Well I am back for a moment, and being shipped off for a few days. AHHHH Take a week off to hunt and come home to find yourself being shipped off away from family even longer.
Well the hunt was NOT easy to say the least. Took me over 4 days to get a semi close idea of the elk patterns. Even then I was not entirely sure of what was going on. I had two hunters from out of state with me that had never hunted elk before, and had not spent a lot of time still hunting much of anything.
This was turning into a nightmare.
On Wednesday that all changed. We all took different paths to different areas that had all looked good all week but had yet to produce anything more than annoying squirrels, one of which thoroughly enjoyed an Maxima Blue Streak Select.
I had a good sized bull calling me out within the 9am hour. He toyed with me and came all of 40 yards. Had me at full draw, and would not step out of the trees. He just turned and slowly walked away.
I went back for one guy that was not far from me on an opposing hill. He answered the radio but was pretty set on sitting on a wallow for the day.
I gave up waiting on him, and just couldnt leave this bull alone. I went after him.
Again he toyed with me at 2pm. Just after lunch he bugled and came down the hill within 70-80 yards. I saw him, put my call in my pocket, grabed my rangefinder, looked up...poooofffff. GONE. Ghosted me and never showed himself again.
I went back to waiting for some action to sound off someplace. They were not talking with my calling, unless I waited for them first.
5:30 came about, I heard a faint and high pitched funny bugle come off the hill I left my buddy on. I turned on my radio and called him up. "was that you?"
He simply replied..."time to go to work son"
!!!!!! YEAH !!!!!!
He had never been on a plane, never seen an elk, never hunted an elk!!!! And had just landed a 5x5 Idaho bull. Talk about beginners luck!!! I was so stoked. He touched off a round from his side arm. He was too far for his radio to reach up the canyon to his friend that came with him(westernwannabe). However that round got him on the radio. I relayed its time to go to work.
We all had one heck of a pack out with this guy off the top of the hill. Smiles all the way and excitement that brought the fun back into a hunt that was getting so frustrating for four days.
In a moment we had an elk down.
Me and Westernwannabe failed to stick an elk this year. However we did enjoy a last morning four hour cat and mouse game on a big toad.
Here is the prize for this years lucky hunter.
