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Quest for 3 Part 2- Idaho Edition

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Quest for 3 Part 2- Idaho Edition

Postby MTLongdraw » 10 20, 2017 •  [Post 1]

The Quest for 3 took me to Idaho.
Last year in Idaho was a blast. An absolute treacherous hike but we were into a bunch of elk. I had an opportunity at a great 6 point but due to some bad luck and bad positioning I wasn’t able to capitalize. I ended up killing a spike on opening day so it wasn’t all bad. This year I was going to be going with my buddy JJ again. He would have a deer tag and I would have an elk tag. We would be heading back to the same unit.
The week before was filled with a little anxiety, pre planning, and a few conversations with another friend of mine Jaydan who was in the same unit hunting deer. He had periodically called me to tell me what he was seeing for elk and where. The initial reports were all looking good.
On Saturday the 14th we headed over and set up camp. It was a pleasant surprise to see there wasn’t as many people there this year as there had been last year. On our way in we ran into Jaydan who was headed out with a nice 4 point mule deer he had killed. He had just gotten a new job so he was happy to get a deer and be on his way home to start the new job.
As we were setting up camp a few guys pulled up and started talking to us. They had been there a few days and told us they knew where the elk were. They also told us that this was dangerous country, men have died here and haven’t been found until the following spring in bear shit, and it was probably a waste of time for us to go up there because they had horses and he would have that whole country covered tomorrow. After listening to his “humor” for a while he asked that we don’t’ shoot his horses in the morning because they look like elk. JJ, a man of few words, finally looked at him and said we’ve been at this a while, I think you’re ok.” I chuckled and walked away…For the next three days we never saw that guy again  After getting camp set we headed up the trail where Jaydan said he had been seeing the elk. He couldn’t have explained it anymore perfectly. As soon as we crested the saddle we found the elk right where he said they had been coming out for the last 3 days.
The night before went as smooth as possible. We woke up at 5 am. As we were crawling out of our sleeping bags a motorcycle was already going by our tent. It was still 2.5 hours until shooting light. As we were leaving our camp another rig drove by. I had recognized him as a local guy that we had seen the night before. We made it about 10 minutes up the trail before we could see the headlights above us There were 4 of them. We ended up catching up to the wife first. She was nice and polite and told us to go around her as she said she wasn’t going to the top and was slow. I asked her where the rest of her party was planning on going so we didn’t mess their hunt up. She said she wasn’t sure and I left it at that. As I walked past her I heard a little kid scream “No.” I initially didn’t think anything of it and kept walking. I’ll be the first to admit I walk fast. Faster than I probably need to but when a hike sucks I like to just put my head down and go in order to get it over with it. A few minutes later I was working up the switchbacks and the dad started shining his headlight in my face every time I’d hit a switchback. I thought it was unnecessary but didn’t say anything and just kept walking with my head down. When I got one switchback below him I could hear the kid crying and dry heaving in the middle of the trail. His dad was yelling at him telling him to suck it up and if you don’t figure it out you’re going to blow this whole thing. Dad then starts yelling at me “ You’re not passing us. Just so you know!” I told him I wasn’t there to ruin anyone’s hunt and I was trying to get up the trail. Now there’s 100 different ways I could have reacted to this situation. Maybe a few years ago I would have chosen to say something different etc but let’s face it, people get downright stupid about elk and I wasn’t going to take a chance that some yahoo wasn’t going to do something if I walked by him. I mostly felt terrible for his kid. I wondered if his dad had pushed him so hard that it made hunting not fun for him.
I ended up talking to the dad and brother a few minutes later. They were upset because they thought that we were going to ruin their elk hunt and they knew there were elk near the top. As soon as we got to the top we went our separate ways. I got more and more pissed about it as the day went on. I mostly just hope that hunting isn’t ruined for that young boy by how his father acted towards us and him.
By the time we got to the top there was the guy on the motorcycle (John) the dad and his two kids, myself and JJ and then two kids on horses. As soon as we hit the saddle we headed south and immediately got away from everyone. About 930 we heard a bull bugling and started moving on him. A couple different times we had to have been right on top of him. I kept expecting we were going to pop into an opening and find him standing there at 100 yards but we never did. We chased them into a drainage and lost him. We spent the rest of the day trying to turn him up and glassing new country. No luck.
On our way out we ended up running into John. He had killed a nice 6 point around 930 I asked him what had happened with the trail monitor. He laughed and said they ended up shooting deer and left first thing in the morning. I helped him pack some of his bull out and we nestled in for the second night.
Second morning was much different. No people anywhere. We headed up to the same spot and got on a herd right of the trail at first light. There was a small bull in the group but by the time I got him acquired in my scope and got set, he was already through the opening. No shot. I ran around the ridge for a while trying to find them. Saw them a few times but nothing I could ever get a shot off on. And in that country you don’t run very fast very far! After that rodeo we spotted up the herd that had come out in the same spot as the last 4-5 days. Appeared to be four branch antler bulls in it. So up we went! It was terrible to say the least. As soon as we got to the top I glassed the opening and noticed all the elk were gone.
We still hunted across the top of the ridge. There were tracks everywhere. It was that type of country where you just felt like the next step you took could turn up a bull walking through the timber. As we moved across the top of the ridge I walked out in an opening just at the base of a steep rocky ridge. As I looked up I saw a beautiful sight. A nice bull just cresting the skyline. I didn’t get my binos up fast enough to see exactly what he was, but he was definitely a 5 or 6 point. I looked back and told JJ what I had just seen. He looked up to the top and said he was out  He said he would sidehill onto the finger ridge we had seen the second group and try to turn them up. I told him I was going to go up and try to cut that bulls tracks and see if I could find where he was feeding/bedding.
He told me to bugle 3 times if I killed something and he’d come help! I probably wasn’t gone 20 minutes when I found myself about 100 yards from the top. I stopped to get a drink and throw on a coat because it was a little breezy at 8650 feet. As I did I started hearing a swooshing sound. It continued but was consistent. I was overlooking a huge rock slide but had some small lode poles right below me. I don’t know if it was experience or optimism but something told me to get ready because that sounded like elk. A few moments later 8 cows popped out at 125 yards. I threw up my binos and started scanning. Moments later a branch antlered bull appeared. A few steps behind the cows and in a perfect opening. I quickly dropped to a knee and acquired my target. He must have heard me because he locked on me instantly. I touched off a round from my 7 mm and watched him hunch. He ran up hill and caught up to the cows as they all took off. I tried to get another round into him but he stepped in front of a cow. After running about 10 yards I watched him started to wobble and down he went. I was estatic! He hit the rock slide and started going down hill. I’ll be honest it didn’t look that steep from my angle. I also never thought of the consequences of killing a elk in the rockslide. I guess mostly because I never thought I’d find an elk in a rock slide  He slid down hill about 10 feet and caught up. After two kicks he was done. I just sat there for a few minutes soaking it all in. I sent a few texts and made a few phone calls to those important ones who support my passion. I then bugled 3 times and waited for “support” to get there.
As we got over there it was rude awakening. This rock slide was huge and super steep. We ended up tying the bull off to a rock. Thankfully it held the whole time we worked on it. I don’t know how but it did and that’s all that mattered.
We shuttled the meat to the ridge where I shot from and headed down with the back quarters. I was on cloud 9! For years and years I struggled to kill bulls and many years I didn’t. Now I was packing out my second bull in 5 weeks! He was a nice bull killed on a hardcore DIY public land hunt. To me that’s what I chase, more than inches. 3 miles in, 2300 vertical feet, and snow. All in an OTC unit on public land outside my home state.
The next morning we headed up the trail to meet John and his brother. As we were sitting at the saddle glassing and BSing with them I told JJ to stay there and hunt deer while I went up and got the remaining half of my elk. Being a great friend and hunting partner he wasn’t really keen on the idea of sending me up there by myself. I assured him it was ok and I didn’t want to ruin his hunt because he was helping me. We also hadn’t been seeing much for deer so I felt terrible he wasn’t having much luck. As we engaged in this debate a gorgeous chocolate bear walked across a rock slide at 540 yars. I said hey JJ shoot that bear. Joking or not he was already proned out and I was reading off ranges to him. He connected and just like that his deer tag had become a bear tag and we had both just tagged out!
On our way over to the bear he told me that a chocolate bear was one of his dream hunts. I had no idea as I had just asked him the day before if he would shoot a bear. He said it’d have to have “wow factor” I asked him if he thought the bear was a good one and he said it definitely looked like it to him. Lets just say when we got to the bear neither of us were disappointed! An absolute gorgeous bear with a huge head. I’m sure he’ll go over 6 foot.
After photographing JJ’s bear, skinning it, and packing up the meat we carried it to the saddle and stashed it. We then headed up and got the rest of my elk and headed back to the saddle. Once we got to the saddle it got heavy!!! I carried out a front shoulder, a backstrap, a heart, a tenderloin, and all of JJ’s bear meat. He carried out my elk front, a backstrap, a tenderloin, his rifle, and the hide. I think I smiled the whole way down the trail.
Filling two tags is always fun. But I had an absolute blast on the hunt! It had so much more to do that pulling the trigger. As I get older I think I’m starting to understand what people mean when they say you paid for the experience. When I posted a picture of my bull on my Facebook page I said “I appreciate the fact Idaho only charges for the tags and not the experience. Wouldn’t have been able to afford it.” I got so much out of this hunt. I got things that will never show up in the score book and I’ll have for years to come.
Attachments
2017 ID Bull.jpg
2017 ID Bull.jpg (90.71 KiB) Viewed 2523 times
JJ Bear.jpg
JJ Bear.jpg (825.37 KiB) Viewed 2523 times
ID Camp.jpg
ID Camp.jpg (809.21 KiB) Viewed 2523 times
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MTLongdraw
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Re: Quest for 3 Part 2- Idaho Edition

Postby Roosiebull » 10 20, 2017 •  [Post 2]

Very cool!

Great write up, and thanks for sharing!

Congrats on an amazing season!
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Re: Quest for 3 Part 2- Idaho Edition

Postby Swede » 10 21, 2017 •  [Post 3]

Great story. Congrats on a very successful hunt.
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Re: Quest for 3 Part 2- Idaho Edition

Postby Lefty » 10 22, 2017 •  [Post 4]

Great story,..

any more Pics?
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Re: Quest for 3 Part 2- Idaho Edition

Postby Elkhunttoo » 10 22, 2017 •  [Post 5]

Congrats to you on you Idaho hunt!!! Nice write up
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Re: Quest for 3 Part 2- Idaho Edition

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 10 23, 2017 •  [Post 6]

Excellent write up, hunt, and harvest Josh.. Thanks for taking the time to share. Sounds like you really ran into some "characters" on your hunt this year.
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Re: Quest for 3 Part 2- Idaho Edition

Postby MTLongdraw » 10 23, 2017 •  [Post 7]

Thanks all! Lefty I have a few pics but can't post them. They're too scenic :D
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Re: Quest for 3 Part 2- Idaho Edition

Postby elkaholicid » 10 24, 2017 •  [Post 8]

Wow! Excellent job in writing the tale of your hunt. It drew me in and kept me wanting to read more and know what was going to happen next. Congrats to you both!
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