I had a chance to hunt in Idaho last October and had great trip with my Dad and some friends from Idaho. We definitely got the weather that we looking for on the second day there, with the snow settling in.
It snowed on and off from days 2-7, and the rut turned on pretty quickly after that. We were able to see an average of 50-100+ deer per day and a lot of elk as well. My Dad and I passed on some decent 3 points in the first few days but held out in hopes of finding a bigger one.
My buddy Brian was able to find one of those deer on the 26th, and made a great shot to bring him down. This buck ended up being a heavy, chocolate horned 4x4 with a 25" symmetrical spread. Definitely what we had come here for. As the days wore on we were unable to locate another quality buck and kept passing on some smaller ones.................
Now we fast forward to the end of the hunt with a little back story....
I had made a deal with my four year old daughter to shoot her a buck named "Rex" before I left. I am not sure where that name came from with her, but a deal is a deal right?
Well, the buck I shot was dubbed Rex the evening before the last day we could hunt. He showed up below me at 250 yards and stayed there for an hour messing around with some doe's. I said to myself that if I saw this buck on the last day I would take him if given the chance.
The Last morning finds me hiking up a steep ridge to get up into a nice bowl that had been holding some decent bucks. Right at daylight, I spotted a single deer feeding out in the open.......... it was Rex of course. First deer I saw that day, what are the chances? Well, after a short stalk and a 365 yard shot Rex was posing for pictures with the good luck charms from the kids. I boned him out and put him in the pack to get back to the bike. Ended up with 61 pounds of meat and a great story for Taylor when she gets older. It was a great hunt and I can't wait to get back next year and find Rex's Grandpa.
It snowed on and off from days 2-7, and the rut turned on pretty quickly after that. We were able to see an average of 50-100+ deer per day and a lot of elk as well. My Dad and I passed on some decent 3 points in the first few days but held out in hopes of finding a bigger one.
My buddy Brian was able to find one of those deer on the 26th, and made a great shot to bring him down. This buck ended up being a heavy, chocolate horned 4x4 with a 25" symmetrical spread. Definitely what we had come here for. As the days wore on we were unable to locate another quality buck and kept passing on some smaller ones.................
Now we fast forward to the end of the hunt with a little back story....
I had made a deal with my four year old daughter to shoot her a buck named "Rex" before I left. I am not sure where that name came from with her, but a deal is a deal right?
Well, the buck I shot was dubbed Rex the evening before the last day we could hunt. He showed up below me at 250 yards and stayed there for an hour messing around with some doe's. I said to myself that if I saw this buck on the last day I would take him if given the chance.
The Last morning finds me hiking up a steep ridge to get up into a nice bowl that had been holding some decent bucks. Right at daylight, I spotted a single deer feeding out in the open.......... it was Rex of course. First deer I saw that day, what are the chances? Well, after a short stalk and a 365 yard shot Rex was posing for pictures with the good luck charms from the kids. I boned him out and put him in the pack to get back to the bike. Ended up with 61 pounds of meat and a great story for Taylor when she gets older. It was a great hunt and I can't wait to get back next year and find Rex's Grandpa.
