Sons first bull and daughters first elk hunt

280Ackley

WKR
Joined
Jun 4, 2014
Messages
812
Location
Idaho
Elk season stared and ended with a bang this year. My youngest son 16 and I stared the seasons backpacking in 6 miles the day before the opener. We could see 2 other groups camps below us on the ridge we wanted to hunt so we stayed up a little higher.

27318431-AB9B-4EEA-9297-6EEAFF06467A.jpeg

Opening morning I awoke to a guide with a client on horseback 10’ from our camp on a trail we didn’t know existed. The guide completely ignored me wave and good morning. The client looked back and forth between us like a lost puppy!!

I continued getting ready for the day and told my son it was time to get up. As daylight was just breaking he was still in bed. I looked up on the hill to a tan spot I didn’t remember, sure enough it was an elk 900 yards from camp. I tell my son to get up I had spotted an elk. I get my spotter on him it was a small 4pt bull! By this time my son is up and blurry eyed. We hike up to a little glassing point and watch the bull feed over the ridge. We continue glassing for a few minutes and see nothing else but I hear a crunch in the timber to our left. I let out a few cow calls and we listen. It turns out to be a squirrel dropping pine cones. I then catch movement 100 yards to left of where the first bull was. Another bull walks out of the draw towards us at 800 yards. He is walking down towards us and stops at 640. My son is behind the gun at this point and I ask him how feels about that distance. He said he is ready and I give him the drop. Problem is the bull is on a mission and won’t stop. He continues on until he enters the timber 400 yards away. At this point I tell my son he is coming to us, he heard my cow calls.

About 3 minutes later my son says elk. I look directly in front of us at 90 yards and there he is!! I tell him to wait until he clears a branch and then aim for the chest. The bull takes 1-1/2 steps and mid step my son lets him have it. He didn’t know what hit him and was dead before he hit the ground!5A16A33B-40A6-4BE4-8D3E-00B12EEC96B8.jpeg
We spent the next two days packing him out just the two of us. It was a great time with my son. A hunt we will both not forget.
B42988A7-0A8F-4B7B-A9F1-7BEF0F59D128.jpeg989939A6-0016-4D52-8A9A-8335408131AB.jpeg18D80738-B336-4674-A76A-44285AC9BB83.jpeg
 
Last edited:
OP
280Ackley

280Ackley

WKR
Joined
Jun 4, 2014
Messages
812
Location
Idaho
Part 2 with my elk with my 3yo and 5yo daughters to come tonight!!
 
OP
280Ackley

280Ackley

WKR
Joined
Jun 4, 2014
Messages
812
Location
Idaho
After spending the first week hunting and the next two weekends I planned to stay home and not hunt the last Saturday of the season. I had hunted really hard and been gone from home a lot. I was completely satisfied with how the hunt had gone, with my son getting his and the encounters I had the next two weeks.

The plan was to take my daughters 3 and 5 out for a deer hunt and just get them out of the house and have fun. Last minute I decided we would head up to my elk unit and maybe get lucky and find an elk close to the road or a whitetail. We get up to the main glassing area and I start looking while the girls play in the patches of snow. I immediately start finding elk including one really nice bull. That normally I would have gone after but not so with the little ones. I end up spotting two herds with 6 bulls before lunch.

We drive out to another drainage and hike out about 300 yards to a finger ridge to glass and eat lunch. I again spot elk right away. There is a group of cows 900 yards away. I cook some chicken teriyaki and mashed potatoes for the girls and have them stretch out in the sun on my jackets to take a little rest. During the “nap” time I spot 3 small bulls one ridge away from the cows. They are in the perfect position to stalk, if I was by myself I could be within range in 15 minutes!

The girls wake up and start to look for bugs and roll rocks down the hill. I show them the elk in the spotting scope and we are just enjoying the beautiful day. I then move the spotter back to the bulls and the 3 have now turned into 6 or 7 including one nice 6x6. I ask the girls if they want to try to hike to them and they are all for it.

We head out and we make it to the ridge they are on in about 45 minutes. The bulls are 700 yards away. We start down the ridge to cut the distance. I peak over the ridge and they are 404 yards away. I get the girls ear muffs on and set them down with a snack. I settle in behind the scope and look at a group of three. The good 6x6 was not to be found but at this point I am just grateful for the day we had and the opportunity. I look over a group of 3 and see one had a longer and heavier 4th. He is quartering perfectly so I send a 168gr Berger his way!! At the shot elk we’re running everywhere. I rack another shell in and start looking with my binos for a hurt one. I then look to my right and see him rolling down the hill about 50 yards from where I shot. He is down!!!

I bring the girls up to me and show them where he is. They want to go get him. I then look at my phone and realize it is 15 min until dark and we got a 1-1/2 uphill hike out!!😬😬 They are not happy that they don’t get to see the elk and we start hiking.

They do really well on the hike out. My 3yo actually ended up leading most of the out after her sister got scared by a branch and wanted to hold my hand. A little over 2 hours later we are at the truck heading to meet mom down on the river.

She brought our two sons 18 and 16. My dad came up to keep a fire going for us at the trucks and some hot food. I also got an Inreach message from my buddy saying him and his brother will be there in an hour.
It was after 1am when we got to him and 3am by the time we had him loaded up and ready to go. We made back to the truck at 6am!!

It was an amazing experience to spend the day hunting with my girls and night packing with my boys.
BC5C7C73-CD92-4B56-B10B-30C273607D5E.jpegBD1FB255-4900-44AD-879F-5716A87D7B07.jpeg3020A788-A5A5-41B1-8414-C560A1B4F28A.jpeg
 
Joined
Mar 16, 2021
Messages
2,848
Location
Western Iowa
Took my 17 year old daughter on her first elk hunt in the Big Horns last week. We hunted hard from 5a-9p or later every day, averaging 7 miles per day, and putting in one big day on Thursday with 12 miles and over 1,100' of elevation.

After not showering for 9 days, and not punching her tag, the homecoming queen said she'd stay for another week if she could.
 

Ralphie

WKR
Joined
Feb 18, 2019
Messages
340
That’s better than all the B&C bull stories put together. Trips for you and your kids to remember forever.
 
OP
280Ackley

280Ackley

WKR
Joined
Jun 4, 2014
Messages
812
Location
Idaho
Wow , well done ! Any chance you'd want to adopt a broke d*ck old guy , and take him hunting ? LOL , I envy your kids , dad of the year stuff right there .

My dad already has the role filled!!😂😂
After 5 major back surgeries he can’t get around to well
 

RR2012

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Sep 30, 2018
Messages
121
Just awesome stuff right there! Congrats on the bull. Memories for all involved.
 
Top