Paul II Story & Idaho Bull.

[ElkNut1]

Ole pops here is relating the story behind Paul II's elk hunt on Sunday as he rarely writes things of this nature but I know many love reading others outcomes & how things actually took place that led to a positive outcome. So here goes! (grin)

Saturday the 14th we hunt all morning & part afternoon covering many miles & elevation changes of 1100'-1200' topping off at around 7500'. We hunted for hours before we heard a bugle, not sure of its whereabouts we head in the direction that it was believed to be heard. This bugle turns out to be much further than we anticipated & aprox 1000' below us. We head that way as it's getting near 10:30 - 11:00 am. As we finally get closer we realize there's no way to get through this willow chocked very steep draw & across the creek that was in the bottom & up the other side where we last heard him. It's getting late & the wind is now shifting up the mountain but not at all predictable!

We decide to back out & mark this spot mentally where he is & take another route from underneath him come morning when we are fresh & the wind will be predictable in coming down the mountain, smart move there! (grin)

Here's a few photos after hours of climbing to the top of a beautiful Idaho morning awakening!

ElkNut1

[bnsafe]

cant wait to hear more, congrats guys

[ElkNut1]

It's now a rainy Sunday morning & we are hoping that this bull is in the same area, generally a bull will not leave an area for no reason & since we didn't bother or push him we felt confident he would be there. We trudge up the mountain through very wet hip high chaparral brush & negotiable downfall & speed sticks! (grin) (if you've hunted in the rain you know what speed sticks are-grin) After 45min of climbing & slipping & 4-5 stops under big old growth firs trying to stay dry a bit & waiting for the rain to lighten up before we moved up. It's now close to an hour since we left the rig & haven't heard a single bugle, bummer. We ourselves have not called to this point, we are in hopes this bull or bulls will bugle on their own & give us a direction?

We had a landmark in mind that we had seen on Saturday the day before, it was a large rock mass, the bull sounded like he was west of it & lower in elevation that this rock mass. We get to the rock & climb it & sit to listen. After 10 minutes of sitting we hear his distinct moan/groan it sounds almost like the bawl of a moo cow, we knew there were no cows in this country, it was him & we had him targeted this day. He was exactly where we'd left him! Yep, he was already in his bedding area in a very secluded spot where most hunters would never know he existed. If it weren't for being up as high as we were on Saturday & on the right ridge (luck) we too would not have know it!

Now that we had his aprox position we had to get just under him, he was 400-500yds west of us & 300-400yds below. We slipped down the mountain to maintain favorable wind as quietly as possible. This was one of those times you did not want to tromp around & sound like undisturbed elk moving freely, we knew this guy would not stand for it, it was just a gut feeling. It took us nearly an hour to slip within 175yds of where we felt he was. In our descent he had groaned once more & no bugling from him, we stayed very patient & did not call. We finally got to this 175yd mark & could not advance another foot, there was a wall of 12' high willows with a dried creek bottom between him & us, it was literally impassable plus we would sound like a herd of elephants trying to get through it if we tried. (grin) We decided to sit & wait in hopes of him sounding off & giving away his exact position, after 20 minutes & zero sounds from him we decided to take action to try & pull him our way before the thermals starting switching on us, we had great wind at this time & could generally count on it for another 45min.

Take into account this is the 1st day my son has carried his bow with him, I had been carrying my bow since beginning of season & he carried the camera on a tripod & did all calling up till this day, we do have some great footage of 1/2 dozen bulls & various other critters! Paul II did the same thing last year, he carried the camera & waited till I took a bull, his 1st day out I called in 2 - 5 points to 23yds & his hunt was over. (grin)

OK, we now separate aprx 45yds, I'm going to do the calling & show Jr. how it's done! (huge grin) Paul II is above me & to my left he is in a spot that offers best shooting lanes at this point, I position myself next to a nice green fir tree with low hanging limbs & a downed tree with dried branches, perfect for raking & snapping things. We decide to start this bull off slow to see if we can get a reaction. I pull out my raging bull mouth reed & chuckler bugle so I'm ready for anything that we may have to adapt to. I give a single low volume cow mew as I turn in the opposite direction of where we feel the bull is, he intermediately groans to this, sweet! I wait aprox one minute & do it again, nothing this time but the seed is planted, now we have to be patient. I wait several minutes & cast another mew, this time a short one on low volume & 2nd one a hair longer & medium volume, he answers right away, game on!

I do this 2 more times within the next 10 minutes, now I'm feeling the next time he responds to the cow call I'm going to cut him off with a short intimidation bugle, I show my son the bugle & gives a yes nod, yep we are on the same page! I mew he answers & seems to be a bit closer, I quickly retreat 15yds & & give my bugle straight into the air, doing this is tough for him to pinpoint location but he knows this cow is between them. The bull bugles back with a good challenging bugle, nice it's his first one! His coming now & I can hear the willows being rustled on the other side of my son, I see my son move 20yds around several trees to reposition as this bull is coming in through a different spot than anticipated. I start raking the tree & breaking the dried limbs from the downed tree & I scream another bugle, the bull fires right back & appears to be lower now, I see Paul II race around another set of obstacles as he moves a good 25 yds lower keeping cover between him & the bull. I cannot see the bull & am having a difficult time telling exactly where he is but I see Paul II poised & ready to draw so I feel the bull is coming in fairly quick now.

I get around to the other side of this tree & downfall without standing up so I'm not spotted as this bull is looking for me, I chuckle with a series of 5-6 of them as if I'm talking to this cow to come back, the bull doesn't respond but he's still coming! Next thing I know I see horns racing down the mountain away from us with huge leaps & bounds, I do not see any body just rack! I instantly scream a bugle & the bull stops, I'm now up on my knees looking in my sons direction waving with my left arm for him to move lower & shoot this bull. He looks at me & gives a fist pump, for a second I'm like what the heck? Then he's shaking his head up & down & grinning, I couldn't believe I did not hear him shoot, I usually can hear the bow or arrow at that distance. Man I must be getting old! (grin) Before I can get up & over to my son I believe I hear the bull fall.

We discuss quickly how well everything came together & how we pulled him from his bed, Paul II says he center punched his lungs at 35yds, we snacked for 10 minutes & walked to where the bull stood & 15' away I find lots of blood. At about 75' from where bull was hit we found 12" of shaft broken off, the blood really started pouring out from there from the slick trick 125grn head. The bull ran down a very steep grade & was piled up at 150yds. What a great morning & hunt with ones Son! Once again he gets to pack his bow for just one day! (grin)

ElkNut1

[ElkNut1]

Here's a few photos of the packout, we have the whole elk in these 2 Kifaru packs. I will say don't be a fool like us & use the "grabit" to haul a hindquarter with, it's not designed to do this! We learned the hard way! (grin)

ElkNut1

[bnsafe]

wow, great story an success. not sure how yall do it. congrats

[Moose Man]

Congrats and thanks for a great write up! Lord knows all these reports are getting me fired up for next week. Can't wait!

[MTLongdraw]

Awesome job men. Tell Jr. not to be so humble

[elkaholic]

You two make it seem soooooo easy . Well done.

[pd]

Paul, that is a wonderful story. Paul II is obviously very capable, but he is very fortunate, too--I think that I would give my left arm to be in his place. Heck, I would even carry in your gear just to experience such a hunt. Thank you for sharing this with us.

[redtop]

Nice Paul, Thanks for the story and congrats to Paul !!. It's been a hard season to keep your boots dry, eh? Really impressive packing out a whole elk in one trip. How'd you feel the next day (grin).

[flystrait]

Great write up and bull!

[one_elk]

I agree great write up and great story.....

[Indian Summer]

Congrats Paul and Paul Jr. Nice bull and very nice game planning boys!

[wewarev]

I love reading these experiences...even the unsuccessful ones.
Great story Paul...thanks for what you do.

[ElkNut1]

Norm, the next day was fine! I was ready to do it all over again! The day of the packout though was brutal for me! (grin) It really reminded me of my age!

ElkNut1

[redtop]

Yeah its really hard not to be reminded of that anymore. Well at least we are still out there. Keep moving forward. Looks like your up for a bull next. Good luck.

[ElkNut1]

Yes sir, you've got that right, nothing like being out there & accepting the challenge of the Wapiti! I will be working on filling a tag as well, still have a few days! Thanks. (grin)

ElkNut1

[Seminole]

Congrats to Paul JR!!!! Now Paul Sr is going to sprout fangs...[SMILING FACE WITH OPEN MOUTH AND SMILING EYES]

[Huntography]

Awesome fellas!

Rudy

[ORelksniper]

Nice work guys. You make it sound easy. How do you feel about working your magic in Oregon next year?

[Kleinpm]

I can't wait until my little guy is old enough to elk hunt with me. I have a few years to figure this game out so I can pass it on to him.

Great story! There aren't many stories about father son teams.

Patrick

[cnelk]

Great experiences and memories made right there!

I bet you are out together hunting as we type today

[Washington Wapiti]

Awesomeness guys! Congrats on a great bull and thanks for sharing a great story.

[baddaddy]

Awesome job Paul.

[TRDHUNTER]

Great job on the elk and the story. What kifaru packs are you running? Im currently deciding on a new pack and wondering what your thoughts were. Thanks.

[Triplebhunters]

Congrats. Nice elk. Nice story. And nice bow.

[elkoholic]

Great story Paul! Way to Get-R-Dun!

[chrisschwarz]

Great team work......great story. Congrats Paul II


Elknut........we need a summery on the Kifaru.........2 to 3 paragraphs will do LOL

[ElkNut1]

Hey guys, thanks, it was a memorable elk hunt! Took the photo with the aid of the "Clipshot" -- That thing is a must!

The 2 Kifaru packs we used are the T-3 Packs with the Bikini frames, they're the 4000" packs! One is Kryptek Camo the other is Multicam Camo.

ElkNut1

[WindedBowhunter]

Great story, great bull and great guys!

Well done!

[BMF11]

Great story and Bull. The whole elk in 1 trip!! Ouch