My wife was lucky enough to draw a bull elk tag in Idaho this year. We scouted the area a handful of times and spent 10 days hunting. It's been possibly the most fun season to date seeing a number of great bull elk and bull moose. I can't even count how many bulls we called into range and she passed on probably 5 that were larger than the one she shot but after a couple slow days she decided the next bull that came into range was getting it.
The evening before tagging out we got on a really nice bull, estimated at 350 from previous sightings with about 20 cows. I set up at what I estimated at 100 yds from the bull and my wife snuck in to about 50 yds. We were in some thick aspen and could not see any of the cows or the bull but she could hear him breathing and cows were chirping all around her. I had the cows talking and when I started to bugle and rake the cows actually started coming my direction but the bull would immediately hook them back all while never making an apperance through the trees. This bull knew his hideout well and after about 30 minutes of sneaking, charging through brush, raking trees, challenging and backing off he decided he had enough and off he went.
The next morning we found him again on an open ridge top. We snuck through some aspen getting as close as we could with cover. Waiting the bull out to see what he was going to do we heard some cracking through the aspen. Not knowing if it was a cow or bull it let off a bugle confirming it was a bull. My wife spotted head gear and decided it was time and he was a keeper for her. After seeing him through some aspen on a finger ridge about 50 yds away I made a couple soft cow calls and he committed. Coming into 15 yds she let him have it. With only a 40 yd recovery and hearing him expire we didn't need to track the blood trail. After confirming he was down for the count, we ran back to camp to grab our 2 yr old and my wifes parents to share the moment before getting to work. Roads were countless in this area so the packout was only 100 yds and getting everyone up to the bull was not an issue.
Although she could have taken larger bulls and or waited it out longer she is excited about the outcome and the experience of this season. Now if I can find a otc bull with limited days in new country.
The evening before tagging out we got on a really nice bull, estimated at 350 from previous sightings with about 20 cows. I set up at what I estimated at 100 yds from the bull and my wife snuck in to about 50 yds. We were in some thick aspen and could not see any of the cows or the bull but she could hear him breathing and cows were chirping all around her. I had the cows talking and when I started to bugle and rake the cows actually started coming my direction but the bull would immediately hook them back all while never making an apperance through the trees. This bull knew his hideout well and after about 30 minutes of sneaking, charging through brush, raking trees, challenging and backing off he decided he had enough and off he went.
The next morning we found him again on an open ridge top. We snuck through some aspen getting as close as we could with cover. Waiting the bull out to see what he was going to do we heard some cracking through the aspen. Not knowing if it was a cow or bull it let off a bugle confirming it was a bull. My wife spotted head gear and decided it was time and he was a keeper for her. After seeing him through some aspen on a finger ridge about 50 yds away I made a couple soft cow calls and he committed. Coming into 15 yds she let him have it. With only a 40 yd recovery and hearing him expire we didn't need to track the blood trail. After confirming he was down for the count, we ran back to camp to grab our 2 yr old and my wifes parents to share the moment before getting to work. Roads were countless in this area so the packout was only 100 yds and getting everyone up to the bull was not an issue.
Although she could have taken larger bulls and or waited it out longer she is excited about the outcome and the experience of this season. Now if I can find a otc bull with limited days in new country.
