After dad and I realized that we did not draw any special tags in WA and OR this year, our plans fell to OTC, as they often do. But I also had been researching options in Idaho, something that I’ve wanted to do for quite awhile. Dad and I bought our annual OTC archery tags for Oregon and got lucky in the Idaho draw for a couple of cow elk tags.
The first few days in Oregon proved tougher hunting than normal due to increased bow hunting pressure in some of our favorite spots as well as our first encounter with a wolf.
But our luck changed on day 4. We started the day out bugling our way up into some of the most pristine elk country only to find cattle, very little elk sign and no responses to my calls. We worked our way up, around and back down from the fringes of the wilderness to the truck by early afternoon. We were tired from the heat and the steep mileage that day and agreed to hunt from a road system that evening.
Around 4pm, we were driving the last couple miles to our bailing off point from the dirt road and noticed a couple cows feeding right above the road. We never stopped the truck and just drove past and parked around the corner. We quickly threw on our packs and bows and headed straight up the ridge to get on their elevation. With a couple mews, a good sounding bugle responded from where the cows had been spotted. I screamed back a bugle and the bull fired back from his vantage point about 100+ yards away. Dad moved up and I stayed back, using the contour of the finger ridge to hopefully pull the bull to a point where he would have to come to see me and be in dads lap. As I pleaded to the bull to come over with cow whines and exchanged angry bugles, I noticed an elk working up the finger ridge, below me. Having an arrow knocked already, I laid down my bugle tube and after one attempt to draw back, I got it to full draw on the second attempt. I could now tell it was a spike. With that motion, the spike noticed and stopped square on at 25 yards behind a couple small trees. I held and held at full draw when finally the bull turned broadside and started moving to his left. With the reed in my mouth, I mewed. When he stopped, I let it fly. The shot felt smooth and automatic as I watched him run down and out of sight. I cow called continually until dad yelled from down below, “He’s down!” The bull had ran about 40+ yards and crashed in the dried berry bushes, near where dad had been standing in his set up. I was elated! Complete pass through of the lungs.
Ironically, we had spent much of the day frustrated and questioning how bad we wanted to hunt elk in the steepness of the wilderness with nothing to show for it. And now I was notching my tag on my 2018 archery bull with the road in sight below us. We elected to gut the bull and drag him down to the berm above the road. I never thought I would load an elk whole in the back of a truck based off our style and terrain we typically hunt but that’s just what we did that day. I backed up as far up the berm as I could with the tailgate down and slid him in. Instead of swatting at flies and bees and putting our EXO packs to use, we took our time breaking down the bull in camp that night with a campfire in the background and glasses of whiskey nearby.
Next up, was Idaho. I really enjoy the research aspect of hunting and going to new elk country in a new state had me really excited and up for the challenge. I ordered maps, scanned google earth and onX, spoke with the local biologist a couple times over the course of the spring and summer, exchanged pm’s with several forum members on different sites. Overlaying all that information, I came up with a list of about 10 general areas to work through. Knowing that without putting boots to the ground scouting before the season, I would be relying heavily on that list of spots and would not hesitate to move on if one spot didn’t pan out.
Dad and i made the 10 hour trek over and stayed in a motel for the night. The next morning, we woke up early and headed to where we planned to set up our base camp.
The first few days in Oregon proved tougher hunting than normal due to increased bow hunting pressure in some of our favorite spots as well as our first encounter with a wolf.
But our luck changed on day 4. We started the day out bugling our way up into some of the most pristine elk country only to find cattle, very little elk sign and no responses to my calls. We worked our way up, around and back down from the fringes of the wilderness to the truck by early afternoon. We were tired from the heat and the steep mileage that day and agreed to hunt from a road system that evening.
Around 4pm, we were driving the last couple miles to our bailing off point from the dirt road and noticed a couple cows feeding right above the road. We never stopped the truck and just drove past and parked around the corner. We quickly threw on our packs and bows and headed straight up the ridge to get on their elevation. With a couple mews, a good sounding bugle responded from where the cows had been spotted. I screamed back a bugle and the bull fired back from his vantage point about 100+ yards away. Dad moved up and I stayed back, using the contour of the finger ridge to hopefully pull the bull to a point where he would have to come to see me and be in dads lap. As I pleaded to the bull to come over with cow whines and exchanged angry bugles, I noticed an elk working up the finger ridge, below me. Having an arrow knocked already, I laid down my bugle tube and after one attempt to draw back, I got it to full draw on the second attempt. I could now tell it was a spike. With that motion, the spike noticed and stopped square on at 25 yards behind a couple small trees. I held and held at full draw when finally the bull turned broadside and started moving to his left. With the reed in my mouth, I mewed. When he stopped, I let it fly. The shot felt smooth and automatic as I watched him run down and out of sight. I cow called continually until dad yelled from down below, “He’s down!” The bull had ran about 40+ yards and crashed in the dried berry bushes, near where dad had been standing in his set up. I was elated! Complete pass through of the lungs.
Ironically, we had spent much of the day frustrated and questioning how bad we wanted to hunt elk in the steepness of the wilderness with nothing to show for it. And now I was notching my tag on my 2018 archery bull with the road in sight below us. We elected to gut the bull and drag him down to the berm above the road. I never thought I would load an elk whole in the back of a truck based off our style and terrain we typically hunt but that’s just what we did that day. I backed up as far up the berm as I could with the tailgate down and slid him in. Instead of swatting at flies and bees and putting our EXO packs to use, we took our time breaking down the bull in camp that night with a campfire in the background and glasses of whiskey nearby.
Next up, was Idaho. I really enjoy the research aspect of hunting and going to new elk country in a new state had me really excited and up for the challenge. I ordered maps, scanned google earth and onX, spoke with the local biologist a couple times over the course of the spring and summer, exchanged pm’s with several forum members on different sites. Overlaying all that information, I came up with a list of about 10 general areas to work through. Knowing that without putting boots to the ground scouting before the season, I would be relying heavily on that list of spots and would not hesitate to move on if one spot didn’t pan out.
Dad and i made the 10 hour trek over and stayed in a motel for the night. The next morning, we woke up early and headed to where we planned to set up our base camp.
