Join us for this once in a lifetime elk hunt with Colton and Ivak Copper where both father and son filled their tags in one of the most sought after units in Idaho. Awesome job gentlemen!! Thanks for taking us along for the ride.
Shout out to @fowlfanatic_72 and @of_the_field.
Watch the video here or read the script below.
Colton Cooper:
I’m Colton Cooper. I put in for this elk tag with my dad this season. For the first time we got drawn, so here we are, up here in the woods, trying to make it happen. It’s not been going the way I expected it to, so far, but things are looking up. It’s getting colder. The ruts starting to take off, so we’ll see if we can make it happen today, maybe tomorrow. We got a whole another week ahead of us, so we’ll get her done. Bulls are starting to bugle pretty good, so we’ll get back with a good update here, soon. Hopefully, a bull on the ground.
Tanner Hardy:
I’m Tanner Hardy, one of Colton’s best friends. When he told me he drew this tag, I was pretty fired up. I’ve been up here… As long as I can remember, my dad’s been bringing me up here. I’ve spent tons of my life running around seeing these elk and deer up here. Never been fortunate enough to draw a tag like this guy, but it’s good enough just being the caller and hanging back and getting to experience everything we’ve seen this far. So, we’re excited to see where it takes us. Got a few more good days. The rut’s just turning on, so I think we’ll get her done in the next couple of days.
Colton Cooper:
Yes, sir.
Tanner Hardy:
Straight up.Sounds like he’s coming down. I think so.
Colton Cooper:
I kind of want to move out there. I’m scared I won’t have a shot when it comes by us. Here with the ration. I got him, I hit him. I don’t know for sure how big he was, but I’m shaking like crazy. I got Tanner back here about 50 yards and this is the closest bull we could get to and so Tanner’s calling and brought that bull on the string right past me. I took it for the first shot, he was probably about 30 or 40 yards and I used my 50 yard pin and shot right over his back. He went right around, stopped again, presented a perfect shot at about 30 yards. It looks like I drilled him right in the vitals. Shaking like crazy.
Tanner Hardy:
He’s dead right now.
Matt Carey:
Attaboy.
Tanner Hardy:
Man. Nice job.
Colton Cooper:
Little shaking there. Holy cow.
Ivak Cooper:
Thanks for letting me be a part of that.
Colton Cooper:
Yeah, I can’t find-
Tanner Hardy:
He came right down.
Colton Cooper:
Yeah, I see six on one side I think, but I don’t know how big it is. I never got a good clear of it.
Tanner Hardy:
I was just like…
Colton Cooper:
“This one’s dying.”
Tanner Hardy:
Couldn’t pass it up.
Colton Cooper:
Yeah. When it came in like that, it’s like what are you going to do? That was perfect.
Tanner Hardy:
Literally I call, I hear him bugle, clouds come over and it starts raining and in my head I was like, “That bull just died,” and then not two minutes later I hear him crashing and I start calling again and calling and he came back and you shot one more time.
Colton Cooper:
Yeah.
Tanner Hardy:
Then he took off and then he came right through here.
Matt Carey:
I was videoing him when he was bugling. I have a video of him coming through here. You were a little bit far back, but perfect double lung, still.
Colton Cooper:
He went like 30 yards.
Matt Carey:
Yeah, it was a double one.
Colton Cooper:
He didn’t go far with the double one.
Ivak Cooper:
So he’s just laying there.
Tanner Hardy:
He’s right up in there somewhere.
Colton Cooper:
I just went to where my second arrow was and I saw him.
Matt Carey
I saw him right across there.
Tanner Hardy:
He’ll be like, right over here, right behind that tree.
Colton Cooper:
Well, let’s go look at this sucker.
Tanner Hardy:
Oh man, he’s nice.
Colton Cooper:
The first time I shot, he was up there. I was back in there, came around right here and I mewed again just with my mouth and he stopped right here.
Tanner Hardy:
There you go.
Colton Cooper:
And put the, I think I used the 30 yard pin. I don’t see my arrow yet. He was standing right here.
Speaker 4:
It probably could be in him.
Colton Cooper:
Yeah.
Matt Carey:
Right here.
Tanner Hardy:
That is awesome. There’s the arrow. I’d say that’s one heck of a pass through.
Colton Cooper:
Check that thing out.
Ivak Cooper:
Thank you.
Colton Cooper:
Let’s go and look at him.
Tanner Hardy:
So we make sure to find him.
Ivak Cooper:
Oh my goodness.
Matt Carey:
Now the work begins, boys.
Colton Cooper:
Oh yeah, these are going to be good packs because that’s going to be the light one.
Ivak Cooper:
Oh, yeah.
Colton Cooper:
Cut and get this big one in your pack.
Tanner Hardy:
So last night we got in here to this area, got down on a huge herd of elk, probably 200 or so, I don’t know, maybe 20 bulls and everything was screaming like crazy. They were fighting raking, going wild down here. So we bugled and called for a while. Never had anything come over there, they were just so fired up in the herd they were in already. So we backed out and decided we’d come in this morning, come in from the top on them and we got set up in this spot. I’m using this new slayer call. We’ve been demoing this year. They’ll be out next season. Once we got in on this spot, we heard a bull bugling. We just snuck in and I never bugled one time we just cow called at him and within 10 minutes he was dead on the ground. It just goes to show how effective good cow calling can be.
Colton Cooper:
Just got the first back strap off, off his left side. Big old chunk of meat, almost done cleaning up all the trimmings off this side and we’ll flip her over, him, over and start quartering the other side. Check that out.I shot a cow elk with my bow a few years ago, so this is my first archery bull. I’ve been trying for years. Got it done today. Thank you Jesus.
Ivak Cooper:
[inaudible 00:11:32] In my hand.
Matt Carey:
This is going to be a good one boys.
Colton Cooper:
One of the most exciting hunts that I’ve been a part of. I’ve shot a lot of deer but I’ve never shot a nice bull elk. So, that’s one for the books, for sure. I will remember this for years.It gave me a new hope for archery hunting because at the end of last season I was ready to give up for the rest of my life. I was going to become an elk rifle hunter and that was just an insane experience having that bull bugling coming right in, getting within 30, 40 yards of me while still screaming like crazy.
Ivak Cooper:
Now it’s my turn.
Colton Cooper:
Yes.
Ivak Cooper:
Ever since I started taking the elk on, I’ve never got an elk.
Colton Cooper:
Well yeah, your mistake was prioritizing.
Ivak Cooper:
That was more fun to see you get one than it would be for me to get one. Seeing you get this elk yesterday. If I don’t get an elk the rest of the season. I’m happy, but I’m hoping-
Colton Cooper:
I’d be more excited to watch you shoot one.
Ivak Cooper:
I know.
Colton Cooper:
You need to shoot one so I could be that excited.
Ivak Cooper:
Yeah, well while were on, that time will come today maybe, so.
Tanner Hardy:
We’ll see what we do. We’ll keep on hunting together. We’ve got some nice tents to camp in and good friends to do it with.
Colton Cooper:
There’s just nothing like it.
