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My idaho elk hunt this year. #5506148 12/29/14 04:47 PM
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 128
GotMyTag Offline OP
Woodsman
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Woodsman
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 128
Idaho has great Elk. However, with no point system and everything being random draw, it is difficult to plan a hunt there. I have put in for many years, have drawn many deer tags but have had zero luck getting an elk tag. That is, until this year.
 I finally drew an Idaho elk tag in 2014. My only problem with the tag was I already had a pretty busy fall lined out. In addition to an Idaho elk and deer tag, I had drawn tags in three other states, not to mention hunts I would be going on with my brothers and nephews. Having too many great tags in one year is a good problem to have. However, I knew this was a tag I couldn’t pass up.
The land was familiar, I had hunted deer in this unit before. Based on the other hunts I was going on, I planned to hunt the opening day and to come back the last week of the hunt. We made a few phone calls to some friends to help cover our bases on where to start looking. Jed from Albion took us out and showed us some good spots. Another friend Kirk went out on the hunt with us. A couple of good ole Idaho boys.

                On the opener I saw a nice 6 point bull that scored around 310”. My nephews tease me that I am too greedy and that would be a great bull for Idaho, but I was hoping for something a little better. Having a bunch of tags in your pocket is nice and allows you to be a little pickier.
It was really fun hunting elk in the desert where not many people would guess there is elk. After a full day of hitting it hard, and not finding anything big enough, we headed off to hunt deer. We were super successful with deer this year. I will post pictures and stories of the deer also.

                After hunting deer for a few weeks I had planned on heading back to Idaho to hunt elk for a week or so. Unfortunately my wife needed neck surgery. I love her with all of my heart and she comes before any hunt. After her surgery she quickly recovered and told me to get out of the house and go back to Idaho. I was probably driving her crazy and she must have needed a break. So with two days left for my hunt, my brother and I went back to Idaho.
We met back up with Kirk. He took us to where he had seen some bulls but we saw nothing. They had been pushed pretty hard because of the cow elk hunt and all of the deer hunts. The elk had dug in deep and I was beginning to think about eating my tag. Seeing nothing, we worked our way up on to the highest ridge and began to stretch the optics. (Here is a plug for investing in good optics, it will save you a lot of steps in the boots.) Much to my surprise I saw some elk. I was looking into the sun and the elk were 4 miles (GPS) away in some cedars across a private valley. It was pure desert but I was pretty certain they were bulls.

                We hadn’t seen anything else and the clock was winding down, so we decided to go chase the elk in the trees. We rode the horses the 7 miles back to the truck and trailer and loaded up. Driving through town meant we were able to stop and grab lunch (much better than a smashed sandwich out of the saddle bag). After lunch we drove the truck over to the base of the mountain where we had seen them. The road was rough, we unhooked the trailer and continued driving. We ended up approximately 1/2-3/4 mile from where we had last seen the elk as they disappeared into a sea of cedars.
 We had high hopes of the game coming back to where he had first spotted them. Cedar flats are extremely hard to hunt and get a good vantage point so we glassed and quietly waited until it was almost dark. My brother who we call the “elk guide” (he only glasses for elk even if you are hunting deer, antelope, or bear) suggests that I head into the trees and sneak up on them, at this rate they weren’t going to come out until after dark. I knew the chances of surprising them in the cedars and getting a shot were really low, especially when I wanted a big bull (I wasn’t just hunting any elk). Anyone who has done that knows it is next to impossible, a waste of time and I told my brother that. 

                Soooooo......after telling him what a stupid idea that was I found myself sneaking into the cedars. I did it because i had no better idea.  Not too far in to the trees I bust the elk. First bull I see is a little guy. “Nope” I tell myself. Next bull looks really good but is at a dead run. I pull up and take a quick good shot. It was only about 60 yards away. When I shot, elk started running everywhere. I was right in the middle of them. My mind was racing, “Did I hit him”. I had a good look but he was running through the cedars. I raced to the edge of the cedar patch to get a better view. I saw small bulls running left. I saw small bulls running right. I am sure that I shot at a bigger bull. Then at 240 yards I see two bulls working through some burnt cedars. One had tall horns and I could see he was limping. I had hit him. I put another one in the chamber and put another round in him. He piled up, rose and then disappeared.  I know I hit him good both times, but my mind was second guessing. I slowly worked my way over to where I had last seen him. I did not want to push him so I took my time.

As I got closer I could see horns sticking up out of the grass. I was flooded with emotion, I felt so excited I actually shot one! As I came closer my excitement was dashed, the horn looked much smaller than the one I had shot at. “Crap, I shot a small bull running in the trees,” I thought to myself.  As I came up to the animal I saw that one side was broken up pretty good and the other side was a real nice tall 6. He was a heck of a bull who had busted up his rack fighting with the other bulls.

I had hit him hard both times with my .300 WSM. Man these animals are tough. I rolled the dice and was able to get a great bull after 3 days hunting. Getting him out was another chapter of the adventure. The horses were 7 miles away. Needless to say we walked in the door at 6am the next morning (Sunday). We had started our day at 4am Saturday. Talk about a great way to spend 26 hours.  What a crazy adventure! Thank heavens for great hunting partners and a wife that loves me in spite of my addiction to being on the mountain hunting. I feel blessed to have the opportunity to harvest such a fine mature bull. Monday we are headed to Colorado hunting elk. I will post pictures and the story of my brother’s bull elk soon. Until then remember, “Never miss the HUNT of a lifetime”. 


We use an app called PointHunter to help us apply for these hunts.
Try it out for yourself.


Watch how it works on youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwWaV0trHrw
Download now at
https://www.gotmytag.com/download/BTHF [img]https://texashuntingforum.com/forum/pics/..._2014_wtrmrk.jp[/img]


Know your families and friends points including Texas.
1. Application deadline reminders.
2. Be the first to know your draw results
3. Looks up your points

Download at
www.gotmytag.com/download/Best_Hunting_app
Re: My idaho elk hunt this year. [Re: GotMyTag] #5506155 12/29/14 04:49 PM
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 128
GotMyTag Offline OP
Woodsman
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Woodsman
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Re: My idaho elk hunt this year. [Re: GotMyTag] #5506493 12/29/14 08:00 PM
Joined: Jul 2006
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Re: My idaho elk hunt this year. [Re: GotMyTag] #5507114 12/30/14 12:44 AM
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 32,442
kmon11 Online Shocked
junior
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Nice bull


lf the saying "Liar, Liar your pants on fire" were true
Mainstream news might be fun to watch
Re: My idaho elk hunt this year. [Re: GotMyTag] #5507321 12/30/14 01:58 AM
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Rob Lay Offline
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great story, I hunted Idaho Elk this year too, in Archery. How many sites you copy this to? smile

Re: My idaho elk hunt this year. [Re: GotMyTag] #5507649 12/30/14 03:58 AM
Joined: Oct 2013
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Z522sho Offline
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Nice bull

Re: My idaho elk hunt this year. [Re: GotMyTag] #5515845 01/02/15 10:46 PM
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Re: My idaho elk hunt this year. [Re: GotMyTag] #5515864 01/02/15 10:55 PM
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postoak Offline
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Is this just a spam post for that app?


Re: My idaho elk hunt this year. [Re: Rob Lay] #5515986 01/02/15 11:50 PM
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Stickchunker Offline
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Originally Posted By: Rob Lay
great story, I hunted Idaho Elk this year too, in Archery. How many sites you copy this to? smile


My self as well.

There are no Elk in Idaho! bolt


In these times , 'I'll keep my God , my freedom , my gun and my money. Anyone that supports this insanity can keep "THE CHANGE".
Re: My idaho elk hunt this year. [Re: postoak] #5516956 01/03/15 03:12 PM
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crosshare Offline
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Originally Posted By: postoak
Is this just a spam post for that app?


I'm with you on this. spam
What are the chances of getting drawn for elk in 4 different states in the same year and able to make it to all of them since they are about the same time? confused2 Also, what unit was this in?
It all don't add up to me and it seems like a post advertising this business.
If it's all true he needs to go buy some lotto tickets cause he is one lucky son of a gun!

Re: My idaho elk hunt this year. [Re: GotMyTag] #5517153 01/03/15 05:21 PM
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 128
GotMyTag Offline OP
Woodsman
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Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 128
I do not think it luck. i only drew an elk tag in Idaho. I drew a deer tag in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming.

So only 1 elk tag. And yes it was all luck to get an Idaho elk tag. Been applying for many many years.
I have paid so that I can post advertising. So it should not be called spam in my view.
But the best part is that this is really helping hunters. I hope you take your kids hunting. And for $2 it really is helping hunters. And just trying to cover my costs. I did write it for myself as I apply for my brothers and nephews in about 25 states. And that took tons of time.

I am lucky because I get to hunt with good family and friends. I have not been very lucky in drawing tags. I just apply for lots of tags in lots of states. The app and the system I wrote makes it easy for me to do this and not take about 150 hours per year doing it. It really was taking that much time.

Here is a picture of the best deer in my family in 2014. It was my nephew and it was all DIY public land.
Sorry you thought it was all spam. I hope you like the pictures.

[img]https://texashuntingforum.com/forum/pics/...ari_2014_wtrmrk[/img]


Know your families and friends points including Texas.
1. Application deadline reminders.
2. Be the first to know your draw results
3. Looks up your points

Download at
www.gotmytag.com/download/Best_Hunting_app
Re: My idaho elk hunt this year. [Re: GotMyTag] #5517322 01/03/15 07:29 PM
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chital_shikari Offline
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Cool. Congrats on the buck and the bull

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