Ollin Magnetic Digiscoping System

Yall werent lying....WE DID IT!!

TrickyTross

Active member
Joined
Jun 20, 2016
Messages
305
Location
Leicester, NC
Well, after the past 16 months of e-scouting and reading forums and asking questions and re-e-scouting and re-asking questions and pestering a couple folks on here, I cam back from Idaho. The first 4 days we spent in the southern unit and we really learned how rookie we were. Hit a bugle for the heck of it and started walking and talking, all the while with our bows on our back. As fate would have it, a bull came easing down the hill. We froze and then hit the deck shedding packs and everything else we owned. He of course, took off. When it came to elk sign, we had no idea how to tell if it was fresh. This was the driest place I had ever been to, so we figured the elk droppings just hit the floor dry. We had no idea what we were even looking at. We switched places after a day and a half and found a wallow. Set on it and also explored rock faces and climbed some peaks.... never saw any elk. And still had no idea what fresh elk sign looked like. Then, I threw a hail mary after 2 days at this spot. I messaged 2 gentlemen who had taken me under their wings and sent them 2 locations I had e-scouted (thanks Randy) within moments they both replied with the same spot. We packed up and went north. Found elk the second day. And chased and learned for the next 4 days. We had 2 misses, but we turned every miss as an opportunity to learn more about what we were after. Lucked up and met an individual at the local diner who is pretty well known in the elk hunting/podcast world. Down to earth dude and we spent hours talking with him. Awesome stuff. On the second to lst day, we got up later than we wanted and heard some horses come by camp, we knew we were going to be hunting from behind. When we hiked 2.5 miles to our glassing spot, we noted the horses were nowhere to be seen, heard or smelled. We opted to go up a creek bed opposite of where we had seen and found fresh (actual fresh) elk sign and bedding. We split up and within moments of the sun coming up, we saw a satellite who had wrangled up 5 cows running the opposite ridge. It was unreal to watch the whole scene unfold. he was running those cows like a cattle dog! Just hooking them and bugling and his nose in the air! Was so cool to watch! Then, they ran, and we, we followed. At first we hoped and prayed that we could call him down to us, although we knew that wasn't happening. So we let them get ahead and crossed the creek and began the climb. 6800' to 8600' was about as fun and glamorous as it sounds, but we had the wind and we knew we had to just stay on them. All the while we walked and broke sticks and cow called. He would respond and we went into using skills from our times of chasing mountain toms (turkeys, not cats). We would walk and call. He kept letting us know where they were. And then he gave a bugle that sounded very relaxed. The wind wasn't ideal for us and we assumed they were bedding, so we stopped to eat lunch. After we ate, we watched the wind and thermals and waited until they were favorable, staying high and to the shadows, we rounded the knob to the place where we smelled elk for the first time. I broke a stick and let out a cow call. He immediately responded with a lethargic bedded bugle. We continued to ease until we knew we were too close and continued to back and forth. Then we remembered some advice we had been given and something we heard from the Jacobsen. We started cow calling and when he began to bugle back, Jordan turned his head down and behind and let out a bugle. We heard him get up. He bugled back. We exchanged a few more times and then noticed it sounded like the bugles were farther off. We stopped bugling and continued our walk forward. I had taken off my pack and set my phone down at this point and we began to ease forward. Before we had gone out that morning, I had been deemed "Shooter 1". When we got away from our group I looked and Jordan and said "I don't give an expletive who has the shooter title. If it is closer to you, you shoot. Cant eat an ego." Glad we worked that out, because I realized that in my pack was my range finder, as well as everything else I would need. So, Jordan slipped ahead and I kept calling and breaking stuff and ran back to get my pack. Notice I just said pack. That comes back into play....
The next 45 minutes was indescribable. Yes, I will describe what happened, but I cannot relay the feelings that pulsated throughout. Jordan was ahead of me by about 40 yards when I got back. I noticed him ranging and I noticed shapes moving a fair piece in front of him. I stayed the course and kept calling and breaking branches. About 15 minutes in, I decided to ease up. At that same moment, a calf had decided to come check the party out. Another story, but my gut and Jordans looks saved that calf's life. He was dead to rights at 23 yards.... I eased back to my calling spot and the calf eased back to mama. I continued calling and was running out of branches to break, I looked up and saw the lead cow about 45 yards in front of Jordan. She was starting where I was and I just kept on running the play. When I glanced back up I saw Jordan at full draw. I looked past him and saw antlers. I called a few more times until I saw the bull step out. I knew he was dead before I heard the "Thwack" of Jordans elite hurling 430 grains at 313 feet per second at him. Everything seemed to slow down. He was starting at my tree and as I stepped out and broke a branch meeting his gaze, I watched the arrow hit and him turn. He died within 30 yards.
I am not ashamed to admit what followed. I balled. I hit my knees and began to lose it. 36 hour drive there. 2 weeks from home. 16 months of planning and research. 25 years of friendship that developed into a brotherhood. All came together on the side of a mountain in Idaho. Set a goal and achieved it. Unreal.
IMG-1846.jpgIMG-1848.jpgIMG-1851.jpgIMG-1852.jpgIMG-1862.jpgIMG-1865.jpgIMG-1866.JPG

Thanks to everyone who took a moment to answer questions and offer advice. Big thank you to Mr. Anderson and Mr. Moran, the Big Fin, my Idaho BHA brethren and sister-en (?) Mr. Hollowell and Mr. Call. Team work makes the dream work.... yall weren't lying, I'm trying to figure out how to do this every year now!!
Also, I was instructed to say the following... there are wolves and grizzlies everywhere in Idaho.... ;)
 
Nice job!! Looks steep enough to ride him down the hill and not have a pack out, lol.
 
Congratulations on sticking with it through the tough times and little to no elk sign. The emotions are something else aren't they!? I killed my first elk this year with a bow and there has been nothing else that has ever topped that feeling. Ride it until next year and then come back and get another, or two.
 
Super stuff. Shout out to all who assisted, and congratulations for embracing the adventure along the way. Those days that you didn't even see (or smell) elk were still very valuable. Congratulations
 
THanks yall! We are now trying to figure out how to get back out there with less than a week. I am looking at some states that are a touch closer.....
And we got steaks, ground and roast with the meat!
 
Back
Top