Idaho Archery Muley

[ihuntelk]

Sorry this is coming in 3 or 4 posts. I filmed this hunt - mostly by myself, so some of the deer pics are off the video screen and a little grainy..........

Just got back from 12 days in Idaho. 8 in mid august and 4 the last week of September. I was joined by my 2 older brothers, Zane and Jake, for a couple days in August and then Jake joined me for 2 days later in Sept.



Here are a few new friends I met.




This may be the rockiest county in the US.



Just expect it and prepare

 

[ihuntelk]

The country is so rocky that my dad is convinced the Feds have duped all of us. He laughs that we've never sent astronauts to the moon, just to southern Idaho. In that spirit, I took a pic of a 'moon rock' for him. LOL


Here's a velvet buck in his bed. He was in the secondary bed under this Juniper so I made the stalk thinking a bigger buck was gonna be in the primary bed. No such luck. About a 24" 3x3. I sncuk to 30 yards before taking his pic and backing out. He never knew the grim reaper was looking right at him.........


Some of the country we were glassing.


The ONLY way to hunt big, open country is with big glass on an Outdoorsmans Tripod.


I decided to pass on this buck when we found him in his bed. Jake decided to stalk him as he wanted a velvet buck and his wife was expecting in a couple weeks. Wind swirled at 60 yards and here's a pic of the video screen. 22" 165 type deer.


Jake left and I was on my own for the next 5 days. Home sweet home.

 

[sbhooper]

Great pics. That country is hard on boots!

 

[Brock-ID]

Looks like a great time, outstanding photos!

 

[Duck-Slayer]

View attachment 31846


This may be the rockiest county in the US.
View attachment 31845

The crazy thing is, I know exactly where both of these pictures were taken, I spend alot of time down there, usually upwards of 20 days just for hunting and another 30 or so mixed in all summer, great place, best place too just be in... but that's my opinion, got me an antelope again down there this year, saw 3 smoker bucks ranged between 140 - 170 while I was down there, only got 7 days this hunting season down there, but my wife has a deer tag so we will be down there again.... great hunt and photo's....
Matt

 

[ihuntelk]

Here's a few more bucks I passed on the opportunity to stalk.




Had this guy in his bed at 25 yards before I decided he still wasn't the one..........


I have a degree in Wildlife Management from the U of Wyo so I always tell my wife that hunting is part of my degree! She atleast laughs at that. She doesn't think it's very funny when I tell her I also have a minor in Interior Design and that taxidermy BELONGS in the living room! Apparently I also have a minor in Auto Detail as I am an expert pinstriper.


On the last day of the hunt. I finally found 2 bucks I wanted to poke an arrow through. They were together with 3 other bucks. A 2 hour 200 yard crawl culminated with my laying next to the only sagebrush on the hillside for 3.5 hours at 34 yards. Several small bucks changed beds during that 99 degree ordeal but the big guys never moved. Fianlly a smaller buck stood and pegged my video camera. I was trying to film myself and had the camera on the tripod just barely over the top of the sagebrush. I was gonna reach up and hit record when the bucks finally stood, then attach my release, draw and shoot the big guy (sounded good in theory..........). He picked out my camera and spent 45 seconds staring holes my direction. I was cussing him, his mama, his sister and everything else I could think of until he snorted and everything blew out. The biggest buck was a 180+ 27" buck with a 3 inch kicker of his right G2-3. After they blew out, I laid there curled up in the fetal position sucking my thumb for a while.
I ended up staying til dark and took this pic of a doe that eve. I can't tell if the wink was mocking me or not.


Left after dark and drove to Zane's in East Idaho. Crawled into bed at 2AM and got up the next morn and drove back to Wyo.

A few days later, Jake went back down and had that big buck at 36 yards until the wind shifted and a smaller buck on the edge of his bed caught a wiff. He couldn't find him the next 2 days and ended up shooting this buck so he could shoot one in velvet and then be home when the new baby arrived.

 

[Stubaby]

Cool write up. Thanks for bringing us along. Can't wait to see the rest.

 

[ihuntelk]

I hunted my Wyo archery deer tag for 4 days and had a crossbow hunter screw me up on a great buck. No offense to the crossbow guys but they just don't take it as serious (IMO) and just look at it as an excuse to get out before rifle season. That's great to get more guys out and about, but.....................
I knew I had to go back to Idaho with the bow. I'd be able to rifle hunt my Wyo deer for a couple days later in October so..........
I left for Idaho after church on Sunday and drove the 12 hours stragiht through. Stopped in SE Idaho to pass a couple HuntingGPSMaps.com chips off to a buddy heading out on a Wyo Elk hunt. Rolled into camp and was in the bag by 1. The next morning I found 2 bucks I'd seen earlier in the season. Still not quite what I was looking for.


Only saw 3 bucks on day 1. Hmmmmmmmm..............
Jake joined me that night and was super optimistic for the next 2 days he could hunt with me. Tuesday morn we saw 7 does/fawns from the same knob he had seen 68 deer the day before he killed his buck. Hmmmmmmmm................. We hunted a different butte tuesday night and saw almost 15 bucks but nothing I chased.
Wednesday we saw the same bucks I had seen monday. Too much hiking and glassing but we couldn't turn up any other bucks. I decided that I'd give it one more try Thursday morn and then head south to look at some elk. I also have the Nov rifle bull tag in that unit and wanted to put some miles on before that hunt. There are deer down there as well so maybe a change of scenery was in order. That was my plan as I went to bed that night.

Glassing setup during the hunt.


The next morn there were 3 bucks in our bowl and one I hadn't seen before. He wouldn't score as good as his buddy (a 165ish deer), but he was wider and more mature and didn't have near the potentail of his buddy. I decided I'd go introduce him to an Injexion tipped with a Shuttle-T broadhead.

They were feeding on this sage flat and bedded in the upper row of Mahogany.


Took my boots and pack off at 150 yards.


Had to get to this sagebrush to be able to shoot over the top. 34 yards from their beds.


His tines sticking up from his bed.


Long story short is that the 2 of the bucks got up and changed beds several times over the course of 3 hours. One of the smaller 4's was feeding at 29 yards and snapped his head my way. I'm still not sure if he saw or sensed me. After 45 seconds he started to trot away and the 2 better bucks blew out as soon as he started. I wanted to scream! How do guys like Ulmer do it EVERY YEAR on big deer? These deer aren't that big and I can't even poke a hole through them. I consider myself a pretty savvy outdoorsman but these deer were crushing me!
I crawled under the shade of a Juniper, put my boots on and drank a bunch my bottles of Hydrate and Recover. I then decided I was gonna quit and go look at elk. I strapped on my pack and headed back to the rig a couple miles away. I only got 2 or 3 steps away and then turned and walked to the highest know around this bowl. I HAD to kill a deer in this chunk of real estate. Elk could wait.

3 hours and over 2 miles later, I finally found a buck in its bed. It was the same 3 bucks I had busted that afternoon. Crazy! I was seeing 20 bucks a day on my previous trip and now I can only find the same 3 bucks? Are you kidding me? Well it was game on.


His buddy had more potential and was a younger deer.


They were up and feeding before I could stalk em in their beds. The wind was right and the sun was at my back as they fed away. I waited til they crested the ridge then ran and creeped over the top. They were 100 yards and still feeding away. As soon as they were out of sight, I sprinted to the next ridge and slowed to creep over the top. This time they were 80 yards and feeding on some mahogany. They had picked up a forkie and he and the basket 4 were 200 yards away feeding to the south. The bigger bucks looked like they wanted to stay NW. After 10 minutes they slowly disappeared over the next ridge. I could see a tall patch of sage on the crest of that ridge, up from where they had crossed but in line with where they were moving.
The sun had set and shooting light would quickly change from pink to dark purple. I crept toward the sage patch but stalled a time or two when I saw tines over the horizon. My hunch was correct and they were feeding to the NW. It took forever to close the last 30 yards to the sage but I couldn’t shoot until I cleared the sage. As I peeked over the top, the wider 4 was in the back and instantly pegged my movement. The sunset was perfectly at my back so I stood as I drew, locked and released………………….
I lost the arrow in flight but the solid whack was music to my ears. He spun out twice trying to get his feet under him and I knew I had hit a little forward and got the shoulder. The 2 bucks ran over the hill 75 yards away and I exhaled as a new flood of emotions poured over me. I quickly went to where he had been standing and took off my pack for a marker. I walked out to the little rim of the small canyon to try and lay eyes on him. I sat down and after 3 or 4 minutes, his buddy walked out from behind a Juniper 300 yards away. He was snorting, looking back and pacing back and forth. By now the light was really poor. He walked behind a Juniper that was the last I saw him, but I knew my buck was down. YES!
I went back to my pack, waited 15 more minutes then started on the blood trail with my headlamp. It took about 30 minutes to sort out the 200 yard blood trail. Arrow had passed through the front shoulder blade, along a rib on the opposite side and was lying 5 yards beyond where he’d been standing.


I rolled a little video, took some really bad still pics and then started peeling quarters and filling game bags. I took everything out of my Outdoorsmans Optics Hunter pack and then put ALL 4 quarters inside. I poked the spotting scope and a couple shirts in an outside pouch and filled every pouch I could with the rest of my gear. I tied the head and cape on the top and cinched it down. Finally I tied my Heli-m on the back and was amazed that everything was on the pack but my video camera and one small bag with lunch and a few odds/ends. I then pulled out my GPS and hefted my bulging pack up and buckled in. I’m guessing I was pushing 130 lbs but didn’t get to weigh in. 1.5 miles took me right at 1 hour and I rolled into camp at 11:59 PM. Another sweet night on a cot and then I got up and headed for home. I wanted to see my wife and kiddos that night and then make my 2 oldest daughters volleyball games Saturday morning.

Heck of a fun hunt. I’ve tried to add up how many bucks I saw and keep coming up with over 100 different bucks in the 12 days I hunted. Best buck I saw was that 180+ 27” 4x with a cheater. Next 2 best bucks I saw were 170 type 4x’s that both were in bowrange. The buck I killed was the best buck I found on my return trip. I’ve fallen in love with hunting desert deer in both Wyo and Idaho with the bow and can’t wait to match wits again next fall.

-Cade
www.HuntForeverWest.com

 

[blue devil]

congrats on some great deer

 

[Stubaby]

Awesome!!!!! How do like that pack? You have any more "in action" pics of that outdoorsmans pack?

 

[Duck-Slayer]

good deal, sounds like alot of fun, I am hoping too draw that tag next year, at least there will be one less person putting in for it.... again congrats,
Matt

 

[JohnCushman]

Congrats!!

 

[huntbux]

cool pics nice bucks

 

[SagebrushSlayer]

Awesome hunt! Thanks for sharing. You have a great story and I like your videos. Great job in tough country, especially with a bow!

 

[ihuntelk]

Thanks everyone.

Stu- This is the first year I've used the Optics Hunter Pack. That was my first pack out with it. Since I was by myself, I didn't (couldn't) take any loaded down pics.
I've used a Cabelas Alaska frame pack as my meat hauler for over 15 years. It has been a machine but obviously isn't acceptable as a day pack.
I've used Badlands, Eberlestock, Crooked Horn and a couple others as day packs that I could then haul some meat off the hill with. None of them are as comfortable or functional as the Outdoorsman (IMO). I always have my Outdoorsman tripod in one sleeve down the side of the pack and my glassing stool down the other side in the sleeve. Can still put a bow or rifle on the back and it will haul meat. I used the gutless method and peeled quarters off this buck. All 4 quarters fit. + backstraps + loin + a game bag with rib/neck meat + cape and head on top.
For elk, it should haul at least 2 quarters. I'll find out in 2 weeks on my daughters wyo bull tag. I've then got a wyo bull and Idaho bull tag as well.

Hope this helps. Thanks!
Cade

 

[highmountian]

Nice buck, congrats.

 

[silverado11]

Great great story, awesome pics to. Congrats on a great deer.

 

[AZ402]

Nice work! Congrats........

 

[noharleyyet]

Exceptional narrative & pictures.

 

[ID_deerslayer]

great story and great pics. i was not so lucky this year bowhunting in Idaho. congrats to you on having some perseverance and sticking your buck!