2018 season...Boot leather and backpacks

[Kazekurt]

Thanks for sharing!  I love hearing about backcountry exploits!

[Mr Mykiss]

Boot leather?? I always thought you were more of an ATV guy...

[Karl Blanchard]

Boot leather?? I always thought you were more of an ATV guy...

  Hover board. Duh!!!!

[Karl Blanchard]

Idaho general season was nothing short of a *censored* show.  Due to scouting early I chose to sneak over for the opener.  It was a gamble because that only left me 4 days to hunt but 4 days to scout.  Once again I joined forces with my good friend Mike Johnson and buddy Dioni for a long trek up the mountain.  With three of use we packed in a pretty plush camp.  Extra food, the big tipi, and the titanium stove.  We got the tipi set, a giant stash of wood gathered and settled in for a fun week of finding bucks and hopefully killing a few come opening day.

First day of scouting was heart breaking.  I immediately found my big boy from summer right where I had left him.  Problem was he had broken off his passenger side antler right above the g1    I had dreamed of this buck for the last three months and now he was in a condition where I did not want to take him. 

Next few days didn't produce much besides smaller bucks and roughly all the elk in Idaho.  Had a great encounter with a wolf pack though which is always an amazing experience!  Its a weird feeling to hate but love an animal so much.  Then the snow came!  I was awoken in the middle of the night to a very cold tipi wall resting on my face!!!!!  It was dumping snow and in our slumber we had not realized how much had piled up!  Our center pole was shaped somewhat like a horseshoe and was just barely keeping us from a full on collapse.  With some rushed team effort we were able to relieve the pole and get some snow off.  Dawning long johns and crocs we waded into the snow covered night to cut a new pole that wasn't going to be an issue.  We got the mack daddy of all poles installed, a nice fire going to take the chill off a bit and back to bed we went. 

The whole next day it continued to pile up.  For the last few years Mike and I have been trying to time a migration spot right as it was the holy grail of mule deer hunting but we have yet to replicate our first experience there.  With the snow flying all around us we were very much at odds with our current game plan.  We called council and made the hard decision to pack up and move a few hours away to try and be ready for the swarms of giant bucks that were sure to come our way.  Getting out wasn't that easy though.  There was a narrow pass that we had used to access the area and the snow had drifted it in quite badly.  Teamwork and a little luck got us through without issue and we were burning rubber in route for what I hoped to be heaven on earth!

ANOTHER heavy pack in and once again we have a nice soggy camp set and we are ready to wade through the bucks to snipe out a few booners.  WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!  3 days we waited and we glassed.  3 days we never saw anything resembling a shooter.  All we saw were a few locals and an endless amount of elk including one 8x7 that was every bit of 360".  Only thing we could think of is we were too early in the month.  When we hunted this spot when it was good there was less snow than we were currently dealing with but it had been the end of october and they were just starting to move anyways we think.

So for pack in number three in 7 days we hit another spot that offered some wiggle room on mobility.  Elk, elk, and more elk!  Every place I go across the west I can't get away from the stupid elk bucks!  Last morning of the hunt we awoke to high winds that bit right through a guy.  Despite the wind it was a beautiful morning and though the deer hunting had been dismal, I was at peace with my efforts and very much enjoying this amazing morning staring me in the face.  I'm certain that most all hunters know the kind of morning I'm talking about.  One that leaves you in awe at mother nature and what she has created.  I only had a half day to hunt this final day before I had to roll home so I was expecting to go another year with my second Idaho tag unfilled when I spotted a group of bucks feeding up the ridge I was on.  8 bucks in the bunch from 1.5 year olds all the way up to a 27" wide 2x3 that had that sway to him that told me he'd endured more than a few years of wolves, snow, cats, and man.

I immediately wrote them off and continued glassing.  I would periodically glance back to the old buck though to see what he was up to.  Those older bucks just have a way about them and I began to get the itch to make a play at him.  For another hour I went back and forth on whether I was gonna shoot him or not.  Finally with an hour of morning left for me to be productive I decided that I liked him enough to try and take him home.  The stalk was text book and a 90 yard chip shot later he was down.

In an effort to soak in as much of that special morning magic I made a nice fire, a jetboil full of coffee and got nice and settled in for the knife work at hand. I did my best to take pics but a solo cell phone session never produces very good images I got him all meated out right as Mike caught up with me and he helped me pack him out.  Idaho is always a struggle but her rewards are bountiful for those willing to tackle her slopes. 

[Karl Blanchard]

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[Karl Blanchard]

At the beginning of my season Mike had presented me with a 30 cal bullet he milled from stainless steel.  He knew I really wanted to high step through this season so he made me this little lucky charm.

[Karl Blanchard]

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[SeaRun1]

I enjoyed the read and the pics.  Thank you for sharing and congratulations.

SR1

[Karl Blanchard]

I enjoyed the read and the pics.  Thank you for sharing and congratulations.

SR1

Thank you sir.  I'll get WA and CO hammered out tomorrow hopefully.  Dad stuff and house stuff doesnt offer up much internet time.

[fishngamereaper]

Several Bucks of a lifetime for some, all in one season for you. Well done sir.

[ljsommer]

What a joy to read, thank you!

[Karl Blanchard]

I had a really weird gap in my season this year.  September was packed and then october and november were both fairly spaced out.  With Idaho in the books I had the second weekend of rifle deer to fill with some kid fun.  It was my nephew Hunter's first season and with deer tag in hand we rolled east to spend the weekend with Bullblaster looking for some whitetails.  We saw a few deer but nothing we could get close enough to shoot at (so we thought).  I was confident in his ability inside 200 but had not yet stretched out past that.  We made the most of it though and had fun regardless.  Turns out the kid is a sniper.  We hit rock lake for some steel shooting and he ran my 6mm like a pro!  First round hits at 350, 480, 560, 720, 900, and 1,000 yards.  He missed once at 900 but that was a bad wind call (we blame bullblaster for that) 

The following two weekends were spent with my wonderful daughter chasing muley doe's on a youth tag.  She hunted hard but held firm on not shooting a mommy deer aka "a breeder".  Addison is what you would refer to as above average.  There's some members who have spent some time with her and they will confirm that she is much smarter than her father.  She over heard a conversation I had with a friend about some areas in Idaho that shouldn't be shooting doe's right now and she took interest.  2hrs later we had covered buck to doe ratios, how shooting females affects populations, winter kill, balancing deer numbers with agriculture damage, etc.  You know, standard conversations you have with an 8 year old   We had multiple opportunities for quality shots but each time there were fawns present and she elected to pass on the shots.  It was more fun than any man could have and it brought me immense joy to watch her make the decisions to pass on deer even though she is very driven to be successful.  The speed at which she absorbed information in the field was astounding!  The way she moved, stepped, observed, etc. was that of a seasoned hunter after only  a few corrections from dear old dad.  She will be a force to be reckoned with and I'm very excited to get her to Idaho and Colorado when she is of age. She sure makes it tough on the guide though trying to find an old sway back nag for her to shoot!  I can't wait for my son to hunt, he'll shoot anything

Big shout out to ELKBURGER for the generous invite to let Addison hunt his property! We had a blast!

[idaho guy]

 :tup:good stories so far thanks for posting

[kellama2001]

Thank you for posting your hunting stories, you have a very entertaining writing style while still making the reader feel like they're on the hunt with you! Sounds like a memorable year, thank you for taking the time to share! 

[Karl Blanchard]

Thank you for posting your hunting stories, you have a very entertaining writing style while still making the reader feel like they're on the hunt with you! Sounds like a memorable year, thank you for taking the time to share! 

thank you.  I'll get CO done tomorrow and be finished with this overly drawn out season recap