Day 5

Day 5 – Wednesday September 16, 2009

Yesterday was unbelievable. I was exhausted last night and definitely feeling the effects of the hikes and packs. I’m still not 100%, but there is nothing like a little bit of “big elk medicine” to get a guy feeling better! We slept in an extra 20-30 minutes this morning. With 3 more full days of hunting and everyone tagged out, I felt like a little extra rest might be an OK thing. I put my bow in the truck and made sure my leftover non-resident elk tag was in my pack and rolled out of camp as daylight hit the mountains behind us. We drove to the end of the road where we had shot the two bulls yesterday morning, hoping that another bull had moved in to herd up the cows.

 As we hiked up the trail to the first meadow, my cow call elicited an immediate response from a very agitated bull not 200 yards away. I looked at Donnie and Dave, trying to contain my smile, and said “Let’s go!” We made it another 70 yards when the bull screamed at us again, this time less than 100 yards away. I bugled back, then ran 5-10 yards to where I had a better view. Donnie fired up the video camera as I dropped my bugle tube and ranged a tree just ahead of me. I could see the bull standing 60-70 yards in front of us, and didn’t figure we had any chance of pulling him away from his cows and over into the timber on our side of the opening. I was wrong.

I cow called once and he was on his way. I came to full draw as he walked past the tree I had just ranged. He stopped, quartering to us, but my pin was already on his vitals and it was too late. The bull whirled at the shot, but I watched as the arrow buried into his chest and knew the outcome of this one was going be in our favor. The bull ran 40 yards and stopped for 4-5 seconds, then piled up right there in front of us. 10 days of frustration, worry, excitement, sickness, you name it, came pouring out in a rush of adrenaline. If we were in an end zone we would have been flagged for excessive celebration. It was absolutely unbelievable. I had shot my bull less than 100 yards from where Donnie had shot his just 24 hours earlier. 3 big herd bulls, all shot within 200 yards of each other, 24 hours apart. I couldn’t have dreamed a better script.

 Watch video of Corey’s second bull below.

Corey's 2nd Idaho Bull

The Elk101.com Team with their 3rd bull in 24 hours!

What an amazing morning. What an amazing week. We got my bull quartered and packed out and were back to the truck by noon. I lost count of how many times we looked at each other in complete disbelief this morning. Shooting 4 elk in 5 days of hunting, all on public land, do-it-yourself, with over-the-counter archery elk tags in Idaho is something I never thought would happen. Sharing it with great friends like Donnie and Dave is something I would never trade. I owe them a lot of credit for this hunt. Without their constant encouragement and patience I would have never been able to do what we did. Between Dave’s race car driving to the ER, Donnie giving up a week of elk hunting to make sure his hunting partner was going to be OK, both Donnie and Dave watching our 3 children so my wife could be in the ER with me…friends like this don’t come along every day.

 I’ll never forget this season. It seems like I keep saying that year after year and so far I haven’t forgotten a single one. However, a season like this one is a great reminder of what’s truly important. Elk hunting is awesome, don’t get me wrong. But at the end of the day, there is nothing as important as your family and friends. Being able to share something like this amazing elk hunt with them is just icing on the cake.

 I got a phone call while we were dropping off the elk meat at the butcher that our little 3 year old niece, Meg, was being life-flighted to Seattle with an unknown illness. I’ll be heading home tonight and Donnie and Dave will be staying up for a couple more days to relax and see if they can get some more footage of bugling bulls! Check back tomorrow for a recap on our 2009 Elk Hunting Season!