Hirshey's Idaho 2014 and 2015 hunt

[3nails]

Fantastic!

[hirshey]

The next day, Jared and Storm hiked their animals back to base camp with the assistance of Jeff and Tom. Their intended plan was to resupply all of us for a longer stay to compliment an impending weather event that might push these critters into full rut activity, and explore some of the country we had run across both wolves and some impressive deer the year prior down near camp. I think they were all fretting my itchy trigger finger, however, and ended up making their way back up by headlamp to make yet another attempt at the high country. Either that, or they all wanted to see if we could rustle up the king we’d spotted up there a few days previous. I spotted some great deer that day, including a 3x4 I had on reserve just in case Mr. Right didn’t show up in the higher country, but nothing caused me to take the scope covers off my rifle.

[hirshey]

[scoyoc5]

Hirshey thanks for sharing your hunt and taking the time for such an amazing write up....congrats 

[X-Force]

Your threads are always fun. Thanks for sharing.

[hirshey]

The next day, Allison Kraus’ song Lucky One (perhaps an unidentified omen on the day) strummed through my phone to wake us at 4AM. We all grabbed some warm beverages and had come up with a plan of action; Jeff and Storm were headed for the high saddle. Jared and I were headed up the knife ridgeline where we had last seen the king himself, and Tom was to head up the next ridgeline in case the animals had made a move to the lower elevation or a more timbered area. Two hours of hiking and we were witnessing the frost look more magnificent than anything at Tiffany’s or Jared’s; it was hanging off of every piece of foliage, complimented by the peachy rays of light that were hitting the head of the basin… THIS is what we do this for!
As Jared and I progressed up the ridgeline, we quickly recognized we weren’t alone; two does and a fawn fed across the slope above us, unaware of or presence. Once they were out of sight, we continued up to a spot where we could glass the basin adjacent to where we had seen the deer that had generated all of this excitement. Within the first 30 seconds of glassing, I motioned to Jared that I had found a deer… one I was VERY interested in.
There were two mature bucks posturing for each other, circling at the head of the basin. This was some of the better rut activity we had witnessed yet, as they briefly sparred and separated. Both came to rest at different locations on the hillside, and I knew it was time to make my move. It was decided that Jared would sit back and enjoy the stalk from that location; I gathered my bullets, range finder, and firearm and stalked across the open lower basin to a small sub-ridge. I had decided if I were to stay on the other side of it for almost the entirety of the stalk, I could crest the terrain feature just below a small rock outcropping and have less than a 200 yard shot on either animal. The stalk was effective, but long; it took me nearly two hours to reach my intended destination, demonstrating just how deceptively large that country truly is. For the entirety of those two hours and amidst the wind and snow flurries, I kept telling myself; each of these steps is one step closer to MY deer. Two hours of that mantra certainly had me excited by the time I finally got to stalk around the base of those rocks!
I snuck into my intended position, but could not see either of the bucks. Quickly, I ranged the rocks on the other side of the chute; 204 yards. The bucks were half that distance when I saw them last. Just as that thought was going through my mind, one of the bucks rose from his bed and started feeding away from me. He was less than 100 yards away! I propped my gun up on an old snag’s branch and settled in… was this the one I wanted? It was decision time!
Just as I was about to settle in for the shot, I briefly got a view of the other buck, and it made me pause. Both stepped behind a small triangular patch of timber, and the waiting and comparing game commenced. Through a brief period of sunshine, and a brief white-out blizzard, I sat in wait. After 30 minutes of piecing together what I was looking at, I finally got a good picture of what I was looking at. There was one solid 4 point with eyeguards, and an obviously younger deer with similar frame and a kicker off of his right G2. After a little inner debate, I decided to go for the older deer and leave the kicker genetics to flourish for one more season. I settled in for a shot on the older deer; he was feeding broadside less than 120 yards away oblivious to my existence. I squeezed the trigger, and watched as my deer recoiled with my shot. He kicked and stepped upslope behind the timber. The 4x5 stepped out above where I had seen my deer last, looking back into the timber stringer, perplexed. It was then that my attention shifted, and my jaw dropped… TWO identically large 4 points stepped back out of the timber. Which one was mine??
I had already put another bullet in the chamber, so immediately put on my safety to sit and observe. I wasn’t to be perplexed long, however, when my deer took two steps forward, and stumbled, rolling down the slope. It got back up stood broadside, giving a long stare down the slope. I could see the blood in the snow from his tumble, and adjusted my position to put another shot in him. Aiming behind the shoulder, I slowly squeezed the trigger yet again. This time, he laid down, quartering away from me, but head still alert. I have always pledged to create as little suffering for my animals as I can allow, so I jacked one final shell in the chamber and put one slightly high behind the shoulder to take advantage of the downhill angle I had on him. This time, he stretched his legs and slid downhill to rest near a stump. All of this had happened in the matter of moments, so it took a while to really process what had occurred. I sat in disbelief… watching the 4x5 approach my buck in the snow. He got to roughly 10 yards and looked at him as if to say, “TED! Didn’t you hear those loud noises?? Quit fooling around and let’s blow this joint!”
It was at this point that I finally stood, revealing myself to the other buck. The large 4 point that had been both their companions was gone, and finally the younger deer decided to make himself scarce as well. It was at this point I heard a deep, muffled rumble. Jeff!
I walked over to my deer and took a moment to feel fortunate for my successes and my friendships. I touched the dark antlers and shook my head. I truly am lucky. Once I took my moment of thanks and captured the moment on camera, I took advantage of the steep slopes and 14-18 inches of snow up high and allowed my deer to sled down the hillside without me. When it would come to rest, I would gently steer it in the direction most clear of brush and debris and let gravity again do its thing. Jared had watched my adventure from the lower elevation, and was cursing the steep slopes and wondered if I had decided to bone it out up there when he saw a branch shake, and me stand up on a log, pulling my trophy over the snow-laden structure only to let it slide down the hill almost to his location. We met up, laughing and high-fiving. He had heard the shot as well, and had also been talking with Tom on the radio… turns out HE harvested a deer right after Jeff, so we were in for a busy night!
When Jared and I were finished boning and caping, we headed down the hill to more level terrain for our trip to spike camp. It was our goal to make it downslope to familiar country before dark, and in that we succeeded. Tom was on a similar timeframe as us, so we waited less than 10 minutes at the bottom of his ridgeline and enjoyed each other’s company all the way back to camp. We gladly set to starting a fire and a big pot of apple-sausage chili (deer from Idaho the previous year… talk about full circle) and waited to see what Jeff and Storm hauled in to camp. Just at the time the chili was in prime condition, they made it back to the warm fire, with a beauty in tow! We all shared stories and marveled at the bucks we ended up harvesting this season, and laughed over a Nalgene of whiskey and some well-earned food.

[hirshey]

[hirshey]

[hirshey]

[hirshey]

We ended up leaving the two biggest bucks we saw in Idaho on the hills for next year… already dreaming of the stalks we will put on. If you ever catch me in person, you’ll have to see photos of the monster we saw when we were all tagged out!
The trip was wonderful, and the company was exquisite. I feel fortunate to be able to assemble such a skilled, fun, kind, and tough group of hunters and friends each season… I already cannot wait until next year!

[hirshey]

[jstone]

Always great stories. I need to start looking for better hunting partners. Mine won't go even where you go. Nice job

[jstone]

Did you get to shoot any wolfs in Idaho?

[hirshey]

[Rainier10]

Great story and great animals.

Did your uninvited guests leave the ridge in 2014 and go elsewhere and did you see you see them again this year?

Do you have to make two trips out when you break camp?