htoutdoors
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I figured after over a week to brood about it I would finally share a recap of my dads elk hunt. I shared a bit on a previous post but I figured I would share a full recap with some of the pictures I took. Our plan was to spend 3-4 days for the first two weeks of the season hunting. My hope was to not need the second stretch of time and possibly be able to use those vacation days during my own cow elk hunt after thanksgiving.
We fully expected the first couple days to be mostly a scouting period and getting to know the area. Due to family schedule we did not get to do much scouting before the season. Within the first ten minutes of our first morning we where into elk. A group of about 20 cows. We where pretty excited and had pretty high hopes at that point. We spent the morning glassing and turned up a bunch more cows and a few nice bucks. Man I was i would have had a tag for deer.
From that morning our luck just went downhill. After never locating any bulls in that area we decided to try out another area for the evening. Someone had told me of an area that we felt was close enough to ride the atvs to from our camp. We decided to ride into and area and come out a different trail that evening and basically make a big loop. I had checked the trail closures and such but I guess I didn't check close enough. Well we didn't see a single elk the entire evening and ended up making a giant detour because of a locked gate that wasn't suppose to be locked. Total miles ridden that night by the time we got back tot he trailer was 50 miles.
The next morning we rode back into the same area as the previous morning. Ran into a group of about 8 guys that beat us there. Two had bull tags and one had a buck tag. We chatted for a few and asked what direction they where headed so we could give them their space. We saw a few cows that morning but nothing too exciting.
That afternoon we decided to go try a spot that a friend of mine grew up hunting. On the way there the straps bounced off my dads atv and it bounced off the trailer. We never heard anything and couldn't see anything because my atv was bigger and in front so it blocked the view. Once we noticed something was not right we turned around at the top of the pass and headed back down assuming the worst. As we came around a corner there was a little old lady riding my dads atv up the road. We pulled up to her and she just grinned and said she found it in the middle of the road. NOT A SCRATCH ON IT! She said she would leave it up at the top of the road for us.
That evening was pretty uneventful. Not a single animal but tons of sign and game trails. We sat till dark and hiked all the way back out. That evening we found my mother and oldest son (7 years old) waiting for us at the trailer. They had surprised us and came up to hunt with us the next day. This helped to bring our spirits up because we were pretty beat down at this point.
The next morning was more of the same for the most part. My dad was pretty worn down physically and mentally at this point. We went into the same area as the previous two mornings. My thought was even though we hadn't seen any bulls was why leave elk to find elk. We had watched elk go into a very thick timber hillside twice and so I decided that I would have my father sit below that timber with my son and my mother and I was going to hike around the backside and see if I could push anything out. I got the top and started down through the timber and heard elk bust out of their beds. One sounded like maybe there was antlers bouncing off of branches and such and my blood got pumping pretty good.
After following tracks all the way to the bottom I heard my dad take 2 shots. He quickly after called me on the radios and told me he had shot at a small raghorn and missed. It was over 300 yds and was moving pretty quick. He gets pretty excited and was still shaking when I got down to him about 15 minutes later. Apparently the bull was less than 100 yds from me at one point but I never saw him. We spent the rest of the day in that area and never turned up any other animals other than a couple moose.
Sunday morning we had to head home the next morning and return to work for 3 days. We where pretty discouraged but not ready to give up. I had a rough day Wednesday and ended up telling my dad I would meet him up at camp with the atvs late that night. On my way, only about 15 minutes out of town, the transmission on my truck went out. After getting towed back to town my dad came back down to Mountain Home and picked me up.
The next morning we woke up a little later than I wanted to but hiked into an area that I had very high hopes for. We still saw cows but still could not turn up any bulls. Same story that evening as all the rest of the evenings we had hunted. No elk.
That evening the pull cord on my generator broke. Man we could not catch a break. We where starting to think someone was out to get us. We fixed the generator by flashlight on my tailgate and went to bed. The next morning we did not locate any animals and where ready to call it quits and maybe try the following weekend.
A friend of mine sent me a location he had seen a bull just few days prior on a deer hunt so I convinced my dad to try it out that evening. Finally that evening we found three bulls but we where just on the wrong ridge. With some life back in our motivation we where planning to come back in the morning and give it one last shot. I had to be home Saturday evening for a party I had promised to take my wife to. One the ride out, my dad hit a rut the wrong way on his atv and injured his shoulder. It was bad enough he couldn't ride his atv anymore or hold a gun up. So we drove to my house that night and stayed there. I hoped that he would be fine by morning but no such luck.
He could have still attempted to fill his tag until Thursday of this week but with no vacation time left and his shoulder still injured we had to throw in the towel. I had such high hopes for this hunt but I just wasn't meant to be. Hopefully he still has a few years of hunting in him and maybe he will get lucky enough to draw a tag again. We had a ton of fun and definitely made some memories. One of the pictures attached is a knife that he made me for taking the time and effort to help him on this hunt. Sure will miss the days we spend together in the hills and I am going to make the most of the time he can still be out with me. Thanks to all those that sent pms and gave us advice on this unit. Now I will put my focus on the late archery deer and my unit 49 cow tag that opens thanksgiving weekend.
We fully expected the first couple days to be mostly a scouting period and getting to know the area. Due to family schedule we did not get to do much scouting before the season. Within the first ten minutes of our first morning we where into elk. A group of about 20 cows. We where pretty excited and had pretty high hopes at that point. We spent the morning glassing and turned up a bunch more cows and a few nice bucks. Man I was i would have had a tag for deer.
From that morning our luck just went downhill. After never locating any bulls in that area we decided to try out another area for the evening. Someone had told me of an area that we felt was close enough to ride the atvs to from our camp. We decided to ride into and area and come out a different trail that evening and basically make a big loop. I had checked the trail closures and such but I guess I didn't check close enough. Well we didn't see a single elk the entire evening and ended up making a giant detour because of a locked gate that wasn't suppose to be locked. Total miles ridden that night by the time we got back tot he trailer was 50 miles.
The next morning we rode back into the same area as the previous morning. Ran into a group of about 8 guys that beat us there. Two had bull tags and one had a buck tag. We chatted for a few and asked what direction they where headed so we could give them their space. We saw a few cows that morning but nothing too exciting.
That afternoon we decided to go try a spot that a friend of mine grew up hunting. On the way there the straps bounced off my dads atv and it bounced off the trailer. We never heard anything and couldn't see anything because my atv was bigger and in front so it blocked the view. Once we noticed something was not right we turned around at the top of the pass and headed back down assuming the worst. As we came around a corner there was a little old lady riding my dads atv up the road. We pulled up to her and she just grinned and said she found it in the middle of the road. NOT A SCRATCH ON IT! She said she would leave it up at the top of the road for us.
That evening was pretty uneventful. Not a single animal but tons of sign and game trails. We sat till dark and hiked all the way back out. That evening we found my mother and oldest son (7 years old) waiting for us at the trailer. They had surprised us and came up to hunt with us the next day. This helped to bring our spirits up because we were pretty beat down at this point.
The next morning was more of the same for the most part. My dad was pretty worn down physically and mentally at this point. We went into the same area as the previous two mornings. My thought was even though we hadn't seen any bulls was why leave elk to find elk. We had watched elk go into a very thick timber hillside twice and so I decided that I would have my father sit below that timber with my son and my mother and I was going to hike around the backside and see if I could push anything out. I got the top and started down through the timber and heard elk bust out of their beds. One sounded like maybe there was antlers bouncing off of branches and such and my blood got pumping pretty good.
After following tracks all the way to the bottom I heard my dad take 2 shots. He quickly after called me on the radios and told me he had shot at a small raghorn and missed. It was over 300 yds and was moving pretty quick. He gets pretty excited and was still shaking when I got down to him about 15 minutes later. Apparently the bull was less than 100 yds from me at one point but I never saw him. We spent the rest of the day in that area and never turned up any other animals other than a couple moose.
Sunday morning we had to head home the next morning and return to work for 3 days. We where pretty discouraged but not ready to give up. I had a rough day Wednesday and ended up telling my dad I would meet him up at camp with the atvs late that night. On my way, only about 15 minutes out of town, the transmission on my truck went out. After getting towed back to town my dad came back down to Mountain Home and picked me up.
The next morning we woke up a little later than I wanted to but hiked into an area that I had very high hopes for. We still saw cows but still could not turn up any bulls. Same story that evening as all the rest of the evenings we had hunted. No elk.
That evening the pull cord on my generator broke. Man we could not catch a break. We where starting to think someone was out to get us. We fixed the generator by flashlight on my tailgate and went to bed. The next morning we did not locate any animals and where ready to call it quits and maybe try the following weekend.
A friend of mine sent me a location he had seen a bull just few days prior on a deer hunt so I convinced my dad to try it out that evening. Finally that evening we found three bulls but we where just on the wrong ridge. With some life back in our motivation we where planning to come back in the morning and give it one last shot. I had to be home Saturday evening for a party I had promised to take my wife to. One the ride out, my dad hit a rut the wrong way on his atv and injured his shoulder. It was bad enough he couldn't ride his atv anymore or hold a gun up. So we drove to my house that night and stayed there. I hoped that he would be fine by morning but no such luck.
He could have still attempted to fill his tag until Thursday of this week but with no vacation time left and his shoulder still injured we had to throw in the towel. I had such high hopes for this hunt but I just wasn't meant to be. Hopefully he still has a few years of hunting in him and maybe he will get lucky enough to draw a tag again. We had a ton of fun and definitely made some memories. One of the pictures attached is a knife that he made me for taking the time and effort to help him on this hunt. Sure will miss the days we spend together in the hills and I am going to make the most of the time he can still be out with me. Thanks to all those that sent pms and gave us advice on this unit. Now I will put my focus on the late archery deer and my unit 49 cow tag that opens thanksgiving weekend.
