We're still up hunting, but Scott and Whelen Nut teamed up on a 5x5 yesterday morning (opener).

I'm sure he'll post plenty of pictures upon their return. Great hunt so far.

Dave

Fantastic!
Looking forward to the details and pics.

HA!! Knew you boys would do well! Glad the luck held out!

Congrats to two very fine fellows. Need pictures for sure.

+1on that! Way to go Scott!!

Just saw the pic on FB! Way to go!!!!

Good on you for taking them out iddave! I understand that it's a tough area. Kudos for getting it done with some good folks!

Awesome! Been waiting for this thread!

Yep! Now we are waiting for the pics!

Yep

Glad to see the good news. Even more fun for them to share a successful hunt! Hats off to you for helping them get it done. Look forward to seeing the pictures.

Sincere congrats Scott....great job! Pics????

Way cool, I'm looking forward to the pics....way to go Dave the guide!

+1 here....looking forward to it.

Way to go bud!

Well, I'm home and happy to be on flat ground again. And wish to once again extend express my gratitude to iddave.

The unit we were hunting in doesn't exactly have stellar success rates but it's obvious Dave's year-after-year success is because he's willing to do and go where others won't.

The day prior to the opener, Dave turned us on to a particular drainage and gave me directions in how to access it from a trail - only we missed the trail and ended up on the other side of the mountain.

We reached a meadow that looked rather elky and immediately heard a bull screaming and some cow calls. The meadow and our view of the hill was quite narrow so we backed out and planned to be there before daylight the next day.

We were in position the next morning just before daylight and could see/hear a couple of cows followed by some bugling in the brush just up the mountain from the meadow. We ducked back into the timberline to close the gap and snuck out behind some rocks to ready for the shot. While pops set up, I scanned/ranged the hillside the cows and a spike we were feeding. I readied for a shot as well and Whelen Nut whispered, "we'll both shoot on the count of three when he steps out."

Almost on cue the bull stepped out from below with his backside towards us. At 302 yards, he angled back toward the cows, I whispered the 1-2-3 and two Accubonds (140 and 160) hit home behind the front shoulder. I put a couple more in him for good measure and he soon began his roll down the hill.

Dave and his friend Chuck graciously helped us quarter and pack him out. I gotta tell ya, Dave is a freaking animal - he strapped up a front and a rear quarter and off he went. I "may" have exaggerated when conveying the amount of downhill packing involved prior to going back in to get the bull.

This was my first time ever chasing elk and was really looking for a bit of an education on how to hunt the animals. Dave gave that in spades. Our camp (of four) could have tagged out if we'd have chosen to do so which is really saying something in that ridiculously inhospitable country.

To get to hunt with Dave and to be able do it with my dad puts this hunt at the top of my all-time-favorite-hunt list.

Thanks again, Dave!




iddave, Whelen Nut, SKane

Well done gents. Very well done!

Great stuff.
Congrats all around.

Well done..Congrats.

NIce going fellas.

Dude - very nice!

What a great story, thanks for sharing, happy for ya!

Very nice and well done story. Congrats to the both of you.

Looks like the Amish machine gun does well out there also.

Awesome big congrats to you guys!

Great stuff! What a hunt! Congrats.

Harry, pops doesn't leave home without a 270, .358 or 35 Whelen in a self-shucker.

Looks like you had an awesome hunt, congrat's on a nice bull!

sweet trip!

I would say you guys are a serious one, two punch. Congrats.

Wayne

Cool, very cool and a hunt you will never forget....Scott, you won't kill anything around our place that nice...lol. are you coming back here this fall?

well.... im jelous :-D Hey scott, lets go elk huntin next year :-D

Too cool. Always like those outfitter's tent pictures. Nice going guys!

Scott is full of chit and gives me far too much credit.

I pointed he and his dad in a general direction and that was pretty much the extent of my involvement. The two Cheese-Heads came west and kicked azz. I provided a place to sleep and they took care of the rest.

Paul (Whelen Nut) made arguably the greatest meal ever prepared in camp. I CANNOT emphasize enough how much all of you should have him prepare that meal for you. I gained 5 pounds in a week in spite of hiking 10 billion vertical feet...mostly because of that particular meal.

Both of them were great to have in camp, and were far tougher than I would have imagined possible for a couple of flatlanders. It is a VERY unpleasant area to hunt, and neither of them whined a bit...the same cannot be said for Chuck (my regular hunting partner) and I.

After 15 years of hunting together, Chuck's abilities with a knife continue to amaze me. That's just the tip of the iceberg though, and a guy couldn't ask for a better hunting partner. I don't mention that often enough, and this seems like as good a time as any to say as much.

Paul also classed things up a bit with some top-shelf whiskey. Bonus points there.

Great hunt overall, and I'm happy I got to share a little bit of the experience with the Kane clan. Good dudes for sure.

Dave

Sweet, great hunt, and pics!

That looks like a good time was had by all.
Scott, it's nice to see your father went with you. That's special.

Take care.

Congratulations

Much easier packing in your neck of the woods though. *grins*
Yep, headed down in December but I'll be west of Wichita this year.

Very cool beans. Congrats Scott!

Congrats to you all; awesome hospitality from another of the 'fires stand-up guys. Absolutely incredible!

Thanks a lot for taking us along w/ story & photos. Fantastic hunt w/ good friends & family in gorgeous country!

Congrats!! I knew a pump gun had to be involved!

Glad to see you two got to experience it together. So when's the next elk hunt??

That amount of handsome shouldn't be allowed in one camp.

Congrats and GFY.



Travis

Great pictures and good job.

Congrats, looks like you guys had a great experience.

That's great stuff right there.

Hell of a big kudo's to iddave for helping out a couple 'Fire members.

Pretty damn generous, good elk spots are tough to come by.

Nice job all around fellas!

I sure like these kind of posts a helluva lot more than call-out threads!

Randy, if I were you I'd be demanding some of those tenderloins in a few weeks!

Excellent!!

I dig the rifle too!

Just got back in town and catching up on the new posts. This one looks awesome, well done all of you. Always great to see when campfire folks get together and have a wonderful hunt!!

Congrats Scott & Pops!

I'm getting to the party a little late, as usual. I had to get that bad boy all cut up and in the freezer! Priorities, ya know. Took a bit longer to process than a whitetail.

I'm still in Idaho staying with an adopted nephew, the second-best guide in Idaho, and will be deer hunting with him through the weekend.

To echo Scott's words, Dave is 'Extreme Elk' personified, has good taste in whiskey, and is a good chit, too! We had a fun hunt with him and his (our new) buddy Chuck. They are a modern-day 'dynamic duo' complete with elk mobiles.

'Twas a memorable hunt for sure and could not have been scripted better! Thanks, Dave, for inviting my old bones along to share in another of Scott's hunting adventures.

Slainte'

Great story and pics! Congrats! That is some beautiful country

Wow! Fantastic!

Congrats to you all! (now I have 3 pages to catch up on in this thread)

Fantastic!

I love to hear about good trips like this.

The pic of you two with that elk says it all...Congrats all the way around!

Congratulations to all involved. Sounds like a memorable hunt.

That's awesome, congrats!