Unpressured Bulls in the Alpine: Finding Elk Gold

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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.

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All right, Jacob, welcome to the podcast, man. How we doing?

Good. Awesome.

We're joking about meat processing. You're like doing it all day cutting up elk meat, man. That's. I mean, I feel like, I don't know, we've ever recorded a podcast while cutting up meat, which is crazy because I feel like that needs to happen. May have happened one time, I don't know, but yeah, part of elk hunting.

I had to step away for just a minute, so I wasn't going to try it.

Yeah, no. Well, congrats, man. Epic year. Kill the bull with your bow and your rifle. That's like. I mean, that's senior 201 level, dude. Like, getting it done with both weapons, that might be like 301 status. That's pretty sweet. How many times have you done that?

This is my second time, actually.

Nice.

I did it back in 21.

Nice. And six points.

Both.

Six points.

Pretty both times, too.

Dude, that's awesome. I. Yeah, I. I was trying to think. I've never killed. You know, it's funny, there's a couple times I could have done it in Idaho, and this is gonna be dumb, but, like, when I first started hunting Idaho as an out of state person, I didn't know you could have two tags. And so I, like, I didn't find that out till, like, probably about the time I started a podcast. I've been hunting there a number of years. And I was like, I found that out and I was like, are you kidding me? Like, I could have had two.

Yeah.

I just didn't know.

Oh, yeah. The amount of people that have been like, texting and calling going, hey, man, how did you shoot two elk this year? It's. Yeah, there's plenty of people. Nobody knows about it.

Are they gonna do that in the next year with the news?

I don't and I don't know. And that's why this year I made sure to get my tag just in case, because could be the last year.

No kidding. I don't know. I have to ask Jaden about that. Yeah, Draws coming up, man. Like, by the time this comes out, like, we'll be thinking about the new system. You nervous?

Yeah. The only part I'm nervous about is just the aspect of am I gonna get my second tag. I love that second tag, man. I love being my. I love hunting elk with my bow and then to have that, like, opportunity to go hunt elk with a rifle. And sometimes it feels like elk with a rifle is just a slam dunk. It's like meat in the freezer for sure.

So I know you almost wish you, like, that could be first because then you'd have meat in the freezer and then you really picky during archery season.

That would be Right. Well. And it's funny. It's like, this year is like, okay, I get to go hunt elk on my boat, and then I get a good six point. So then it gives me the opportunity to like, hey, I get to go trophy hunt again, you know?

Yeah, dude, that's cool. All right, let's. Let's dive into it. Maybe we can tell both stories, but like, so how'd the year go? Like, a pretty epic year. And maybe like, actually before we get into that, let's dive into like experience level where you're at. How many years you bow hunting, all those things. Like, kind of give. Give some context before we dive. Dive into the story.

Okay. Yeah. So funny enough, so the first year in 21, when I doubled up and shot the two bowls, that was my first year archery elk hunting. Okay. Um, yeah, I grinded that one out. I literally shot him with like, minutes to spare on the last day of season. Uh, so. And I hunted like 25 days that season, so I got like plenty of days to learn.

You went all in on the elk hunting thing. You're like, I think I want to try elk hunting. Let's do it for 25 days. I'm in.

Exactly. Well, and I had, I grew up elk hunting. Like, that was my thing. And but we always rifle hunted. And just with growing up, we didn't hunt a lot of days. You would just get like a day here and there, you know. And so, yeah, that year I was like, all in. This is what I'm doing. Went full board. And then rifle season, shot a nice six point on opening day. But I had that, and that was my second. So that would have been. The archery was my second bull. And then the rifle is my third bull ever.

Okay. So then, I mean, picked it up pretty quick. You kind of like got. You got your whatever. You had a little bit experience, like, as far as like rifle hunting. Do you feel like you picked up the archery pretty quick? And then the next question follow up, that'd be like, was hunting 25 days, like, the reason you picked it up so quick? It feels like a lot of early experience can help you get a long ways.

Yes. It, it, it didn't, it didn't. I felt like on the 25th day of season when we went in there. Cause it was like, just went up there after work, it was like, if I get. If I can find a bowl tonight, he's gonna die. Because I've put 24 days prior to this, and it's gonna Happen. Like, I've learned so much, you know?

Right.

But yes and no, because the next year, it was, like, it was completely different because I hunted a different area, different unit, different tactics. Like, the first year, I just ran around with a bugle tube. I called in a ton of great bulls that year. Next year, complete opposite, hot and more like open burn country. I left my bugle truck, my bugle tube in the truck by the second week in a season, okay.

So you're like, okay, this is totally different. And then third year been 22 or 23.

Third year would be 23.

Okay.

And so did you go back to same area? You're like, all right, screw the open country. Or like, where were you at with like. Because what's. What's happening is you're like, okay, you're trying to hone in your style or where you want to hunt or your area. And that takes a while. So I'm kind of curious. You bounced around a little bit or you kind of honed it in pretty quick.

Yeah. So that second year, archery hunting, I almost feel like I struck lightning in a bottle that year with, like, just summer scouting and stuff, and just found an absolute pile of bowls, like these couple drainages. We were hunting, like, at one time, you would find 40 bowls in a drainage and, like, good six points, too. It was unreal. A banner season. So that. That 23 winter in Idaho, it, like, it killed a ton of bulls. And so going into the next year, I was like, oh, this is going to be epic again. And then it was like, you would find five bulls, and that would be that. And so there was a learning curve. But I also. I had learned so much that first year in there, hunting more open country. I would just get up high in glass, and I would watch how these elk move. And by that. By that third season, so the second year in that area, um, I kind of knew how the elk moved. And they were super ritual. Like, if they were up here and they got bumped, they're going to the next, like, this drainage or this. They're going through this saddle, and they're heading up to the top of that mountain.

So that's where my taxes start. Started really changing, because instead of trying to call elk, it was more or less just, like, get in front of them or just, like, be there. Because I see them moving. Because it's also. It's Idaho. It's partially combat hunting half the time, archery hunting. So it's like, if I see somebody going in after this herd of elk, it's like, oh, I'm just gonna get to the next saddle and I know where they're going.

Yeah, interesting. Okay.

But. But that third season, what's funny is we hunted that so hard, that burn country, and we burn ourselves out. And my buddy Noah and I, good. He's my good hunting buddy. We ended up leaving that area one day and we're like, hey, let's just try something new. We need to get out of the burn, try something, see something different, and end up finding some elk in a new. Some new country. And the next night, we doubled up on two archery bulls.

No way.

Yeah. Within like 15 minutes of each other.

Like there. We got on a good herd in the morning and they'd kind of spooked off to the other side of the drainage, but they didn't go far. And we made a big loop around. We'd kind of split up. I was working in on a bull bugling, and then Noah was working on the other side of the ridge. And Noah got up a bowl cow called Adam.

Boom.

Shot him. And in the midst of that, I got wind of that and was like, okay, I'm gonna head over there. And then another bull that I had seen got up. I Cal called. He came into 17 yards and shot him and.

Packed me down.

Yeah, yeah. He got the work cut out for you when you got two bulls down.

Yeah. We ended up packing all night. We. We got back to the trucks at 8 o' clock as the sun was rising. Two bowls out. It was epic.

That's crazy. O brings us into this year. Right?

It would have been last year.

Okay.

And last year is kind of where this, like, it kind of leads into a lot. What happened this year? So.

Last year I got my teeth kicked in archery hunting. Like, it was a great season, but, like, I'm a very excitable elk hunter and I let the excitement get to me on like, way too many occasions. And maybe, maybe being a little like, cocky too sometimes and just being like, oh, I'm going to kill this bowl and. And I just would screw up and go hunted the burn country again and then ended up over into the timber stuff and like, had opportunities everywhere. Just like, couple things I look back at. I'm like, maybe I caught a bad break there. Maybe. I don't know.

Right.

This didn't work out. So I didn't have meat in the freezer.

That year, which led me to rifle season. And I had my second tag. And so it was like I ended up finding two good bulls before the rifle hunt. And you know, I was hemming and hawing on. Do I hold out? Do I just put meat in the freezer? And ultimately, on opening morning, I ended up just deciding, hey, I'm gonna shoot the first bull I saw, which I ended up passing off my rifle to a buddy, and he shot a spike. And I took my rifle, went down the drainage a little ways, and ended up getting like, this little weird unicorn, five point dumped him. And of course, it's like classic. Like, I shoot him and I look up and one of the bulls I scouted, I call him the waterfall bull, he comes down, stands next to the bull I shot, and I'm like, oh, you got to be kidding me. And then, so the big bowl in the drainage, he came down at around 11 o' clock while I was working up my bowl and came across at 50 yards. No way.

Standing working giant wax. B.

Giant. So that. So Noah and I were talking, was like, okay, we need to hunt this. Like, we need to get this tag.

Next year and we need to go into season. You're like, all right, like, walk me through. Like, what's your. What's your mindset? You're like, okay, we've had some good luck here. Are you kind of trying to go back to places? You know? Are you, like, trying to go new places? I mean, obviously that you were there. You're like, okay, there's a big bull in here.

Yeah, so. And like, kind of rewind back a little bit. So that first archery bull I killed was on, like a control hunt, right? And so this. The rifle. The rifle hunt is in a general unit, but then it has a control hunt early season.

So I mean, we had just discussed, like, we've been putting into this tag, you know, and so we ended up drawing it. And that's a. That's an area I grew up hunting. So I just knew the mountain very well, knew where the big bowls hung out, pockets, everything. And so, yeah, going into that, we ended up drawing the tag in June.

Spent all summer scouting. Just like, we just trying to branch out, learn new areas. The first time I had the tag, I pretty much just hunted the mountain I knew. And so I was just trying to learn more of the unit, which was great.

But also in the back of my mind, knowing of these two bowls that probably made it through rifle season, which I did find the waterfall bowl and. But I never did turn up to, like, the big giant bowl. Um, so that leads us into the week before season. There's a pocket that, like, just always has the big bowl in, like, there's always cows in there, and the big bull is always in there. I went in there and checked, and there was a bull bugling in there and had cows a week before season. So it was like, okay, sweet. So we just kind of backed out of there. Uh, the day before season, we went back in there to check on it from a high glassing vantage, you know, just staying out. And he came over the ridge. Just a freaking giant 350 type ball, actually. 348 to be exact.

So we were. We were stoked. We're like, okay, this is. This is going to be epic. But it's also, you know, it's August 29th. This bull's rutting cows. We don't know how. What he's going to do. So, I mean, lack of sleep that night, that's for sure. Game planning, so. And oh, so sorry, I forgot this part. So no one. I drew the tag, and then I ended up knowing another buddy that drew the tag that was going to be hunting the same area. So we ended up all like, kind of teaming up. And of course, like, you find a 350 ball in this area, it's like, yeah, that's the bowl that, like, all of us want to hunt. Right, Right. Like, we're all sitting there and nobody wants to say it, but I think Noah did say he's like, oh, so we're going to, like, draw sticks for this bowl or what are we doing here?

I'm curious, what was the game playing? Because, I mean, that does get contentious with people. I literally just had this conversation with someone, but it's like, yeah, like, okay, we all got the tag. We were all together when we saw it, like, yeah, who's going first?

Yeah. And that was. So we had like. I didn't. I wasn't a big fan of drawing sticks. I don't. But that's the thing is if you're drawing sticks, you're going in, trying to call them in, I feel like. Right, right. And so I. My thought was, is like, I like the aspect of, like, bubble hunting elk with a bow. And so I was like, why don't all three of us, while working together, we'll all just play it safe together. Everybody has to be on the same page. But, like, let's just get in with like, the elks bubble and like, you got three bows and you can spread out 100 yards. Like, if he's moving around and he was moving around the day before season, like, it's bound to happen, you know?

Yeah.

And so opening Morning. We get in there, and the way this drainage works is, like, you don't want to go down the main trail because, like, that's where all the wind is going to, and that's where the elk hang out, is right off the main trail. So it's like, me knowing the country. I was like, hey, we got to do a big loop down into the bottom of the drainage and come up around them. And these guys are looking at me sideways the whole time because we're like. They're like, dude, we're walking away from the elk. And I'm like, no, just trust me. Just trust me. And we made a big loop around, got in there, and it was funny because we were, like, right below the ridge on them, and these guys are still like, dude, they're going away. And I'm like, oh, just trust me. Because it was, like, really, like, rolly country. So the bugles don't really project as well.

Right.

And I was like, no, they're. They are right here. Like, this is perfect. And we pop up on the ridge, and the. The cows are right there. And so Noah kind of had the top end of the cows, Jace was in the middle, and then I was in the bottom. So my thought was. Is like, I have good wind, so I'm gonna drop to the bottom, wrap around, and get in front of all these cows. And then everybody was on the same agreements. We're all just gonna play smart. So everybody just kind of did their thing. And, like.

Dude, like, 15 minutes later, I was all start heading my way, and I'm like, oh, here we go. Like, no way. And the bull never showed up. And I figured, like, early season, maybe just peeled off the cows, whatever. And I get a hold of Noah, and he's like, freaking bowl down.

It's like 30. 30 minutes into season, and it was epic. And, yeah, it's the big dandy bowl. Of course. We're like, yeah, dude, freaking awesome. I mean, you can't ask for much. Much better there, you know? Yeah. And ironically, he. All summer was just like, man, like, let's just kill bulls opening day, you know? Like, that'd be awesome, where I'm the opposite. I want to grind out the month, you know, I want to enjoy September. So he got his wish. Tagged out. Beautiful. Just an. I mean, a cranker for the area. Absolutely. So, yeah, that led.

Was that bull. Was he run opening day that hard?

Oh, yeah, dude. Oh, yeah. He was going nuts.

It just goes to show, like, you always. I always say, like, there's somewhere on the mountain, the bulls going crazy. Because like. Yup, that's exactly what happens, man. Like somewhere there's a bull and like could be a cranker, right? One of the best bulls in the area. Opening day probably. And like you saw the week before, like, that's. Yeah, yeah, it's crazy.

Well, and so. So that kind of led to me, like. Okay. So I kind of branched out after. After that. And what's funny is like. So actually August 31st, the next day of season, I went to the other side of the mountain because it seen a lot of elk over there during the summer and got onto an absolute mega herd of elk. And there's 2, 3, 20 class bulls in there going nuts. And so this is like just, you know, across the way. Yeah, season got. September got really tough for me after that. It was weird. It seemed like, like earlier was better. Almost.

Like that first week, everything I got into was just going bananas. It was awesome.

And then it showed.

And yeah, I think it was the September 5th, we. So I had hunted the waterfall bull, came in and picked up Noah's cows. Noah's bulls. Cows. And so I hunted him on the 4th and then I went back into the mega herd on the 5th and then went back into the waterfall bowl on the 6th. So there was three days of hunting there and the 4th and 5th were like crazy broad action. Awesome. And when I went back in on the 5th, it was completely shut down. Like I was all split up. Little bulls with cows, not bugling. And then. Yeah, it kind of turned into a dud after that.

And I. I'm curious. I wonder if Noah's bowl getting shot out of there really messed with her dynamics and everything just kind of slowed down.

Yeah, I was.

I was actually thinking about like, what. What just happened there just to walk through. I mean, generally speaking, Noah's bull was probably on a hot cow, so whatever. Like a cow came in early and he had a hot cow. Pretty rare that a big bowl was like, you know, whatever. But it happens. Totally does happen. So giant, you know, was. Couldn't tell there's a hot cow. He must have been close enough that he could smell it. Yeah, I would be surprised if it was more than one or two that came in in August, but yeah, you never know. Um, and personalities too. Like maybe that bull just, you know, was the type of bull that like goes crazy. Right? Like he just wants to run the herd. And like, you know, I think about horses, like there's just personalities. So like, it's hard to say for sure. I'M assuming there was a hot cow there. Maybe. You know what my guess is? Like there was a hot cow. He was still pretty fired up for whatever personality wise, like he was asking to get killed. Generally you don't get big because they don't live long when they have that personality. But here we are. And then I'm guessing, you know, you guys shot that bull and you know, there was no other the cows and heat. So it wasn't like a big deal for another bull to come in. I'm sure the waterfall bowl was close and like scooped up some cows, but that's going to have like now you're gonna start to get fragmented and so there's sometimes a lull in the, in the cow cycle. So it's like you'll have some cows coming early and then out, right. And so it's like, man, it was hot and it turned off and it's like, well, yeah, a cow came into heat or maybe two and then that. Now we're, you know, they went out of, you know, went out of heat esters and now we're like waiting for another one. And so you're just like, you're timing these things and you know, generally speaking, most of the cow, cows in that herd are going to start going in, I don't know, the 10th. Just call the 10th to the 20th. Right. But like you always have some early, some late. My guess is that's what's happened. But like those are wild ass guesses too. So who knows? Not a biologist.

Yeah. Yeah. And I, I checked back in there usually about like once a week. And it, it was funny because you could tell the waterfall bull kind of take took control of all the cows in that area and it like, it, it almost seemed like he had no, nobody to contest him for any of those cows. So he got very comfy in there.

Yeah.

So, yeah, that's, I ended up leaving that, I ended up deciding to leave that area and was like, all right, I need to check out something new. What's the waterfall bowl?

Just not. Did he not talk as much as that other bull?

He would, he just, he would bugle, but he wasn't, he never got excited. Like, he was just never excited. He would like, like there was one day like later in the month that I got back on him and I had him within like 70 yards for over an hour. And he just, he just kind of stayed in between the other bulls that were bugling in the drainage and his cows and just kind of sat there and bedded there like he was just laying there, just kind of like lazy, lazy bugles, you know?

Yeah.

Just never really getting excited other than, you know, on September 4th, he was going ape pretty much after that. Nothing interesting. Yeah, he seemed pretty timid. I know some other guys that had hunted him too. And if you bugled at him, he just took his cows and ran.

Huh. Took his cows or did the. I mean, sometimes it's a lead cow, too, so it's hard to say.

Right.

Like, you know, and maybe it plays into, like, maybe that lead cow, like, you guys killing that bull off him in the first day. Like, she's.

She knows.

She knows what's up. She's been there, done that before. So it's always hard to say, but, yeah, it's a good example of how man just personalities and bulls can be different. And you're trying to, like, trying to read wool and be like, oh, it's. You know, there's probably. But it goes, you know, to your point, like that one day is fired up and there's. There's always a day like there's big bulls that seem like they're so hard to kill. But then one random day, he's just like, stupid ruddy. And you're like, huh? Yeah. I think it is a blend of, like, how many cows are in he. How much pressure he's got from other bulls. Like, all those things kind of like, go. Go into that for sure.

Yeah. And that's. So ultimately, we ended up. We ended up leaving that area in general just because, I don't know, something out there. Well, so the. The. The big mega herd of elk. There was a lot of people hunting that. That herd, and there was a fresh burn in the area, so the elk were, like, piled up in there, and they're running private property, too. So it was like, that's not really a game I wanted to play. Plus, I had summer scouted so much country, so it was like, all right, let's go check out something new. And we were thinking like, hey, let's go. Let's go hunt something. That's like, no elk or being pressured. Let's get into the backcountry. We had found some country that was really good to, like, through hunt for a couple days. And so I went in there the.

Second to last weekend and kind of hunted some adjacent country because I only had, like a day or two.

Tons of elk in the area. Like, it was loaded. What was funny, though, is the one drainage, and this is like, September 20th, probably the one drainage. I saw like five herds of elk, not one bull was bugling.

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Yeah. And then on the other side of the drainage, like I had a, like a nice 5 point with like 10 cows rutting his face off.

So I kind of like given the thumbs up to that area. I was like, all right, this is going to be good, but we're going to go deeper and further in there and like really find something that's fired up. Plus I had, what's funny is summer scouting that area. I, I, we saw like a couple cows and like some small bowls. But I had scouted it before and seen nice bowls in there. So I was like, ah, there's probably bowls in there. And then what's funny is on our hike out on our summer scouting trip, I'm walking up this ridge and there's this guy up on the ridge talking to some other guys and they were mule deer hunting. And I overheard him say, man, I wish I knew somebody that had an elk tag in here. And I popped over the ridge and I was like, hey, what's the deal? And he goes, dude, there's freaking giant bulls in every single one of the top of these basins. And so I, I had that information too. So I was like, all right, cool. So that last week of season took like, I think we up like three days. I figured we, we could hunt this country in about three days and headed in there.

Yeah, that first night in there, we, we kind of worked through some country, weren't seeing a lot of sign. Then we finally got into sign and we, we popped in this one little basin and a, just a nasty growy bugle. And we're like, oh, dude, it's on. Let's go. Kind of set up on that guy tonight. And so that's like the Growler bowl and nothing ever came of that. But then we went and camped up on the ridge that night and we heard bulls Going across into another basin. So we're like, all right, perfect. We have something for the morning. And the next morning, we got up like two hours before light just to listen, and we could hear the bulls. And then they were going away to the point where, like, right at first sight, we really couldn't hear them anymore. But we had glassed up some cows, like, two basins over, which was quite a push. And so in the midst of heading over that way, we actually got on another herd of elk right off the trail below us. So we're like, heck yeah. Like, this place is on. This is awesome. It ended up being just like a little bull didn't work out. And plus, like, I don't know if I want to kill this guy back here.

So we ended up. Oh, my gosh. So we were heading up to the cows that we had seen in the morning, like midday, and just in the nastiest, most disgusting brush you could ever imagine. And so we were. We were kind of getting the point. We were getting a little frustrated, but we had to get to the top of this drainage. And we dove into a pile of trees. And we're like, oh, thank goodness. Like, hey, I think there was like, we saw a spike in there or something. Like, oh, maybe there's some bulls around here. Let's know it. Come behind me and do a call. And I set up on the front of him, and we both kind of looked at each other after he bugled. And we're like, dude, that's a weird noise. It kind of sounds like a bugle, but it was really far. And we were like, hey, come up here a little bit further and bugle again. And he bugled and like, at the top of this basin, like six bulls turn around and just start screaming at us. And we were like, oh, dude, it's on. And so, like, dude, that brush was nothing at that point. We freaking bombed up in there. As soon as we got up in there, we could see in there. And the whole time after this, you just hear bulls cracking off. It is non stop bugling. Just epic.

Oh, you open the can of worms.

Oh, it's so awesome. We get up in there and like right off the. And it's nasty. Nasty, Rocky, like that high alpine lake country.

Yep.

And we hop up in there and like, immediately there's like a nice, like. Like probably like a 330 class bowl bedded right up on the top of the rocks. And we're like, dude, hell yeah.

We dropped in there and it was like, it was super mellow there Was like, a couple lakes that were just turned into massive wallows in there. Super awesome. And we called in, like, a tiny little spike in there. And then as we got further into where the bulls were at, it started getting a little chaotic because there's so many bugles. And I'll be honest with you, my head started spinning, and I didn't know which way to go, so I just kind of, like, beelined it into the middle of all the elk. My wind was good, and I think I was bumping elk left and right, not knowing, because I was like, I figured, like, something's just going to be standing there, you know, like, there's so many good bulls in here.

They didn't like that. So I ended up. I ended up catching, like, two bulls wrapping out of the basin and heading up and around the ridge back from where we had camped the night before. And so I was like, noah was still in a pile of elk in there, I guess. And so I just started following the elk or the bulls that I had seen and come to find out, all the bulls left. There was. So there was six bulls in there, and they left all the cows and just went up into the other drainage.

Interesting.

And so, yeah, so I followed them, got up on the ridge, and once I got to the top of the ridge, I'm like, okay, they're right down in here, like, kind of below where we camped the night before. And so dropped into there. And that was probably the coolest thing I've ever been in. It was just like. There was just wallow. It was a big meadow. Wallows everywhere, rubs everywhere. And then there's five bowls in the bottom of this drainage, and they're raking trees. So it was like, find the closest bowl and start working towards them. And, like. So there's two on my right. Start working in on those bowls. And one catches my wind. He kind of wheels up around the mountain and then goes back to raking. And so I start working on the next one. And he. The. The one that originally got my wind, I think he kind of ended up spooking the next one. I was like, all right, head off to the left here. There's still three more bulls over here. Ended up. There was a nice. Really nice six point over on my left and worked in on him. And he was headed towards a wallow and just raking everything in the meantime. It was super awesome. And so I'm like, okay, I'm gonna shoot this bowl. And so I crossed this little creek, and I'm like, set up I got a range. It's 43 yards. I'm like, oh, he's gonna step out right there. This is too easy. And he steps out and draw. Freaking pins. Just settled so perfect. And I shoot. And, like, as soon as that arrow breaks, like, you know, I'm sure you've had this happen before where you're like, wait, that's not right. My arrow is, like, not right. And it went right underneath him. And I'm like, what the heck? And so I grabbed my range finder again, and I range 43, 43, 53. And I'm like, oh, dude, grass or something. Something. I think it was, like, a little limb hanging down because it was tight in there. So I ran up there. I'm like, frantically looking for my arrow to make sure, like, I missed this bowl because I still have two more bowls on my left. Bugling. And I'm, like, working on calling in one bowl right now and just trying to find my arrow. I finally found my arrow, and, oh, it's ironic. I ended up calling in one bowl as I was working up the mountain. And he came out at 53 yards.

And wheeled around, got out of there, but I kind of buggered up that situation. Missed the bowl. I was pretty. I was pretty bummed. I was like, oh, man. But I. I kept my spirits up pretty high, got with Noah, and I'm like, dude, I freaking. I missed the ball. And so Noah's been hunting with me for the last couple years. So I. I just, like, in my mind, I'm like, he's going back to last season where I screwed up so many times, and he's like, dude, this guy, he's missing a bowl again. Like, what the hell? And as soon as I get to him, all of a sudden, freaking. The Growley bowl pop. I haven't heard from him all day, and he's back on the ridge where we had camped the night before. So we're like, oh, hell yeah, dude. He's like, right there. And so we end up working in on this growli bowl. And he wasn't. He was not interested in any kind of calling, nothing. So I just was, like, sneaking in on him and kind of keep having Noah keep him distracted. And last time he bugled, I had them, like, pinned up above a lone pine tree. I was just trying to work around to them, and I caught one of those, like, bomb bushes that dry. I can't think of what they're called at the time. I freaking kicked that. And right as I kicked it. Oh, yeah, I Kicked it. And I just, like, look up, and he's just standing there staring at me. Just an absolute slob of a bowl. Big, old, heavy, super wide. I actually. What's funny is somebody killed him during the rifle season, so I got to see, like, a good picture of him. So he had triple unders on one side, super early nasty. And then he was super recognizable because it's like, I guess what would be his third but was a fourth because it was triple unders was like a flyer off the other side or off that side. So I had a shot at him. It was 30 yards, but it was in this tight window. And I'm doing math, like, quick math, like, all right, my arrow is going to go over this bush and under the tree. Like, my trajectory is good, but then in the back of my mind, I'm like, dude, you just missed a ball, like, 30 minutes before this. And, like, I can't miss again. I can't do it. And so if you wouldn't have missed.

Before, you would have taken the shot.

Oh, a hundred percent. Oh, yeah. But also, he was still facing, like he was going to come out behind the tree, so outside of the window. So then I was going to have a wide open shot, and I had a range on that, and I was guessing 30 yards from where he was. I didn't have an exact range, which I did range it, and he was 30 yards. So he did end up, like, taking two steps, like he was going to come out in the open. And then he wheeled and went off the ridge, and he was gone. So I was like, oh, so. And. And so that was funny. I got with Noah that night, and I was like, oh, man. And he was like, I cannot believe you didn't just shoot that bull. He's kind of giving me a hard time, so. And, like, I definitely felt the pressure of him of, like, oh, dude, what are we doing? Like, we got to kill a bull. Like, it's the. You know, we're coming up on, like, the 27th of September.

Yeah. You just had eight at bats in one evening hunt. Like, come on, bro.

Exactly. And, well, we talked about it. We need 10 at bats to make it happen. Yeah. Yeah.

I mean, tomorrow should be good.

Be great. It was funny. The next morning, I woke up and I kind of pouted a little bit that night, but then I woke up in the morning, I was like, dude, like, today is the day. And I was fired up. I was ready to go. I wasn't seeing straight. I was like, dude, we're gonna freaking I didn't even think about this, but we had already worked through the three basins the day prior, so I was just like, dude, let's bomb back through all this and make sure it's all clear. And Noah's. Noah woke up grumpy and tired, and he. I was like, dude, let's go. And he's, like, trying to keep up with me, pissed off of me all morning.

It was so funny. And he ended up yelling at me at one point. He's like, dude, what the hell are we doing working through? Because we're just going up and down and up and down and, like, grabbing, you know, just an extra 600ft of elevation here and losing it there and grabbing an extra there. And so he's like, what are we doing? So we end up. We end up finally getting all the way to the top of the basin we haven't been in yet. And we're sitting up there, and of course, the elk are in the very, very bottom of it, like. Like, probably a thousand feet down. And Noah's looking at me like, dude, we literally could have walked the trail all the way in there. And so he's mad at me. He's really mad at me at this point, and I'm like, who cares, dude? They're freaking going off. There's. There's probably, like, three or four bulls in there. Like, let's go. We jumped in there, got on the elk immediately, and I knew you, like, there was an obvious herd bowl in there, and it was like, yeah, that's the bull. And we were just trying to swim through elk to get in there, and they started moving around pretty quick. And I had a couple opportunities at, like, a small six and a decent five that just, like, both times were just getting, like, pushed through the timber, which I'm glad that didn't end up working out, obviously, but they ended up pushing up to the top of this basin, and that's when Noah had it, because he's like, dude, they probably pushed out of this basin and into another unit, and, like, look what you did. Like, yeah, we could have been in here in the bottom, and blah, blah, blah. Well, I was like, dude, let's just keep at it. Like, we got to get over this. So we kind of, like, mended things a little bit. You know, I got him back on my team. Calm down.

He.

Maybe you had to take a morning dump or have a coffee or something.

We worked up. Yeah, right. So we ended up working up into this basin, and we're sitting down in this north facing Timber. And it's freezing ass cold. And. And all of a sudden, the ball pipes off. I'm like, okay, that's the herd bowl. He hasn't left the basin. Like, we're in business. And so we're. So Noah's really good on, like, looking at, like, topography and stuff, like, where I'm just like, I can get into elk. He knows where the elk are at. Like, he can point on a map. This is where they're at. And I don't do that. I'm just like. I just hear him and go. Or see him. And so he's like. And so he started looking at the maps, and we're like, okay, there's a bull here. And as we worked up the drainage, there was a bull on either side of the top end of this basin. And the herd bowl that had the cows was on. Like, he was in a weird spot. Didn't quite make sense, but it was on this little finger ridge. But we were kind of in the middle of all this, and we're like, let's go after that herd bowl. Because it sounds like he was, like, out on the finger ridge in front of all these cows. And so we're like, dude, he's in a really killable spot. And the other bull that was across the basin was up in, like, just on this big bench, and he just kept him bugling all day. Feels like, this is perfect. And we did a big loop around, got up onto this nose ridge where this timber was, and, like, we were able to just slide right above all the cows. He's all by himself out on the front of this ridge. I end up slipping in solo, and I'm, like, getting close, and the bull across the basin still talking, and he's like, right there. I'm like, okay, sweet. And then. Then he bugles as I'm like, I'm probably within a hundred yards now. And he bugles, and it's like, oh, that's weird. He bugled away from me. That's kind of funny. And then he bugles again. It's like, oh, no, he left.

Yeah.

So now this bull's running down the finger ridge. He left all his cows, and he's running down this, like, nose ridge into the bottom. And he's heading towards the other bull that's been bugling all day up on this bench who's like, get a hold of Noah. And I'm like, hey, dude. Like, he left. Like, I'm down in the bottom now. And so we got together, and we're like, all Right. Let's just try to go find him. Like, he's been bugling all day. So he's going to respond to a bugle. We're going to figure out where he is. We start heading up the. Just this. Just this, like, tight bottom. It's like, timber, and there's a couple creeks running through. And I think we threw out, like, two cow calls. And, like, immediately I was like, oh, he's coming. Like, just, you know, that bugle, or he bugles back at you, and you're like, oh, he's coming to get us. And so I took off up the. Up this little tiny ridge that we'd been working up, and I got set up into position immediately, and we didn't really communicate very well on that one. And I don't think Noah realized, like, hey, I'm gonna go get. I'm gonna go get in shooting position. Like, I feel like it's happening now. And I. So I caught. So the bull's coming down immediately, and I get eyes on him. So he's like. Ends up hanging up at, like, 40 yards. And so I'm just ready. I'm like, I already got my ranges. He's just standing there at 40 yards. I'm like, he's just gonna make a step at some point and it's gonna.

And, oh, and mind you. So right before this, I'd seen his antlers. I'm like, oh, that's a shooter. It's freaking sweet. I thought he was an 8.8point. At one point, I was like, oh, dude, he's a freaking eight by eight. Just in the moment, just because, like, his swords were a little bit smaller. So I'm like, oh, dude, there's three on his. On his whale tails. Like, it's an eight by eight. Like, this thing is sick. And so Noah ends up popping over the ridge to see where I'm at.

That's worth the death penalty. I've had that happen. That's a death penalty qualification right there.

Yes. So he popped up, and I could tell the bowl was like, boom, up on him. And he kind of. Noah kind of wandered back over because he was just like. And afterwards he was like, oh, just like, what the hell are you doing standing there?

And so the bowl ends up boogering off, and I just took off chasing him, and I ended up like, we worked through this nasty timbery bottom, and then he ended up on this, like, it was like a. Like, brushy. Was brushy little ridge and caught him again. I'm like, oh, sweet. And I ranged the top of his antlers. I'm like, 30 yards. I'm like, oh, he's right there. Like, this is gonna happen right now. But he was underneath the brush. Like, his body was underneath the brush. So I just needed him, like, work ups where I could see his. His vitals, you know? And so I tried working up a little bit just to get a view above him. And I look over to my left, and there's six deer sitting there staring at me. And I'm like, oh. And they bust. And he busts. And I'm like, Like, that's. That's it for that one. And so I head back to Noah, and we meet up, and he's like, hey, get ready. I'm calling in this other bowl right now. That's up on the bench. And so now we're working on this. This bull on the bench, and we're like, dude, this is awesome. And this is. This is where I think our inexperience kind of comes into play a little bit with calling is like, I'm not very good. I don't think I'm good at calling because I'm not patient enough with calling. Like, I like the aspect of bubble hunting because, like, I know what's happening, and I'm watching the elk. Whereas calling, you're like. You need to be more like. Like, better anticipation and trust. There you go.

Yeah.

So, I mean, an unreal calling setup. Like, no. There's a line of timber up on this bench. And so I'm just in front of the line of timber, he's behind the line of timber, and we're like, okay. And this bowl just cracked right in front of her face. So he's, like, within a hundred yards. And so Noah starts calling, and I'm standing there, and, I mean, it felt like forever, but I guarantee it was, like, 30 seconds. And I was like, hey, should we just push up? And so the second we. It's like, hey, let's push up. We start pushing up. Here comes this bull. He's got freaking trees all over his antlers. He's coming in, and it's like, oh, dude. Like. And he catches us. But what's cool. I never mentioned this, but we never saw a boot track in this area or another person. So these elk are just dumb as dumb can be. It's awesome, dude. I think I. I think I stopped that bowl, like, at 60 yards, like, three different times after he started running away from me and was just, like, trying to get a shot and never did. And so we Were kind of defeated. And we're like, all right, to the next basin we go. You know, we got. We've had camp on our back this whole time, like, to the next basins, the ridge. And I just looked back one more time, and, you know, just see that white body back on the nose ridge all by himself. And I'm like, dude, it's that bull. And he went back to look for his cows, but his cows were gone. We. I. I started glassing down drainage, and I'm like, oh, dude, his cows are, like, like a mile down drainage all by themselves. And so we're like, that's a killable bull right there. Like, he's all by himself. So it was, like, up to the bottom we go. So back down to the bottom, and in the bottom, we were able to glass just enough because, like, the top end of this face that he was gonna be working on was super cliffy, and the bottom half of it was, like, sparse timber pockets. So we're like, dude, we're gonna be able to glass this ball in the bottom and just kind of work in below him. And, like, the goal was. Or the. The thought was, like, we'll be able to throw a couple cow calls and have them on a string. Well, that was not the case at all, because I glassed him up and was like, oh, here we go. I started working in below him. He had no idea I was there. And then Noah pops up behind me, starts cow calling, and the bull just immediately just pegs him. It was like, oh, dude. And what's funny? So we have the. Like, the new T mobile satellite. So I get a text message on my phone that's like, oh, by the way the bull's staring at me. And I'm like, oh, no. But I was like, okay, if the bull's staring at Noah, like, he doesn't know where I'm at. So I just started working up this ridge towards him, and I could just barely see his body through some. Some timber. And so I was able to just work up and get within, like. I think it was within, like, had ranged at, like, 55 yards. So I'm like, oh, I'm 55 yards from this bowl now. He kind of has no le peg, but he probably doesn't know what's going on. And there was one big, lone Ponderosa, and I had. And I had arranged it, and it was 55 yards. And I'm like, okay. Like, at some point, he's probably just gonna come out there, cow call, stop him. I'm just gonna Shoot him right there. And we waited and waited and waited. And I think at one point he started to go and I drew back. And then he stopped, like just with his head out. And it was like I was full draw for probably two minutes. Let down, just waiting, waiting, waiting. And then he finally came out and just gave him a mew and then just smoked him. It was. I mean, it's like, it's not your traditional, like, hey, this is what I mean. It's two non traditional kills, right?

Like we fanned in for one traditional man.

No, it's like any way possible, right?

Dude, 100. Like anyone who thinks this is gonna happen like they saw in Primos, it's just like not how it works. Like this is.

Doesn't just made it happen, make it happen.

Dude. I am blown away how many opportunities you guys got. And this is like, I try to tell people this, like if you want to get good at elk hunting this season that you had. Is it, dude, like you gotta, yeah, you gotta be in that many at bats. And so then the question's like, oh, well, how do I do that? And a. It's a little bit of scouting. It's a lot of bit of luck. But you, there, there are places when you, once you've been in that situation where it's like just time after time after time, you're constantly looking for that. And I feel like a lot of people, maybe yourself included back in 20, 21, and be like, oh, we got into elk. And then like you're kind of hunting the same herd over and over and over. And that's difficult because you're just. It's like it's getting harder every day. Like the elk are getting educated. When you get in anyone listening, you get in this situation where it feels like everywhere you turn is an elk, like you're gonna be successful. It's just a matter of time. Like it's, it's not difficult like once you find that. And I think that's a good difference between like myself 20 years later and you know, whatever you start now, it's like you're always looking for that. Like you're willing to leave elk because you know somewhere on this damn mountain, there's that thing. Sometimes you never find it. It can be very hard. But like once you've tasted a day like your guys's little three day trip, it's like you'll hunt that forever because you're like, dude, this is what it's all about. A freaking elk around every tree. It's like Exactly. Glorious.

Yeah.

Yeah. And we've had that. I mean, over the past couple years, it's like, I've always. Everyone's always said, you never leave elk to find elk. Every time I've ever left elk to find elk, it's. It's. I found better elk.

And there's a difference between elk, right? Like, there's a lot of differences like this. I think it's a retarded statement. You cannot say, you shouldn't leave elk to find out. You don't know what you're talking about. Like, it just. There's elk that are hard to hunt and there's elk that are like, just been pressure. But do you get a combat hunting? Like, it sucks. Like, you're just. It's not gonna work out as many times when you get in these situations where you're like, away from people, it's, you know, there's a pile of elk that haven't been messed with. It is amazing. And you can screw it up a whole bunch.

Yeah, My. My dad's gonna listen to this podcast and he's gonna. I love that you said the. About leaving to find elk. Because during the rifle season, he kept giving us crap. He's like, why would we leave elk to find out? Why would you leave elk to find out?

I will say, I will say. I will say. I think the very difference in archery, in rifle, because a lot of times, you know, one of the things I've learned and because I think I learned a lot of my elk skills in archery and then took them to rifle. One of the things you have to learn about a rifle is like, when you're in elk, you have to be patient and you have to go because those big bulls are there. And like, that's a really good distinguished distinction. Because like, a lot of times, you know, people like, oh, there's no big bulls here. Like, ah, man, I feel like you just stick in that area, you grind it out. Because rifle. A lot of times, like, when bulls get timbered up, like, you could not see them for days. And so to that point, I. He's probably right. That's definitely something I've learned is like with rifle, you kind of got to grind them out. With archery, it's like, man, like, find a huntable elk or killable elk, those killable scenarios are going to be so much better. Like, you're gonna have. There's a difference in at bats, right? Like, you can have these scenarios where it's like, oh, we're, we're in them. And to Your point? Like, you know, you're hunting these places where maybe you get one, you get close to a herd of elk once a day, if that's, you know, sometimes every three days you're hunting one or elk and a bunch of other people. It's gonna be hard to get 10 at bats. You go to the place like that, you get 10 at bats in like an evening or you know, evening. In a morning.

Right. Well, it's, it's funny because like you go from archery to rifle season and, and it is. You see, we talk about like how you stay in an area and stuff. It's like our rifle season this year. Like we, I mean it's kind of combat hunting, but we put our, like our hunting group puts ourselves away from all the people at least, you know, and that's the problem this last couple years is like some of these big bulls that we see scouting, it's like, oh, that's a great pole. But many other people are seeing that bull, you know what I mean? So we've like try to pull away from that. So. So to on to my right if that's okay.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

Tell you about my rifle bull. So.

We kind of have a hunting camp we do every year. And the. So we did some scouting, found some nice bowls.

And night before season. So there was a bunch of weather that rolled in like in the days prior to. And there was a storm the day before season and there was a storm the like the morning of season opened and so the night before we had found. Yes, but no, actually.

Oh really?

Ended up being terrible. Yeah, because so up higher up on the mountain where we like to hunt, where we can get away from all the people, there was like, I think there was like six or eight like good mature bowls up in there, like five point or better bowls. And we're like, dude, it's gonna be banner this year. Like there was a, there was a big seven by seven in there. We're like, oh dude, this is gonna be kick butt. And so that storm rolled in and opening morning, there was one bull in there. Unfortunately, my, my wife, it was a weird situation. She ended up missing him. And so, but then like all the elk. So we, what we come to realize is all those elk ended up migrating during that storm or those bulls had migrated lower on the mountain, which sucks because lower on the mountains where all the roads were and all the people. And so the pumpkin patch had a heyday on opening morning and we had a pretty quiet day. And like you said, it's like okay. You get in these areas where you're like, I know there's a big bowl in here somewhere. And so we sat up. We actually hunted that area for probably way too long and just stared at those mountains for, like, days and days and days, and no elk ever ended up moving out. So it just ended up being weird. My one buddy ended up shooting a spike, and so he was tagged out. And other than that, that was like. That was like the worst season we've ever had as a camp. It was like a psych. On second day of season, like, we usually go in there and pull at least three bowls out. Like, a couple years ago, actually my 21, we pulled out seven bowls in two days. Yeah. And so. So, like, this year was, like, weird. Didn't seem to work out. Everybody's pretty unmotivated.

That. So this, like, the first main weekend of season, I went up there, dude, like, we could not get into elk sign. We couldn't get into elk. It was pretty frustrating, but I don't know. I'm pretty motivated. I'm like, at this point, I'm like, oh, let's just like, this is. This is even cooler because this makes it harder. This makes it more of a hunt. This is fun. So I got a. A couple of us fired up. I got my dad fired up, My buddy TJ and my buddy awesome been out there hunting. So I was like, hey, let's go get a new camp set up. Let's go somewhere completely different. Let's just grind out some country.

So my first. Well, so we had spent one night in there and saw a bunch of cows and no bulls, though. And the second day had a little miscommunication, meeting up with my buddy. So I got in there a little bit later in the morning, but it was, like, foggy all day. And I had this one area. I was like, oh, man, it's going to be epic in here. It's going to be so awesome. Like, I can see so much country. It's nasty. It's snowing. And as soon as that fog lifts, I'm like, oh, yeah, this is. This is the spot here. And I get the glassing. And I'm like, oh, there's movement. And there's two horses packing out a big seven pie. It was like, ah, so I'm on. I was on the right page. I thought, you know, which. No big deal. We didn't end up getting into, like, any bulls that night. The next day, I went and, like, pounded some even further, higher country and was just hammering it and it was just like, no elk sign at all. It was brutal. And I ended up. What's funny is like midday I had texted a buddy that was like, in another unit adjacent. And I was like, hey, like, I'm up at like, you know, 77, 500ft right now, and I'm not really getting any end to any elk. Like, what's the deal over there? And he's like, oh, we're covered up in elk. And it was like, oh, interesting. There was a lot of snow. And so I started doing some thinking and I was like, oh, man. Like, and I started putting some puzzle pieces together and I'm like, okay, we need to like, get off this, like, this mountain system here. Like, there's the elk are moved off this. Especially if my other buddy was into elk in a different. In an adjacent unit, you know, and so we pushed, like deeper into the unit. That last day, it was my buddy TJ's birthday and he was, he was on the last. Because it was the last day of season. He was on a 15 year bull streak and last day of season. And so we're like, dude, it's your birthday. Like, let's go in there. Let's have fun. So we woke up late and we get to the trailhead and we're gonna ride dirt bikes in this morning. And we. We'd never been in on this trail before. And this dude comes off the mountain just absolutely soaking wet. And we're like, hey, like, is that a good trail? And he goes, well, if you have good boots. And little joke I made that morning, I put on my, my crispy laponias are on their last leg and they're just completely falling apart. And I told tj, I was like, hey, I'm gonna wear my lucky boots today. And the dude had told us the trailhead. He goes, yeah, if you have good boots, you can ride up there. If not, I wouldn't. And so we looked down, I'm like, nope, these aren't gonna do it. I pull up onx and I'm like, hey, let's make it quick. Audible. And so we made it audible, rode around the mountain, start heading up this ridge, and my phone starts blowing up and my dad's texting me, like, hey, you guys are busting elk off this ridge left and right. We're like, oh, sweet. Like, there's elk in here. Like, this is refreshing. We haven't seen elk since, like opening day. It feels like.

We just started, like, working this system and I kind of had an idea that I Wanted to get, like, the top end of this drainage. Like, it looked super elky up in there, and just super nasty brushy country. And we figured at this point, like, we're gonna have to get in there with our hands, you know, and just pull them out of there. Four power scopes and get in there. You know what I mean? Like, it's late in the season. These elk's been pressured. And so we had actually gone into a couple more pockets of cows on the way up. And so we're like, all right, this is sweet. Like, we're into elk now. And we ended up parking the bikes, and, oh, TJ Went one way, I went the other. And I was like, I'm just gonna drop in here and, like, right off the trail, like, immediately on bull sign. And I'm like, oh, sweet. Like, this is good. And so just working through that country, ended up kicking some cows.

And got on another fresh bull track, like, real hot sign. And I'm like, okay, this is perfect. And this is where I wish I would slowed down and learned how to, like, see elk country a little bit better. Like, in the midst of, like, oh, where would a bowl be bedded here? Because I was like, he's in here. I knew he was in there and just went left when I should have went right and busted a bowl and was like, oh, man. Like, but it wasn't a big deal. It was like. I think it was, like, noon at that point. It was a beautiful day. So I was like, I'm just gonna go for a hike today, work around this drainage, like, see what I can kick up. And so I went for a big hike, dropped into the bottom of the drainage, and just started working around this thing. And that's where I, like, immediately, I'm like, oh, yeah. I'm kind of into my mode of rifle elk hunting now. Like, I like to hunt bottoms. I like to work country and be, like, glassing into other bottoms, you know, in that bottom corner down in the brush. And, yeah, just started doing that. And I sat down at one point, I'd been hiking for, like, an hour or so, and I was like, I'm just gonna sit down, have a bite, and, you know, glass for a sec. And, like, the second I threw my. My meat stick in my mouth, I was like, I'm like, wait, what's that? Throw up the binoculars. And the sun had just hit the top of this bull's antlers, and I'm like, dude, there's a freaking bowl. And, like, a nice six point of that. I'M stoked. I'm, like, beyond stoked. I hit my buddy TJ on the radio, and because he's actually on the same ridge as the bowl, but way up high. And I'm like, whatever you do, do not bump like cows down this way. Like, hold tight. Like, I need, like, 10 minutes. And I, like, throw all my crap together, bomb off this ridge, and, like, it's a pretty big canyon. But I got so lucky. Where he was at, there was a ridge that literally shot straight out to him and then bent back around as, like, an L and just gave me the perfect lay down platform through the rifle down, started getting ranges. It was going to be like, like around 400 yards. And I'm just, like, frantically glassing. And I turn him up, and I'm like, oh, we, dude. He's like, slightly quartering to get a range. It's 430 yards. And I'm like, pulling out my dope chart on my phone. And right at that moment, Noah texts me, and he goes, hey, man, y' all elk for the evening? And I'm like, oh, gosh. And I started getting really excited and get back in the rifle. And I just, like, lost it. I got buck fever. I'm, like, breathing hard and freaking out, and I'm like, holy crap. Like, this didn't even happen during archery season. I had to pull myself out of the rifle for a second and just, like, tell myself, like, chill out, dude. Like, take a minute. And I took a breath, and I was like, okay, feel much better. Got back in the rifle and like, this rifle hunting, just, like, press the trigger nicely. And he watched that vapor trail go in there, hammer him. And he just went down immediately.

Yeah.

And epic. And so. So he's up on the ridge above me, and I'll be quick. But another six point came out after I shot this bowl. And so I was trying to get TJ on this bowl, and I'm like, dude, like, come shoot this bowl. And I'm, like, trying to work him in. And it didn't end up working out. And so I told him. I was like, hey, like, I'm just gonna start working on my bowl. You just keep hunting. Like, see what happens. And I was working on my bull. He died in just an awful. He's so sick. And right before this hunt, I took out all my paracord. Cause I was like, oh, I never use paracord. I took it out, and if I had paracord, that made my job so much easier. But anyways, like, it's down to the last couple minutes of light. And I looked at my phone, I was like, oh, he's got like three minutes left. Like, hopefully you can make it happen. And just right at that moment, boom. And I'm like, no way, dude. And yeah, with minutes to spare, he freaking shot his bowl and we doubled up last day of season. Like last year.

I freaking, I love rifle hunting. I, you know, like, for a long time I was archery only. And like, I don't know, I got more excited when I was hearing your rifle story than your. Your archery story. I don't know what that says about.

Me, but there's something about rifle hunting, especially like elk late in the season. It's awesome.

Turning up, dude, Idaho too, is like, you're turning up bulls in just nasty country. Like, I love trying to find bulls in that. Hard to find them stuff. Like, it's so hard. Like, everyone's like, oh, rifle hunting, so easy. I'm like, you don't rifle hunt where I do. But.

Shooting them is easy. Sure, you can shoot at 400 yards and that's convenient, but like, finding a good six point in some of that country, you know, like over the counter type stuff where it's like hard, you know, a lot heavy hunting pressure. So difficult. And like, when you find them, you're like, ah, found you.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And it's like, it's. It's so surreal when you do see them. Especially like late in the season. It's just like, oh, my God, there's a bull standing right there. And it's a good bowl. It's a beautiful bowl. And it's like, oh, here we go.

Dude, that was epic. What an epic year, man. Talk about at bats. What, what advice do you have? Like, how do you. What's your advice to becoming a better elk hunter?

Dude, to be a better elk hunter is, first of all, if you have a wife, make sure she's good and I can hold down the fort and lets you go out, because my wife kicks ass. And then just literally hunt as many days as humanly possible. And don't go home early on Sundays. Yeah, never go. I, I know so many people that leave at noon on a Sunday because it's like, we're not into elk. Dude. I kill, I feel like I kill everything on a Sunday. Like Sunday evening. Like, Sunday is the day. So just like, I don't know, I feel like persistence. It's like always keeping your head in the game, always being confident. Like, hey, just around the next corner, Just around the next corner. Just Staying in it and just always knowing you're gonna kill, too, right?

Yep. I don't know. I feel like, don't put down your head.

Yeah. And I feel like I'm not. I'm still young, so I got a lot of years to learn how to, like, archery, elk hunt. But, like, I do know one thing is, like, I'm persistent as hell, and, like, I'm just gonna keep at it and then just try to outwork everybody, Right. Like, I suck at it, but I'm persistent. And so I'll just stay in elk, and at some point, I'm gonna get lucky, right?

Yeah. I mean, dude, look at the greatest cell counters in the world. And they'll be like, well, I'm not that great. I just spend a lot of days at it. Like, that's a common thing, you hear? And it's like, it's fairly true. Like, spend enough days, and you're gonna get lucky. And there's like, yeah, there's definitely. You can improve and, like, you know, go from 10 at bats per kill to, you know, five, then two, and it's like, right. You get to, like, a level, and you're like, man, you can just kill any bull you stock on. I'm still not there, so. But, dude, epic, epic year.

Congrats. That's. Thank you.

That's it. I'm stoked. That makes me excited for elk season. Makes me want to go to I now I got to put in for Idaho, so.

Yeah. And I appreciate you having me on. All my family and friends are tired of hearing about all my elk hunting stories this year, so I'm glad to bring it back up one more time.

Yeah, I bet, man. Yeah. I mean, that's pretty epic year. It's gonna be hard to top, but, I mean, next year.

There's always next year.

It's always next year.

Well, and I don't. I don't know if you saw, but I shot my best buck to date, too, during October. So in the midst of that. Yeah, dandy. Like, 170 buck, too.

Dude, that. What an epic year, man. Yeah. You got to be stoked. When you ever have a year like that. Like, you're so stoked to get back in those areas and do it again.

So stoked. So stoked. A little nervous, though, honestly. I gotta. I got some shoes to fill. That's true.

That's true, man. Well, thanks for coming on, dude.

Yeah.

If people want to check out maybe, like, some of your hunts and stuff, what's a good place to follow along.

Yeah, I just, I do all my stuff on like Instagram and Facebook. It's like Jacob Wynn and then on Instagram it's j win0101. Yeah, I try to post as much as I can. All my family likes following all my stuff on Facebook and Instagram.

So yeah, you go check out some photos of an epic year. But dude, congrats.

Yeah, thanks, Cody. Hey, it was a pleasure talking to you. I've always wanted to chat with you before, so that's awesome. I'll try to. I'll try to have another kick ass year next year and maybe we can talk again.

We can do a repeat, man. We could do a repeat.

Absolutely. Let's do it. All right.

Thanks, man.

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 100% 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.elkhunt201.com.