Idaho bucks!

[Skinner]

Me and 4 buddies went on our annual fly-in trip to idaho.  Not as much snow as we would have liked but we made the best of it.  We flew in and made a base camp, got some good food in our belly then packed our spike camps in our packs then went to bed!  At 4 the next morning we made our way towards what would be our home for the next 7 days.  We set up camp and then went out to do a little scouting for the next day.  We spilt into two groups and made our way out.  Jason shot a big 2x3 opening day.  He was getting pretty trigger happy wanting to try out his new scope he had built at leupold.  He dropped it at 620 yards!  The weather was cold but we weren't getting much snow.  Cody got his 4x4 next and Ben got a 4x also.  That is the only buck I don't have a pic of but joevon will chime in later with it I'm sure.  Those three started leapfrogging the stuff and deer back to basecamp while me and joe kept hunting.  I will post some more stories later.  Here are a few pics to get it started.

[Gobble]

Nice bucks fellas!

[NW-Eric]

man those are sweet

[actionshooter]

Looks like good bucks!! Not much snow

[andrew_12gauge]

are those bucks outta unit 27?

[Skinner]

On day 6 me and joevon were the only ones not tagged out.  We made it through a night of 40 mph winds that I thought would lift us and our spike tents off the ground!  We ate what oatmeal and granola bars we had left (the tagged out guys were to restock us that afternoon) and headed up the mountain "AGAIN."  You could say that the 14 hours we were away from camp everyday were wearing on us.  My standards were starting to get a little lower so any decent buck was going to do.  After about 5 hrs of hiking and glassing we came across an outfitter, client, and two horses, glassing from a vantage point we glassed and shot a buck the day before.  I was wanting to chat with them but they would have nothing to do with us.  In fact I think they were pretty surprised to see any one at there 8000' vantage pt.  So instead we went around the next ridge and started glassing.  Joe broke off a huge piece of bark for us to sit on in the snow.  There was an opening in the timber about 2000 yds away so I looked at it first.  "BUCK" "Get the scope".  We set up the tripod and Joe went to tighten the scope and it broke off??  What the ....!!  I'm telling him to hurry and he's saying hold on well somehow he balanced it on top just enough for us to realize he was worth going after.  We stalked around to where we last saw the buck and spotted the doe that he was following.  All of the sudden she bolted and ran down the hill.  We stalked over there and found out why.  The ground was loaded with grouse and them flushing must have spooked her.  We were pissed but peeked over the next ridge.  It was full of blowdown and burn and was about 400 yds across.  I couldn't see anything where I thought they should be.  Then I looked down and there they were about 80 yards below us.  The buck was pushing the doe through the standing burnt trees so I got down and fired one off at him.  Heard the whack but joe said I missed.  Guess hitting trees makes a loud whack too!  Jacked another one in a sent her packin.  He slid down the hill and piled up under a tree.  We tried to clean up all of our deer for the pics but some of them you can only do so much especially in the snow.  We took some pics, boned him out, and made our way back to camp.  I guess we were only gone 12 hrs this day.  Joe can chime in with his day 7 story later then I will fill in what he might leave out.  We had a great trip.  It was my fourth year there and it was the farthest I had been from the landing strip and the longest I have ever spiked out.  Mountain houses get pretty old after 7 nights, but I could telll you which ones not to get!!!  Enjoy I'll post some more pics I have plenty.

[270Shooter]

Cool sounds like a real wilderness hunt.

[snipekillr]

Nice bucks those are real beuties

[Slider]

Sounds like a blast!!! Congrats

[agchawk]

Looks like some great lookin' Muleys! CONGRATS!

[snuff]

Me and 4 buddies went on our annual fly-in trip to idaho.  Not as much snow as we would have liked but we made the best of it.  We flew in and made a base camp, got some good food in our belly then packed our spike camps in our packs then went to bed!  At 4 the next morning we made our way towards what would be our home for the next 7 days.  We set up camp and then went out to do a little scouting for the next day.  We spilt into two groups and made our way out.  Jason shot a big 2x3 opening day.  He was getting pretty trigger happy wanting to try out his new scope he had built at leupold.  He dropped it at 620 yards!  The weather was cold but we weren't getting much snow.  Cody got his 4x4 next and Ben got a 4x also.  That is the only buck I don't have a pic of but joevon will chime in later with it I'm sure.  Those three started leapfrogging the stuff and deer back to basecamp while me and joe kept hunting.  I will post some more stories later.  Here are a few pics to get it started.

ARE YOU GUYS FRIENDS WITH PITTS?

[blacktail luv]

You guys packed in did you have any horses to get your meat out or did you put it all on your backs.  Those are great animals guys.  It is well worth the effort to get away from the crowds.  Awesome job and great stories.  Post some more pics.

[Skinner]

Snuff:  Ya we know pitts.  Did I meet you last year?  Are you from Chelan? 

Blacktail Luv:  We bone out the deer and do everything on our back.  We would take horses but it is a 38 mile ride from the closest trailhead.  The boned out meat weighs roughly 50-70 lbs. depending on the deer.  We do the gutless method doing one side in one meat bag then the other in a second bag the cut open the side and take the tenderloins.  Works great!

[snuff]

Snuff:  Ya we know pitts.  Did I meet you last year?  Are you from Chelan? 

Blacktail Luv:  We bone out the deer and do everything on our back.  We would take horses but it is a 38 mile ride from the closest trailhead.  The boned out meat weighs roughly 50-70 lbs. depending on the deer.  We do the gutless method doing one side in one meat bag then the other in a second bag the cut open the side and take the tenderloins.  Works great!

YA I BELEIVE WE MET ON THE RUNWAY.

[Skinner]

A couple more.  One from on top of the ridge, the next of a small liquid filled sack attached to the liver that I haven't seen before, and the last is of one of the guys glassing some deer when we were packing out one of the bucks.