Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Rowdy tags a good one...some fun in Idaho.

Like most of you, I enjoy about any form of fishing and hunting. Since my childhood though, elk-hunting has always been THE pursuit I most cared about. I've had the good fortune of growing up in Idaho and have taken more than my fair share of good bulls over the years.

As great as all of those hunts have been, hunting with my kids out has elevated the entire experience to a whole new level for me. My son (Rowdy) turned 14 this summer, and by the grace of God is as elk-crazed as I am. He has worked hard, and was rewarded with a cow elk each of the last two seasons. Both of those hunts were magical, dad-moments that I will cherish to my dying day. As special as both of those hunts were, this fall beats both of those hunts by a pretty fair margin.

He had a bull tag that started October 15th, and I started scouting/bow-hunting in September. Here is a picture with my 9 yo daughter Gracie (Rowdy's sister) during Labor Day weekend. We didn't get on any elk that particular evening, but it sure did my heart good that she wanted to be out with her old, fat dad chasing critters. She found part of an old vertebrate up on the mountain, and was so excited you'd have thought she won the lottery. It's funny the things kids latch onto sometimes.




While I didn't end up tagging anything in September, it was still a great month. My best bud and #1 hunting partner from Junior High through college flew in for a week of chasing elk. It was all the more special, because it was almost exactly a year ago he was diagnosed with throat cancer. It was a terrifying few months as he endured surgery and awaited the clean bill of health. He was finally cleared late this summer, and joined me here in Idaho. He's taken some good elk over the years, but this was his first with a bow. It wasn't a "trophy" by any means, but it felt like it and sure was a great moment shared between life-long friends/hunting buddies. We whooped and hollered like we did when we were kids when we found his spike a couple of hundred yards from where he arrowed it.



That hunt also allowed me to get a lot of quality scouting in for Rowdy's hunt. The weather was pretty rough that first weekend of hunting, and my wife (and Rowdy's mama) was worried about her "baby". She was texting me wildly the first day to ensure her "baby" was doing okay. I sent her the following photo and told her I thought he'd pull through...



While that particular photo doesn't reflect it, we actually hunted our azzes off. In fact, I was hunting as hard as I have ever hunted. I was proud of the boy as he stayed with me step-for-step and never once complained. We were seeing elk, but they were always on the move, or we'd run out of daylight on a chase...or SOMETHING. It just felt like every time I needed to zig, I zagged instead.

One evening we dropped about 1,500 vertical feet in pursuit of a great bull, only to have the lead cow wind us on the changing thermals about 5 seconds before the bull gave him a shot. It was a VERY long, dark, and cold hike out of that canyon and I silently pouted the during the whole climb. Rowdy re-framed the entire hunt for me when we got to the top and he cheerily said, "Well, you can't say it didn't happen for a lack of trying. That was really exciting". I instantly went from feeling depressed about the missed opportunity, to grateful to have such a great kid and hunting partner.

With time running out, I pulled him out of school this past Wednesday/Thursday (Friday was a no-school day already). We raced up to the hills Tuesday as soon as he got home from his last class, and hastily set up our camp. The following morning (Wednesday), we humped our way back to the area we had seen the most elk and began glassing. We didn't see anything in the canyon I expected to, so moseyed a few hundred yards and peered into another spot I had previously spotted a good bull. Much to my surprise, I found myself staring at three great bulls all within range, and all seemingly unaware of our presence.

I quickly threw down the pack as Rowdy went prone and found them in the scope. All three were mature bulls, but one was clearly the biggest of the three. He wasn't clear of brush enough for a shot, but was feeding his way and it was clear the thermals wouldn't betray us. I even had time to pull out my phone and take a picture just before he touched on off. Here he is behind the Tikka 7 mag. The bull was at 410 exactly.



I'll never say that's an "easy" shot for anyone, but he's practiced a good bit to much further distances and I was confident he could make the shot. He confirmed that he had a good sight-picture and I told him to let one go. At the shot, the bull turned slightly and just stood there. I thought he was hit good, but never let one stand unmolested for very long. Rowdy cycled another in and sent the second shot on the way. At the crack of the rifle, I saw hooves pointed skyward almost immediately. We waited a bit as the other two bulls rather casually walked away. We made our way down for a better look. Neither of us was disappointed at what we found.





After more than a few hugs, we set about to quartering the bull and getting ready for the long pack out. Packing elk is never easy, but at least this time we had some trails nearby that made the work more bearable than usual. I'm getting a bit old for this business, but I'm happy to report that I can still get it done. This afternoon, my meat-cutter confirmed for me what I already knew, which was that the last load of a hind-quarter and the head was over 100lbs. I don't know how many more years of this I have left in me, but I'll do it for as long as my body holds out.

After a whiskey and a good night's rest, we broke camp this morning for the return trip home. At 14yo, it's damn near impossible to get him to smile for a photo because he's in the phase of always trying to look "tough", but I made him laugh long enough to snap this photo. It's not the best picture, but it sure does my heart good to see him smile like that.



This season has reminded me what a truly blessed man I am. I'm just wise enough to know it even. I hope you (and yours) feel just as blessed, and enjoy your fall as much as I have enjoyed mine.

Dave

What a bull, and a great story too. Congrats to both of you!

Congrats to you both. Fantastic!

CONGRATULATIONS!

Great story, thanks for including us. You are a lucky man!

That bull is a whopper. Congrats to your family.

Great job passing on traditions.

I haven't enjoyed a story much more than this one. I absolutely love father/kid/family hunts. Thanks for the fantastic story and pics, and congrats to you and Rowdy.

Congratulations to the young man on a great bull and hats off to you for helping to make it happen...memories that will last a lifetime! Thanks for sharing the pictures and story and best wishes to all of you for many more memorable hunts together.

Great bull and great story! Be very proud!

Congrats to you guys - that's a super bull and a really great post!! Well done & good deal on getting your kids out there for these adventures!!

Great job you and your wife have done with your son!
Great Hunting write up!
Now tell me about the 7 mag he used?
Scope?
Reticle?
Load?
How does he handle the recoil?
AMRA

Awesome!

It just doesn't get any better than that.........congrat's

great story and pictures thanks for sharing.

Thanks for sharing your great hunt. Super photos and story, huge congrats to the both of you-well done!

Congrats! Slammer bull!

Blessed you are, and in many ways. Cool thread...

Great hunt, thanks for sharing.

That is awesome, big congrats to you and your son!!!

It don't get any better than that. Make sure to get permanent pictures made.