I’m putting my story in “Elk” because elk was my highlight hunt this year. It’s more of a season recap but without the begining my elk hunt just wouldn’t have been the same.
My Idaho Elk Hunt.
So as most hunting stories start this one materializes in the spring. After my Turkey hunt this spring and failing to draw a bighorn tag this year I was pondering what my final plans would be for fall. About the time I had reduced my choices down to 1 or 2 per species my buddy called me and said,
"What's your plans for elk? How big of a buck and bull are you holding out for?"
My reply, "Honestly man, I just want everything to go well."
"What do you mean?" he asked with a chuckle.
"Last year wasn't great..." I reminded him. For those who don't know my hunting last year was filled with trial and tribulation. My antelope hunt resulted in a bad hit requiring me to walk a little buck down for a few miles. My deer hunt was a bust. I NEVER saw an antlered deer. My elk hunt went ok as far as I got a bull but in hindsite I felt like he was a casualty of volley fire from 5 groups of hunters and my bullet happened to be the one that hit home. If you've hunted opening day in Idaho for bulls you understand. I was just in the right spot at the right time with the right angle. While I'm happy with the results I didn't have a warm and fuzzy about it. My turkey hunt this spring resulted in wading chest deep in an icy river to recover a wounded bird. While these things happen when they happen one after the other it begins to wear on a guy.
Now by go well I don't mean kill a monster 300 yards from the pickup. Not that I would turn that chance down! What I mean is just a good hunt. I wanted to see game, make a good clean shot, have a decent recovery. That"s about it.
Fast forward to August. I'm sitting in a blind looking at a water trough 33 yards away. I haven't seen a buck since the day before opening. He was huge. I sat on the water for 3 days and never had one come to water. I've burned through my book "The Martian". I'm bored so today I brought the spotter along. Yeah... I'm sitting in a blind cooshing cold sodas out of a cooler watching a hill side. I hunt antelope in an area known for big bulls and bighorns. You'll never draw a tag for either but it's fun to see them. I start glassing as the sun comes up. Low and behold there is a bunch of 9 or 10 antelope wandering my way off the hillside 1/2 mile away. I set an arrow on my rest and start getting ready. Watching these antelope I can see there is a small to decent buck walking in front. I'm feeling like a kid in the toy store with $10 in my pocket. I watched as those antelope stopped, put their heads down for 10 minutes, then turned around an wandered back up into the trees. "What the..." goes through my head. I sit in my blind until noon with nothing. I get out and walk the 1/2 mile to the spot where the antelope were. I see nothing. I wander a few yards further and low and behold there is a 1 inch pipe sticking a foot out of the ground. It's been capped but the cap has cracked and is spurting a squirt gun shot of water out of it. Around the pipe is a 2 foot puddle with 6 inches of green grass around it. That's it.
"You have got to be kidding me." as I'm standing there antelope are filtering out of the brush. I lay down but never get a shot at anything.
The next morning finds me at that spot with new excitement. Half an hour after sunrise Here comes the buck with 8 does in tow. He's beelining it for me. I lay flat on the ground behind the only sagebrush big enough to hide me. I glance up now and again and it seems like he is 100 yards closer every time I do. I put my release on the string when he hits 150 yards. I glance up and he's stopped. He's staring right in my direction. He's hesitant to come in. Instead of walking to the water he starts making a big circle to my left around it. He's still getting closer to me but I'm running out of brush to hide behind. At 50 yard from me he looks away. I draw. He looks back at me and walks 20 more yards and stops broadside at 40 yards downhill. I release. I lose sight of my arrow but hear a loud "crack!" and the buck stutter steps. A half second of elation turns to horror as I catch a glance of an arrow sticking up next to his backbone. Almost the whole shaft is in the air. I watch as things go in slow motion. The buck orients himself, loads up his muscles, and takes off at full speed. "How did I screw up that shot? Great... Well at least he's running towards the tru.." I don't get to finish that thought as the buck falls to the ground and in a puff of dust he dies. He ran less than 20 yards.
I was stunned and elated at the same time. I walked up the the buck and immediately saw what had happened. The arrow had exited by the backbone on the opposite side. I hit a little low in the chest and the arrow turned almost 90 degrees and shot out his back. Weird. But with a buck on the ground I had a renewed my hunting confidence. I gutted, packed him out whole, cut him in half, and into the cooler he went. While driving home I had a renewed outlook for the upcoming elk season just over a month away. Another rifle bull tag. I needed this antelope hunt to go well.
Opening day of Elk found me sitting on the edge of a clearing 1 hour before sunrise. In the wee hours of the morning I made out an elk walking 30 yards from me. It was still a good 30 minutes until legal shooting hours. I sat and watched that thing wander through and head for hiding. At sunup I was glassing around looking for anything. Nothing to be seen. I started hearing shot after shot shot in the distance. Opening day of elk can get hectic here. I went into the trees to find that elk. All I found was a bed and elk smell. That's it. I saw 1 cow later in the day crossing some open sage. That was all I saw for 4 days.
By day 5 I had covered most of the likely spots I thought I would see elk without any luck. I barely saw any tracks. My legs were tired and there was a snow storm coming soon. I decided to push a small grove of aspen trees that where about 1/2 mile from the road with the idea being, "I'll bet nobody has gone in there because it's not really a place elk would be. Maybe I'll spook up a deer." I hiked up a light slope as the sunlight started to hit to the aspens and much to my surprise the aspens where large, 8 inch diameter with about 5 feet in between each one. "Huh, there's large trees with good grass and water below. An elk may be here somewhere." I started pushing through the trees. I had gone about 40 yards into the trees and looked ahead. There standing quartering towards me was 1 solo elk about 60 yards away. I loaded my gun and looked through the scope. I could see a black patch underneath it's belly so I knew it was a bull. I looked up at it's head to be sure but my vision was obscured by a lone quaky. I sat there for what felt like forever with my scope looking. It turned it's head. I could make out antler on either side of the tree moving as he turned his head. I knew it wasn't the biggest bull but I didn't care. He was all I had seen in 5 days of a 7 day hunt. I centered my rifle on his shoulder (remember he was quartering towards me) and fired.
He stood there. He didn't even flinch.
I reloaded and stood there in disbelief for a half second. "How in the heck could I have missed? HE'S 60 YARDS AWAY!"
I pulled up my gun to shoot again and he caught the movement. He turned and took off to my right. I watched where he ran over the little bluff. I marked the spot I was standing and walked up to where I had shot him. Not a drop of blood. Zero red stuff on the frost. I could plainly make out his tracks though. I started following them looking for blood. I walked 30 yards ad looked up to see a bull elk on his side in the sagebrush. There wasn't a drop of blood until 5 feet from where he died.
I walked up to the bull and knelt down beside him. I put my hand on his back and gave him a pat. Every pat sent a small puff of elk scented dust into the air. I sat down and just took it in. I feel this is the most overlooked step in hunting. Just sit down and take it in for a minute. Don't get in a hurry to get to work. Just relax and look at the animal. Go over how it happened in your head. Admire the animal and absorb the moment. So what if you just sit there for 15 minutes? The elk isn't going anywhere. I decided I had taken enough time and pulled my knife out to go to work. As I layed my hand on him to start cutting a single snowflake lands just an inch or two from my hand. I’m still smiling as I begin to work. A frustrating season would make this feel like work and just the end of frustration. But with a good start to this year I felt joy as I cut meat from bone and placed it in my pack.
Packing out 1/2 mile in light snow is picturesque. It took me 7 hours but I was never in a hurry. I enjoyed the time. I rested when I needed to and never felt pressure to get done. By the time I hauled the head out there was 4 inches of snow. I couldn’t have timed it better. That night I pulled in my driveway and went inside to a hot cup of cocoa. I can honestly say I needed this. A season to go well. Not easy by any means. But well. Opening day of antelope I found myself dragging myself out of bed to go to a blind. I didn’t enjoy it so much as just doing it because it’s what I do. By the end of this year I was sad it was over. I can’t wait for next year. Pics to follow.
My Idaho Elk Hunt.
So as most hunting stories start this one materializes in the spring. After my Turkey hunt this spring and failing to draw a bighorn tag this year I was pondering what my final plans would be for fall. About the time I had reduced my choices down to 1 or 2 per species my buddy called me and said,
"What's your plans for elk? How big of a buck and bull are you holding out for?"
My reply, "Honestly man, I just want everything to go well."
"What do you mean?" he asked with a chuckle.
"Last year wasn't great..." I reminded him. For those who don't know my hunting last year was filled with trial and tribulation. My antelope hunt resulted in a bad hit requiring me to walk a little buck down for a few miles. My deer hunt was a bust. I NEVER saw an antlered deer. My elk hunt went ok as far as I got a bull but in hindsite I felt like he was a casualty of volley fire from 5 groups of hunters and my bullet happened to be the one that hit home. If you've hunted opening day in Idaho for bulls you understand. I was just in the right spot at the right time with the right angle. While I'm happy with the results I didn't have a warm and fuzzy about it. My turkey hunt this spring resulted in wading chest deep in an icy river to recover a wounded bird. While these things happen when they happen one after the other it begins to wear on a guy.
Now by go well I don't mean kill a monster 300 yards from the pickup. Not that I would turn that chance down! What I mean is just a good hunt. I wanted to see game, make a good clean shot, have a decent recovery. That"s about it.
Fast forward to August. I'm sitting in a blind looking at a water trough 33 yards away. I haven't seen a buck since the day before opening. He was huge. I sat on the water for 3 days and never had one come to water. I've burned through my book "The Martian". I'm bored so today I brought the spotter along. Yeah... I'm sitting in a blind cooshing cold sodas out of a cooler watching a hill side. I hunt antelope in an area known for big bulls and bighorns. You'll never draw a tag for either but it's fun to see them. I start glassing as the sun comes up. Low and behold there is a bunch of 9 or 10 antelope wandering my way off the hillside 1/2 mile away. I set an arrow on my rest and start getting ready. Watching these antelope I can see there is a small to decent buck walking in front. I'm feeling like a kid in the toy store with $10 in my pocket. I watched as those antelope stopped, put their heads down for 10 minutes, then turned around an wandered back up into the trees. "What the..." goes through my head. I sit in my blind until noon with nothing. I get out and walk the 1/2 mile to the spot where the antelope were. I see nothing. I wander a few yards further and low and behold there is a 1 inch pipe sticking a foot out of the ground. It's been capped but the cap has cracked and is spurting a squirt gun shot of water out of it. Around the pipe is a 2 foot puddle with 6 inches of green grass around it. That's it.
"You have got to be kidding me." as I'm standing there antelope are filtering out of the brush. I lay down but never get a shot at anything.
The next morning finds me at that spot with new excitement. Half an hour after sunrise Here comes the buck with 8 does in tow. He's beelining it for me. I lay flat on the ground behind the only sagebrush big enough to hide me. I glance up now and again and it seems like he is 100 yards closer every time I do. I put my release on the string when he hits 150 yards. I glance up and he's stopped. He's staring right in my direction. He's hesitant to come in. Instead of walking to the water he starts making a big circle to my left around it. He's still getting closer to me but I'm running out of brush to hide behind. At 50 yard from me he looks away. I draw. He looks back at me and walks 20 more yards and stops broadside at 40 yards downhill. I release. I lose sight of my arrow but hear a loud "crack!" and the buck stutter steps. A half second of elation turns to horror as I catch a glance of an arrow sticking up next to his backbone. Almost the whole shaft is in the air. I watch as things go in slow motion. The buck orients himself, loads up his muscles, and takes off at full speed. "How did I screw up that shot? Great... Well at least he's running towards the tru.." I don't get to finish that thought as the buck falls to the ground and in a puff of dust he dies. He ran less than 20 yards.
I was stunned and elated at the same time. I walked up the the buck and immediately saw what had happened. The arrow had exited by the backbone on the opposite side. I hit a little low in the chest and the arrow turned almost 90 degrees and shot out his back. Weird. But with a buck on the ground I had a renewed my hunting confidence. I gutted, packed him out whole, cut him in half, and into the cooler he went. While driving home I had a renewed outlook for the upcoming elk season just over a month away. Another rifle bull tag. I needed this antelope hunt to go well.
Opening day of Elk found me sitting on the edge of a clearing 1 hour before sunrise. In the wee hours of the morning I made out an elk walking 30 yards from me. It was still a good 30 minutes until legal shooting hours. I sat and watched that thing wander through and head for hiding. At sunup I was glassing around looking for anything. Nothing to be seen. I started hearing shot after shot shot in the distance. Opening day of elk can get hectic here. I went into the trees to find that elk. All I found was a bed and elk smell. That's it. I saw 1 cow later in the day crossing some open sage. That was all I saw for 4 days.
By day 5 I had covered most of the likely spots I thought I would see elk without any luck. I barely saw any tracks. My legs were tired and there was a snow storm coming soon. I decided to push a small grove of aspen trees that where about 1/2 mile from the road with the idea being, "I'll bet nobody has gone in there because it's not really a place elk would be. Maybe I'll spook up a deer." I hiked up a light slope as the sunlight started to hit to the aspens and much to my surprise the aspens where large, 8 inch diameter with about 5 feet in between each one. "Huh, there's large trees with good grass and water below. An elk may be here somewhere." I started pushing through the trees. I had gone about 40 yards into the trees and looked ahead. There standing quartering towards me was 1 solo elk about 60 yards away. I loaded my gun and looked through the scope. I could see a black patch underneath it's belly so I knew it was a bull. I looked up at it's head to be sure but my vision was obscured by a lone quaky. I sat there for what felt like forever with my scope looking. It turned it's head. I could make out antler on either side of the tree moving as he turned his head. I knew it wasn't the biggest bull but I didn't care. He was all I had seen in 5 days of a 7 day hunt. I centered my rifle on his shoulder (remember he was quartering towards me) and fired.
He stood there. He didn't even flinch.
I reloaded and stood there in disbelief for a half second. "How in the heck could I have missed? HE'S 60 YARDS AWAY!"
I pulled up my gun to shoot again and he caught the movement. He turned and took off to my right. I watched where he ran over the little bluff. I marked the spot I was standing and walked up to where I had shot him. Not a drop of blood. Zero red stuff on the frost. I could plainly make out his tracks though. I started following them looking for blood. I walked 30 yards ad looked up to see a bull elk on his side in the sagebrush. There wasn't a drop of blood until 5 feet from where he died.
I walked up to the bull and knelt down beside him. I put my hand on his back and gave him a pat. Every pat sent a small puff of elk scented dust into the air. I sat down and just took it in. I feel this is the most overlooked step in hunting. Just sit down and take it in for a minute. Don't get in a hurry to get to work. Just relax and look at the animal. Go over how it happened in your head. Admire the animal and absorb the moment. So what if you just sit there for 15 minutes? The elk isn't going anywhere. I decided I had taken enough time and pulled my knife out to go to work. As I layed my hand on him to start cutting a single snowflake lands just an inch or two from my hand. I’m still smiling as I begin to work. A frustrating season would make this feel like work and just the end of frustration. But with a good start to this year I felt joy as I cut meat from bone and placed it in my pack.
Packing out 1/2 mile in light snow is picturesque. It took me 7 hours but I was never in a hurry. I enjoyed the time. I rested when I needed to and never felt pressure to get done. By the time I hauled the head out there was 4 inches of snow. I couldn’t have timed it better. That night I pulled in my driveway and went inside to a hot cup of cocoa. I can honestly say I needed this. A season to go well. Not easy by any means. But well. Opening day of antelope I found myself dragging myself out of bed to go to a blind. I didn’t enjoy it so much as just doing it because it’s what I do. By the end of this year I was sad it was over. I can’t wait for next year. Pics to follow.
