I was on a do-it-yourself bowhunt in Southeastern Idaho for with my hunting
buddy, Mike McCormick. We would be switching off filming for each other for
the 3rd week in September. We were camping on public land in the
Targhee-Caribou National Forest. The weather had been kind of warm, upper
70’s and the full moon had the elk moving a lot at night. Rain rolled in
on wednesday the 21st and fired the elk up. The next day, September 22nd we
were on them hard. We waited for one herd to bed down and stalk in above
them through the pines. As we were in the process, the herd got up to feed.
This is midday, right around 12:00 in the afternoon. Well the bull was
constantly bugling to keep track of his herd. So we sneak down below them
and start searching for them in the pines. We see elk, lot of them. But we
need a close encounter with the big bull. Then I see antler, two 5×5 walk
out, not him. We follow and follow until the elk are out in the meadow. We
can see lot of cows then the herd bull is spotted, an absolute monster, 350″+
6×6. They are out in the open feeding, out of range at 90 yds. But what a
sight, a monster bull, 4-5 smaller bulls, and 20+ cows on top a ridge out in
he open.
After a while the wind changes and the herd spooks. So Mike and I
go down after another bull that had been bugling prior. We get above him
and let out a bugle. He screams back at me, but as we go down over the
mountain after him, we see the whole herd getting up to leave. I guess I
bugled to close and he was intimidated. So the chase is on as we try to
keep up with his herd. We follow the herd for a mile or so and I am in
range multiple time but just not a clear shot of the bull. We loose the
herd and move lower to return to the original canyon we came from. By now
it was getting to be afternoon, 4:00 and more elk started to move.Mike
spots a good bull coming around the mountain acroos the hill from us. We
move lower to cut him off in the saddle between us but as we move down the
hill we see a small bull chasing a cow through the saddle and into the
timber below us. Well the bull sees it too and moves in to give chase to
the cow in heat also. We hurry down to the edge of the timber and the
smaller bull and cow come flying out below us. I know the larger bull is
still in there so we close in on the timber. Then I hear him and see his
antler coming out. Mikey and I drop down as we are on an open sage flat
high above him only 32 yds away. He steps out and screams! Walks out and
looks for the other elk. I cow call with my mouth and he stops and looks up
at us. I hammer him right behind the shoulder and he heads downhill
bleeding hard. And Mike had just captured it all on film!
Good Hunting,
