I headed to Idaho again to hunt with a friend called BOY! 
Unlike the last trip to the Gem State this time I had a tag. BOY picked me up from the airport on Friday with the camp attached to his truck and we headed to camp. Along the way we picked up his wife and daughter and met his SIL/BIL and their two 18mo olds already in camp. His parents showed up the next day. Big, fun camp! Though I was the lone outsider, every one was super gracious and didn't mind me eating their food! His BIL had the same tag as I, but had tagged out a couple of weeks earlier. The camp spot was great, plenty of room for all and in a central location.
Over the next two days we hit various parts of the unit glassing in spots he'd seen bucks on previous hunts here. This is where I learned a lesson. Be aware of the best game spotter...with the best glass! 15X Swaro's on a tripod are amazing for spotting game and BOY had them and was putting them to good work. We spotted quite a few deer and elk over those two days, but none he'd put into the "no doubter" class. We finally stumbled upon one, but he saw us first the two times we bumped into him.
On Monday afternoon, we decided to head over to an area where we'd seen one of the nicer 4pts. Quite a few of the bucks we were seeing were 4X3s, just no split on the one tine. We split up to glass more country as the wind was up and we weren't really seeing all that many where and the time of day we saw them a few days before. On near dark, BOY spotted a good buck and got my attention. We hustled over to where he spotted it and pointed it out to me. It was standing in the middle of a small burnt area, but for the life of me I couldn't see it!! Remember the lesson I mentioned above! WIth some coaching I was able to get it found.
"It's in the middle of the white sticks!"
"I'm looking at the white sticks!"
"Jesus, he's right there!"
"Oh, I got him!"
I was looking a bit right of where the deer was. Yep, he was standing in the middle of the white sticks, out in the open, just looking at us. I had ranged the burn previously at 280yds and we were now some distance closer so... I found him in the scope. Boom.
"Miss! He's moving to the left."
Boom! "He's still up!"
Just as I was finding him in the scope again, I saw him fall. It was full on dark by the time we gathered up the gear, walked back to the bikes, and made it to him.
Come to find out, both shots had been hits.. The first was low and the second was right where I wanted it, through the shoulders. He was kind enough to die not 200 yards up hill from the ATV trail, making getting him out a snap! Quick drag down the hill and we had him ready for a ride to camp where I could take care of getting him cleaned up.
And to show every one I paid my debt for last years lost bet...
All in all a great hunt! I'm deeply grateful for the help and hospitality BOY and his family showed me. Can't wait to get back to ID in 3 weeks with an elk tag in my pocket!
Unlike the last trip to the Gem State this time I had a tag. BOY picked me up from the airport on Friday with the camp attached to his truck and we headed to camp. Along the way we picked up his wife and daughter and met his SIL/BIL and their two 18mo olds already in camp. His parents showed up the next day. Big, fun camp! Though I was the lone outsider, every one was super gracious and didn't mind me eating their food! His BIL had the same tag as I, but had tagged out a couple of weeks earlier. The camp spot was great, plenty of room for all and in a central location. 
Over the next two days we hit various parts of the unit glassing in spots he'd seen bucks on previous hunts here. This is where I learned a lesson. Be aware of the best game spotter...with the best glass!
15X Swaro's on a tripod are amazing for spotting game and BOY had them and was putting them to good work. We spotted quite a few deer and elk over those two days, but none he'd put into the "no doubter" class. We finally stumbled upon one, but he saw us first the two times we bumped into him. On Monday afternoon, we decided to head over to an area where we'd seen one of the nicer 4pts. Quite a few of the bucks we were seeing were 4X3s, just no split on the one tine. We split up to glass more country as the wind was up and we weren't really seeing all that many where and the time of day we saw them a few days before. On near dark, BOY spotted a good buck and got my attention. We hustled over to where he spotted it and pointed it out to me. It was standing in the middle of a small burnt area, but for the life of me I couldn't see it!! Remember the lesson I mentioned above!
WIth some coaching I was able to get it found. "It's in the middle of the white sticks!"
"I'm looking at the white sticks!"
"Jesus, he's right there!"
"Oh, I got him!"
I was looking a bit right of where the deer was. Yep, he was standing in the middle of the white sticks, out in the open, just looking at us. I had ranged the burn previously at 280yds and we were now some distance closer so... I found him in the scope. Boom.
"Miss! He's moving to the left."
Boom! "He's still up!"
Just as I was finding him in the scope again, I saw him fall. It was full on dark by the time we gathered up the gear, walked back to the bikes, and made it to him.
Come to find out, both shots had been hits.. The first was low and the second was right where I wanted it, through the shoulders. He was kind enough to die not 200 yards up hill from the ATV trail, making getting him out a snap! Quick drag down the hill and we had him ready for a ride to camp where I could take care of getting him cleaned up.
And to show every one I paid my debt for last years lost bet...
All in all a great hunt! I'm deeply grateful for the help and hospitality BOY and his family showed me. Can't wait to get back to ID in 3 weeks with an elk tag in my pocket!
