As I sit down to put words to the story of my 2017 Idaho elk hunt, I am filled with anticipation, excitement, and the stress of choosing the correct year, season, and moon phase to have the good fortune of obtaining a tag but also to obtain the correct tag at the correct season dates in 2018! This simply cannot be done without the good fortune of networking through good friends around the country and some of my trusted advisors at Huntin' Fool. Ten years ago, a good friend named George Newman got me started in applying all over the West. Some of the best advice he gave me was to become a member of Huntin' Fool, and as we have all heard before, Apply, Apply, Apply!
After deciding I would like to apply for deer and elk in Idaho, I made phone calls to Robert Hanneman and Logan Hedges, both of Huntin' Fool. After careful consideration and personal advice from these two, we had arrived on a controlled hunt unit for deer and elk that was not a premier unit, but it had good potential.
After a fortunate drawing for an Idaho elk tag, I began to speak with anyone I could in regards to the possibilities of where in the unit elk may be located during this time of the season and to what level mature bulls are possible in this unit. I spoke to outfitters, biologists, game wardens, and anyone else I could find whom I thought may have intel on the unit. The information I received in regards to the potential for elk in this unit varied more than any hunt I have ever called about in the past.
The pressure was on as I planned to take full advantage of the opportunity that Idaho had given me. I had made the decision to do this hunt self-guided on public land and would be making the 16-hour one-way trip to hunt by myself. My plan was to take a 6x16 enclosed trailer with gear and a four-wheeler on the hunt. Once I arrived, I left the quad outside at night and set up camp inside the trailer. This was really a very nice way to have camp as I was mobile if need be.
I arrived two days before the hunt and began scouting the unit and familiarizing myself with the trails. Fortunately, I was able to locate a good bull that was with a group of cows and was frequenting the same area morning and night. I chose to stay with the bull morning and night to keep tabs on him and to see if other hunters were hunting him.
The evening before opener, I had the usual jitters as I would be very happy with this bull if given the opportunity on opening morning. This almost seemed too good to be true! While watching the bull for two days, sometimes two miles away, I never saw anyone else in the area.
On opening morning, I took off early, not wanting to chance anything. To my chagrin, as I arrived at the trailhead, there were two other hunters. I went to my point where I was certain the bull would be. As the sun came up, I counted four other hunters in my area but no elk. I was disappointed, to say the least.
While scouting, I often wondered if I should stick with these elk or attempt to locate others in case someone else was in the same location. I chose to stick with the elk but was now second guessing my decision. After not hearing any shots on opening day, I decided to stick with the area where I had had luck finding elk. This was a definite turning point in my hunt. If you have ever hunted by yourself for seven days, you can attest to the second guessing that goes on in your mind on whether to stick it out or move on in pursuit of other elk. Fortunately, I had cell service, so every evening I would call a few trusted friends to discuss the day and they would help me make a decision going forward. I believe there are moments in hunting and in life that will result in success or failure. I have been on both sides of this.
I decided to stay at the location that I had scouted seven days ago. Five days had passed without seeing or hearing an elk. While scouting, I chose to stick with the elk rather than continuing to scout and locate other elk. I had no fallback plan.
On the evening of day five, I stayed in the relative area. However, I went to the highest point I could find and glassed. After glassing for an hour, I finally picked up elk, which I believed to be several miles away, heading my direction. With light fading and the elk too far to take pictures of with my Phone Skope, all I could do was watch. There was one bull in the bunch that clearly stood out. He was attempting to keep the other bulls away from all of his cows. I could tell the bull had terrific fronts and very good mass. He would be a definite shooter in most units in any state. I could not believe my good fortune! I quickly began looking for other hunters in my area in the last moments of light. I was not able to locate any other hunters.
That night, I studied maps and pored over my onXmaps app on my phone. I had decided where I thought the bull would possibly be in the morning and where I would begin my hunt.
The next morning was almost a replay of opening morning. I lay awake in my sack, waiting for the alarm to go off and jumped out of bed. I raced to my spot. As I made the final turn to the trailhead, my stomach was in my throat, hoping there would be no vehicles. Fortunately, no one was there. I gathered my gear and began the trek in the dark to the location where I thought the elk would be. Suddenly, I heard a bugle. I was right!
After a few minutes, I could see antler tips from under a ridge. Shortly thereafter, I could see movement from the lead cow. Things were coming together. Soon, I was able to identify the herd bull with huge fronts. He was constantly trying to herd his prized harem, weaving in and out of the cows as they made their way to bed. I was struggling to get a shot as I was concerned about a pass-through and did not want to injure the wrong elk. As the herd bull made his way to the back of the herd, he took a few steps from to chase away a satellite bull and met his fate. The shot was approximately 150 yards, and my 7mm mag rang true with a 180 grain Berger bullet. From seeing this bull last night, miles away at last light, to the brief moments of seeing him this morning herding his cows, I was not entirely certain how good he was. As I walked up on the bull, I could not believe my eyes. He taped out at 357” and change with fronts that measured 23".
I am truly humbled by the help and information that I received on this hunt. Without it, this would not have been possible. I would like to thank my family and my wife, Lindsay, for understanding this desire of mine to see new country and watch the sun come up for the first time on new ground. Of course, there were many people who helped me on this hunt, but there are too many to list. We all only get so many elk seasons, and I, for one, do not want to miss one!
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