Hirshey's Idaho 2014 and 2015 hunt

[hirshey]

So I know I have a few years of hunting stories to catch up on…
I hadn’t decided if I was going to share this hunt anymore due to hard feelings towards a person that went back on both his word as well as the unspoken hunter’s code, but after a little soul searching, I decided I’d still like to share my adventures with you all.

So here goes a LOT of photos and posts... sorry in advance!

[Jolten]

Tagging

[hirshey]

2014:
As many of you know, my hunting adventures in 2014 started out with the unforgettable adventure of harvesting my once in a lifetime Shiras moose in the East Okanogan-Kettle range (story: http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,161954.225/topicseen.html ). That hunt set the stage for what remains one of my most treasured hunting seasons to date. After Washington moose, deer, and elk hunting adventures were created the time to head east to Idaho had arrived. My friend Jeff and I packed his Toyota Tacoma full of provisions and headed out to meet up with two more of my pals.
After checking and rechecking gear, it was confirmed we were all set to head out in the morning: everyone had heeded my “Don’t Die in Idaho” checklist, and we were ready to hit the hills for 10 days of unforgettable adventuring… the next morning couldn’t arrive quickly enough!

[Boss .300 winmag]

Here we go! 

[hirshey]

After a half-day of travels, we had arrived at the location we would use as our base camp. The team combined our manpower to pump water, set up the Kifaru Tipi, gather firewood, and set up our sleeping arrangements. With a few hours of daylight still available, we geared up and hiked to the location we intended to use as spike camp. We went to bed dreaming of what the day would bring.
I woke the next morning to a lively fire outside the spike camp tents and the aroma of Jet-Boil brewed coffee. The crew was four strong; two ex-Marines that I had met through my time as a helicopter rappeller, Jeff, and myself. We decided to break up into two groups that first day; the Marines, and Jeff and myself. Smiling and exchanging “good lucks”, Jeff and I started out of camp, but we weren’t meant to make it far on this day. Less than one hundred feet from camp, I spotted a group of deer in the midst of their morning routine. Included in the group was a respectable buck for the area. I looked at Jeff and motioned “buck” with my hands mimicking antlers on the side of my head. He looked incredulous. “Really??” “YES!”
After a brief discussion, I explained to Jeff that this was a respectable deer for this area, and if he didn’t want it, I’d offer it to either Travis or Brandon. If none of them wanted it, I’d try for it. Jeff said if I felt it was a good deer, he wasn’t going to ignore my judgment; he’d put a stalk on it. We informed our friends that Jeff was going to put a stalk on a deer they could see from camp, and the response was humorous yet not surprising. “No SH**?” “No feces, that’s correct.”
Our two companions watched the stalk as Jeff and I worked into position. It was a fairly open hillside with deceptively deep terrain features that easily conceal our prey. Slowly, painstakingly, we advanced up and across the hillside. Equally as gradually, one by one the does were revealed less than 100 yards from our position, but the buck was nowhere to be seen. Jeff looked back at me, and whispered “I don’t think it’s here”. I responded by pointing downslope and saying I could see one more animal below us. Simultaneously, the buck appeared out of a micro-fold in the landscape less than 80 yards from our position, looking directly at Jeff. His aim was true as he took the opportunity for a broadside shot, and was rewarded by watching this beautiful animal run less than 60 feet and drop, lifeless. We high-fived as Jeff sat there for a moment in disbelief… his first mule deer, and a beauty! We approached the animal as Jeff looked in silent reverence and excitement. We took some photos, and pulled the animal to a small bench below us to start the work. At that juncture, the other two fellas showed up, and we took a few photos together before insisting they go continue their own hunt; Jeff and I had this taken care of.

[Rainier10]

tag

[meathunter]

 

[hirshey]

[hirshey]

[hirshey]

[meathunter]

Awesome buck!!   

[hirshey]

We made quick work of boning out the animal, and after a few more photos and removing a few layers (it was now a balmy 70 degrees in November) we were ready to pack his trophy back to base camp. As we started our trek back, we ran into the only face I was not looking forward to seeing; one of the companions of the gentleman that had decided to come back to my spot without me. After a brief exchange, it sounded like they were going to try to avoid the area we were hunting (if they hiked far enough that direction to pass the first creek with running water, we wouldn’t be hunting the exact same area). As much as my heart sank from seeing them, I decided to try to let it go and revel in the company and adventures I had at hand.
We made it back to base camp with time left in the day, so after a few exchanges with other hunters offering Jeff advice as to where to find an elk, we decided to make the trip back to spike camp that evening. Using the last hours of daylight to attempt to find an elk, we were disappointed to see the other hunting group camped less than .2 miles from our location, precisely where we had asked them to avoid. I couldn’t help it; with the fleeting light that evening, I gave them a piece of my mind, explaining that it takes a lot to find spots like this, and the last thing you want when you go to such extremes to get away from people is to have to share the spot with familiar faces from a state away. The curt response was that I didn’t own Idaho, and so with sadness and frustration that not all hunters share the same kind of ethic in hunting spots, I said we’d avoid that ridgeline the following day but I’d hope they’d consider moving on at that juncture. Jeff and I headed back to camp with a damper put on our excitement of the day as I couldn’t help but feel betrayed.
That disappointment was quickly forgotten as we got back to spike camp to the tales of what our friends had seen for the day; which unfortunately, wasn’t anything that got their hearts racing. We made a game plan for the next day, altering our hunting plans to accommodate the additional hunters we wished didn’t exist. The day brought on some more crisp air, but still a bluebird sky. We covered over 10 miles from dawn to dusk; some impressive bucks were unearthed, but the nice four point at 100 yards just before dark just didn’t get my ticker racing like I was hoping it would, so today all the bucks were simply shot with Jeff’s camera.

[hirshey]

[hirshey]

[hirshey]

The next day started off with an early wake-up to gain some pre-light elevation. Jeff and I took to the hills and reaped the benefits of getting to that sweet elevation where the early morning rut activity was greatest. A beautiful four point was pushing a doe, and I had to make a quick decision as to whether or not this was my buck. A 200 yard shot was not out of my comfort zone, and he was undoubtedly a good animal for this area, but something still made my hesitate, so yet again we took photos of this animal and two other career three points with their harems.