Live Hunts - Idaho Archery Elk Hunt - September 8

Live Hunts - Idaho Archery Elk Hunt - September 8 - Day 3

September 8 - Day 3
Idaho Archery Elk Hunt

Saturday A.M.
I spent this morning the same way as yesterday evening, glassing "elky" looking feeding areas in the early morning hours, with the same result as yesterday. No elk. Getting pretty frustrating, not seeing any elk in areas they should be. This afternoon I'm going to head on up to where I glassed the 2 big bulls yesterday morning. I'm going to start early and take my time, as I'll be climbing about 1,600 feet in elevation to get there, and I don't want to die of air loss on the way!

no elk

it was a little chilly this morning. The ranger
station left their sprinkler on overnight

I did see a few antelope this morning while driving around glassing for elk.

Saturday P.M.

headed up the mountain. If you squint, you can
see the speck that is my car in the valley floor
This evening I located the area of forest where the 2 bulls from yesterday morning dropped down into. I found a small amount of fresh sign. So, that evening I staked out the spot with a blind downwind of a good trail, and waited until almost dark, not seeing anything. I made a decision to come back up to the area tomorrow, but with the climb (which took me almost 3 hours this afternoon) I didn't want to take my pack and bow back down and lug them back up with me, so I left them at my ground blind and marked them with my GPS. You can only guess what happened next. On the way back down towards camp, only 150 yards from where I had my ground blind, I bumped into a 6x6 bull and 4 cows feeding right at dark. I don't think they smelled me, I think they heard me, as I wasn't paying much attention and wanted to get down the steepest part of the mountain before dark. Needless to say, they spooked. All I could tell was that it was a very good bull. I saw them at about 50 yards away.

A great view from on top

A grouse, I'm guessing a Spruce Grouse?

The trail I sat this evening

- Go to Day 4 of the Hunt -

Trip Notes
This hunt takes place in central Idaho, roughly between Salmon and Idaho Falls. It is a self-guided hunt on National Forest, which is public land. It's my first hunt in Idaho - and it's always exciting hunting a new area. My pre-hunt research helped me to decide on hunting Idaho, and narrowed it down to a particular unit (which will have to remain un-named for the time being) in the central part of the state. Biologists and Forest Service officials have told me there are good numbers of average 5 and 6 point bulls in this unit, with the definite chance to run into a really big bull. This area is completely limited and draw-only for rifle hunters, so the bull:cow ratio is good and the bulls have had a chance to get big.

Equipment
I'm shooting a Martin Jaguar bow, set at 72 lbs. Arrows are 29-inch Easton 3-60 ACC's, with Wasp 125 gr. 3-blade SST Hammer broadheads. Depending on the terrain, I'm wearing almost exclusively Predator camoflauge. I have Fall Gray, Spring Green, Fall Brown, and Evolution with me on the trip, and will probably use all of them. Predator is awesome, and particularly in the Rocky Mountain West. I've also got a new Master Guide backpack made by Crooked Horn Outfitters that I'm eager to try out.

e-mail Joshua Flournoy

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