I got one! 5x5 in Idaho! BULL DOWN! (pics and story added)

[luvmystang67]

Okay, here's the story. 

Preseason:
It starts Labor Day weekend.  My area in the Panhandle was not open for hunting, but I left work in Seattle and drove over for the long weekend to set up some cameras and do some scouting.  I checked my water hole (it had good sign) and I prayed for the heat to stay with us so that my stand area would be golden.  The primary reason that I hoped this... I've never seen an elk come to a call, and thought my bow hunting success changes were minimal at best, especially in this area (maybe the come to calls better elsewhere, heck, I dont know, its just not like it is on TV).  This is my 5th year bowhunting for elk in general, I've never really had a good opportunity on an animal, and I think this water hole and patience are my best chance.

During the Season:
Work has been very busy, I took a new job last November and got married and used up more than the vacation that I should've been allotted.  I have a great manager who let me take the first two weekends as 3-day weekends.  Its a long drive to Idaho from Seattle, but its elk hunting and was worth it.  Those first two weekends, the woods were loud.  I saw animals, even have a cool video of a cow that came into my stand with a calf, panting... I busted a bull and cow out from my stand (as I walked in).  Have cam pics of bear, cougar and elk, all there when I wasn't, even though I spent a lot of time there.  Who knows, maybe I just stink.  So woods were loud, I was 1 step behind everything that visited my water hole, and the elk were silent.  Not a great first two weeks.  Plus our hunting camp was rather fragmented this year as everyone is going through different life changes and roughly half the nights I slept alone in my tent in Idaho.  It isn't nearly as much fun to come back to camp after a good day to share with nobody.  I like to hunt, but this starts to wear you down.  Along with the 11 hour round-trip to Seattle, at best... 

Last Weekend
I was spent, I saw the rain coming, I knew my stand would be useless.  If the elk were silent, then I was really going to be in a bad spot.  I was thinking I'd be tenting it alone, but wasn't entirely sure.  I didn't have a long weekend and was looking at 11 hours of driving for 18 hours of hunting.  At the beginning of the season, this is a great idea, towards the end of your season, the hunger begins to wane a little.  I decided that if the rain cleared up and the weekend was going to be dry, I'd make a go for it.  I watched the weather, it was clearing for this last weekend.  My wife recently moved to London and I am planning on following her as soon as I find a new job role, but otherwise I'm doing nothing, just waiting for a job.  I figured I had to go, otherwise I'd be miserable and wish I was there.  And, still, with a glimmer in my eye, there's always that chance... the chance to harvest my first archery elk.  And who knows, it could be a huge bull... you can't win if you dont enter.  I had to try.

I took the trip over and planned on setting up a tent in the dark at about 10pm and sleeping in the cold to wake up and get my one full day in on Saturday before a short morning hunt Sunday.  I got a call from one of our hunting buddies who offered his floor in Liberty Lake if I didn't want to tent it that night, and I could just get up earlier in the morning.  I took him up on it... I woke up at 3:30am to get ready and head to my hunting area an hour and a half or so away.  I entered on my bicycle with headlamp at 5:45 and took off for my favorite bugling drainage.  On the ride in, I had a bull bugle above me, which after weeks of silence was a welcoming sound.  I decided to take chase and ran straight up a hill, only to hear him move further away from my bugles and decline to respond.  No success with the cow call either.  Somewhat defeated I continued onto my drainage.  When I got there at 8:00am or so, I heard 4 sets of bugles. It was happening.  It was going to be one of those days I've heard about, but never really seen. 

I looked across the drainage and saw a decent bull bugling in the powerline cut.  He was probably at least 600 yards away.  I haven't practiced with that pin yet.  There were others closer, and below me in the drainage.  I took my cow call and pursued.  I kept the wind perfect, and tried to be patient.  I was getting close, inside 150 yards, but it is very thick.  I need him to come.  I called a cow in to 20 yards, and she surprised the heck out of me.  It was fun to watch her.  She represents my first elk ever called in.  I let her move along and continued my walk, keeping wind right, and trying to pursue the bull that shows very little interest in the cow that I'm pretending to be.  About 2 hours later, I had another cow come in.  I had no cover.  She walked within 10 yards in the wide open timber.  I watched her eat lichen, and move around the timber gracefully.  She went downwind of me, I watched her nostrils flare, and she bolted and crashed away from me.  Now thats 2 elk called in, ever, in the same day.  Wrong sex, but hey, progress.  I continued with my cow call.  Was pretty sure I looked up about an hour later and saw a cat.  I know it was something, I'm 100% that it was legs/something walking.  It moved like a cat though, not like an elk.  It was silent, and I never heard or saw it again, but moved away from the area and silenced my call.  Then I ran into some hunters (who the heck is also this far back away from the roads?!?).  I decided that I had had a great day already, it was near noon, they were bugling and sounded like idiots and were going to spoil my hunt on the now silent bull.  I decided to hike out, perhaps set up my tent in the daylight for that night, and try a new area I had seen from afar.  I consider this my best elk hunting day ever at this point.

The place I drove to had a gate FAR earlier than I had anticipated on the map. It was also a much longer drive than I had hoped.  I decided I would just drive the hour and a half back to liberty lake and skip the tent.  I was already excited to have a drink and tell of my close cow encounters.  I decided that I had probably about an hour or so left before dark if I drove quickly back to an area my buddy had tried the week before and found good sign in.  When I was 300 yards from the parking area, a good bull bolted across the road in front of me and up the steep embankment.  I thought, wow, today is even better, there are elk everywhere.  I thought that I had a slim chance of seeing him again if I pursued him directly, it was too steep, too thick and there was nowhere to park.  I found the parking spot for this location about 300 yards down the road, my wind was good there, so I thought I'd just head uphill there and try my luck. 

I walked up the hill, it was thick, very steep, I almost couldn't get traction to get up the bank of the road to the hillside.  When I got in there it was thick.  Using my InReach, I was able to see texts from my buddy about the area and saw that at best I could hope to get to the location where he had sent the message "Just had a raghorn come into 25 yards, too thick to shoot at anything".  I thought, well great, its going to get dark on me and my best prospect with the time remaining in the day is a place that is too thick to shoot at anything.  I heard bulls bugling above me (probably 400 yards) and to my left probably 200 yards, and I assumed that was the one I had seen cross the road.  I broke branches in the thick stuff and blew my cow call to cover.  I've heard bugling bulls many times, but usually they just continue to bugle where they are and pay no attention to me.  I assumed these bugles were meaningless with the half hour of daylight I had left, given the thickness and steepness of my area.  I was standing on an old abandoned logging road cut (which are typically the thickest and nastiest areas on a hillside) when I heard a branch break in response to my most recent call.  Having called in 2 cows earlier, I knew this was the sound an elk makes when it is coming.  I kind of got nervous because it was pretty close and the last two had come fast.  I took off my pack and knocked an arrow.  I had basically ONE tiny window where I could shoot something and really thought I had no time to move quietly.  Just about as I got the arrow nocked I saw antler tips coming over the hill.  A decent bull stood looking at me, at 15 yards, through thick brush.  It was amazing, to see a bull, to have him come to a call, today really was great.  Too bad they live in such thick areas.  Then he turned, he walk to my right, towards my only opening.  I drew as he walked behind a tree.  My bow made a "bruuuggghhhhh" noise as the arrow rubbed on my drop away rest (been meaning to fix that).  Nothing deterred him.  He was too close to need a range finder.  He stopped in the window, God smiled down on me, and I let the arrow fly.

He turned, I saw a spot behind his shoulder, exactly where I would instruct a child to aim.  I don't even remember which pin I picked.  It was a blur.  I was 95% certain, I had just shot my first archery elk and my biggest bull yet.  I tried to listen to where he ran, I heard a pause, a crash, and final bubbly breaths (at least thats what I thought).  I had about 30 minutes of daylight left.  I know the old adage is to wait, 30, 45, 60 min if you know you made a good hit.  I wasn't sure what to do with dark approaching.  I used my InReach and told my sweatpant-wearing hunting partners in liberty lake that it might be a different night than they had expected.  I gave him 20 minutes, certain that he had passed.  I went up to find my arrow, it was nowhere to be found.  I found one spot of blood.  Satisfied that I had at least hit him, I went searching close-by expecting a quick recovery.  On the way out there, the bull from 400 yards away had been coming in, despite no bugle or cow call for the last 30 minutes.  On my way over, I looked up and saw him, at 50 yards, up through the twigs and branches looking for a fight, a mate or both.  He saw me and turned to walk away.  I thought "I'll see you again some other year".  He was similar in frame to mine, but a true 6x6 (again, amazing day).  I spent 20 minutes looking for where I thought I heard the crash and found nothing.  It smelled like elk, but that could've been from anything.  Knowing that I wouldn't get a search party out there until morning, I went back to the shot location to do some blood trailing.

I found my arrow, covered in blood.  I found one drop, two drops, every 10 feet a drop or two.  Then a little blood spot with bubbles (then I knew I was in business).  A little further ahead lots of blood, and 10 more feet I looked up and saw him.  He only went maybe 50 yards, just a hair more uphill than I had thought I heard.  I sent the good news, they came to my location that the inreach provides with my text.  They showed up 2.5 hours later with game bags, pack boards, and flashlights.  It took us 8 total hours from shot to truck and two loads with the 3 of us to get it out.  We were back at home in liberty lake by 4:15 and I went to bed 25 hours after I had awoken for that day.

What a great day in the forest, it was my best day elk hunting EVER, even before I harvested my first archery bull.  I called in 4 elk, saw 5 or 6 on the day and heard many more.  I wish I'd stop shooting these things alone so I could celebrate the shot with a friend, but still, amazing experience.  What a great way to cap my 5th elk archery season.

[trophyhunt]

Hell of a deal, congrats!!!!!!!

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

 

[Mark251]

Congrats 

[Seahawk12]

  very cool.

[Blacktail Sniper]

 

[DaveMonti]

Great job stang!

[bowhunterforever]

Great job stang!

[luvmystang67]

I added pics and story to the first post.  Enjoy!   

[2MANY]

In the carpeted living room.
LOL.


Nice job and glad your season was a winner.

[DOUBLELUNG]

Nice job!  A Wisconsin hunter would call that a 5x6

[D-Rock425]

Your shot placement is really how I like to do it.....

[Mudman]

Awesome.  Good for you! London will like your Elk mount, or um Red stag is it??

[luvmystang67]

Your shot placement is really how I like to do it.....

Still haven't had any luck finding that "Texas Heart"... lol  Maybe you can show me sometime.

[Widgeondeke]

Congrats on a great hunt 

[Whitenuckles]

Great write-up. Thanks for sharing. Congrats bro

[wsmnut]

Excellent!  Thanks for sharing!

I like your screen name.

My first car was a '67 Mustang!  Had it for 30 years...

[Jimmy33]

Nice work


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[steeleywhopper]

Awesome job and way to stay with it solo!

[Dan-o]

 

[grundy53]

Nice work!

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[C-Money]

Congrats on your bull!! Sure is a dandy!

[Machias]

Nice job!!!  Thanks for sharing!

[RB]

Right on nice Bull! 

[pygmy1985]

Thats a pretty bull. Heavy horned. Congratulations!