Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Idaho Muzzleloader Elk Hunt

You can imagine my surprise when I saw the draw result that I was successful in drawing my second choice hunt, a either sex late season muzzleloader tag behind my Grandparents old ranch in SE Idaho. I've hunted there since I was little, so while the unit isn't known for trophy size elk, the opportunity to hunt old stomping grounds was enough to build my excitement for the hunt.

I had fun setting up my muzzleloader, so I thought I'd share the process with you. My previous experience with muzzleloaders was much different. A few years ago I built a CVA Paramount .45cal. I put a Nightforce on it, and with 105gr by weight of Blackhorn 209 behind a 285gr powerbelt ELR I was ringing steel out to 1000 yards with it. Drawing this Idaho tag, I knew it was going to be a much different experience, considering everything about my paramount was illegal in Idaho, including the .45cal for elk.



After some research, I opted to go with a .50cal CVA Accura MR-X northwest edition. Being limited to lead, I decided to go with a 460gr No Excuse bullet. While I wish I could have used my stash of Blackhorn 209, I read mixed reviews on the reliability of a musket cap igniting 209 powder, so I went with Triple 7 FFG and RWS 1081 Musket Caps. The sights that the muzzleloader shipped with probably would have sufficed, but after reading about the Williams FP adjustable peep I had to give it a try. Williams was fast in getting me the front globe sight and FP peep. I decided to shim to get a little more elevation out of the sight and off to the range I went. I realized right away that this was not going to be an easy feat.



I had a hard time seeing my 1 inch orange sticker at 100 yards through the peep to get it sighted in, much more difficult than the 15x the Nightforce offered me. After some trial and error, I was grouping around 1.5" with 100gr by volume of T7 at 100 yards. More trial and error later, and I had my Williams FP "doped out" to 400 yards. It was time to hunt.



I reached out to a couple landowners that I had to opportunity to meet while Grandpa was around. He was a great Grandpa and a great neighbor as well, evidenced by the landowners giving me the opportunity to access not only the mountain, but their property as well. A few weeks before the hunt it was bad news. The elk were nowhere to be found. We decided to make the trip regardless and took grandma to the ranch house for the thanksgiving weekend. I found a good glassing spot at the end of a lane where fields start and make their way to the mountain we love to hunt. After about and hour of glassing at sunrise, I found what we were after. A decent 6x6 halfway up a steep canyon rightfully known as "deep canyon".



To be continued...

Continued...

After spotting the bull and having some relief that there was at least one elk that I could pursue, I returned to the house and reported my findings to my tenured hunting partner who many of you probably know from his writings, my dad (GTC22). We opted to hold off on hunting him that morning with a nasty afternoon storm that was headed our way. The storm came and hung around for the rest of the evening, obscuring the mountain with storm clouds preventing us from glassing. The following morning we went to our glassing spot and tried our luck at finding the deep canyon bull again. We were welcomed by a blanket of snow, and now it was starting to feel like a late season hunt. After awhile of watching a couple moose and a coyote pair work the snow painted fields in front of us, we decided to head a mile south to get a different angle of the canyon to see if we could turn up the bull.



There he is, one ridge deeper into the canyon in a little bowl of the steep hillside. "There is another one with him!" my dad exclaimed. Sure enough another bull emerged into the bowl and met with the other one as they disappeared into the pines. My dad, who also has hunted this mountain for years, came up with a plan to get on the bulls. We decided to get on the very top of the canyon and come down on top of them that afternoon, taking advantage of the uphill thermals.

We cut trail in the snow with the side by side and made it up the rough rocky road until arriving at the top of the canyon. We navigated our way down, being careful to keep the wind favorable and made our way down to the bowl. As we approached the bowl we looked down and could see the lane where we glassed from, and in the field right in front of where we were was a hundred head of elk. We couldn't believe our eyes and we weren't sure whether to be happy we found some elk or pissed that we hiked our butts off in a foot of snow only to find the elk a mere three hundred yards from where we were glassing that morning.



We sat where we saw the bulls that morning and got on their tracks but were unable to locate the two bulls. We decided we would have better odds going after the big herd, and the packout would be much nicer than the nasty canyon we were in. The bowl the bulls were in was closer to the bottom of the canyon, so my dad opted to hike down the remaining distance to the canyon floor and I was "volunteered" to hike back up the canyon to the side by side and pick him up at the bottom of the canyon. I made quick work going up the steep canyon knowing that if I wanted a chance at the elk I would need to hustle. Somehow I beat my dad to the bottom of the canyon by 10 or so minutes and was able to watch a very nice bull moose he bumped into on the way down.

We hustled back to the ranch and made it to our glassing point at the end of the lane. The elk were no longer in the field but I located them in on a sage hill just past the field. It was afternoon now and an evening storm was on the radar. We quickly cut the distance on the elk and popped over the hill away from them and ranged them at 350 yards. While this would normally be the end of the hunt in any other circumstances, I knew I needed to cut the distance for my open sighted muzzleloader.

With the elk in sight, we army crawled in the sage brush until we were completely out of cover. I sat up and got a nice rest on a stiff branch of sage. Most of the elk were bedded but a few were up milling around in the snow. There was a decent 6 point with some broken tines from the rut. We ranged him at 288 yards. I dialed my sight to just shy of 300 yards. We felt the wind hit our neck and watched as the cows put their nose in the air and began to stand in their beds. The bull remained bedded but I knew he would soon stand. I cocked the hammer on the CVA and steadied my nerves and breathing as the bull began to stand. He stood and and changed directions 180 degrees, but broadside. "There's your shot" my dad whispered as he has done a dozen times before. I was surprised how much of the front fiber optic in my globe sight covered on the elks body and had a difficult time picking my spot. I followed the dark color of his neck to the shoulder and brought it just behind the shoulder and began squeezing the trigger. BOOM!

We were covered in smoke and tried to make out the elk with our binoculars. After a few seconds we could see and they were bunched up and starting to make their way out of the danger zone, the bull following them seemingly uninjured. Crap I muttered. We watched as the whole sage hillside began to move as the giant herd of elk made their way over the hill. I didn't hear the report of the bullet and accepted the fate that I had missed. We decided I better walk to his bed to make sure. I got in his bed and followed his tracks and my fear was confirmed. I had missed.



Bummed out, the storm rolled in and we were soon met with snow as we made our way back to the truck. Trying to remain positive for the future of the hunt we kept telling ourselves that the elk didn't seem super spooked so hopefully they would be around the next morning.

To be continued...

Well written.

I like no excuse bullets.

But I have better luck with FFFG @ 75 grains.

Look forward to your next chapter!

Continued...

The next morning we were at our faithful glassing point and quickly located the herd again. They had moved just one ridge to the south and had split into two herds. We watched them for awhile and developed a plan to get on top of a more isolated group of elk that would give us a better chance at not being seen. While waiting for them to bed we killed the time watching the same coyote pair from the previous morning.

Once the elk were tucked in we made our way down the lane and ran into a truck with a spotting scope out. We stopped and chatted, we asked if they had seen any elk and they told us they had not. We told them where we had seen the elk and offered to get their scope on the herd. When we looked through the scope they were already on the herd and they sheepishly admitted that they were watching the elk as well and were devising a plan to get on them. We told them the plan we had devised and encouraged them to go give it a try because I had a chance at the herd the night before. Besides, it is pheasant season and we finally had a nice morning and afternoon to find some birds.

We parted ways and headed back to the ranch and called up our good friend with some of the best bird dogs I have seen. His three German Shorthair Pointers make quite a show as they work together to get us on the birds. During the walk, two of the dogs were pointing a bird and the other one circled around and flushed it up right to us. Our friend laughingly said that he taught them to do that. I wouldn't be surprised if he was serious.



Once we missed more birds than we hit, we decided to head back to the glassing point just to see where the elk went after the other hunters pushed them. The sun was about to set on our last day and it was supposed to be just a relaxing sit. That idea changed quickly when I found the elk about where I had missed them the first time. I was already out of the truck when my dad said he would stay behind and glass from the truck to not slow me down.

I got about halfway to the hill when I looked to the north I could start to see some elk making their way into the field. I knew I wanted to be closer than 200 yards after my miss, so I backed down and around and got the wind in my face and slowly made my way up the edge of the field until I could see the elk again. I then army crawled through the snow until I was 200 yards away from the herd.



I was out of cover and they were starting to appear one by one into the field right to left. Cows were followed by more cows as they funneled into my view until there was around a dozen of them in the field. Flat on my belly in no cover I looked over the herd, determining which elk to shoot. I decided on the cow I wanted and cocked my hammer. Some of the cows started to sense my presence and I knew my cover was blown. I centered my peep to the globe and could now easily pick my spot with the green pin. I put it behind her shoulder and slowly squeezed.

BOOM! CRACK! The shot broke and I was once again entrapped in smoke. As it cleared I saw the group of cows run over the rise and out of sight. Man that sounded good but none of the cows seemed hit, I thought to myself. I called my dad who had a front row (heated) seat in the truck. He answered the phone saying," that's a hit, reload", an inside joke from my nephews AK bear hunt earlier in the year (you can find it in GTC22 posts). Per my dads report, once the herd went over the rise and just before they left the field, the rear cows legs gave out and she tipped over. Though I never saw them, the herd had a couple good bulls that hadn't quite fed out into my view before I shot. Though disappointed I didn't get the bull I was after, the cow will eat better anyways!

The 460 grain No Excuse bullet hammered her three inches behind the shoulder and a little higher than I had held with my peep dialed to 200 yards. She ended up at 180 yards when I shot. It destroyed both lungs and exited further back as she was quartering to me. It made quick work of her and she was dead 60 yards from where she was shot.

I got up to her and was taken aback by her size. I've killed a handful of elk in the past, but I'm always surprised at how big they are. I called the landowner and thanked him for allowing me to hunt his property. I asked if it would be alright if we drove the side by side along the edge of the frozen field to the elk and he gave us the green light. We drug her to the road and strenuously got her into the bed of the truck.





The next morning we got all loaded up and headed back to home base. A good buddy of mine offered to let us hang her at his place. We got her skinned that night and cut up the next day. That evening we cut roasts and made burger that will feed our family for a good while.





Thanks for following along!

Nice write up on your hunt. No Excuses bullets have worked very well for me on elk here in Idaho.

Regards,
Manny

Very cool - congrats!

Love the NE 460’s in my T/C Hawken. Also use NE in my T/C 54’s. Great bullets.

congrats, nice tag along hunt with y'all

Great story. Thanks for sharing.

Enjoyed being allowed to tag along !

Congrats on a freezer full of fine eating.

Thanks for taking us along, and a well told story.

Great story telling and a great hunt! Congrats!

Awesome hunt!

Todd

Awesomeness!

That’s a big looking cow.

I set my muzzel loader deal up for a six o’clock hold at 100 …I don’t try much over 200. Been thinking about stretching the zero to 150 but haven’t gone there. I just don’t care for the inconsistency inherent to muzzel loading.

Well done.

Congrats on a great hunt. Nicely done. Story, hunt, and pics.

Enjoyed your story and pics! Nice being able to hunt near some old stomping grounds. And, with your Dad......Congrats! Well done!

Thanks for sharing !!!

Congratulations.

Great story, congratulations.