The Longest Blood Trail: Tracking the Biggest Bull of My Life

Foreign.

This is the Elk Hunt podcast, home to everything elk hunting. I'm your host, Cody rich. From fellow DIYers to elk hunting legends, we have elk hunting stories, tips, tactics and more to get you pumped for elk season. Join us every week for great elk hunting content by today's episode of the podcast brought to you by Onyx Hunt. One of my favorite tools. And today I want to tell you about a cool feature within Onyx that I think is going to help you plan your hunts. So Onyx has the, what they call the hrt, the hunt research tool. It's a great tool for finding draw odds, finding your hunts and all those things. But one of the problems someone came to me with was like, hey, how do I, if I don't know what unit I want to go to, how do I figure that out? And one of the things that I'm using is just the hunt and Fool E magazine. Free to you if you have an Onx Elite membership and you can go check out the magazine. I constantly look at basically past episode episodes, past articles and past magazines and all the new ones. So say a new state comes out. Wyoming. I'm looking at Wyoming. I'm going to jump in the huntin Fool E magazine and I want to see what, you know, what they're saying about units, what type of hunt each unit is going to be, what the quality to expect is. It's such a great resource and it's a, it's free if you're an Onyx Elite member. Really cool tool. So from there I can basically check out units, decide what I want and make my plans. And then I look at the HRT tool within Onyx and figure out, you know, hey, okay with the points I have, what can I draw? So kind of bouncing back between these resources is a great way to figure out where you want to go and, you know, is a good starting point. From there you can use a lot of other resources, but this is all free within the Onyx Elite membership. So if you're not an Elite member yet again, highly recommend it. Love the tool. Constantly on there there trying to plan my fall hunts. I think you guys should check it out and if you, if you're looking for more features, I'm gonna try to give you more tips on how I use Onx this time of year to have a great fall. Head over to onyx hunt.com upgrade your your subscription to the elite. Use code TRO. You'll save yourself 20%. Such a great resource. Ton of great resources within the Elite membership. All Right, dude, welcome to the podcast, man. Finally we get to do this. We've been talking about it for a while, so we made it line up. But yeah, I'm gonna chat about a little bit about your bowl this year. Is that your bowl right behind you? Is that from this.

Yeah.

Dude, that thing's a freaking stud.

Yeah. Yeah.

How long Is that G2?

23 inches. I know. Yeah. He's crazy. Yeah.

What's that thing? Score. Did you tape it?

I taped him at 324. He's kind of weak on his thirds, but, you know, I don't even care. You know, the Taxidermist says he's 13 to 17 years old, so he's on his way down, so. Yeah, you gotta.

Yeah, you gotta freaking age that thing. Send those teeth in.

That's.

Yeah, that G2 is like insane. 23 inch.

G2. Yeah. I was talking to Tom Schneider and he says he's gonna send in some teeth. So when he does that, told me I could send one in with him, so. Heck yeah, dude, we'll find out. We'll find out sooner and later.

All right, well, we got it. We. We started there, so I guess we'll just start with the story. So get into all the tactics and other stuff, lessons learned. Like, let's. What was the story behind this poll? Yeah, did you know about him?

Kinda. So we're kinda. So let's go back to August. Actually, let's go back September last year. My little brother and I were elk hunting this one area and drop down in. Hit the. Hit this flat, and there was elk sign everywhere. And we were just kind of like, this is. This is awesome. So I was like, okay, in a couple days we're gonna come back in here. I'm gonna bring a cell camera, you know, because there's cell service in there. We're gonna bring cell camera, set it up, and we'll see what's in it. It's just pretty much like a wallow, you know, just grazing area. Like, it's. I don't know why they like it. It could be the only bench in the whole area. I mean, that could be why. But there's just so much elk sign. So a couple days later, I grabbed. I had my dad grab my cell camera in one of our. One of our other spots, and it's sitting at his house. So I run in there, grab it, throw it in my backpack, take off, and we hike all the way down in there, and I open up my backpack, throw it up, and, you know, I make. Make Room for it. And. Okay, this is good. You know, hit on. And it says, no SD card detected. I'm like, you have got to be kidding me. So I called my dad, and he's like, oh, I took the SD card out. Cause I wanted to see what you had on your camera. And he didn't put it back in. So I was kind of getting towards the end of season, so I was just like, all right, you know, I'm kind of, you know, we'll just. We'll hunt this. We'll. We'll figure it out next year, kind of what's in this area? So. So we didn't end up really getting into any elk. We had one bull bugling in there, but he was kind of. He was a runner, so just never. Never caught up with him. So fast forward, like the first week of August, this, I guess, 20, 24. My little brother and I, you know, you know, threw our packs on, went in there. I had an SD card. I even brought multiple cameras, too. So I set it up on this flat and. And I got on my brother's shoulders and I hung it up high because it's kind of a populated area. There's lots of hunters in here, and I just don't want to lose my camera. So I'm up high and get it all set up, and there's a bunch of. There's a little bit of branches in the way. And I wasn't thinking anything of it. And so, you know, get home. And it was just tree branch after tree branch after tree branch. And I was like, dang, you know, this. This isn't fun. And.

But at least it's a cell camera. So you knew. Like, the worst is when it's like a month later you come back and you're.

Son of a. Yeah. Yeah. So my brother and I are on the same. Same account. So he kept, you know, texting me, saying, like, should we go in there and fix it? And I was like, ah, you know, we'll give it some time. You know, we get a couple moose on there. But we did not get a single elk on it until, like, maybe the first last weekend in August. I'd say we finally got like, a cow and a calf on it. I was just like, are you kidding me? You know, like, we, you know, we put all of our eggs in this basket, you know, hoping to get something on it. And so it was. So my fiance's best friend was having a wedding September 20th and 21st. So not. Not one day. There's two days. So you know, and I love them to death, so if I didn't, I probably wouldn't have made it. But, you know, so. So Friday rolls around, and, you know, I hunted in the morning, went over there, you know, did the wedding thing, and I get a notification when I'm at the wedding. And I was like, oh, you know, my trail cam run, pull it up. And it's a great bull. I mean, I would say bigger than the bull that I did kill. And I was just like, oh, my God. Like this, you know, this is in there, you know, obviously had no idea. You know, we hadn't got any elk at all. And it's just like this mega giant just shows up out of nowhere, and he basically just is right underneath the camera. All you see is the top of. Or his, I guess, this whole rack. And then he walks and thrashes a bush, and you just see pictures of him thrashing this bush, and then he walks away. And he did not have one single cow with him. And I was just like, that is weird. You know, it's the 20th of August or of September. Why doesn't he have any cows with him? And so I go, you know, tech. My brother obviously calls me, and he's like, do you see that bull? And I'm like, yeah, that thing's huge. And so we're at the wedding Saturday, and, you know, all I'm doing is just scrolling and I'm looking at these pictures. I'm just staring at them. I'm like, you know, anyone comes up to me, I'm like, hi, I'm Brad. Look at this bull. You know? And so I was talking to my brother, and we're like, hey. Oh. So I guess I was mainly trying to get my little brother a bull. He hadn't. He's never killed a bull. He's been, you know, so close, and he hasn't really hunted that hard, but the last couple years, he's just been. He's been grinding for him. And so I. I made it a point to get him his first bull. So he ended up killing his first bull on, like, the 15th or something. And, you know, he's like, I'll call for you now, you know, and so he was like, hey, you want to go in there on Sunday? And I was like, yeah, let's do it. And my. But my best friend Billy, he. He was at the wedding, too. And I was like, hey, you know, this bull's on my camera. You want to go in there with me? And he's like, yeah, let's do it. So. So the morning comes, you know, we wake up first thing in the morning. I didn't drink a single drop of alcohol the whole wedding, so I was like, just pounding water. I'm like, I got it. I got a hike and a hunt ahead of me. Like, I'm, I'm not messing this one up. So we, I wake up and I got another truck cam notification. I was just like, all right, you know, see what kind of moose is there today, you know, or what tree branch is there. And clicked on it and I just see the tops. It's a five by six bull. That's all I saw. And I was just like, that's not the same bull. I was like, it looks like a good bull. I couldn't really, you know, all I see is just. It's back end. That's all I saw. And I was just like, well, he was there at 1 1:30 in the morning. So he could be in the same drainage. He could be, you know, I don't know. Yeah, yeah. So. So we, you know, get on the four wheelers, we head up. We parked at the top, and there's two Washington rigs. And I'm from Idaho, you know, north Idaho, and we love our Washington boys, but man, let me tell you, two of them are parked right in the spot that I needed to park bark. And it's a, it's a ridge that runs out and there's a bunch of drainages on each side. So I mean, truly, you know, they could have been in the last range. It could have been the first drainage. So I was just like, you know what? Screw it, let's do it. We're going in. You know, I'm a local. I, you know, I heard this. So I, you know, we were walking this ridge and I'm just, you know, I got my trekking poles out and I'm just trekking and my buddy goes, are you gonna pretend you didn't see him? And I was just like. And I was like, what do you mean? And he's like, that guy right there. And I turned around and there's a guy glass in a different drainage. And it was one of the Washington guys. I was like, nope, didn't see him. And I just kept going. And we walked another probably 25, 30 minutes and found our drainage. We dropped down into it and none of those bulls had cows with them. So in my head I'm thinking, I'm just gonna cow call. They're looking for love, you know, I'm just gonna cow call. So I get down in there. I didn't want to, you know, maybe spook them off or whatever, so we dropped down in there. In 99% of the time, I drop in this drainage, the wind is always going down every single time. And for whatever reason, the wind was going up this day. And, you know, I've never killed a bull in this area. I've never really had any close encounters with them. So I was. You know, the wind was in our face, and I was just like, it's kind of cool, you know? All right, let's. Let's do this. We drop.

Good omen, man.

Yeah. I was like, this is nice, you know? Know. So he dropped down in there, and I calculate a couple times, and, you know, my. My brother, you know, he can call. He. He's. He's still learning, so he's not super confident with it. And my other buddy, he's. He's still learning and, you know, just not very confident. So I was kind of taking the reins. They were more there for support and making noises if I needed to sneak in. So. So I just chirp a couple times, and nothing answers. And I was just like, man, yeah, I didn't want to do this, but I'm going to bugle. Yeah, I'm going to do it. I ripped a bugle. And sure enough, he answers, and he's probably three, 400 yards away. And I was like, there he is. And then, boom. Hunter answers. Hunter answers, and 100 answers, and they come. They all came up from the bottom. And I was like, oh, no. Like, we need to. We need to hustle. Like, we are the closest to this bull, and we need to get him killed before these guys come up. So we kind of, you know, we kind of made a game plan. I was like, all right, you know, let's go. So we trekked after this bull, and we cut the distance in half, I'd say. And a bugled again and chimed off again. I was just like, yeah, he's. He's there, you know, and so I get. I don't know, probably within 200, and I kind of get set up, and I'm like, you know, he seems fired up. You know, there's a good chance he might just come right into us. So we're waiting and waiting and waiting, and I hear sticks popping. I was like, here we go. You know, and I got a GoPro on my head, and I, you know, click go and sitting there waiting and waiting, and we're by these two wallows, and out pops this little spike Looking rag thing. And I was just like, what? Like that's what was bugling. I was like, that sucks. And he's 50 yards away, and I wasn't going to shoot him. And then the bull bugles again. I was like, oh, okay, there we go. He's. He's still there. And he seemed like he was kind of making his way away from us. So I was like, you know, we gotta go. So we just, you know, that bull kind of walked around us and kind of walked away, and we just took off after him. And we get probably close the distance in half again. I'd say we're probably within 150. And I was like, hey, you guys stay right here. I'm gonna go up. You know, just keep bugling, and I'm just gonna work my way into him. And as long as he's talking, I know where he's at. And I could. I could maybe sneak in and shoot him. The thing with north Idaho is it's brushy. It's. It's brushy, it's steep, it's nasty. It's. It's really unforgiving terrain. So, you know, we had, you know, a lot of people sit on a hill and glass and say, oh, there's a bull. You know, we don't. We don't get that. We don't. We don't have that. So we. They basically got to be standing on our head if we're gonna.

Yeah, they don't even sell binoculars in northern Idaho.

I know for the. I mean, my first 10 years of Elk hunting, I've. I never took binos with me. Never. I never needed it. If I needed to look, I looked through my range finder, and that was pretty much, you know what it was. And. Yeah. So anyway, so I sneak in and I. I about a hundred eighty yards in front of my brother and my buddy, and they got the decoy up, and they're just, you know, all hiding behind it. You know, they're kind of freaking out. They don't want to mess it up, but they don't. You know, they want to help. And. And so I'm like snapping. I'm like, you know, do something, make a noise, you know, like. So they'd cow call a couple times. And my buddy goes to Bugle and he inhales and his dust in his bugle tube, and he just starts coughing. And I was like, oh, like this? No. So I was like, so I bugled. And he answered again, and he's significantly closer. And I was like, he's you know, this is striking distance, you know, and so I just kind of was being real slow with it, and I just kept, you know, creeping in. Every time he bugle, I'd kind of get an idea and I'd sneak in just a little bit, you know, a little bit more, A little bit more. And I got, I mean, probably within 80 yards. And I just. I ripped a challenge bugle at him and, you know, started thrashing. And he chimes off instantly. And I was like, okay, he. He's gonna be coming right underneath me right here. So I run. Run to the edge right there. And, you know, we got huckleberries. So the huckleberry brush is just, you know, super tall. And I'm a super tall fella standing at a whopping 5 7. And so Tuckerberry brush is not my. Not my best friend. And so. So I'm at this time, like, I'm like, he's gonna come out probably 40 yards, you know, and I could, you know, probably squeeze an arrow at 40 because it kind of goes down like this and plateaus. So I was like, I'm above the huckleberry brush where he's at, so his. He'll kind of be right there, you know, just kind of makes sense. Well, then I look over and I see antlers coming through the trees. And it's like on the same slope as I am. And I'm like, oh, no. You know, but at this time, I'm not thinking, how tall is the brush? I'm just like, okay. You know, he's closer than I thought. So don't even need a range finder at this point. Now I got. Got my. My release on and sitting there waiting for him, and he's just, you know, tracking in. All I see is antlers. And I was just like, oh, you know, he's a shooter. I don't know what he is, but he's a shooter. And so he gets behind a tree and I draw and I anchor in, and I'm just kind of following him. He had no idea I'm there. And the thing is, my wind was going kind of right to him. I mean, he had to take maybe once he went past my only shooting lane. He was. My wind was right there. So it's just like, pretty stressful this time. But I'm like, he's dead. He's 100% dead. He's 24 yards and, you know, walking completely broadside. So I'm following him, falling on him, and all I see is antlers. And I'm like, oh, no. He's, like, almost in my only shooting lane and all. I don't have a shot, you know, and then I. I just, you know, as he walks through, I see a little bit shoulder, and then I'm okay, this is. That's my only hole, you know? And, you know, I've always been told, you know, like, bark at him to get him to stop. And, you know, in the moment, I was just. My mouth was so dry from trying to bugle at him and cow call and running at him. And so I like, go to cow call or bark, and it was like a half bark, half cow call. And he didn't even slow down. And I was like, oh, no. This is my only shot that I have. And, you know, some people probably wouldn't have taken it. You know, I show a lot of the old timers, and they're like, why'd you take that shot? But so anyway, I take the shot, and the time that I decided to shoot, and from me lagging and not shooting him right there, I kind of. Everything happened anyway. I knew the shot was far back, and I was just like, oh, no. And he takes off, and instantly, you know, I'm cow calling and cow calling, trying to slow him down. That this whole time, that. That hunter on the hill has been, like, closing distance. And I'm just like, no, you know, he's getting closer and closer and closer. Well, that bull takes off down the drainage and gets out of there, and that hunter bugles. And I. I was like, okay, yeah, I know where he's at. I'm gonna run back to my. My, you know, brother and my buddy and tell them, you know. So I went back, and they're like, no. They're like, did we bust him? You know, was it us? I was like, no, I shot him. I'm like, what? You know, they had no idea. And they're like, you know, is it the big one? I said, I don't know. I was like, I don't know what he is. Yeah, he's good enough, you know, And I had it all on GoPro. So we sit down, and that hunter just keeps bugling and bu. Going bugling. I'm like, okay, I need to, you know, he's gonna drop down in that drainage and bump that bull. You know, that is the last thing I need right now. So I run up the hill, and I start bugling at him, and I'm like. And yeah, I'm like, okay, you know, I'm gonna get him to come in. And then, yeah, tell Him. So bugle this guy into 40 yards, and he's in the trees, and I go through my tube, and I say, don't shoot.

Don't shoot.

And, you know, he's looking at me through the trees, and he's like, you know, just. You could see him getting bummed. And so I was like, dude, I. I'm sorry for doing this to you, but I just stuck a bull, and you were headed right to him. So he's like, oh, you know, how big is he? And instantly, you know, you see him just, like, you know, get sad. And so I showed him, or I pulled up the video, and he's like, oh, yeah, I've been hunting that bull for three years.

Really?

He's always. He's been in this, you know, same spot, you know, for a while now. And like, oh, yeah, we're. You know, my party's over here if you want to sit down. I said, we're gonna give him solid two hours before we even go look for blood. It's okay. So we. We go down, I sit down, and I'm just watching that video over and over and over again. I'm showing them, and they're like, oh, my God. You know, that's a. That's a big bull. Yeah, yeah. And they're like, you got a shoulder mount them? And I'm like, let's stop. No. Yeah, let's not jump the gun here. Like, that's. We're getting ahead of ourselves. Anytime I think of shoulder mounts, I always lose the animal. So, yeah, I'm just like, okay, we're not. We're not thinking like that. So, you know, obviously, hardest two. Two hours of my life. And I'd called Kaya and a couple of our other buddies, and so they were. They were headed up. They dropped down in the drainage after the two hours, and they come down, and he's like, well, how big is this bull? I was just like, you know, I say, he's not bad. He's, you know, rag five by three. And he's just like, you're. You're bringing us all the way down in here for a rag five by three. Sorry, dude. And same with Kaya. I was telling Kaya, like, he's just. He's just a small. You know, this is a small rag. And she's like, you know, that's okay. Nice job. You know, we're headed up any. Either way. So I told them because we kept. You know, we tracked this bull pretty far down. I told them, hey, wrap around the backside. Come up from the bottom, it's gonna be closer. So Kaya had to drive an extra hour and a half to meet me there. Um, and so we're hiking. We're. We're following blood and we have good blood. Like, at this rate, I'm like. I'm like, he's. He's gonna be dead right here. Like, I don't know where I hit this bull, but I don't see gut and I don't see, you know, anything that indicates that I got a horrible hit. So, yeah, I don't see blood in the bubble.

What did the GoPro show?

Nothing.

You couldn't tell.

It basically showed the back of an elk and an arrow disappearing in the brush. So, I mean, I've studied that video time and time again. Even to this day when I'm bored, I just pull up the video and watch it. And I. No idea, you know, still you cannot tell where it hits. So that's where I'm like, okay, I heard, you know, watermelon when the arrow hit and got a pass through. So. So I'm like, you know, maybe I. Maybe I did double lung them. You know, I don't know. Maybe I high lunged them. Yeah. But I followed the blood for. We were probably at a quarter mile at this point, and I was just like, you know, it's just still bleeding and it's getting a little worse. And I was just like, you know, my hopes are starting to crash a little bit, and we're almost to this creek and it is like, you know, Devil's Club Tag all. They're like the nastiest nasty you can think of. And we hear splashing in the water, and we were like, okay, stop. You know, we're. Sit down right here. So we stopped right there and our buddies were coming off the hill and they met us down there and they were like, there's Kaya. So they. They met us at the bottom and, you know, same thing. They were, you know, asking us all these questions, and I was just like, I. I truly don't know, guys. Like, I. I don't know what to tell you. You know, we're running out of blood. I think we heard him splashing in the creek as he was, you know, falling down or whatever. But, you know, I don't. I don't know. So we gave it another hour, and then we go down there and it was him. You know, there's just. It looked like a massacre. I mean, there was blood. There was chunks of blood. I mean, every tree in there had blood on It, I was just like, what? Like, how was he not dead? I was so confused. So I was like, all right, let's keep, you know, let's keep following him.

And he wasn't there?

No, he wasn't there.

Oh, man.

So what had happened? He'd fallen down in the creek. You know, we bumped him. He fell, I'm guessing because, I mean, there was too much blood for him not to fall, but it opened him back up. So he fell in the creek, it washed his, clawed out. And he started just spraying blood. I mean, there was like, I mean, it looked like you took spray paint. And we're just walking and just coating, coating all the brush and it was still dripping off. So I'm like, he's close. You know, he's, he's pretty close. And then we hear footsteps or my buddy, he's snapping his finger. He's like, I think I hear him right there. I was like, you know what? And I hear it too. And I look and I see his butt through the trees. And I'm like trying to reach for an arrow, trying to shoot through it. But I mean, he's only 20 yards. And I mean, it's like that. I mean, you, you can't hardly see that it was an elk. I draw back and I'm trying, and he's walking away. No, you know, this is like, I am like the gut wrenching feeling, you know, like, this is not the perfect story. So I was like, all right, you know, let's give it a little bit more time. So we stopped and we ate food. And I had an issue this last antelope season where if I probably, if I would have pursued the antelope and not let him sit, I probably would have found him. But, you know, I, I, we gave him overnight and we never saw him again. So that was in the back of my head, like, maybe we should continue.

After him, try to get another shot.

Yeah, I mean, at this rate, like he's walking and he's only gone 70 yards from the last, you know, two times that we've heard him. So we, you know, he's, he's not, he's not moving very good. So, So I keep, you know, we give it only a couple more minutes and I, I was like, you guys stay here because there's the guy that I bugled in. He wanted to come see him. He's like, yeah, you know, can, I'll help you guys if you want. So, yeah, he came with us. It was me, my brother, my buddy, and then our buddy and he brought his little brother. So right now there's six of us, right? So I'm like, we sound like, you know, a herd of cattle walking through the woods right now. So you guys stay right here. I'm going to try to sneak through, through the brush. And if I find them, you know, I'll shoot them. I just don't want to keep pushing them. So the less noise, the better. So, like, I'm going to go, you know, 30, 40 yards in the cow call, and then you guys come back up and we'll just keep doing that. So that's what we did. And we get to a, kind of a junction and. And when we lost blood. So we kind of lost blood like 100, 200 yards. Right after that, we lost blood. And there was not another elk track in this whole entire area. Like, I. Not even the elk would want to go down, down in this. It was, it was the nastiest hole that I've ever been in. So I just looked down and say, okay, there's an elk track. There's no other elk that's been here. Let's follow it. You know, that's, that's how we stayed on him when we lost blood. And we got, we got pretty far doing that. And then it got to this junction where the, the elk had made a crossing across the creek. And I couldn't tell if he went left or right. And so I'm like looking at the tracks left, like, you know, I don't know. So I went right. I was like, I don't know, like, at this street, I'm like, we lost him. He's gone. I don't have any blood. I don't know where his tracks are. You know, left looks horrible. Right looks horrible. Like I don't know where he would have, you know, went. So we're sitting there and my buddy's little brother goes, I got blood. Like 10 minutes after looking, he said, I got blood. And he flips over this little tiny tag alder leaf and there's just a tiny speck of blood. And he went right. And I. I mean, I turned into Tarzan in the jungle. And I was running through those tag alders as fast as you could with an arrow knocked because we just seen his, his butt. And it's an elk trail that side hills, this, this creek bottom. And so I'm following that and then I see tracks going up to the right onto this old logging road that was just complete tag holder. And I was just, you know, looking at it. I'm like, there's no way he would have went there, right? You know, like, why get off this nice, beaten, you know, oak trail to go on this nasty, you know, logging road that you can't even walk through? You know, he's got this on his head. I'm. I'm struggling to walk through it. And I look and on a little tag aldered limb, there was a piece of green that was kind of like, like freshly shaved. So I was just like, well, that's antlers walking through, scraping on this, this tag alder. So I was like, it's him. So I just take off running. And this is kind of where it gets a little sad. But I see him and he's quartering away and he's looking at me and I just see kind of like the defeat in his face. And I draw back and he starts to walk and I shoot and my arrow goes tink, tink, tink, tink, tink, tink through the tag alder. And I was like, ugh.

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And I was this close to pulling my pistol out and just dumping rounds the downrange. I mean, I was so close, and I was like, I have to end it the right way, you know? So I just took off running after him again. And he stopped, and you could just see he was like, do it. You know? And he was. He was quartering away, and he's just staring at me. I'm 20 yards away from him, and, you know, he sees me. There's no guessing what I am. And he just. He was too tired and couldn't go any further. So I drew back and shot. And I heard it hit. He just kind of hunkers up like that. I was like, did I miss him? You know? So I knocked another arrow, drew back again. I aimed a little higher and shot again. And I see it hit the shoulder blade and he just kind of stoves up and then tips over and falls dead right there. And the weight lifted off of me, man. I. Oh, my gosh. I screamed like a little girl. And I'm by myself. Like, there's, you know, nobody's around. Kai has been coming from the other side of the hill for, like, two hours now. My whole group is like 150 yards behind me, and I'm screaming bloody murder, you know, because I just killed the biggest hole of my life. At this rate, I still didn't know how big he was. And I'm laying on the ground just like, soaking it up, you know, and my buddy Billy comes running down the trail and he sees me laying on the ground, and he just heard me screaming. He's thinking I broke my leg or got a broad hit in my leg or something. So he runs up to me, he's like, are you good? You good? And I was like, he's dead right there. I mean, I was just, you know, over the moon.

It's so stressful when you're. Man. Anyone who's never been through it, like, tracking elk is the most stressful thing in the world. And it's the highs and lows, and then you finally get another shot and like, the whole, like, not getting a shot. Oh, and yeah, you're just sure it's over, man.

I know. Stressful. And that's the thing. You Know, like, I've had the. The Cinderella stories, you know, where, you know, you shoot them and you hit on top of the heart, and he goes 50 yards and tips over dead. Like, I've had those stories. And, you know, I'm not. I'm not perfect, and I don't think anybody's perfect. You know, it happens. I'm willing to talk about it because I'm sure there's. I'm sure there's been many people that have something similar like that happen, but.

I would say it's probably more normal. Like, I don't think we know. Like, I don't want to normalize gong shows or rodeos. Like, but, like, if you haven't had a rodeo, you haven't elk on in long enough. It's just. They're big, tough animals, and that's what happens.

Yes.

I think my 2 cents on it would be. I think there's a lot of people who give up way too early. Um, or, like, they panic and start gritting. Like, you know, like, they'll go 200 yards and then, like, not see blood. And so they just, like, start gritting. And once you start gritting, it's hard to go back to csi. I always tell it, we gotta go CSI on this. Like, you. Yeah, you gotta, like, okay, I'm not taking one step until I see the next spot of blood.

Yeah.

And like, that could be an hour from now. It could be three hours from now. But, like, we're finding the next one. And it's like, your buddy. You guys, I. I'll. I'll say, if I was there, it would have been, you know, right before the. Your buddy's brother found the spec. It was almost like it. Let's just grid. Let's just start searching, right? And, like, we've all been there, and it's like, where'd he go? You know? And you find that one. Like, okay, we're back on it, you know?

Yep. Yeah, dude. The weight lifted off, too. I mean, like, I was 100 defeated right there. You know, I've lost an elk before. I. And I just remember the feeling. And I just got that feeling again. And I was. Oh, man, it was horrible. And then just hearing that, I got blood, man, it was back on. And I was, you know, off to the races. But, you know, that's like, should I have waited and let him die? Like, I. I don't know. Like, I don't know how that would have panned out. I mean, getting to the shot, the first shot, I mean, I hit him behind the guts and right, like right in front of the hind leg.

So he clipped it from moral or what?

I must have because the, the blood was. I mean there was way too much blood for there not to be a little slice in that artery.

So. And like, here's the thing, like I'll touch on this because you know, like batch outs, everyone makes them like as guilty as anyone. But you know, for the guy that was like, man, you should just let him, you know, die in peace or whatever.

Yeah.

I know too many times where I have hunted or tracked painted trails, man, I have been on buck five gallon buckets that dried up and we lost him. And so, you know, like that bull could, you know, I think who knows? Who, who absolutely knows. But in a, you know, there is a world where you kept pushing him and he kept bleeding and you got another shot because of it. Whereas if he lays down, he clots up and then he walks. Dude, it doesn't take a lot after they clot up. You can't see in that thick country. He goes a half mile and you never see.

Yeah.

Even if he goes a half mile and dies, whether he lives or dies is kind of like, who knows? That's its other situation. Like, and everybody who says the, the opposite of that is like, oh, he'll live. They're tough. It's like, man, you just, I mean, like, you just don't know. Like they could get septic, they could get whatever. Like animals die all the time.

Yeah.

Are you in the right or wrong? I think you have to. My point would be like trusty gut. Like if your gut says like push on it and go kill this bull, do that. Because either way, whatever you do could go sideways and you're going to regret that.

Yes.

But to your point, like you just had an antelope where you left it overnight, thought that was the right thing and you lose him. So in the back of your head you have that. That's your reality.

Right.

It's like everyone has their own reality. I've been there, man. Like, I've been there. Like I should have shot again. Like I thought he was dead and I, you know, let it slide. Elk a big tough. I should have kept shooting until he was dead, you know, and that's kind of like for me the biggest thing is like, just do. Make sure you're good with it and then do whatever your gut tells you. Maybe that's just advice for everyone, but you obviously.

Yeah, absolutely. I don't think there's a true right or wrong Answer. I mean, right? That's exactly what I did. I just said, this is what's. What I'm gonna do. And people are gonna, you know, have their words with me, and they're gonna be the best hunter in the world. Yeah, I should have done it.

No, dude, no. Congrats. That's cool.

Yeah, thanks. Thanks.

What a wild story.

Yeah. And up until Kai even got to him, she still thought it was a rag bull. And like, she called me. She called me and. And basically, you know, was like, did you. You just scream right there? Because I, you know, I, you know, screamed and she. I was like, yeah, you know, I just found him. He's dead right there, and he's just a rag bull. But, you know, and she's like, that's okay. You know, we're still here to help. And, yeah, she walks up to him. I was just like, whoa, that is not a rag bull. Yeah, so that was. That was fun. And, you know, she's a, you know, her professional photographer and, you know, she got all the super cool pictures and documented it, you know, perfectly. So that's cool. Yeah. Super thankful she was. She was able to be a part of it and document it, you know, know, along the. Along the ride.

And only a part of you, because I've been in that same scenario when I'm by myself, and it's like. I mean, it's a weight off your shoulders, but, like, just. It's totally. It would be so much better to have everyone there, you know, all your friends, family and everything.

Exactly.

Yeah. So that. That's super cool.

What.

What do you think the biggest lesson learned for you as an elk hunter was throughout the entire season? And we talk about tracking and that. That side, but, like, what was your.

Biggest lesson learned this year on the season or that. That hunt?

Either. Both.

Man. You know, that hunt, I mean, it was just kind of. Man, that's tough. I would say patience, truly not giving up. You know, my. I called my dad and told him, you know, the whole story, and he said he was proud of me for not giving up. You know, he's like. A lot of people would just throw in the towel right there and be like, yeah, mustn't. Must have not killed them. You know, just staying on it, not giving up, but. And then patience with calling elk. You know, we're in North Idaho, we can call elk. Whereas, like, you know, some of the places, like, you, like, you know, you're in a little bit more wide open area and. Excuse me, you guys just, you know, have Herds of hundreds. You know, I mean, I'm not sure if that's exactly what, what you're hunting in, but, you know, a lot of the places, like even when I go to Antelope Camp, you know, down in southern Idaho, it's just there's so many elk. Me blowing a little cow call in bugling. Why would an elk come to that? You know, there's no, no reason. So, you know, just being patient with your calls that, that I think helped a ton.

What's your thought on. I mean, obviously you're hunting in some pretty heavily pressured stuff. You killed a great bull, basically. You know, we always called it combat fishing, where you're like elbow to elbow. But like combat hunting, man, you're elbow, elbow like you're rushing to get this out. A part of you is like, you know, you're rushing a situation not because the elk is going to get away, but because someone else is going to get to the elk. Yeah, well, it's.

Yeah.

I mean, what have you learned from that? Or like, how, how do you usually battle, like, with hunting? People.

With people just gotta sound better, I guess. I don't know. You know, I, you know, it's pretty, it's pretty tricky. It's not the first time that I've either one called a hunter in OR2, like heard a bull be going, say, we need to kill this thing. You know, a couple years ago I called the bull in and hunter, Hunter came in about 10 minutes after the bull did. And it was just a. This was actually a rag, a rag bull. And it was early in the season, so I passed on him, but he came in, turned around and walked out. Hunter comes in, arrow knocked 30 yards, and I'm like, what? I cannot believe that just happened. So frustrating. It is, it is so frustrating. So, yeah, but at the same time.

It makes you realize that, like, and I say this all the time, just because you're, like, just because you're frustrated with hunters doesn't mean you should just bail. Like lots of hunters. I mean, you could have easily saw two trucks at the, you know, the trailhead and been like, oh, screw it. They screwed up my hunt. Right?

Yep.

It's very easy for people to get frustrated. And I get like, we all want that hunt experience where you never see anybody, but doesn't. I don't know if that's always the case. Right. Like a lot of times you can kill your best bull of your life and there's other hunters. Don't, don't just assume because you're Hearing people, you're like, oh, screw it. Like, it's all over.

Yep.

Which, you know.

Yeah. Improved and that. And so going back to that trail cam thing that I was telling you about, we gotten probably 10 different hunters on that camera alone. And we were like this. We were like, we're done. We are pulling that camera. Let's go in there and pull that camera and never hunt that spot again. Just, I mean, it's so frustrating. I mean, we got more hunters than we did elk on that camera. And this, the bull that I killed, he had a. He had shrapnel in his elbow from where somebody shot him with a rifle. Oh, wow. You know, he made. He made somebody's day real miserable, you.

Know, and it's crazy, too. Like, you think about that bull you killed. Honestly, I mean, the interaction is like, as far as calling you in, pretty standard. Like, I. I wouldn't. You know, it didn't seem like he was, you know, trying to, like, over pressured, over called. You know, he kind of came in like, you kind of had to pressure him a little bit.

But, yeah, like, he didn't have any cows. Well, he. I. I didn't see any cows. I heard some. Some sticks breaking in the brush that could have been cows, but I never did see cows. I never saw him on camera. So I don't. So he didn't really have anything, like territorial other than where he's at, you know, just the area, you know, he didn't have anything to protect. So sometimes, you know, you can, you know, piss a bull off that way. But he just. He wasn't. He was.

If you go. If you go back to locating that bull the first time to where you shot him, like, how do you think he moved very far? Or was he pretty pocketed up?

No, he stayed right there.

So he was just kind of answering you. You moved in and you probably. How close were you before he actually started coming? Because it sounded like he was. Same spot or moved.

Yeah, a little bit.

But he didn't.

You.

Until you kind of pushed on him.

I'd say when he first beagled, he's probably three, 400 yards away. Cut the distance in half. I'd say I got within 150 before he started sounding interested, because there was a time where I was just like, he's just telling us where he is. You know how bulls do that? They just say, yeah, I'm here, and then they're done. So that's kind of what I was figuring was going to happen with this bull. And I think When I got within that 100 yards and I challenged him, he was like, all right, gloves are off, buddy. Like, this is. Yeah, you're too close. And he just. Yeah, it went from. And I got it all on video, all documented, but I just do a quick, easy challenge bugle. He does it right back and. And I run to the spot, and I see tines coming through the trees. So, I mean, it was like he was probably 80 yards when I. When I. When he finally decided it was time.

Yeah. Was he. When he came in, was he looking to a fight, was he kind of giving you the side eye like a, you know, a buck does or.

I'm. I never saw his eyes. I mean, all I saw was just antler and back. And I mean, his head was just, you know, just swaying as he's walking through. And. And I'm assuming he was coming. I don't know if he was coming around up cows or if he was coming to, you know, kick ass or. Yeah, I mean, he just. What's cool about him? One of his years, it was like, permanently bent back, like folded, touching back of itself, and it was slit in half off to send you a video of it. It's pretty sweet. So he's a scrapper. You know, he obviously was a fighter. But that other bull in there was a bigger bull and a younger bull, I think. I think he was. I think he was the big. The. The bull in that area. I think he was the herd bull. I think he was kind of. He's past his prime, and he might have been like, all right, let's see, you know, if I'm gonna, You know, if I'm gonna win this fight or not, you know. Yeah. I don't know.

It's super interesting. I mean, you know, we talked about being a very, very old bullshit. Uh, could. Could just not care about cows. Hard to say. You know, I've seen a lot of those old bulls. I mean, just because a bull isn't with cow doesn't really tell me a whole lot. Yeah, some of those older bulls still, you know, they'll just go at night. Right. And they can be aggressive sometimes, but other times they do not care really about cows. Um, some of these old bulls will just be off by themselves. Right. And they all have different personalities. Yes. But interesting to me that, like, a super pressured area, very old bullshit. Obviously been called to before in his life.

Yeah.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. And just goes to show that sometimes we overthink. Like, we just be like, we put, you know, like, oh, there's too many people. I gotta only calcul or I gotta, you know. Yeah, that would be like, a very rational thought to be like, oh, we can't bugle this bull. Like, if you had. If you had seen that bull before, you know, and you're like, you knew giant bull. Not with cows. We can't call this bull. Like, he'll never come in. And it's like, man, assume elk be elk until proven otherwise.

Because. Yes.

So many times it's like, yeah, sure, yeah, maybe. I don't know. Hard to say.

Yeah, I know. It's like, I. You know, I work for ups, so I've. I've got a lot of time to listen to podcasts and stuff and listening to them and hearing what people have to say about calling elk, and I'm just like. Like, you can't say that, you know, like, because I've totally experienced other stuff. Granted, they're probably in, you know, the plains of Wyoming, you know, and they're just. It's, you know, totally different elk, you know, but, like, for north Idaho, I mean, we don't get big bulls. You know, there are a select few that come out, you know, the. The Schneider Brothers. Then they're there in my area, and they take some giants every year. You know, they're just some of the LK guys I've ever. I've ever met. But other than them, there's very select few that either kill a big bull or kill an elk. In general, I mean, it's just. I think the success rate, you know, for the general. It's a general tag, you know, I think it's 10%, you know, or less than 10% for the success rate in the unit that I'm in. It makes me feel special.

No, no, totally. I think, like, it is a pattern. I mean, like, it's, you know, you'd be like, oh, it's only whatever bull, but, like, dude, that's a freaking giant there. Yeah. And just. I mean, the age, right? Like, I would love to know the age, because that. That to me tells me more than the size. Size is a product of location and genetics. Less than, like, the age class.

Yeah.

In your opinion, what does it take in north Idaho to be in that 10%? Like, years ago, I did this podcast. Like, what's it take to be in the 10%? Like, in your opinion, what does it take to be consistently in that 10%? 10%.

Man, that's tough. I would say. I wouldn't say knowing what to do, because truly, I'm still. You know, I'm still learning. You know, I've. I don't think I've had an unsuccessful September my whole elk hunting career, but I've never killed a bull in the same area. I've never. Pretty much never used the same tactic. I mean, I just have a bag of tricks, and I open it and say, let's try this one. You know, just trying it. Not being afraid to fail, you know, not being afraid to spook the bull. Wind, obviously, is. Is the biggest thing, you know, obviously, you got to pay attention to wind. That's pretty much everything. And other than that, you can trick their eyes and you can trick their ears, but you're not tricking. You're not tricking their nose. So there's been times when we'll spook a bull. Like, for instance, my. The bull my brother killed. He's gonna hate that I said this, but he missed it. The first shot. He missed him, and he whirled and took off. And, you know, I looked over at him, and he's got his hands on his head, and he drops to his knees, and I was just like, that doesn't look like he smoked a bull. You know, I kept calling and, you know, I didn't give up on him. And that bull was just like, okay, that was weird. But he was so fired up, he's like, all right, you know, round two. Let's. Let's get back after it. And, you know, you caught an arrow that time, but, I mean, just staying consistent, I guess.

Yeah.

Not sticking to the same spot. I don't think I hunted the same spot at all last season. It just, you know, get in there, see what we got for elk. See what we got for, you know, pressure, you know, activity, you know, just bouncing around. You know, I always loved as a kid, you know, by, you know, being. I was. I'm a September baby. So anytime, you know, I was a little baby, we'd spend my birthday up in September or up at elk camp. And I was three days old when I was first introduced to elk camp. And it was elk camp. You know, it was elk camp. We would get there, we'd bring our campers or wall tents or something, and my dad would, you know, station there, and he would go and hunt the same spot every single day. Generally, he was successful. Um, but I just. You can't do that. You know, nowadays, the oak numbers are just not there. Um, so just being able to move around, I think, is. Is huge.

Um, when you. When you think about, like, how whether to stay or Go right, like, hold them or fold them. You know, What's. What's going to tell you? Is it, like, if I'm not seeing anything, I'm out of here. Or is it even, you know, if I'm seeing elk but they're not talking, I'm out of here, like. Cause I'm the same way. I'll cover a lot of ground and, like, one of the few people that'll leave elk to find out because, like, I've just, you know, spent too many days on bad elk. Like, bad wind, bad whatever. Like, just like you said, people. But what makes you say, like, all right, onto the next place.

Um. Ooh, that's a good one. Yeah, I guess. Lack of sign. I. I don't know if it's really a telltale sign, but I love seeing rubs. You know, we got a lot of brush that needs rubbed, and generally, if you got trees that are just thrashed, you know, there's. You know, there's something going on in there. You know, there's activity. It's when I get into an area and I'm hiking and hiking and hiking, and I'm not seeing any wallows. I'm not seeing any rubs. I'm not seeing any, you know, poo. I'm not, you know, I'm just not seeing the.

Yeah.

Just get that gut feeling. But there's been times when I leave and, hey, I just killed this bull in this spot. I'm like, oh, cool. I was just there two days ago, you know, like, you know, so really, I. I don't know the true answer to that. I just.

Yeah, but you just know, like, it's so funny to me when I talk to north Idaho guys, and, like, so I grew up Oregon coast, and it's like, it's. They're the same thing. Different flavors, but same thing.

Yeah.

And, like, rubs are everything. Like, you. You run these logging roads and, like, you know, the ones that are brushed into hell, and, like, you'll hit one, and it's like, there's a r. I can see six rubs from here. You're like, this is the spot, right? There's a bull here. And, you know, the next two. You get the. You build a repertoire of those places in your head. You're like, let's go check that road. Let's go check this road. Let's go check this. And, like, these places where you can just go check. And like, some years, they. They never go in there. I don't know why. And then you kind of, like, you're like, man, there's like, let's go check this one. Like, oh, they're in here. And you gotta check a lot of spots to, like, you know, in that country, elk are few and far between. It's not like, yeah, you know, the days of hunting behind elk camp, that's like a comical joke to me because, yeah, we may be a hundred miles in the other direction. It's like, you just. You build up all these spots over the years, and you keep looking. You just like, you know, go. Go fast. And you made a point about not. Not worried about bumping a bull. And, like, that's so, so big. It's like, man, you got to cover ground fast and hard if you're gonna, like, be able to catch any of them. And so, again, it's probably not gonna matter. Like, if you're like, just. I'm gonna go in here, check it, bait out in here. You know, just doing that, you're gonna find out, and then you can slow down once you find them. But, yeah, being mobile is such a huge piece of those tougher hunting areas.

Yeah. Yeah, I know. And, you know, it's. It. Yeah. Being in north Idaho, you know, it's. It's. It's kind of crazy when, you know, I used to work in our 40. It's kind of a box store. Yeah. I was in. I was the archery tech there, and some guy would come in. Oh, did you hear? So and so killed milk. And we're like, what? You know, that's so crazy. Like, it is so weird. You know, not weird, but, you know, it's like, wow, this person got the elk, you know, got. Got their elk this year. You know, it just being raised around that, you know, is so much fun where it's like, you know, a lot of these places down south, it's like, you know, oh, they didn't kill.

No.

It's like, you know, they're not very good, you know, but, yeah, I. I'm. I'm thankful growing up in north Idaho because I feel like it's kind of made me a better hunter than. I don't know if. I don't know if I want to say that.

I'll say it because, like, growing up In Oregon, I 100 believe I'm a way better elk hunter because I had to fight way harder for it. Right?

Yes.

And then you go to Montana, and, like, I remember the first time I go to Montana, my buddy's like, oh, I'm not gonna go down. There's only a 350 bull. I'm like, I've never actually seen a 350 bull in my life.

Yeah, I know. I'm like, yeah, a 280 bull up here. You know, everyone's, you know, dreaming over that, you know?

Yes.

That's insane.

I come from the land of people. Ask how big it was, they'd say six point.

Yep, exactly. Yeah. He had antlers on his head. He was legal.

Yeah. Yeah. There's spike raghorn at six point, and six point is the top, right?

Yep. That's. Yep. That's what you're after right there.

Yeah, dude.

No, it's. It's fun stuff. I just. I just love watching, you know, all these YouTube videos and just watching how people do things, and I'm just like, that is a whole different animal that they're hunting. Like, totally different. All their strategies, none of it would work up here, but I feel like our strategies would work down there, you know, I just.

Yeah.

I don't know. I just feel I've. I've never hunted out of state. I've never. I've never moved from north Idaho.

Yeah, it's crazy, man. You have to.

Yeah.

Have to start expanding your wings.

I know, I know. And I'm just. I feel like I'm kick. I'm. I'm kind of shooting myself in the foot for doing it. But I, like, I'm not. I don't get how preference points work. I don't get. I don't know any of that stuff. I just, you know, my dad would go to the store, grab a elk tag and go. And that's all I've ever done, is I go get my sportsman's package and I get all the tags that I can hunt. And that's just general, over the counter tags. I never put in for another tag other than, you know, moose. I shot my moose when I was 18 and then bighorn. That's the only thing that I put in for. I don't know. I don't. Don't know how I'm doing it, but, you know, I just hear people saying, I've got five more years to draw. And I'm like, what. What do you mean, like. Yeah, what does that mean? I don't understand, you know?

Well, yeah, you put in perspective, like, guys who live in Nevada, like, that's like, they only draw every 10, 10 years. Like, I'm out day one.

Yeah. No, I cannot live like that. There's no way.

I'd rather. I'd rather live and hunt the worst unit in Idaho. Only every year than I have, you know, a Nevada tag every 10 years.

Absolutely. Yep. 100. I got a buddy from Nevada and same thing. He's like, you know, I've got, you know, I've been putting in since I was 12. He's like, I got one more year till I could draw my. My Nevada elk. And I was just like, you're 25. What are you talking about? Yeah, it's like, that is insane to me. I. I couldn't do it. And then how do you. How do you know how to hunt? You know, like, if you haven't been hunting, how do you know when you draw that tag you can hunt? I just. Yeah, that makes no sense to me. Yeah.

Well, congrats, dude. What an epic story. Let's do it again. Like, we didn't cover everything, but yeah, that's awesome story. Awesome bull. Congrats. Way to stick with it.

Thanks for having me.

Yeah, I enjoyed it. Where can we check out some links to your stuff? Maybe we'll get Kai's link too. So, yeah, photography might be better than yours. Of course, your Instagram is probably just full of her photography, so.

Yeah, pretty much. I know. I don't even tag her. Everyone knows you took the picture. Yeah, my Instagram is Brad Underscore Lundy and Kaya's is Kaya Maze 2022, I believe. And she's got her outdoor photography account, K Underscoreography. And yeah, so we're not anything special. We're just North Idaho hillbillies that like to try to chase some animals.

Yeah, shooting geese too. Yeah.

Yeah, I know. That's pretty fun too. I definitely, I'm definitely more of an elk hunter than a goose hunter, let me tell you. You know, when you're around all those diehard goose hunters and just like, like I don't know what I'm doing, you know, I'm just. I'm just here for a good time.

Yeah. Yeah, you gotta shoot some birds, so.

Yeah.

Well, well, thanks again, man, and best of luck this year. Let's keep in touch.

For sure. We'll see ya.

Alrighty, guys, thanks for tuning into the show. If you like this episode, do us a huge favor and share it with one of your hunting buddies. Also, if you want a free hunt planner, be sure to go check the link in the show notes. It's a hundred percent free. You can download our hunt planning tool, which is a great resource for kind of keeping track of all of your hunts, your hunt plans, your points, all those things. Pretty great resource. Go check it out. Links in the show notes, or you can check our website, www.elk hunt201.com.