The night time couldn’t get a lot darker. I held my hand a couple of inches in entrance of my face, however couldn’t see it. Wanting as much as the sky, I noticed nothing — no stars, no blurred photos of the timber that have been round me — besides full, overwhelming blackness.
I jammed my previous Stetson exhausting over my head to guard my eyes from tree branches, burrowed my chin in to my chest, rested my fingers on the saddle horn, and closed my eyes. There was nothing else to do. My horse was in whole command.
As I rode, I marveled on the skill of the beast beneath me to see within the whole darkness. Skeeter stepped over logs. waded throughout creeks, and pivoted about right here and there to maneuver by timber. In locations. he fastidiously labored his manner alongside slim trails etched impossibly into steep mountain slopes.
“You continue to there?” a voice requested from someplace forward of me.
“Solely in physique,” I answered. “I don’t find out about my soul.”
Ken Smith laughed heartily, simply as an invisible department slapped me throughout the face and knocked my hat to the bottom. I stubborn, dismounted. turned on my small flashlight, and seemed for the hat. My horse was standing on it.
This was the fourth day of my elk hunt with Ken, an Idaho clothes shop. We have been deep within the Selway Wilderness, about 30 miles from the closest trailhead, and one other 30 miles to civilization. I hoped to tag an enormous bull and was ready for something.
I used to be captivated with Idaho’s Selway area. The realm had been good to me prior to now, and l hoped for a repeat efficiency. In 1983, I took a positive six-point Selway bull with Bruce Scott, an clothes shop from Florence, Montana. l killed the bull simply 25 air-miles from the place I used to be looking with Ken.
Recent elk signal was all over the place. It was unimaginable to trip very far and never see elk tracks made the night time earlier than, even inside a couple of hundred yards of camp.
Throughout the hunt with Bruce, I noticed astounding rubs on timber. I stood subsequent to a number of of these rubbed timber and reached up with my rifle, simply barely capable of contact the tops of the rubs with the muzzle. There was no query about big bulls present within the Selway, and I promised myself I’d come again.
After I first contacted Ken Smith (4239 Outdated Ahsahka Grade, Ahsahka, ID 83520. 208-476-7148), he was optimistic a couple of 1984 Selway hunt however, like all respected outfitters, he couldn’t make any guarantees. The hunt he outlined was distinctive. We’d glass extensively from excessive ridges and if we noticed bull, we’d stalk in shut for a shot. Glassing was the one technique we’d use, and Ken instructed me to arrange myself for terribly lengthy durations of sitting with out shifting.
“We’re by no means in a rush to go away camp,” Ken defined earlier than the hunt. “We’ll rise up about 6:30, eat breakfast, and trip out about 9 within the morning. Nothing a lot occurs till 2 or 3 within the afternoon. as a result of elk don’t begin shifting till then.”
Ken would get no argument from me in regards to the each day itinerary. On most elk hunts. I used to be used to awakening at 3 or 4 a. m. and climbing right into a frosty saddle effectively earlier than dawn. ·
“This gained’t be a straightforward hunt,” Ken instructed me. as if he was studying my thoughts. “If we spot an enormous bull, he’s apt to be a mile or extra away, and we gained’t have a lot daylight to get to him. We’ll be driving exhausting and working exhausting, and a variety of the working will probably be uphill. You’ll know you’ve been on an elk hunt while you get again to camp.”
The hunt was deliberate for mid-November with a view to coincide with the elk migration from excessive nation to winter vary. If the climate cooperated. Ken figured we’d be wanting over loads of elk of their winter areas.
In response to Ken, the area was so distant and undisturbed that elk didn’t stay bedded within the timber so long as common. However he stated the final hour of daylight was the easiest.
I had a chook’s-eye view of the Selway on the best way to Ken’s camp, previous to the hunt. A flight in a Cessna airplane acquired me to his base camp within the wilderness, and from there we rode 12 miles on horeseback to his increased camp. For the reason that grime touchdown strip had been in place lengthy earlier than the Selway was declared an official wilderness space, Forest Service officers allowed it to stay. It is likely one of the few wilderness space airstrips and is used to accommodate recreationists equivalent to hunters and fishermen, in addition to forest officers.
It was fascinating to notice the transition from snow to reveal floor from aloft. The camp we’d be staying in had a foot of snow, however Ken had a spike camp, a lot increased, that was coated with six ft of snow. By the point I arrived, Ken had dismantled the excessive camp and wouldn’t hunt from it once more till the next season. Apart from some straggler moose, most large recreation had moved into decrease nation.
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Every day, we rode from camp down into canyons that have been void of snow. An abundance of grass attracted elk, and the remoteness of the area allowed them to graze undisturbed. Not like some wilderness areas l was accustomed to, this area was not blanketed with a carpet of thick evergreen timber from one horizon to the opposite. The timber was damaged by expansive areas of alders and different brushy vegetation, and open meadows have been widespread.
Recent elk signal was all over the place. It was unimaginable to trip very far and never see elk tracks made the night time earlier than, even inside a couple of hundred yards of camp. I simply understood why the Selway harbored big bulls.
The hunt had been uneventful for the primary three days. I noticed elk, however nothing me. Small bulls that might have been welcome on different hunts acquired simply informal curiosity.
We have been about to eat lunch at midday the fourth day when Ken noticed elk simply beneath the ridge we have been on. I used to be tying up the horse when he routinely seemed over the cop and noticed the animals. He motioned for me 10 hurry over with my rifle. so I jerked the .30/06 out of the scabbard and rushed over to the place he was kneeling.
Three dozen elk have been inside 80 yards of us. Some have been bedded, however others have been standing. nibbling calmly on the yellow grass. I eased right down to a susceptible place, rested my rifle on my jacket, and seemed the elk over with binoculars.
We glassed intently for 10 minutes, however couldn’t see a bull. A giant cow acquired to her ft and began grazing. strolling slowly as she fed. Different elk adopted lazily. and shortly all the herd was shifting slowly.
Ken noticed the bull first, and tapped me on the shoulder. l took take a look at the bull, centered the crosshairs on his chest. and snugged the Winchester tight to my shoulder. The bull wasn’t the large that I had hoped for, however he was respectable. I wasn’t certain what to do.
“What are the possibilities of seeing an even bigger bull?” I requested.
“Fifty-fifty,” Ken replied.
Though I used to be trophy looking. one issue inspired me to contemplate this bull. When Ken isn’t elk looking, he guides steelhead fishermen on the Clearwater River close to Orofino, and we deliberate on combining a fishing journey with the elk hunt.
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If I killed an elk, we’d go away camp instantly and fish for enormous 20-pound-plus steelhead beneath Dworshak Dam. I had been eager to make the journey with Ken for a number of years, and this was my alternative. l couldn’t fish after the hunt. as a result of Thanksgiving was quick approaching. If I wished to fish with Ken, I needed to kill this bull or strive for an even bigger one which afternoon.
Visions of huge steelhead flashed in my thoughts as l weighed the choices. l snicked off the protection, drew a deep breath. and put my finger on the set off.
“Suppose we are able to discover that large bull your hunter missed final week?’” I whispered to Ken. l was grabbing for excuses, and I hoped Ken would assist me decide.
““Perhaps,” was his easy reply. “We nonetheless have three days to hunt after at present.”
“Adequate for me,” I stated. I flipped the protection again and pushed the rifle away from my face.
“Whew,” Ken breathed. “I used to be ready for fireplace to roar out of your rifle. What modified your thoughts?”
“Let’s discover the large bull,” l stated. “We will fish one other time.”
Ken grinned. “I hoped you’d determine it that manner,” he stated. “however I didn’t need to sway your resolution. If we hunt exhausting, we would simply discover that large bull.”
The bull we referred to was noticed by Ken on the hunt previous to mine. His hunter had missed the bull a number of occasions, and it hadn’t been seen once more. Ken had gotten a fast take a look at the elk because it ran by brush, and thought it had seven factors on not less than one facet.
We eased away from the elk and allowed them to graze undisturbed. Ken retrieved our lunches from saddlebags and we leaned towards timber. munching on chilly fried rooster and scrumptious selfmade cookies.
We have been chatting in between bites, when Ken instantly gestured throughout the canyon. “Elk!” he stated. “A half dozen of them — popping out of the timber to feed. And so they’re in the identical space the place my hunter missed the massive bull final week.”
Immediately one other cow barked from above us and to our left, and one more barked from above us and to our proper. We have been surrounded by elk.
We glassed them. however all have been cows and calves. Because the shadows lengthened and the solar lowered, extra elk appeared. I noticed 4 totally different herds, all a half-mile away or extra, however none had good bulls.
A lone elk far up a mountain slope caught my consideration. It was in a sliver of a meadow surrounded by timber, and it had a lightweight yellow physique. I knew what which may imply. Outdated bulls usually have very light-colored pelts, and a few are nearly white.
The elk’s head was within the shadows because it fed, and I couldn’t see antlers. In addition to the poor gentle, one other issue was that the animal was greater than a mile away. I nudged Ken and pointed the elk out to him.
“That’s an enormous bull!” he stated. “A giant, large bull. l simply caught a glimpse of an antler as he turned his head.”
“Now what, boss?” I requested. “You suppose if I purpose 18 ft over his again l can hit him from right here?”
“Strive 19 ft,” Ken retorted. “We gained’t be capable to get to him this afternoon. Not sufficient gentle left, and there are too many small elk herds scattered beneath him. We would spook them and run the bull off. We’ll must strive for him tomorrow.”
We stored watching, and shortly the bull moved into the waning gentle, giving us look. His antlers have been huge, and Ken thought it was the bull we have been in search of. Regardless of. If I might get near that elk, I wouldn’t hesitate squeezing the set off.
Sleep didn’t come simple that night time. I stored pondering of the large antlers and the picture of the bull, because it stood silhouetted within the waning gentle within the distant meadow.
Ken and I rode out of camp at 8 a.m. the following day. It was a nine-mile trip to the elk. and we wished to reach there with sufficient time left to plan a technique. Ken figured the bull could be in the identical basic space. and our greatest downside could be to not spook the elk round him.
After driving for 3 hours, Ken noticed elk from atop his horse, a great distance from the place we meant to start glassing. We dismounted, checked out them by binoculars, and counted greater than 40 elk. They have been a lot too far-off for us to see antlers, and I used to be amazed that Ken noticed the animals in any respect. Most have been bedded in gentle brush, however a couple of have been feeding. The herd was on a big open face, only a quarter of a mile from the place we noticed the bull the day earlier than.
“Our bull is likely to be in with that bunch,” Ken stated. “Let’s trip as shut as we are able to and provides them look.”
We rode for greater than half a mile and tied our horses within the timber. After donning day packs, we slipped alongside a spur ridge that fell away right into a steep canyon. The elk have been throughout the canyon, not less than a mile or so away.
All I noticed was antlers, and l needed to focus exhausting to focus my consideration on the bull’s important space. The bull was scrambling up a steep slope about 300 yards away after I fired.
Ken and I had walked a couple of half mile when he gestured to take a seat. We made ourselves comfy, propped our binoculars on our knees, and glassed the elk. Instantly, we noticed three bulls, however none wore the antlers we have been in search of. We sat one other half-hour, however nonetheless couldn’t find the massive bull.
“I feel we’d higher cross the canyon now and take our probabilities,” Ken stated. “We don’t have a lot alternative. Let’s simply hope we don’t spook some unseen elk and blow the entire thing.”
We have been barely on our ft when a cow barked slightly below us. She had our quantity. Cows bark once they’re alarmed.
We froze and a cow walked out of the comb simply 100 yards away, wanting up in our route. A calf adopted, and shortly one other cow emerged. When the cow barked once more, Ken and I eased right down to the bottom and sat nonetheless. Immediately one other cow barked from above us and to our left, and one more barked from above us and to our proper. We have been surrounded by elk!
“Are you able to beat that,” I stated. “We’re trapped. I simply hope the herd throughout the canyon doesn’t hear the barking.”
“I don’t assume they may,” Ken stated. “The stream beneath us may muffle the sound.”
I hoped he was proper. The stream roared loudly, however the cows have been now barking nearly nonstop.
Lastly, a cow broke right into a run and headed for the canyon backside with the others following. I watched them uneasily, hoping that the massive bull wasn’t on our facet of the canyon with the cows. He wasn’t. Sixteen cows and calves dashed helter-skelter round us, and disappeared within the timber throughout the stream. I breathed simpler once they angled sharply away from the herd we had been watching.
The cows fouled up our schedule, so we needed to hustle. We labored our manner decrease into the canyon and, as soon as out of sight of the elk, we trotted the remainder of the best way down. Discovering a log to tightrope the stream, we crossed and entered the heavy timber.
A half-hour later, we eased as much as the sting of the timber on the ridge. The elk have been throughout from us — the closest was 250 yards away, the farthest was 600 yards.
Our binoculars confirmed nothing besides the small bulls we’d seen earlier than. Shadows have been overtaking us, and we didn’t have a lot time. Because the minutes ticked by. I used to be increasingly more satisfied that the massive bull wasn’t with the herd.
Immediately, a cow raised her head shortly and barked. I wasn’t all that sad, as a result of not less than one thing was about to occur. Up till then it was a standoff.
Ken noticed him first.
“Huge bull, large bull!” he hissed. “Developing out of the underside. It’s him!”
l dove for the bottom, rested my rifle on a low department, flipped off the protection, and located the bull within the scope. All I noticed was antlers, and l needed to focus exhausting to focus my consideration on the bull’s important space. The bull was scrambling up a steep slope about 300 yards away after I fired. I’ll always remember what occurred subsequent.
The bullet broke the bull’s again, and the big animal’s legs went out from underneath him. He hit the bottom and free-fell 10 yards off the mountainside. His physique struck the bottom and bounced once more, this time free-falling for 10 extra yards. His momentum elevated the pace of his fall, and I stood watching incredulously as he free-fell another time, 30 yards by the air. He crashed into the underside of the draw head-first, and I heard his antlers smack the rocky creek backside.
Although Ken and I hurried over as quick as we might, it took quarter-hour to work our manner throughout the extremely steep slopes.
I anticipated to see a bull with badly smashed antlers, however was delighted to search out that solely two tines had damaged close to the guidelines. The bull had seven factors on one facet and 6 on the opposite facet of the excessive. broad. and thickly-branched rack.
It was the biggest-bodied bull I’d taken in nearly 20 years of elk looking. We figured he weighed 1,100 kilos reside weight.
Our work was lower out for us. The bull fell so exhausting that he was wedged tightly underneath a number of alder roots. Ken and I needed to lower away roots and branches with a small noticed simply to place the elk for field-dressing. The chore took greater than an hour, and we struggled mightily to maneuver the bull out of the opening he’d fallen in. After three hours of labor, most of it by flashlight, we had the elk dressed.
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It was a bone-weary hike again to the horses, and the trip to camp was lengthy and exhausting. The sight of the lantern gentle that was illuminating the tents was merciful certainly.
l was asleep nearly as quickly as my bead hit the cot, however not earlier than I decided whereas I lay there. Two years within the Selway produced two dandy elk — the second greater than the primary. Suppose I went for 3? Would my luck maintain? It was an thrilling thought, however one too heavy and sophisticated for my drained mind. As I drifted off to sleep, I knew that I already had sufficient recollections to final an extended, very long time.
This story, “The Big Bull Of The Selway,” appeared within the November 1985 difficulty of Out of doors Life.
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