Idaho Whitetail Success!

elkrchr

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 26, 2010
Messages
1,348
Location
Three Forks, MT
After wrapping up an unsuccessful effort for Oregon's elusive blacktails, I promised my seven year old son he could accompany me on my annual trek to Idaho deer camp. As you can see, he made us a good luck card along with a "Lego" whitetail buck (the blacktail "Lego" buck was from our hunt here in Oregon).

We loaded the quad in the back of the truck, stuffed the interior full of food and gear and departed Portland, OR at 4 A.M. I had promised him we would stop in Dayton, WA to view the Del Monte Jolly Green Giant figure etched into the hillside.

We made good time and were quickly winding our way up the Clearwater River towards Orofino, ID where we stopped and purchased both deer and wolf tags. We arrived at camp around 11:30 A.M., unpacked and headed out hunting. The first few days were extremely warm (low 50's) and even though it cooled some (high 40's) for the remainder of the trip, most of the precipitation came in the form of rain. With the warm temperatures and lack of any measurable snow, hunting was tough as deer movement slowed dramatically during daylight hours.

Right at dark on the fourth night of our trip I harvested a young, but interesting buck. As the photos depict, he has a cool dropper off his right base. We spent the last few days in camp helping a local trapper check his beaver traps, exploring new areas, shooting the .22 and just having fun. My son had an absolute blast and is already stock piling hand warmers (Little Hotties) for next year. One of the attached photos shows our version of Scent-Lok clothing. Another great trip is in the books and now it's time to start chasing birds!
 

Attachments

  • ID 4.jpg
    ID 4.jpg
    167.3 KB · Views: 667
  • ID 12.jpg
    ID 12.jpg
    169.9 KB · Views: 662
  • ID 11.jpg
    ID 11.jpg
    193.9 KB · Views: 659
  • ID 10.jpg
    ID 10.jpg
    122.4 KB · Views: 656
  • ID 8.jpg
    ID 8.jpg
    89.9 KB · Views: 684
  • ID 7.jpg
    ID 7.jpg
    129.1 KB · Views: 674
  • ID 6.jpg
    ID 6.jpg
    110.4 KB · Views: 684
  • ID 5.jpg
    ID 5.jpg
    130.7 KB · Views: 709
  • ID 22.jpg
    ID 22.jpg
    166.5 KB · Views: 677
  • ID 32.jpg
    ID 32.jpg
    150.6 KB · Views: 656
  • ID 9.jpg
    ID 9.jpg
    231.2 KB · Views: 664
  • ID WT 3.jpg
    ID WT 3.jpg
    201.1 KB · Views: 656
  • ID WT 2.jpg
    ID WT 2.jpg
    174.2 KB · Views: 674
  • ID WT 1.jpg
    ID WT 1.jpg
    154.2 KB · Views: 700
Man that looks like fun. Not hunting in the rain, but hunting with jr. My son is 18 months and I can't wait for trips like that. Thanks for sharing.
 
Weather was definitely brutal this year...congrats on a great trip!

I can't tell you how many times we've been through Dayton on the way to Lenore and have never noticed the Jolly Green Giant...is it on the north or south end of town?
 
Great work on the father/son hunt...you would have to be proud of your boy for hanging in there in those conditions...much satisfaction gained no doubt...loved the pics..
 
North side of the highway on the West side of town. Got close to a couple of bull moose as well. I've attached a photo of the bigger bull. Early in our trip during the middle of the day, the ruffed grouse were really out sunning themselves. We took advantage of the situation and bagged a few for camp meat.
 
Looks like a blast!

That's a really cool looking deer too, going to do a Euro mount on it?
 
Looks like many great memories for you guys! Cool...

I am sure envious you got to see a bull moose! I've spent a fair amount of time in that country and so far just got a quick look at a cow and calf. I got scolded and sent off by the cow even. :eek:
 
Joe, we actually saw two bull moose that day and another bull plus a cow the following day. Congrats to your son on an awesome buck! Looks as though the two of you had a wonderful father/son outing as well. I got a quick glimpse of a buck that looked similar to your son's, but no time for a shot. Oh well, hopefully he'll make it through the winter and be waiting for me next year.
 
Good eating buck right there...congratulations!

Nice seeing you down at Cory's awhile back.
 

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
117,906
Messages
2,173,430
Members
38,382
Latest member
JRock95
Back
Top