Spent a week in Idaho chasing mulies - Long Range Hunting

ss7mm · #1 10-21-2006, 04:53 PM

Just got back from a week in Idaho chasing mulies and the trip was fantastic. We saw just about every big game animal Idaho has to offer except for bear, and had an amazing time with a lot of good friends. Had a young hunter take his first deer and had some old hunters take some additional deer. It just doesn't get much better than that. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

We heard rumors about some guy with a beard and one of them new fangled Allen Magnums roaming around in a dark colored truck that was killing critters all over the west but we never ran into him even though I think we might have been in the same town at the same time as he was.

We camped at 5500' and had deer in a field right next to camp every morning and every evening. Some days they were in the field all day long. Usually from 5-50 head at any given time so we had a lot of time to play with the spotting scope and cameras.

This is the field and some of the resident pets.

This is a view from the campsite/deer field up towards the higher country that tops out at about 9500'.

This is a view of the lower end of one of the drainages we got to hunt in.

This is a picture of a mulie that was on the receiving end of a 160 grain Accubond from the ol 7mm AM.

Another shot of same unfortunate buck. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] Range was nothing fantastic. Right around 485 yards.

This is the entrance hole.

This is the exit hole.

Since I also had a second tag, I took a "sausage" buck on the last day at a much shorter range of 176 yards.
This is the entrance hole.

This is the exit hole.

This is the exit hole with the hide still on.

This is another view of the country. This shot is from around 7000' looking up to about 9500'.

tsmiller4 · #2 10-21-2006, 05:08 PM

Beautiful country, Congrats on a fine hunt!

Mountainsheep · #3 10-21-2006, 05:13 PM

Congrats on your hunt. Thanks for the great pics.

TMR · #4 10-21-2006, 06:32 PM

Great Job SS7MM....I spent some time last weekend in your neck of the woods, saw a ton of elk and bighorns, but only one deer. Oh, tried for awhile to get a shot at a big chocolate bear, but he wouldn't hold still long enough to get setup. He was up the canyon a ways from the feeding station.

Jimm · #5 10-21-2006, 07:22 PM

Daaaannnnggg !!

All right Dick !! What great fun you guys had !.

Very nice mulie you took as well , and 500 yds is not a short shot either .

I do question your judgement however , hanging out in territory known to be inhabited by " Buffalobobs" is risky behaviour [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Anyways , congrats on a fine hunt , and I'm gtlad to see those paws working so well , Jim B.

ss7mm · #6 10-21-2006, 08:33 PM

There's a lot more bears around here than people realize. That was proven to me when I went on a hunt with hounds with a guy that had the best dogs in this country and he showed me how much sign the bears really leave. This was back when hound hunting was a doable thing each season for anyone. Spending a few days with a top notch hound man and some "million dollar" dogs and you would be amazed at what is really out there.

Sounds like Oak creek area to me and yup, there's bear up there too.

The bighorns around here are easily viewable if you have good glass just about any time of the year.

ss7mm · #7 10-21-2006, 08:41 PM

Jim:

The worst day hunting is better than the best day working, and we proved that for sure. We had some of the best days hunting that a guy could possibly have and work never even got mentioned. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

That "Buffalobob" legend is, I think, just that, a legend. I spent some time in and around Salmon and a few other towns and asked the locals about the eastern legend but they think it's just like Sasquatch and Bigfoot, just a legend.

Although I tended to believe them I still kept the door locked at night and stayed out of the thick timber and dark canyons.

Getting both of the old "paws" carved on was the best thing I ever did. Tugged on two deer uphill for a combined 1 - 1 1/2 miles and never even had a hint of a problem.