Archery Elk 2020

Another year, another elk season. Austin and I have been waiting for September to come all year long! We decided on a new unit so we could explore more of Idaho and we knew a couple who were already coming here. After hours on onx maps e-scouting, sighting in my husbands new 6.5 PRC, making re-loads, and getting our gear and food together we were packed and ready to hit the road.

Since Austin didn't get off until 8:00 am and then had a test at work to do he didn't end up getting home until close to 3:00 pm. Once he got home I had everything loaded so he changed clothes double checked my list and we were on the road. After 8-9 hours of driving we rolled into camp around 3:00 am where our friends had already set up. We quickly unpacked our tent and sleeping bags and climbed into bed.

Day 1

We thought we would sleep half the day but when the sun came up we were out of bed at 8:00 am. We ate a little breakfast and got ready to start the hunt. We wanted to get our bearings a little so we took a ride in their side by side. Not too far down the road Austin decided we should stop and ripped a bugle off the side of the mountain. None of us could believe it. We heard a deep bugle right back at us. At first, I thought, it must be another hunter. However, a couple bugles later and we were pointing to where we thought it was. I reported, "Let's just start down this mountain right here". The boys shot down my idea without thought and were determined the bull was way over on the other side of the mountain. I shrugged my shoulders and let them lead me to where they thought. After hours of hiking back and forth and following the bugles we ended up about 300 yards below where we started. Now my hike straight down seemed like a good idea.... I was laughing inside.

We snuck into his home. Their was a wallow and thick timber and brush for him to hide. He also had good feed just above the timber line he was tucked into. You could see tracks in the loose dirt, it was trafficked during some part of the day. The bull would not come any closer, he hid behind a couple trees. I slowly snuck forward trying to get closer in case he decided to come out into the open or cross at the wallow. The wind wouldn't allow us to come up the other side and behind him was such thick brush he would hear us a mile away. At this point I saw him pass through a couple of trees his body was huge and the tips of his horns showed themselves briefly. He was a big bull. After playing back and forth he decided to back off and slip into the brush. After about 20 minutes we decided to circle back around and just see what happens. The brush was thick, you couldn't see but 3 feet in front of you. I was in the front when Austin randomly decided to bugle. All of a sudden a loud bugle comes from right over this thick bush that I couldn't see past. Then I see his horns up above this bush and his nostrils in front of me flaring. This was an insane experience and still could never see his body, he was still about 10 yards from me. Just like that he was gone. Never to be seen again...

(You will want to turn the volume up high to hear the bull bugle back. We are also working on understanding exactly what the bull is saying back and attempting to adapt what type of call to use depending on that.)

After that chase that lasted hours and hour we decided to get back to the side by side and scout around the top of the unit.

Day 2

The next morning we woke up early and hit a different area of the unit we had scouted out online. We hiked in from an old trail that is no longer maintained then it branched off to no trail pretty quick. We were hiking with headlamps the first leg and ran into a little black bear! It definitely startled me but it was more afraid of me than I was of it. We continued on and crossed a creek. After getting across I motioned to Austin to bugle and we heard some movement. I let out a cow call and then saw a quick glance at a little rag horn. He appeared scared and unsure of what was going on and ran off in a split second. We all set up and started calling to see if any other bulls were nearby or heck if he would come back being curious... No luck on that one. We continued on.

Once we got back into a big basin we saw a nice marsh feeding area with timber nearby. We checked out the timberline as we observed and glassed the hillsides. We found a big wallow with a ton of elk tracks all over. We then started heading out keeping cover towards the marsh area hoping to get a better look at the basin. As we started over from behind the other side of the marsh some cow elk ran the other way. We just kept bumping elk. No bull was in sight but we did see another hunter on the hillside. We made a loop and worked our way back out of the trail. We saw a lot of elk tracks and old feces on the ground in the lower elevation on the hike back.

Once we got back to camp we came up with a game plan for the next day and sat around the campfire reminiscing on our stories so far. Another friend joined camp that evening as well.

Day 3

At this point we had 4 tags in camp and decided to split up for the day. Austin and I went and checked out the outskirts of a burn area and then hunted it back up to the top of a basin and around a mountain. When we got up on top he let out a bugle and we heard a response! It was my turn to be the hunter and he was the caller. I thought to myself "he's a long ways away". However, I took a deep breath and we started on our way towards him. Down the mountain, through an old bedding area, traversing up the other side we went. On our way up the other side we sat down for a quick bite of food. As we are sitting there a cow elk comes jumping up the hill about 40 yards from us. We both watched in amazement. You come all these miles and then one decides to skip past you at 40 yards??? I didn't even get my bow ready. I wanted that bull.

We are on the trail again going back and forth with the bull keeping track of where he was. This is where Austin and I thought differently. He wanted to cross another hillside and come up and over to a small patch of timber. I thought we were too close and that the bull was coming. We ended up going and crossing over. Austin motions me to go up about another 40 yards and find a spot to get set up. I did as he said and walked with caution. Before I knew it, he let off a bugle. He must have thought he gave me enough time. I stepped in front of the tree I was making my way towards and started to knock an arrow. I hear a loud bugle right back. This bull is coming in hot.

I go to grab my range finder and range a layed down log at 50 yards and some nearby trees at 30 yards. Then, I see the bull. He came in on my right but straight ahead at the log that was 50 yards. Three of his cows come in the timber straight ahead about 100 yards. The cows stay there watching as he walks out broadside at 50 yards at the log and bugles. This was unreal!! He was in plain sight. I however, knew that with my poundage I didn't want to shoot an elk unless It was 35 yards or less. This was my first big game archery hunt and I didn't want to wound an animal. I waited for him to make his next move. He starts making his way over to a couple trees. He is raking the trees.

This is where I decided to range more obstacles in the direction of the path he was making, doing this very slowly since the cows were still looking straight ahead at me. Next thing I know, he walks out on the path and keep slowly closing the circle around me to where he stops 32 yards broadside. This is where I realized my mistake. 1. When he was raking I should have noticed a branch coming off my left side and moved in front of it or to its side 2. I should have drawn back. Now he had me, any movement I made I was going to be busted. He stood there and I knew he was getting nervous. I stepped to my side and drew back. When I did that I snapped a small twig making a loud noise before I could even get my pin on his vitals he busted out of there in a split second.

Still in disbelief that we called a beautiful bull into shooting range and I messed it all up. I felt like I let Austin down and I was mad at myself. I know it's a small percentage of people who harvest an archery bull their first year but I wanted to beat those odds.

Here I am, holding back tears. After the elk ran out of here in a split second after hours of chasing them. That far log is where he came out, cow elk just passed it in the treeline. He raked on those trees in the middle. Then came out on my left closing the distance until those dead branches kept me from releasing my arrow. Amateur hour, I know, but I will always remember this and I will become a better hunter because of these mistakes. It took months for the pain of this to start to wear off.

We decided to hike out and get across another hillside to see if we could glass up this herd. I didn't like the idea of chasing the bull but figured what else do I have to lose. We hiked out and over and sat to make a mountain house.

Next, we both set up and start glassing the hillside. Guess what we found! The entire herd. They had only ran about 200 yards away and were feeding near a timber patch.

They started walking down the mountain around those green shrubs towards the lower timber. It's hard to see but between us and the lower timber is a dried creek bed. We watched as they made their way down and we started booking it towards the trees. We got to a spot where we were close but couldn't see down. We knew they were on the move. We started to step out into the opening and Austin bugled and the bull bugled back. They were about to pass us. He moved his cows fast and some started to split off and get confused. We were hoping this would make him come back but he just kept moving.

Day 4

Our friends at camp had seen bulls where they went in so we decided that they would go back in to where they saw them and we would work our way around the mountain so maybe one group could have an opportunity. We ended up getting up through some alders and sat waiting for sun to rise. Austin let off a bugle just before sunrise and what do you know a bugle right back. Probably within 200 yards. We decided they were probably on the other side of this ravine with a creek crossing so we slowly made our way there. On our way a bear hunter was driving back and forth down on the road with dogs barking and barking. The elk never talked again after that. When we got there we found a nice wallow and tons of tracks but no elk.

We worked our way up the mountain. It was a good climb and the fog was rolling in fast. Visibility was bad and no glassing was in our future.

We decided to hike back down and we checked out another area that I had been bugging Austin about. I had a good feeling about the area. We hiked up to the top of another mountain and started to head towards another ridge when we decided to bugle. Guess what?? Another bull! We checked the wind and headed down to meet him. Once we got closer we bugled again. He started getting quieter with his responses so we slowed ours down. When we got to a spot we thought we were in his "bubble" we set up and started calling. I learned from my mistake. No branches in the way, arrow knocked, area ranged. I started paying close attention to leaves or noises. I heard a noise and kept looking in that direction. Next I saw a small branch move. I drew back and waited. His horns became visible from behind some shrubs. I never saw his face or his body. If he had taken just a few more steps he would have been 25 yards broadside. But all I saw was his horns and something made him run.

Day 5

We spent the first half of the day helping a friend track a bull. We tracked blood, found the arrow, and tracked more blood for over a mile. On our hands and knees looking for tiny spots of blood. This bull ran uphill and went for miles. We think he survived based on the penetration of the arrow and the dwindling blood trail. We finally lost the trail in a cow field. The hunter was devastated. He stayed another day searching for any new tracks or blood but then decided to still punch his tag.

After that Austin and I decided to head out to another spot we had marked and bivy camp for the night. On our hike we got interested in an area started heading in that direction. We found elk tracks, and fresh sign. We then came up on a bedding area. With fresh urine in one of the beds. No elk in sight and nothing had responded to any previous calls. We decided to hike a bit further and get out of the wind so no scent would blow our cover and camp for the night.

We ate our mountain house dinner out on a mountain side and watched the sunset. We even got to listen to bugling bulls while we fell asleep.

Day 6

We were up bright and early. We decided to leave camp and start chasing the bugles we heard the night before. It was crazy windy and nothing was making a noise. We circled for miles around the mountain where we heard the bulls. We came down into a little lower elevation to get towards our camp when we both looked at each other and just knew this looked "elky". It's what we say when we know there is no way elk don't live here. Instead of stopping and still hunting for a second we just walked a few more steps. Then we see 5 or 6 elk running out of there. These elk never talked and we had no idea except for our senses. We walked down to where they had been bedded down and found fresh urine and feces all around. We decided with the wind to pack up camp and head back toward basecamp. On our way we went over to the alders where we had been a previous day and bugled and hiked around to see if we would get lucky and they would be back there. No such luck. We headed back to basecamp and our last fellow hunters we all packed up and ready to hit the road. We shared one last meal and saw them off. At this point we had one full day of hunting left and with no one else in camp it was feeling a bit lonely.

Day 7

We decided to check out the old fire perimeter again. We got out there and were not impressed with what we saw. We decided to get back to basecamp pick it up and head out to another unit in the same zone to scout it out and try our luck at finding a bull. We drove all day stopping, getting out, hiking, glassing, bugling, driving. We got to the top of a ridge and Austin pulled over and bugled. This time a bull bugled back! We looked at each other with excitement grabbed our bows and packs and raced down the hillside. After bugling back and forth on our way towards him we decided to be aggressive and get as close as we could since he had cows with him and it was getting close to dark. They had come down to get water at a near stream near the road. By the time we got down there he was pushing his cows back into the timber. We followed him and bugled back and forth for over a mile until the sun started going down. We came so close but he just wouldn't leave his cows. This is another situation where with more experience knowing which sounds to make maybe we could have gotten him to stop. We tried cow calling, grunting, and multiple other techniques with no luck.

We made it to our motel that night. The first shower in 7 days. We shared a mountain house in bed and reflected on our hunt so far.

Day 8

Well, it was the last day of the hunt and also the day we drove home. We both knew we couldn't hunt very long since we also needed to make the long drive so we could unpack and get ready for work the following day. We scouted some more areas with no fresh sign.

This hunt was a success. We may not be going home with an elk in the ice chest but we both enjoyed every moment of the hunt. Pushing yourself physically and mentally is wearing and we both have worked hard to prepare ourselves to make this type of hunt happen. Also, I appreciate Austin for allowing me to be the hunter this trip and setting me up in calling situations to give me experience. He is stuck as my hunter partner forever whether he likes it or not!