Kentuck
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- Joined
- Mar 19, 2001
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Got home from Idaho Sat. night. after a 12 hour drive. Wish that was as much fun as the hunt. Hunted with my good friend Wogg and his buddy Don. Hit a snafu Tuesday night as we were setting up our camp. Turns out I had forgotten the leg poles to my wall tent back in CA. After a short discussion about what to do for the night, I decided to make the mad dash back to Boise to Lowe's and get some poles. Made it back three hours later and got the tent up. Got the stove setup (Huge Thanks to Ducslayer for that one) and we were set for the night.
Got up Wed to show the area to the others and do some scouting. Didn't see any elk but did talk with several others who were either deer hunting or cow elk hunting. Some were seeing some, some weren't or weren't saying. Don't recall seeing so many camps. Place looked like a zoo. I think all the big fires just north of there had many hunting here. Don't recall seeing that many the year before. Met one youngman that said he was seeing elk but nothing close.
Opening day started with me hunting near where I had taken a bull last year. Ran into a couple of hunters but not too many. Didn't see any elk in the morning but found where a bull had been staying. Found his beds, rubs and tracks. Met up with Wogg and Don and they abandoned their first choice for the morning because of the trucks and atv's parked where they were going to start. Met a friend from Nampa's son on the road and he said his dad saw about 40 head that morning, including 9 bulls. We headed there and it looked like the escalator at the local mall with the amount of people coming up the backside of that hill. Turns out there were at least three herds of elk spotted and lots of bulls. The youngman we had met Wed. had a friend take a 6x6 that morning from way back in. While on top of the mountain, Wogg spotted a herd bedded/feeding on the backside of a ridge about a mile away. Too far to try at that point. We watched them until they fed out and away from us. Cool at least we saw elk.
The next day we decided to go for it and headed down into the canyons we watched the day before. Didn't see anything early, but then when Wogg and I hooked back up about 10, I spied an elk on the ridge above us. Then another one steps out. I tell Wogg he needed to hoof it up there because I figured it was a herd coming out. He did, and shortly there after I see a bull come out. Small one, maybe a 4-pointer or so. They didn't go where Wogg went and I walked an elk trail up the canyon and they must have gone down the canyon below me. It was really brushy there and I couldn't see the bottom. That was all for that day.
Sat. was interesting. Lots more people. Changed to plan B and saw 25 head of elk, all about a mile away in an old burn on the next mountain. Anyone that has hunted Idaho knows what going that distance would be like. Couldn't put horns on any but I'm sure there were bulls there. About 8 or so heard a very loud roar coming up the canyon and turned in time to see an A-10 come over the ridge at tree top level. Flew a couple hundred feet over my head and then I head another one coming. Got a pic of it going by. I thought it was cool. Wogg didn't think so from where he was at but I'll let him tell that. That was all I saw Sat.
Sunday was much the same.
Monday I took time off to run some errands and phone calls. Hunted that evening with Wogg and saw a bull and three cows/calves just before dark. Decided it was too late to try for him. Wish we had now. I think we could have gotten close enough.
Didn't sleep well Monday night and decided to sleep in Tuesday. Got up to hunt a little later and found I had a flat tire. Shot the rest of the day getting that taken care of. It was a nail.
Wed. saw one cow elk and some mulies. Got to see a buck rubbing some brush and then heard him and another one we saw chasing a doe in and out of a pocket of trees fighting. Then the smaller came right by me after getting his butt kicked. That was cool.
Did a killer hike Thursday morning that produced nothing but tired legs and a sore back. Getting tired of toting that day pack by now.
Friday we decided to hit the bull we saw Monday. Some other hunters were putting a drive on in that canyon and I saw the bull and his group across the canyon heading out. Bummer. Ended listening to that group on the radios telling each other where elk were. Ended up seeing another bull (from their talk) but again way too far away. Ended hunting about noon and went and packed camp.
Good hunt, saw about 50 or so elk, but just couldn't get on the right ridge. I'll post some pics later.
Kentuck
Got up Wed to show the area to the others and do some scouting. Didn't see any elk but did talk with several others who were either deer hunting or cow elk hunting. Some were seeing some, some weren't or weren't saying. Don't recall seeing so many camps. Place looked like a zoo. I think all the big fires just north of there had many hunting here. Don't recall seeing that many the year before. Met one youngman that said he was seeing elk but nothing close.
Opening day started with me hunting near where I had taken a bull last year. Ran into a couple of hunters but not too many. Didn't see any elk in the morning but found where a bull had been staying. Found his beds, rubs and tracks. Met up with Wogg and Don and they abandoned their first choice for the morning because of the trucks and atv's parked where they were going to start. Met a friend from Nampa's son on the road and he said his dad saw about 40 head that morning, including 9 bulls. We headed there and it looked like the escalator at the local mall with the amount of people coming up the backside of that hill. Turns out there were at least three herds of elk spotted and lots of bulls. The youngman we had met Wed. had a friend take a 6x6 that morning from way back in. While on top of the mountain, Wogg spotted a herd bedded/feeding on the backside of a ridge about a mile away. Too far to try at that point. We watched them until they fed out and away from us. Cool at least we saw elk.
The next day we decided to go for it and headed down into the canyons we watched the day before. Didn't see anything early, but then when Wogg and I hooked back up about 10, I spied an elk on the ridge above us. Then another one steps out. I tell Wogg he needed to hoof it up there because I figured it was a herd coming out. He did, and shortly there after I see a bull come out. Small one, maybe a 4-pointer or so. They didn't go where Wogg went and I walked an elk trail up the canyon and they must have gone down the canyon below me. It was really brushy there and I couldn't see the bottom. That was all for that day.
Sat. was interesting. Lots more people. Changed to plan B and saw 25 head of elk, all about a mile away in an old burn on the next mountain. Anyone that has hunted Idaho knows what going that distance would be like. Couldn't put horns on any but I'm sure there were bulls there. About 8 or so heard a very loud roar coming up the canyon and turned in time to see an A-10 come over the ridge at tree top level. Flew a couple hundred feet over my head and then I head another one coming. Got a pic of it going by. I thought it was cool. Wogg didn't think so from where he was at but I'll let him tell that. That was all I saw Sat.
Sunday was much the same.
Monday I took time off to run some errands and phone calls. Hunted that evening with Wogg and saw a bull and three cows/calves just before dark. Decided it was too late to try for him. Wish we had now. I think we could have gotten close enough.
Didn't sleep well Monday night and decided to sleep in Tuesday. Got up to hunt a little later and found I had a flat tire. Shot the rest of the day getting that taken care of. It was a nail.
Wed. saw one cow elk and some mulies. Got to see a buck rubbing some brush and then heard him and another one we saw chasing a doe in and out of a pocket of trees fighting. Then the smaller came right by me after getting his butt kicked. That was cool.
Did a killer hike Thursday morning that produced nothing but tired legs and a sore back. Getting tired of toting that day pack by now.
Friday we decided to hit the bull we saw Monday. Some other hunters were putting a drive on in that canyon and I saw the bull and his group across the canyon heading out. Bummer. Ended listening to that group on the radios telling each other where elk were. Ended up seeing another bull (from their talk) but again way too far away. Ended hunting about noon and went and packed camp.
Good hunt, saw about 50 or so elk, but just couldn't get on the right ridge. I'll post some pics later.
Kentuck
