I noticed a really nice buck chasing a doe. We got out and were watching them and they ran within 100 yards of the road for a brief second, but I wasn't going to let him shoot from the road and the doe was not stopping which meant the buck was not stopping either. They eventually ran over the hill into another draw so we pulled up the road a little ways and started hiking up the backside of the draw they went up so we could try and get on them or cut them off. As we got to tge top of the draw we noticed that the antelope had beat us up the hill and were quite a ways above us. There was no way we could stock them from where we were without getting busted so we backed out and went around the back of the hill they were on so we could try and come in from above them where there were a lot of rocks and brush. The stalk and the hike ended up taking us about 3 hours but we got my boy set up in a good spot resting on my pack. We have practiced out to 200 yards a lot with my boys, but never much further. The antelope were just over 400 yards at this point, but with the good rest he had and the antelope not knowing we were there, I felt comfortable with him taking the shot. His scope has a BDC reticle so I told him where to hold and he sent a perfectly aligned shot right under the bucks rib cage it was just inches low. The antelope were still just milling around and went about 35 yards further away so they were almost 450 at this time. He chambered another round and boom, another shot lined up just right but a little low again. This time the herd took off and went right into the middle of this section of private that is the only section of private for miles. With broken hearts on missed opportunities and fading daylight, we decided to call it a night and go get camp set up.

 

[Lilhowie83]

As we were driving to our designated camping spot we saw a big group of antelope on a hill about 200 yards from the road. My youngest boy said he wanted to go after them. All day long he had been saying he wanted to shoot a big buck, but I know his personality and he runs out of patience quickly, he is only 10. So as him and I are stalking up the hill towards the little bench that the antelope were on, he said he was happy to shoot anything. There was one little buck in the group, but he was running does around with no sign of slowing down. So my boy got set up and made a good clean shot on the closest doe. This was his first time hunting big game and he was very happy with his harvest and I now have another kid hooked on hunting. He was able to use the .243 that I bought for him from @Backofbeyond

We got the antelope taken care of and in the cooler and headed for our camping spot. Everyone was tired enough from an early morning and long day that they crashed before we reached our destination. As we got to our designated spot, I looked at everyone else asleep and said to hell with it I'm not setting up the tent for myself, I laid my seat back and joined everyone else.

 

[Lilhowie83]

With only the morning to hunt, before heading home, to get the boys to football practice, we decided to go check out some lower country BLM and some private ag land that we had permission to hunt. We drove around all morning and saw a lot of antelope, but nothing that got my middle boy excited. So we decided to pack up and head home for now. After looking over antelope in alfalfa fields, we did come to the realization that we didn't want to shoot one out of a farm field, it almost felt like cheating and even my 12 year old agreed. So for now we were going to pull the plug on this trip and be back in a couple of weeks.

 

[Lilhowie83]

My middle son and I went back up on October 5th right after his football practice that night. We camped out that night and then got up and started driving around various pieces of BLM trying to find a decent buck. Nothing we saw interested him very much so we made the decision to drive back up into the same basin where he had chased that buck earlier in the season. We came in from a different direction and it was a very scenic drive.

Notice his footwear in the last picture. @JohnCushman should be proud.

 

[Lilhowie83]

As we drove from the summit down into the basin, I immediately noticed a herd of antelope feeding on the hillside not far from where we noticed the herd with the good buck 10 days earlier. A quick look with the binoculars confirmed that it was the same group and the buck was with them. They were feeding up the hill and we could tell that they were going to feed over the top into a little pocket that would give us a perfect setup. We got our packs on and ready and as soon as we saw the last antelope go over the hill we quickly followed them. We got to the top of the ridge and it was a perfect set up, there were several big rock formations that we could use to conceal ourselves to get within a good shooting distance. The antelope were just milling around and feeding in this little pocket so we crept up to a good flat rock that my boy could use to lean across and get a good rest. We were right at 180 yards and he got set up. He took a few breaths and as soon as the buck got clear of a doe he was with my boy delivered one quick fatal round to the buck. He hit it a little forward but he reared up and expired immediately. And just like that we had filled all three antelope tags filled.

 

[Lilhowie83]

My cousin did tge euros and made some mounts for us. They turned out really good.

 

[Deleted member 40728]

Awesome. Congrats all around. I like the looks of those euro mounts.

 

[Lilhowie83]

Awesome. Congrats all around. I like the looks of those euro mounts.

Yeah, they turned out really good. They work good so the boys can just keep them on their dressers in their rooms.

 

[targetpanic]

Great write up on the antelope portion of the season!

 

[Matthew57]

That's awesome, congrats on your boys' success!

 

[kansasdad]

Such unusual antelope habitat.

Congratulations

 

[duck wrangler]

I really like the way you did the euros!
Congrats on a great season!