This is my first time posting to the forum so I thought I'd tell of my recent Idaho elk hunt.
I like to keep things short and too the point but will try and extend the lessons we learned on this hunt as well.
The first thing I learned from this season is that to be successful in elk hunting the most important thing you need to have is time. I spent 3 days labor day weekend then a consecutive 17 days before I shot my cow. We had a lot of encounters and it was a great season, still all the stars have to align to connect with elk.
The morning my dad shot his bull I had a close call with a rag 5 that came galloping in quicker than I thought and was not set up. He caught me draw and was gone. We later spotted the bigger bull in the bottom and after a failed attempt to draw him up the hill, we left him where we figured he bedded down for the day to come back that afternoon.
We came back in around 4 with my dad and after the bull bugled we made our way down the hill toward him. Our first set up we were probably 2-300 yards uphill from him. He wasn't coming any closer, so we made a move. We got in close and were whispering about whether we had gone far enough when he screamed at us not 60 yards away. We quickly set up, caller up the hill, myself to the left and my dad down the ridge. The bull came up 20 yards away from me, all I could see were the white tips of his antlers through the trees. He started up to my right and I knew he would soon be in my dads lap. I heard the shhhhhthwack of the arrow through the air finding its mark. We let him lay for an hour before starting the short track job to the bull who only made it about 40 yards down the hill. Quartered him out after taking pictures and took one load out that night and the rest the next morning. My dad and his friend had to leave the next day and I was able to arrow a cow the day after that. Wish I had them there to help cut and pack but can't complain.
The right calls for the right situation, persistence pays off, get in close with the wind right and keep pushing on.
This is the first year I've had time to extend my elk hunt, past years I only had 3-4 days at a time and in 7 years this was my first archery elk kill and my dads third after 6 years of not filling a tag.
Photos to come