Post by: bearpaw on September 02, 2015, 09:58:46 AM
A lot of areas in NE Washington are currently closed but there are still quite a few lands open to hunt. Fall is here, hunting season has started, and there are stories to tell!
I have 7 bear hunters in camp. Yesterday on the opener we saw 18 bear, several were passed because they were too small, a couple were sows with cubs, and two good bear narrowly escaped but we couldn't get a clear shot so we let them both walk. We did kill two good shooter bear, Brett nailed a nice brown at 30 yards with Daniel and Joe hammered a nice brown with Ray at 275 yards. Great shooting guys! I love it when a plan comes together!
Here's photo's of Brett's bear:
Post by: quadrafire on September 02, 2015, 10:04:39 AM
Keep us apprised of your opinion of how the fires and smoke seem to be affecting the animal behavior.
Post by: CAMPMEAT on September 02, 2015, 10:13:20 AM
Post by: bearpaw on September 02, 2015, 10:24:58 AM
Daniel and his hunter spotted a bear under a tree, they watched it for a while and decided to pass and look for a bigger bear. I haven't heard from anyone else yet this morning, my fingers are crossed for more bear to be spotted today.
Photo of 1 of the bear that was passed this morning that was sitting under the tree:
Post by: bearmanric on September 02, 2015, 12:08:18 PM
Post by: bearpaw on September 02, 2015, 12:33:22 PM
Good start Dale
Keep us apprised of your opinion of how the fires and smoke seem to be affecting the animal behavior.
We've been seeing animals roaming through the fringes of the burnt areas. They seem to be checking it all out just like we have been. I was on the ranch that was half burnt up yesterday, we saw dozens of turkeys and a couple dozen deer, small bear tracks, and some of the deer and turkeys were in burnt areas. We already have feeders and hay in the burned areas to provide those animals more to eat. The landowner is also buying seed to plant in the burned areas as well.
I have seen a lot of bucks this year, I think it will be a good deer season.
Post by: bearpaw on September 02, 2015, 12:34:42 PM
Hope every thing go's well. Good luck. Dale
Thanks, good luck to you too! :tup:
Post by: quadrafire on September 02, 2015, 12:38:41 PM
:tup:Good start Dale
Keep us apprised of your opinion of how the fires and smoke seem to be affecting the animal behavior.
We've been seeing animals roaming through the fringes of the burnt areas. They seem to be checking it all out just like we have been. I was on the ranch that was half burnt up yesterday, we saw dozens of turkeys and a couple dozen deer, small bear tracks, and some of the deer and turkeys were in burnt areas. We already have feeders and hay in the burned areas to provide those animals more to eat. The landowner is also buying seed to plant in the burned areas as well.
I have seen a lot of bucks this year, I think it will be a good deer season.
Post by: 92xj on September 02, 2015, 12:41:50 PM
Post by: bearpaw on September 02, 2015, 01:02:12 PM
Post by: bowhunterforever on September 02, 2015, 01:20:14 PM
Post by: bearpaw on September 02, 2015, 04:19:13 PM
Post by: bearpaw on September 02, 2015, 04:25:32 PM
here's a few more trail cam photos
Post by: bearpaw on September 02, 2015, 04:31:24 PM
Post by: gaddy on September 02, 2015, 04:32:51 PM
Post by: bearpaw on September 02, 2015, 04:59:07 PM
Love the pict's, keep em coming. As well as the success stories, cool stuff.
The trail cam pics are a limited commodity as are our trail cams, we were planning on checking them all again just when several fires started and probably burned several of them. We can't even get in yet the areas are closed to access, but we're almost certain some of the cams burned! :(
We've still got several areas that are untouched and we've seen good animals so it should still be a great hunting season. :)
Post by: gaddy on September 02, 2015, 05:02:31 PM
Post by: bearpaw on September 02, 2015, 05:09:58 PM
Well good luck to you, and your hunters.
Thanks to everyone wishing us a good season. :tup:
Post by: wsmnut on September 02, 2015, 07:10:15 PM
Post by: actionshooter on September 02, 2015, 07:46:32 PM
Post by: Mark251 on September 02, 2015, 07:53:43 PM
Post by: mburrows on September 02, 2015, 08:40:48 PM
Post by: elkhunter1977 on September 02, 2015, 09:19:33 PM
Post by: bracer40 on September 02, 2015, 09:54:37 PM
Post by: bearpaw on September 03, 2015, 07:35:08 AM
Bearpaw Guide School
Joe and Keith are here from Vermont attending guide school, they both recently graduated from high school and used scholarships to partially fund their schooling. Rather than offer a summer guide school like most guide schools, we conduct our guide school just before and during hunting season so that our students are involved with the work, preparation, and scouting before the hunts start, the execution of the hunts, trophy care and meat handling of animals taken, talking with the guides and hunters so they learn to be comfortable around paying clients, and experiencing the guiding profession as our hunting season progresses. We usually accept only 1 or 2 students in camp which ensures the highest quality experience for everyone involved and certainly it's a once in a lifetime experience for the students.
Joe and Keith received all the paperwork in advance by email, they studied game laws, guiding laws, and land agency rules for 4 western states before arriving so that all the paperwork learning was done in advance before their arrival. Since arriving they have spent their time with Guide Brian helping in our preseason preparation and scouting, with guide Daniel and myself scouting for bear and deer, and now they are hunting bear. We also allow the students to hunt so they experience being guided by a guide too. I think it's important for them to experience guiding from a guide's perspective and from the guided hunter's perspective. If they continue on in the outfitting profession they can reflect back on all these experiences in the future.
During the first 2 days of bear season Joe has filled his bear tag and Keith has successfully stalked to within 20 yards of a coyote with Guide Ray. Today I sent the boys on their own to find locations I pointed out on the map, hopefully they see and get another bear in the process, they will take photos of where I sent them and I'll see how they did when they return for lunch.
Photos of Joe's bear and Keith's coyote:
Post by: Jonathan_S on September 03, 2015, 07:38:36 AM
Post by: bearpaw on September 03, 2015, 07:12:10 PM
Good luck this season Dale! :tup:Thanks again for all the best wishes by everyone. :hello:
I always look forward to this thread! Thanks for sharing the stories and pictures Dale. We're glad you're keeping Ray busy :)Thanks wsmnut, Ray is out trying to round up another bear right now! :tup:
I like the trail camera pictures :tup: I've been seeing more elk calves up your way this year than I can remember in recent history.We've been old school and haven't used cams a lot. But all my hunters have commented about the cam photos I've been posting on the bearpaw facebook page, so we are going to ramp up the trail cam photos. We actually ramped it up already but pretty certain some of the cams burned before we could get them.
Elk and fawn production is good in areas that don't have too many predators. There are a few areas with so many cougar that we see cougars pretty often. This year in those areas we have noticed a real low fawn rate and in one historically excellent area the whole whitetail population is declining in spite of good winters. I have 3 guys in camp with cougar tags, I keep praying one of them will see one of those cougars! :tup:
We have been seeing a lot of bear, especially yearlings and it seems like every sow must have 1 to 4 cubs, I can't help but wonder how many fawns all these bear are getting in the high bear density areas. Mother nature may make a correction this winter, there are tons of cubs and yearlings but food is pretty tough this fall after the dry summer. The bear we killed so far have had a fair amount of fat but I'm wondering if some bear are going to go into hibernation a little lean with the food shortage, if that happens and we get a hard winter then a good percentage of the bear might die during hibernation. Hard winters after lean summers can really reduce a bear population, it will be interesting to see what happens this winter. If it's a mild winter we will have an awful lot of bear next year! :chuckle:
I heard from Brian a while ago, they were checking some sign and Brian spotted a bear that walked up at 40 yards, he whispered for his hunter to shoot but as he looked back realized his hunter had left the rifle in the truck. The bear hung around for a while, they finally were able to get the rifle and moved on the bear which got in the middle of the cows, so they couldn't shoot as the cows were running around trying to avoid the bear. Finally the bear was out of sight so they set up waiting to spot him again. I'm hoping for a 2nd chance at that bear, they think it's still close to them as it never ran off and just wandered through the cows and into the brush patch! :chuckle:
Just got a text from one of the other guys, grouse down! :chuckle:
Post by: Duffer on September 03, 2015, 10:05:44 PM
You taught me that lesson! When bear hunting, you got a be ready at a moment's notice!!!
My young friend Allen & I are still planning on staying with you all that 1st week of muzzy deer. Looking forward to it!
Hope you are in town then :)
Post by: bearpaw on September 04, 2015, 04:36:21 PM
Man, Dale
You taught me that lesson! When bear hunting, you got a be ready at a moment's notice!!!
My young friend Allen & I are still planning on staying with you all that 1st week of muzzy deer. Looking forward to it!
Hope you are in town then :)
Hey Duffer good to hear from you, unfortunately I think I will be gone that week. We are seeing lots of deer, it's going to be a good hunt this year! :tup:
Post by: bearpaw on September 04, 2015, 05:49:59 PM
Now you have to go to work! :chuckle:
Post by: wannabhntr on September 04, 2015, 06:49:05 PM
Post by: bearpaw on September 04, 2015, 08:33:16 PM
Post by: bearpaw on September 07, 2015, 01:02:21 PM
Post by: bearpaw on September 07, 2015, 02:27:47 PM
It was the first day for Ron and Chris just starting their bear hunt, it was also the first morning for Tom who only had 2 1/2 days to get a deer and then he had to be back to work. Charlie had hunted 5 days and saw sows with cubs and had passed a real small bear, but hadn't killed a bear so I invited him to stay an extra day and take his choice of hunting bear or hunting deer with his bow, he decided to go deer hunting with Brian and Tom.
John had hunted 5 days and saw a couple bear at long range and he was the hunter who didn't have his gun when the bear walked up, so he didn't have a bear yet either so I invited him to hunt another day. Ray had the day off to finish planting some winter wheat so John, Ron, and Chris went bear hunting with Daniel. Daniel put John in a blind watching the same area where his son Logan had killed his bear, Daniel put Chris watching another one of my favorite areas, and Daniel headed to another area up higher with Ron.
Meanwhile on another property Brian put Tom in position and then dropped off Charlie in a blind. Right away Charlie had a lone doe come by that he wasn't going to pass, he had never killed a big game animal before. He stuck that doe perfectly, his first kill ever, congrats Charlie, you put that arrow right where it counts. :tup: :IBCOOL:
At about the same time on the way up the mountain Ron dropped a nice brown color phase boar only 10 minutes into the first morning of his hunt with guide Daniel. Ron made a great shot, and they had the bear out quickly, congrats Ron!
After all the skinning was done and the other hunters were back for lunch we came up with a game plan for the evening hunt. Charlie headed home with his deer, Logan and John headed home with Logan's bear, Daniel took Chris bear hunting, Ron went grouse hunting, and Tom went buck hunting again with Brian. It wasn't long and I got a text from Brian that Tom had arrowed a 4x4 whitetail. Congrats to Ron, this hunt was his 50th Birthday Present! :tup: :IBCOOL:
Unfortunately John was the only hunter to go home with nothing so far, but it sounds like they will be back so we'll "gitter done" the next time. I should knock on wood first before I say this, but so far we've only had one bear shot at that we didn't get, everyone is shooting very well this year, we are seeing a ton of game, and I'm hoping for a continued great hunting season! :)
Note: The bear have been skinny, not many berries this year, I'm worried if we have a tough winter we could lose a lot of bear. On the other hand the deer seem in better condition as shown in the photo of the deer's back below. I think the deer will be going into winter in a lot better condition than the bear!
Post by: Gringo31 on September 11, 2015, 11:45:25 AM
:tup:
Post by: bearpaw on September 12, 2015, 03:38:18 AM
Utah Elk
I've been in Utah the last few days scouting for elk. My guides have 3 good bulls spotted for one hunter so that looks real good for his hunt. I've been scouting for another hunt (a friend who drew a tag) and had not seen a good bull, just spikes and rag horns. In fact Keith (attending guide school) and I hadn't found a good concentration of elk until about noon yesterday. My friend and his wife are here now, we were all out scouting, and we found a couple little canyons with real good elk sign and some big tracks. My plan was to check one more part of the area and if we didn't see a real good bull we would return to these canyons this morning to start our hunt. Then last night about 10-15 minutes before dark we spotted a dandy bull, he looks to be a nice even 7x7, it was gratifying to finally find a good one and right before the opener. Season opens this morning so we are all hoping we find these bulls and we'll go after them this morning. Gotta head out for the hunt, talk later!
Post by: Bean Counter on September 12, 2015, 04:44:44 AM
Post by: bearpaw on September 12, 2015, 11:47:23 PM
Post by: Mark251 on September 13, 2015, 02:47:46 PM
Post by: Ripper on September 15, 2015, 06:08:54 AM
Post by: huntnnw on September 15, 2015, 06:13:53 AM
Post by: bearpaw on September 15, 2015, 09:27:32 AM
Post by: Killmore on September 16, 2015, 07:56:00 AM
Post by: Ripper on September 17, 2015, 07:39:24 AM
Post by: Gringo31 on September 17, 2015, 08:14:20 AM
Post by: Killmore on September 17, 2015, 08:22:41 AM
Post by: ribka on September 18, 2015, 08:56:01 AM
Always look forward to your reports
Your yearly reports and feedback from clients speak very highly for the quality of your business.
Post by: bearpaw on September 19, 2015, 08:21:24 AM
The last two days I've spent in a torrentual downpour of rain, snow, and hail packing in a camp and hunters. I put about 25 miles on horseback the last two days, first ride of the year, boy can I feel that. Now that camp is in the weather is clear and sunny again! :chuckle:
Bull Meets Scarface
So Nick, Daniel, and I had a little competition going to see who got the first bull elk. It was actually quite unfair since Nick had archery hunters in an over the counter tag area while Daniel and I had rifle hunters in limited-entry draw areas. But it never hurts to have things in your favor when in compoetion with others! :chuckle:
Nick had a head start but the bulls weren't bugling yet so he wasn't having the best of luck. His first hunter missed a 6x6 and the second hunter hadn't had a shot yet. Daniel and I both scouted 3 days in advance of season looking for good shooter bulls. Daniel and his spotters had three good bulls spotted and me and my spotter only had seen 5 young bulls, not one shooter, I was feeling the pressure, mostly I wanted a good bull for my friend, but it looked like I might be the last one to get an elk and that didn't feel good either.
Finally just before dark on the night before the opening day we found the 7x7 bull. We were all excited for opening day, we all had visions of a dead bull elk the next morning. In the morning we all headed out in good time. I was early and we ended up waiting a while to see but when it got light enough our bull was nowhere to be found. I checked a couple of other canyons in case he moved but couldn't find him! :yike:
We came back again to where we had seen the 7x7 the night before and this time my friend's wife spotted him again way up the canyon with another large bull and one cow, excitement mounted as we discussed how to approach the animals. We hiked up the opposite ridge and I hoped when we got across from where the bulls had been feeding that it would be within range and we would be able to spot them bedded in the timber. It was a tough hike in, I pushed harder than I should have and it was hard on my friend and his wife. When we got to the right spot the yardage ranged from 300 to 400, we saw a big buck on the way in and I found a dead winter killed buck, but we didn't see any elk. We decided to spend the entire day watching and hoped to see them at sundown. That didn't work out either, we enjoyed flies and sun in our face all day and finally just before darkness I said we better head out, that hike out after dark was another tough hike through all the deadfall. We went to bed that night tired, humbled, and with our tails between our legs.
For Day two I elected to give the 7x7 a rest and try another area where I had found a lot of elk sign two days before including some large bull tracks, I hoped to find that bull. We got into the area as daylight emerged, right away my friend spotted two big bulls, I looked quickly with my binos and said they both looked good, let's move on them before they get into cover. I could see a good approach from where we were, so we headed that way. Unfortunately I had forgotten the video camera back at the truck so I couldn't video any of it. :bash:
It was mostly a downward slope so even at over 9000+ feet we were able to cover the 3/4 mile distance pretty fast, the bulls had disappeared as they moved toward cover to bed for the day. We carefully worked over the horizon and suddenly I spotted them, we moved another 20 yards closer and I planted the shooting sticks. The bulls stopped, I looked at them quickly, it was obvious the bull in the rear was probably 10-15 points larger, "the back one is the best one, he's 303 yards put one right in the middle of his shoulder" my friend settled the cross hairs but the bulls started moving again, I reached in my pocket for my cow call "eeeooowwww", the bulls stopped again and turned broadside, "boom" my friend touched off his 300 WSM, "WHACK" the bullet hit the rear bull and the bull hobbled forward, "reload and shoot him again if he stops and turns" in a couple quick seconds the bull went down and stayed down. The other bull ran a circle around his fallen brother as if in wonderment of what had happened. It was high fives, hand shakes, and the likes, then we moved in closer for a good hands on look at the bull. We notched the tag, took some photos, and I texted Nick and Daniel "big bull down"! Nick replied that he was after a 6x6 and Daniel had spotted a bull they were going after, but we had one down first, LOL. :IBCOOL:
The bull has dandy 3rds and 4ths, but his 5ths and main beams are a little short, he grosses right at 325, he was big bodied, my friends went home with 464 pounds of cut and wrapped meat. Congrats on a fun and successful hunt! :hello:
First photo is where the bull lay as we approached. Last photo is of a silly guide (now named scarface) who forgot the 3rds were as long as they were when rearranging things for photos! That's all I've got to say about that! :chuckle:
Post by: Mark251 on September 19, 2015, 08:30:25 AM
Post by: bearpaw on September 19, 2015, 09:15:09 AM
As we were taking photos of our bull Nick had texted me that he was on a big 6x6 with his bow hunter. As it turns out the bull came running in within 10 minutes after we killed our bull, right up in front of the hunter, only 14 yards away. Ron drew and released, "thwack" it was a hit, the 6x6 whirled and was leaving a good blood trail. They waited a bit and then began trailing. In fact they trailed for over 2 miles before the bull quit bleeding and they lost the blood trail altogether. In desperation Nick reviewed the video, then he saw that the bull might have wheeled right as Ron released and the arrow hit just in front of the shoulder low on the neck instead of where Ron was holding. Even though they didn't get the bull I really have to give Nick the 2nd Place credit, he earned it, he definitely had that bull in the sack! Sometimes luck is just unexplainable! :dunno:
Daniel Goes For The Big One
Daniel's hunter was hoping for a 350 bull from the start, Daniel explained that it was possible but not likely, the bulls they had been seeing appeared to be in the 330's size range and nobody had seen a 350. First morning they spotted one of the big bulls and started after it. Unfortunately there were other hunters who showed up and an ATV on another trail spooked the bull into heavy cover before they were in range and it never came out the rest of the day. To make things a bit tougher another hunter killed one of the big bulls Daniel had located earlier, so now he only had two big bulls to hunt. On the second morning they spotted one of the bulls but again couldn't get to him in time before he disappeared into cover. To add to the situation the bulls weren't really rutting or bugling yet, plus I was texting them pictures of our dead bull. Daniel showed Ryan the photos and Ryan said a bull like our 325 would be great.
About 4pm Daniel spotted a new bull he hadn't seen before, this was a really good bull and for some unexplainable reason he was in the open feeding early, they moved quickly closing the distance to 620 yards. Ryan is an accomplished long range shooter and had been hoping for a 500-600 yard shot with his custom rifle and Nightforce scope so 620 was good with him, he set up for the shot, Daniel ranged, "BOOOOM", the bull dropped at the crack of the finely tuned 30/06. Yep, "big bull down at 620 yards with one shot from a 30/06". Ryan is about 6'8" so when you view the photos keep that in mind. Ryan's bull was a little better in just about every measurement and had a couple extra antler points to boot. We scored him twice and come up with 346 7/8 both times, so the bull was only 3 1/8 shy of the 350 bull Ryan had hoped for. I love it when a plan comes together! Nice going Daniel and Ryan! :IBCOOL: :hello:
Daniel and I both had a lot of help from our spotters, Keith, Joe, Charlie, and River, THANKS for all the help, it was truly a joint effort that payed off. :tup:
Post by: ribka on September 20, 2015, 09:39:57 PM
Post by: Boss .300 winmag on September 20, 2015, 09:51:16 PM
You should have said a cougar attacked you, then we could call you cougarpaw. :chuckle:
Post by: bearpaw on September 21, 2015, 07:15:42 PM
You should have said a cougar attacked you, then we could call you cougarpaw. :chuckle:
:chuckle:
Post by: mburrows on September 21, 2015, 07:22:47 PM
Post by: JJB11B on September 21, 2015, 09:10:33 PM
Post by: bearpaw on September 21, 2015, 11:08:50 PM
I horse packed in two archery elk hunters, two guides, and cook into camp last week and I have one guided elk bow hunter and one unguided elk bow hunter staying in town. The guided hunter staying in town missed a 5x6 bull, a 6x6 bull, a 4x4 mule deer, and 3 does so far in 4 days of hunting. Today he decided he wanted to squeeze in a buffalo hunt so we are doing a bison hunt tomorrow and then maybe more elk hunting after the buffalo hunt is completed, if there is time.
The unguided hunter upgraded his hunt to a guided hunt with guide Nick so hopefully Nick gets him on a bull soon, the bulls have been pretty quiet but they are coming in if you give them time, Nick has called in numerous bulls this week in addition to the two that were missed.
The two hunters and the guides in camp struggled for three days, the elk we planned to hunt moved and it took a few days to find them. Yesterday one of the guides and hunter finally got onto 17 head including a few bulls but couldn't quite close the deal. This morning the other guide called a nice 6x6, the bull came in on a dead run, the bull saw the hunter at 20 yards whirled and run back out, guide Roger hit the call again and the bull stopped at about 35 yards, unknowing Brad held for 40 yards and released the arrow which hit a little high but sliced the top of both lungs, the bull didn't go too far and went down. We just got done with caping and getting all the meat in refrigeration, but haven't had time to score him yet. I love it when a plan comes together. Nice going Roger and Brad! :tup: :hello:
Photos of Brad's 6x6 bull!
Post by: Gringo31 on September 22, 2015, 09:11:20 AM
Post by: Ripper on September 22, 2015, 09:15:37 AM
Post by: Netminder01 on September 22, 2015, 09:36:49 AM
Post by: bearpaw on September 22, 2015, 11:11:08 AM
Holy smokes Dale, :yike: your guided hunter needs to hit the range in a bad way! Or maybe he needs new glasses. :o
:chuckle:
He just needed a bison to get settled on, I just got a text that they have a buffalo down with one shot. Good going River and Joe! :tup:
There's going to be a lot of good eating there!
Post by: bearpaw on September 22, 2015, 11:52:20 AM
Post by: Timberstalker on September 22, 2015, 12:44:38 PM
Post by: bearpaw on September 22, 2015, 12:58:12 PM
Post by: bearpaw on September 22, 2015, 01:12:39 PM
Post by: Woodchuck on September 22, 2015, 01:25:31 PM
Post by: JJB11B on September 22, 2015, 03:26:24 PM
Post by: wsmnut on September 22, 2015, 06:02:00 PM
When does Ray get back in action?
Post by: Mark251 on September 22, 2015, 07:37:31 PM
Post by: bearpaw on September 22, 2015, 10:19:34 PM
Great season so far, Dale! You guys are really into the elk!
When does Ray get back in action?
We had a guy arrow about a 140" whitetail in Washington today, Ray tracked it as far as he could and it quit bleeding. It sounds like the guy hit high and missed the vitals. They are going to keep an eye out tomorrow, but if Ray can't find it, then it's probably not dead. Last year Ray tracked a 6 point bull for 2 days and numerous miles, they finally got it. He's like a hound dog on a coon track! :chuckle:
The bow hunter who killed the 6x6 bull yesterday killed a mule doe today, he's pretty happy and going home with a truckload of meat. Unfortunately his partner hasn't connected yet, Scott is going to hunt in the morning and call it quits so they can head home.
Post by: bearpaw on September 22, 2015, 10:23:49 PM
Great looking bulls! What an amazing series of pics :tup:
There have been lots of small bulls too, we've just been lucky getting on so many good bulls. Not everyone has killed but shot opportunity has been pretty good. I'm real happy with our season so far. :tup:
Post by: bearpaw on September 26, 2015, 06:27:20 PM
Keith and Joe have been hunting whitetails. Joe had shots at a couple good bucks but didn't get them, yesterday Keith nailed this nice 5x5. Congrats Keith, nice going! :tup: :tup:
Post by: Mark251 on September 26, 2015, 07:12:45 PM
Post by: Ripper on September 27, 2015, 09:50:40 AM
Post by: bearpaw on September 27, 2015, 10:43:46 AM
The last couple days Nick and Bill been after some other bulls, this morning it came together and Bill got a 30 yard shot on a 5x6 with his crossbow (he's a disabled hunter). They are getting the bull out right now. Congrats Bill on a great shot and quick kill of a dandy bull! :tup: :tup:
As he lay.....
Post by: bearpaw on September 28, 2015, 03:19:29 PM
Post by: HUNTINCOUPLE on September 28, 2015, 03:26:50 PM
Post by: bearpaw on September 28, 2015, 04:24:58 PM
Post by: Mark251 on September 28, 2015, 04:42:46 PM
Post by: PAW66 on October 01, 2015, 11:45:08 AM
Post by: bearpaw on October 02, 2015, 05:30:12 AM
Post by: bearpaw on October 02, 2015, 05:41:02 AM
Post by: bearpaw on October 05, 2015, 06:45:33 AM
Post by: bearpaw on October 05, 2015, 07:05:42 AM
Post by: bearpaw on October 05, 2015, 07:24:02 AM
Post by: bearpaw on October 06, 2015, 02:46:19 AM
Yesterday Daniel and the hunter talked to the 2 other permit holders who also have not seen a moose. They talked to other hunters who have not seen a moose in that unit in over two weeks. So understandably the hunter is frustrated. Now and then we get in one of these situations where the hunting is tough and everyone is frustrated, it's a no-win situation until a moose is killed, especially since this is a OIL tag we want to stick with it until he gets his moose.
The hunter ran out of time and had to go back to work, I've asked him to come back if he can get away again, I hate to see a moose tag go unfilled.
Post by: bearpaw on October 06, 2015, 02:58:06 AM
Post by: Ripper on October 06, 2015, 10:41:24 AM
Post by: Gringo31 on October 06, 2015, 10:58:45 AM
Post by: h20hunter on October 06, 2015, 10:59:47 AM
I agree about Dale....top notch.
Post by: Ripper on October 06, 2015, 12:14:23 PM
Post by: h20hunter on October 06, 2015, 12:16:44 PM
Post by: bearpaw on October 12, 2015, 06:34:56 AM
Post by: Watimberghost on October 12, 2015, 06:58:07 AM
Post by: wsmnut on October 12, 2015, 10:00:15 AM
Post by: Ripper on October 12, 2015, 10:45:11 AM
Post by: bearpaw on October 12, 2015, 05:13:00 PM
Kevin has hunted with us several times, this time for a trophy mule deer in Idaho. Guide Brian spotted this buck about an hour before sundown on the second day of the hunt, it had been slow hunting in this heat, they had only seen two does the first day. They were looking the buck over and Kevin said the "The Kicker Did It!" but just as Kevin settled the cross hairs for the shot the buck bedded down. Just a few minutes before darkness the buck stood again and Kevin took the shot. Kevin said just as he pulled the trigger the buck stepped forward and the shot turned into a hind end shot. The buck made it down the mountain quite a ways into a large canyon and out of sight. They opted to give him time to expire and went after him early in the AM, as they had hoped they found and recovered him from down in the same canyon. Congrats on a great buck Kevin! If anyone is looking for a mule deer hunt, we still have a couple hunts available this season!
Post by: Mark251 on October 12, 2015, 05:14:03 PM
Post by: wsmnut on October 12, 2015, 06:46:16 PM
You guys are really into the deer!
Post by: Ripper on October 13, 2015, 04:36:19 AM
Post by: bearpaw on October 16, 2015, 10:44:04 PM
Note: Received a text from Kyle this evening, he had pulled something in his knee during the hunt, he went to the doctor, turns out, he ripped three things and is going into surgery tomorrow. Hoping you get well soon Kyle!
Post by: bearpaw on October 16, 2015, 11:02:04 PM
Post by: bearpaw on October 16, 2015, 11:11:46 PM
Post by: MLBowhunting on October 16, 2015, 11:29:20 PM
Post by: Mark251 on October 17, 2015, 01:59:19 PM
Post by: bearpaw on October 18, 2015, 11:49:36 AM
Quote
Hi
Very excited to get this nice 4x3. Really enjoying everything. People, food and the area are Great. Daniel is doing a really nice job.
Thanks!!
Congrats Brian on making a great shot and for your quick success! :tup:
Post by: bearpaw on October 18, 2015, 12:55:45 PM
Post by: bearpaw on October 18, 2015, 12:56:34 PM
Congrats to Don Harrison from Georgia who nailed this nice mule buck yesterday. Don said "This is my biggest mule deer buck yet!" Even though the daytime temps are still affecting our hunts and lower numbers of deer are being seen during daylight hours than usual, mostly at first light and last light, we are still getting some good bucks. The last few days our hunters have also passed some small bulls and yesterday we had two big bull elk missed. Don's partner Jeff is still hunting for a good buck, hopefully he nails a good one too in the next couple days. Congrats again and great shooting Don! :tup:
Post by: Timberstalker on October 18, 2015, 01:00:52 PM
Post by: bearpaw on October 18, 2015, 02:41:39 PM
Guide Brian holds another nice old mule deer buck taken this week. We are thinking this big old boy has seen better days. He's definitely the largest bodied deer we've taken this season but it looks like he was on the downhill side of life. One well placed shot from a 257 Roy anchored this monarch in his tracks. We've had some great shooting this year with fewer misses than most years, I hope this trend continues! :tup:
Post by: Mark251 on October 18, 2015, 07:52:04 PM
Post by: Watimberghost on October 18, 2015, 07:59:03 PM
Post by: Duffer on October 19, 2015, 01:43:03 AM
Still hoping to budget for one of Dale's biggie hunts one year!
Post by: Ripper on October 19, 2015, 04:57:23 AM
Post by: bearpaw on October 19, 2015, 07:26:53 AM
Post by: bearmanric on October 20, 2015, 08:49:15 AM
Post by: Gringo31 on October 20, 2015, 08:58:40 AM
Hope you guys can finish strong :tup:
Post by: bearpaw on October 21, 2015, 12:41:50 PM
Impressive year Dale!
Hope you guys can finish strong :tup:
It's a good season, we are still hammering mule deer, a 30 incher down yesterday, but the elk have been eluding us for a week, some small bulls passed, a couple 6x6's missed, finally a 6x6 down this morning. We've been busy and not much cell service or internet, I will post more photos when I can.
Post by: Duffer on October 25, 2015, 11:19:52 PM
When my cohort and I pulled in Thursday nite I think there were 4 whitetails hanging already. I didn't check them out tho as we just unpacked and crashed for the night. By our return Friday nite the last hunter had one hanging too. I notched my tag Saturday morn. My hunting bud almost notched his and we returned to more hanging deer! :)
It was awesome to visit with Tara and Daniel!!! I heard one gentleman arrived mid day, Daniel took him out for the afternoon hunt and they were back in about an hour to hang his deer :yike:
So even with the fires, predation & blue tongue, whitetails are being tagged..... and it's not even rut yet 8)
Post by: TeacherMan on October 26, 2015, 02:49:14 PM
Post by: GrainfedMuley on November 01, 2015, 12:55:05 PM
Post by: bearpaw on November 01, 2015, 02:05:48 PM
We just finished a hunt where the guy wanted a 200 class buck, unfortunately he told me that after he arrived. That's a pretty tall order that we rarely see, maybe 1 to 3 this year and they all got away. He killed a 160-170 buck next to the last day of his hunt and left a bit disappointed. Numbers get thrown around so much these days on TV and in magazines that most people don't realize how unique even a 180 buck really is!
I will do some catching up on this topic soon, I've just been busy as heck hunting, we've really had a great season overall so far, unfortunately even on the good years there always seems to be a handful of hunts that don't turn out like we wished they would. I guess that's why they call it hunting and not shooting or getting! But overall it's been very good hunting. Here's a hunt I just finished:
THE WOUNDED BUCK - DAY ONE
I just finished another mule deer hunt, we passed 16 bucks the first day of this hunt including a 4x4 with a fresh leg wound, as bad as I wanted to kill that buck since he was wounded, I honestly had to tell the guy I thought we could do better. That evening we missed #17, a nice buck with heavy antlers even with the outside edge of his ears. We had spotted the buck with a couple other bucks just before dark, we jumped back in my rig and we rushed around as close as I dare and then hoofed it over the ridge top, unfortunately I had driven too close and I think they heard the rig, when we poked our heads over the rise they were all looking right at us and boogied, they stopped a ways out and we missed, darn it. We watched them run a mile and hook up with another small herd. We beat feet around, quietly and out of sight, and got within range again, but it was close to the end of shooting hours and with the dark shadows and bright sunset in the background my hunter couldn't see the buck in his scope, we decided to back off and come back at daylight, I figured the buck would be somewhere in the big basin.
THE WOUNDED BUCK - DAY TWO
It was overcast the next morning, I figured we had that buck in the bag. We slipped in on foot and was waiting as it got daylight, bummer, no deer at all within sight, not even a doe! :dunno: We hoofed it around to several canyons managed to scare off a nice whitetail buck that we couldn't get a shot at and then headed back to the rig mid morning. We cruised around and spotted the rest of the morning and then had lunch with my hunters wife back in town. I had a pounding head ache for some reason but some Ibuprofen and Pizza Hunt seemed to cure everything. We headed back out hunting as it began a light drizzle, I told my hunter I could feel it was deer killing time. The deer were really moving we had seen 47 does and 17 bucks that day, we suddenly spotted #18 buck, my hunter got in shooting position, the buck was frozen broadside in the open and looked good enough so I told him to take his time and make a good shot. WHAMMO, "I think you missed" I said as the buck ran into the brush, but then I noticed the buck started to falter as he went out of sight. "I hit him" Todd stated and we watched closely for a few minutes until we decided he must be down. We approached cautiously, I went to the right where I could look into the brush from the other side. "Here he is!" I hollered to Todd and we both approached the fallen buck. Todd had hit him perfectly. "Look, it's the wounded buck from yesterday" I stated as I saw the wound about 6 inches above the right front hoof. "He's a little bigger than I thought he was!" We set up the buck got some nice photos and then I quickly gutted him and we were out before dark. Todd said it was his best buck yet and plans to mount it, so that was good to hear. I love it when a plan comes together and best of all we utilized the freshly wounded buck after all. :IBCOOL:
Post by: bearpaw on November 01, 2015, 03:51:19 PM
Tim has been hunting with us every year for about 10 years. He comes the same dates every year except for two years he was in the hospital fighting for his life. One year he had gotten bitten by a tick, a few days before the hunt his wife called practically crying and told me he was in the hospital, wouldn't be able to hunt, and wasn't sure he would make it. He mostly recovered although after effects are causing him to slowly go blind. He hunted the next year and then the following year he was hit by a car while riding his bike. WOW, the poor guy nearly died again and was unable to hunt. But since then he has made it every year. We've been successful every year on a buck and a doe, except last year the buck he shot the last day ran off with no blood trail, I recovered the antlers a week or so later and sent them.
THE DESTINY BUCK - DAY ONE
I met Tim before daylight for the hunt, he put his gear in the truck and we headed for the hunt area. I asked him how he's been doing, "I'm just a little older and blinder!" he joked, even though I seriously knew he was being brutally honest. We usually drive around, visit while we hunt, stop a lot and do a lot of glassing, then when we spot a good one we either shoot it or stalk closer, we react however we need to react to try and make it happen. This year was no different except I noticed it did seem Tim had a little harder time seeing the deer. Sadly his situation is irreversible, his eyesight is slowly and surely dissipating! But still, when I'd spot deer he would either use his binoculars or his rifle scope and search for them, eventually he would see about 50% of the deer that I spotted if they didn't run off. About 11 am I spotted a good 4x5 muley buck that was bedded down with some does. We got about 180 yards from the buck and set up for the shot. Tim searched while I tried to explain exactly where the buck was laying, he could see some of the does but could not find the buck. After several minutes the buck stood up, awesome Tim spotted him, he moved around a little, fed a couple minutes and just when I thought Tim was going to shoot the buck layed down again. :bash:
Tim lost him, he searched and I tried to explain where the buck was laying, quit a bit of time passed and finally the buck stood up again, "I got him!" Tim exclaimed. The buck moved around a little and I told Tim to take his time the buck wasn't going anywhere. BOOM, I seen the bullet hit the buck, a fairly solid hit but not perfect, a little low, the buck ran behind some trees then stopped, after a couple minutes he bedded down again so I knew he was hit fairly good. Tim couldn't find him so the only option was to move closer. We slowly started moving closer but the buck seen us and got up and darted a short distance then layed down again. This time we were able to get into a little draw and work closer while staying out of sight. Soon I could see the deer's antlers sticking up, we moved to the side a bit and inched closer keeping a tree between us and the bucks vision path. We got within 50 yards and then moved slightly to the side so Tim could see the buck to finish him off, but he couldn't see him! We inched closer, suddenly the buck looked toward us, dang, but the movement caught Tim's eye and he settled the gun on my shooting stick, BOOM, the buck jumped up and headed straight toward us, Tim raised the gun, I dropped the shooting stick as I prepared to try and grab the oncoming buck by the horns in an attempt to save us getting gored. BOOM, Tim shot again at less than 10 yards and hit the buck, it veered sideways, BOOM Tim shot again and that dropped the buck but he was still alive, although unable to get up. We moved up closer and I told Tim to shoot again which he was reluctant to do, he loves deer meat and hated to spoil any more meat.
REFLECTIONS
In a couple minutes the deer finally expired while we were lamenting on what might have happened had that buck got to us. Would I have been able to grab the horns and prevent injury or would I have been gored? Gladly we will never know! I don't think I've ever looked at a buck so long and watched him the way we did before shooting. Then to have the wounded buck jump up after he spotted us and run straight at us after getting shot again, when he knew we were there, one has to wonder exactly what was going through the mind of that buck? At any rate this buck was destined to become Tim's buck and thankfully no hunters or guides were harmed in the making of this story! One thing is for certain, I know what some of our conversation will be during next years hunt! :chuckle:
Post by: Mark251 on November 01, 2015, 05:29:06 PM
Post by: wsmnut on November 01, 2015, 06:20:44 PM
Post by: Duffer on November 02, 2015, 01:14:13 AM
I'd love to meet him one day :tup:
Post by: RadSav on November 02, 2015, 02:20:39 AM
Post by: Bean Counter on November 02, 2015, 02:39:25 AM
That guy's got bigger stones than I!!! :bow:
Post by: GrainfedMuley on November 02, 2015, 07:20:59 AM
Post by: bearpaw on November 05, 2015, 12:22:10 PM
Post by: bearpaw on November 14, 2015, 05:22:29 AM
On the first morning of Richard's hunt the first deer we saw was a dandy, probably a 160ish buck, we agreed that if we didn't see a better buck we would be back to look for this one, we looked at 23 bucks the first day of his hunt and #1 was the best. We even looked for #1 again last thing right at dark. On the second morning we checked for #1 again but no luck. We looked at another 15 bucks but none were as good as #1. By noon we were wishing we had not passed #1 because none of the other bucks we had seen had as good of tines as #1. About 1pm we decided to take a lunch break, we were headed down the mountain when I spotted two does. Pretty soon there were 7 does and then a decent buck popped into view. We looked him over close, he wasn't as good as #1 and he was a young buck his horns were not very heavy. We had definitely passed numerous older bucks, but this buck had pretty decent forks and if Richard could get steady enough he decided he might take a shot. I set up two shooting bags and Richard settled the crosshairs on the buck. The buck was right at 405 yards, the wind was blowing almost straight toward the buck so I didn't think we needed to compensate much for that. I suggested holding between 6 to 12 inches over the back, his 300WSM was sighted dead on at 200. We watched for about 15 minutes as the buck was facing us feeding, finally he turned a little and took a couple steps left, I told Richard to get ready, I was waiting for him to take another step, he wasn't completely clear of the brush, BOOM, the buck dropped like a sack of potatoes. I wasn't expecting the shot yet but Richard said it felt good so he shot. We later learned the shot hit the base of the neck and took out the spine, that did the trick, the buck never got up. We drove back to the top of the ridge and hiked around the top and down the ridge the buck was on. It was real steep ground so I opted to bone out the buck after our photo session. I cleaned off the bones well, loaded my pack and headed up the ridge, I'm not the same man I used to be in my younger years, LOL, it was a pretty heavy load and I stopped to rest many times. But we were back to the truck before dark and headed home with a buck in back. The buck was the 39th buck we looked at, he wasn't as good as #1 but he was good enough for Richard and that's what counts. Congrats Richard on a fun and successful hunt!
Post by: Killmore on November 14, 2015, 08:42:42 AM
Post by: Mark251 on November 14, 2015, 12:15:09 PM
Post by: bearpaw on November 14, 2015, 08:01:01 PM
Love the short stories :tup: :tup: What state is that in? Are you doing any Montana whitetail hunts this year?
Yes we are hunting whitetails and mulies in MT, I have been busy but will post a few stories asap.
Post by: hunting4sanity on November 14, 2015, 08:58:19 PM
Post by: bearpaw on November 14, 2015, 10:06:24 PM
I met Len the first morning of his hunt at the motel at 6:15, we made a quick stop for coffee and a breakfast snack, topped off the fuel tank and headed out to the ranch. Len said he had shot his rifle a week earlier and it was right on at 100 yards. We saw numerous bucks right off, nearly as many bucks as does that morning. About 11 AM we headed up a small ridge, just as we got to the top a big mulie took off, this buck was really tuned up, the first time I'd seen him on the property, I think he was pushed in by other hunters on neighboring properties, he was not stopping or standing around, he was getting out of Dodge!
We watched him cross a large open area and enter a big brushy draw, I said "Let's get over there as fast as we can, circle around and see if we can get a look at him from the other side." We headed around and got to the other side of the brush, just as I spotted the buck he spotted us and took off again, Len barely had a look before the buck was gone and really no chance to shoot. I still have not seen that buck again, I guestimated him to be about a 160ish buck, too bad we didn't get a shot. We took a break for lunch and then hunted the evening seeing many more bucks, mostly whitetails. We saw three shooter whitetail bucks that day but they were all too fast, we never fired a shot. I think we finished the day seeing 23 bucks!
Day 2
The next morning early we got onto a good bunch of deer in a timber lot, we sat and watched a while and soon saw some does, then more does, then a nice heavy horned buck came into view at about 130-150 yards. Len settled the crosshairs on the buck and WHAMMO, the buck turned and ran off unhurt. We looked for blood but nothing. I suggested we shoot the gun so we headed to a distant spot on the property, set up a target and proceeded to waste a box of shells, finally after 18 shots and tightening a scope mount screw we had a bullet hole right where we wanted it.
We hunted about 20 minutes and spotted another good buck, the buck disappeared into a thick woodlot so we just sat there for a while watching for him. After about 30 minutes we could see the buck moving through the timber straight toward us. I whispered to Len to get ready and I turned and watched the buck with my binos. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Len take aim, the buck was at about 60 yards, BOOM, I watched the buck run off, but I had seen no impact! The deer didn't run that far, I could still see him moving slowly through the timber, he was settling back down. I whispered to Len, "He didn't go that far, we might get another shot!" About 20 or 30 minutes passed and a smaller buck wandered by, then another 20 or 30 minutes and another smaller buck wandered by. It was just a few more minutes and here comes the bigger buck, about 60 yards again, just a few yards from where we had shot at him less than an hour before, Len settled the crosshairs on the buck, WHAMMO, the buck flinched but ran off seemingly unhurt. I was sure he had hit the buck but I couldn't find any blood or the buck anywhere. That burned up the balance of Day 2 looking for that buck.
Day 3
I thought about it that evening, in the morning we hunted a while and then I told Len we better shoot his gun again. We went to the target area and sure enough the gun hit about 8 inches low at 50 yards! I said" There's still something wrong with your scope, you better use my gun." Len put away his gun, I uncased my gun and we went back to town to get cartridges from my room. I gave Len a handful of cartridges, then we drove back out to the ranch and back to hunting. We passed a couple small bucks and then saw a slightly better 4x3, missing an eye guard. He's not very big but we are just about out of time, if you want him you can shoot him, WHAMMO, buck down. Len said, "See I told you I could shoot!" The poor guy just needed a gun that didn't have problems, he had hit the deer perfectly it fell where it had stood. We had passed much better bucks, but Len was happy to get one down regardless that is was not a big buck. Congrats Len, I hope you can make it back next year and we'll put down one of those bigger bucks we saw. :tup: :hello:
Post by: bearpaw on November 14, 2015, 11:07:51 PM
I received a call from Mark that they were in town early so I explained that my last hunter had just killed his buck and we were done taking care of it and asked if they would like to go out for an evening hunt. Mark said, "That sounds Good, we'll be waiting for you!" I met brothers Mike and Mark at 3:00PM, we shook hands, it was good to see these guys again, we relived prior hunts as we drove to the ranch. Mike had killed a good Shiras Moose and Mark had killed a nice Cougar on previous hunts with Bearpaw Outfitters. The wind was gusting pretty good and we only saw two small mule bucks and some mule does that evening. I was concentrating on mule deer because Mark has wanted to kill a mule deer his entire life, they don't have mulies in Missouri.
Yesterday, Day 1
At 6:30 AM Mike & Mark climbed in my truck, we stopped for a drink and breakfast hotdog, then headed to the ranch. The wind was gusting even heavier, all day we only saw 6 bucks and 17 doe, one of my slowest days on the ranch ever. I finished the day with my tail between my legs!
Today, Day 2
At 6:40 AM Mike & Mark climbed in my truck, we stopped for a drink and breakfast hotdog, then headed to the ranch. The wind was gusting but not nearly as strongly, the sunrise was just outstanding, the best this season. Anyone who hunts eastern Montana knows what the sunrises can be like. This awesome sunrise was bound to have a positive effect on our hunt! :twocents:
The morning started off slow, we spotted a few small bucks and 8 does and took a long range shot at a coyote but that was not effective. We hiked into a little hotspot I like and found many fresh rubs but the buck wasn't there. Next we circled around the hill across the draw and just as we topped out on the other side of the hill we spotted a dandy mature whitetail buck chasing a doe. Mike got a good rest, the buck was standing behind a fallen tree, "Can you see him, he's behind the fallen tree to the left of the doe?" Mike replied "I got him!" He could see the lower half of the deer, Mike squeezed off the shot, the buck kicked and ran off like a streak of lightning. "You hit him good, lets move forward and see if we can see him again!" We moved forward and then I stopped to glass, I spotted an antler sticking up out of the grass, "There he is, your buck is down!"
We went straight to the buck, the hit was perfect, looked like a heart shot. Sure enough when I gutted the buck the largest piece of heart was about 1/3 of the heart. Mike made an excellent shot, especially considering the top half of the buck was mostly out of sight. We snapped lots of photos, texted the taxidermist, and then tugged the buck out to where I could back the truck to him. I love it when a plan comes together.
After caring for the buck we hunted this evening for Mark's mule deer. Just about 10 minutes before dark we got onto a good group of mulies with several bucks, one of them was a smoker. The deer had spotted us and the big buck dashed into a brushy draw, we could have shot a halfway decent 4x4 still with the does and small bucks, but how do you do that when you just seen a smoker? :bash:
We tried to find the smoker buck but no luck. We are returning to the same area tomorrow morning to look for the Smoker Buck! Wish us Luck! :tup:
Photos of the sweet sunrise and Mike's whitetail.
Post by: bearpaw on November 16, 2015, 07:15:37 AM
In the morning Mark and Mike jumped in the truck and we headed to the Quick Stop for coffee and breakfast snacks then we headed to the ranch. I stopped the truck, we grabbed our gear and proceeded to our glassing vista. The wind was pretty calm, I was expecting to see our buck, we inched forward glassing feverishly for the smoker buck. Sadly he was no where in sight, in fact there wasn't a deer in sight. We moved to several glassing points and started spotting deer, we started seeing a lot of mule deer in various locations. As the morning sky brightened we glassed numerous bucks and does. We heard some shots on the neighboring property and moved over to look into the canyon next to that property. We spotted a fork horn buck that had a broken rear leg and a broken jaw hanging, wow how could anyone be that bad of shot. As bad as I wanted to relieve that poor guy of his misery, legally we had to leave him, I'm sure one of the many coyotes we've been seeing will find the buck and finish him off. :(
We saw the smaller 4x4 buck from the evening before three times, he was hot after a doe that was leading him all over the place. We watched other bucks chasing does and then finally spotted a taller buck that Mark decided to take. The range 336 yards, I whispered "Hold high on the shoulder but not over the buck, be sure you are just high on the shoulder and hold right at the base of his neck for wind drift, we're probably going to get 6 to 8 inches of wind drift. BOOM, nothing, he's still standing there shoot again, BOOM, the buck moved a little and stopped, BOOM he moved more, buck was moving into the brush, BOOM, buck moved into another opening following his doe and stopped, BOOM, still nothing! "Hold on Mark!" I turned to Mike "Mike hand me your gun, we know it's right on!"
We had to wait a minute then we spotted the buck again in the brush, "Hold Dead On the center of the shoulder, this gun is flatter shooting", BOOM, the buck hunched up and moved out of sight "You hit him hard!" Then the buck moved into sight again "Shoot Him Again", BOOM, the buck faltered, then dropped and rolled down the hill stopping at a dip. Mark was frustrated by his gun but relieved that Mike's gun had saved the day. We approached the buck, took photos, then field dressed and drug the buck out. One of the shots was back a ways, probably due to gusting wind, but both shots had been solid shots. As we headed to the barn to skin and bone the buck we reflected on the morning events. It had definitely been a "Mulie Morning", we went from seeing 10 to 15 mule deer per day to seeing 29 does and 9 bucks in a couple hours. We decided to stop and shoot Mark's gun, sure enough the bullet hit the top edge of the target, more than 5 inches high at 100 yards, Mark had been shooting over the buck at 336 yards. We sighted the gun dead on at 100 yards since Mark was going hunting in Missouri as soon as they get home.
We took care of the buck, had a great Mexican dinner last night, Mike and Mark picked dates for an Elk/Mule Deer Combo next year and we said our goodbyes. We are looking forward to seeing and hunting with you guys again next year! :hello:
Post by: bearpaw on November 16, 2015, 10:38:37 AM
Post by: bearpaw on November 16, 2015, 12:37:46 PM
Post by: bearpaw on November 19, 2015, 05:56:55 AM
Post by: pianoman9701 on November 19, 2015, 06:47:19 AM
Post by: bearpaw on November 30, 2015, 05:28:17 AM
Post by: Sitka_Blacktail on November 30, 2015, 07:21:47 AM
We heard some shots on the neighboring property and moved over to look into the canyon next to that property. We spotted a fork horn buck that had a broken rear leg and a broken jaw hanging, wow how could anyone be that bad of shot.
Probably something like this
The range 336 yards, I whispered "Hold high on the shoulder but not over the buck, be sure you are just high on the shoulder and hold right at the base of his neck for wind drift, we're probably going to get 6 to 8 inches of wind drift. BOOM, nothing, he's still standing there shoot again, BOOM, the buck moved a little and stopped, BOOM he moved more, buck was moving into the brush, BOOM, buck moved into another opening following his doe and stopped, BOOM, still nothing! "Hold on Mark!" I turned to Mike "Mike hand me your gun, we know it's right on!"
We decided to stop and shoot Mark's gun, sure enough the bullet hit the top edge of the target, more than 5 inches high at 100 yards, Mark had been shooting over the buck at 336 yards.
A good lesson for us all. Sight your gun in when you get to where you are hunting. You never know what happened while traveling.
Post by: Gringo31 on November 30, 2015, 08:18:18 AM
Post by: bearpaw on December 04, 2015, 02:24:08 AM
We heard some shots on the neighboring property and moved over to look into the canyon next to that property. We spotted a fork horn buck that had a broken rear leg and a broken jaw hanging, wow how could anyone be that bad of shot.
Probably something like thisThe range 336 yards, I whispered "Hold high on the shoulder but not over the buck, be sure you are just high on the shoulder and hold right at the base of his neck for wind drift, we're probably going to get 6 to 8 inches of wind drift. BOOM, nothing, he's still standing there shoot again, BOOM, the buck moved a little and stopped, BOOM he moved more, buck was moving into the brush, BOOM, buck moved into another opening following his doe and stopped, BOOM, still nothing! "Hold on Mark!" I turned to Mike "Mike hand me your gun, we know it's right on!"
We decided to stop and shoot Mark's gun, sure enough the bullet hit the top edge of the target, more than 5 inches high at 100 yards, Mark had been shooting over the buck at 336 yards.
A good lesson for us all. Sight your gun in when you get to where you are hunting. You never know what happened while traveling.
So very true! :tup:
We try to check guns when hunters arrive, we've learned that generally 30% to 50% of scopes need adjustment, roughly 5% to 10% have serious problems such as loose mounting screws on bases or rings, scopes that have been damaged and need replaced, or other serious issues. Sometimes we are out hunting until after dark the evening someone arrives or they arrive after dark, I usually ask if they have shot recently and if the flew to get here. As soon as someone misses, if we haven't shot their gun I am immediately thinking we need to shoot the gun at a target. More times than not, the scope needs adjustment.
Post by: bearpaw on December 04, 2015, 02:45:14 AM
Waiting for the cat pics!!!
I've got quite a few more photos and stories to share, and yes, there are cat photos already too. Been super busy, will try to get more added as soon as possible, it's time to go hunting, so gotta go! :tup:
Post by: Mark251 on December 04, 2015, 12:40:30 PM
Post by: bearpaw on December 06, 2015, 08:18:16 AM
Post by: deerhunter_98520 on December 06, 2015, 09:51:35 AM
Post by: Killmore on December 06, 2015, 12:24:29 PM
Post by: bearpaw on December 07, 2015, 02:44:16 AM
We have found old tracks of three toms in different areas the last few days, waiting for one of them to cross again! :tup:
Post by: Skyvalhunter on December 07, 2015, 05:44:07 AM
Post by: GrainfedMuley on December 09, 2015, 09:31:45 AM
So jealous...would love to come on a cat hunt one of these years...probably not till the kids are out of the house :chuckle:
How about a wolf hunt? How much? I would love to do my share on trying to eradicate them again.
Post by: KFhunter on December 12, 2015, 07:56:40 PM
That's a Yamaha Phazer 4 stroke, they seem to be good sleds for cat hunting. We put a lot of miles on equipment, had to get away from 2 stroke engines. We have 3 of them, unless it gets too cold I like riding this one with no windshield, easier to see tracks!
We have found old tracks of three toms in different areas the last few days, waiting for one of them to cross again! :tup:
Too bad those don't come with 15 inch wide tracks :bash: They're like a chainsaw in deeper snow, chewing their way right to the bottom.
Look forward to seeing more cat pictures, love to see the chase just as much as the trophy shot.
Post by: bearpaw on December 12, 2015, 09:29:04 PM
So jealous...would love to come on a cat hunt one of these years...probably not till the kids are out of the house :chuckle:
How about a wolf hunt? How much? I would love to do my share on trying to eradicate them again.
We do have some wolves in one of my hunt areas and tags are available but I don't want to book any hunts until we have figured out hunting them a little better. I might have time for that after we finish some of the cat hunts. A cat/wolf combo would be a good hunt!
Post by: bearpaw on December 12, 2015, 09:32:43 PM
That's a Yamaha Phazer 4 stroke, they seem to be good sleds for cat hunting. We put a lot of miles on equipment, had to get away from 2 stroke engines. We have 3 of them, unless it gets too cold I like riding this one with no windshield, easier to see tracks!
We have found old tracks of three toms in different areas the last few days, waiting for one of them to cross again! :tup:
Too bad those don't come with 15 inch wide tracks :bash: They're like a chainsaw in deeper snow, chewing their way right to the bottom.
Look forward to seeing more cat pictures, love to see the chase just as much as the trophy shot.
In real deep snow it's tough to beat a scandic. We've got an older skandic with about 10,000 miles we use to break trails into deep snow areas. I've been looking at the new scandics with the SW Track and 900 4 stroke engine. I've heard of guys getting 20,000 miles out of those newer 4 stoke machines.
Post by: KFhunter on December 12, 2015, 10:18:26 PM
Post by: bearpaw on December 23, 2015, 10:24:53 AM
We had a big snow a week or so ago, there was about 26 inches of fresh snow where I was trying to cougar hunt. I made it 3/4 of the way to the top of the pass and starting getting stuck, I got tired of digging out, I had to turn around and go back to the truck.
I love the adventure of snowmobiling into remote areas in the winter, but you really have to bundle up when it's cold out and snowmobiling for hours!
Post by: GrainfedMuley on December 23, 2015, 10:38:46 AM
Post by: bearpaw on December 26, 2015, 08:07:31 AM
Post by: HUNTINCOUPLE on December 26, 2015, 08:17:31 AM
Post by: BOWHUNTER45 on December 26, 2015, 08:21:46 AM
Post by: bearpaw on December 26, 2015, 01:14:17 PM
Brian was at the tree first, the hunter was with Daniel and I hiking in. As we were getting within a couple hundred yards of the tree we heard Ruby, (the mascot, so to speak) running past us barking but no hounds, I wondered what on earth was going on with Ruby. Pretty quick I talked with Brian and he said the cat had jumped and circled and messed up the dogs. As it turned out Ruby was the first dog to figure it out and caught the lion on her own before the hounds got there. Some of you guys have seen Ruby, she is about a 12 to 15 pound Jadg/Irish terrier cross. :chuckle:
The hunter said he wanted the female so we let him shoot her. He fired, she jumped and hit the ground running. We tie the hounds back but had left Ruby loose and she was right on the cats heels. Brian followed with a leash full of hounds which he soon turned loose. I told the hunter to follow as fast as he could. The dogs bayed the cat on the ground after roughly a few hundred yards. The cat had a broken front arm but no other damage and was taking turns biting dogs, it had Toes head in it's mouth so Brian grabbed the cat by the tail, it let go of Toes and came at Brian, the hounds all grabbed it before it got Brian and then it turned and had another hound in it's mouth. Brian grabbed it by the tail again and it let go and came at him again, the dogs grabbed the cat again so it turned on the dogs again, I think this time it grabbed Ruby, the cat had Ruby in it's mouth like a rag doll. Brian grabbed the cat by the tail again and it let go of Ruby. About that time the hunter got there and they shot the cat several more times which finished it off.
I was most worried about Ruby as she was losing a lot of blood and she's not a very big dog. We kept Toes and Ruby in the house for several days and poured lots of antibiotics into both of them. Fortunately Toes had been bit more on the nose than the skull and it seems there was no skull damage. They have both made full recoveries and are back to normal health and have chased more cats since then. We are fortunate no dogs or guides were hurt worse in that fiasco! I've had past similar experiences that have resulted in dead dogs or cats getting a hold of a guide!
At any rate it seems no permanent damage was done. Sorry no photos during the fiasco, we were too busy trying to save the dogs!
Post by: BOWHUNTER45 on December 26, 2015, 01:30:07 PM
Post by: bearpaw on December 26, 2015, 02:18:50 PM
Post by: deerhunter_98520 on December 26, 2015, 04:44:49 PM
Post by: bearpaw on December 26, 2015, 08:03:05 PM
Have you ever thought about go pros for your guides? That would of been a hell of a hunt to watch
Yes, but implementation has lagged! :dunno:
Post by: deerhunter_98520 on December 26, 2015, 10:49:49 PM
Post by: bearpaw on December 27, 2015, 10:07:35 AM
At any rate on the 5th hunt day after passing other tracks each day we finally turned loose on a decent cougar track in 6 inches of fresh snow. The track was made early in the night but the dogs frantically followed the tracks. Because this was pretty big country I had Daniel follow the chase from the beginning in case I lost reception of the dog's collars. During the chase Daniel saw where our cat had crossed path with another smaller cat, two of my dogs, Lady and Banjo followed the larger cat and one dog, Blue, followed the smaller cat. As I had figured would happen, I lost signal with all the dogs, but I was able to talk to Daniel with the fm radios and keep track of what was happening with the chase. Daniel figured he was staying within a half mile of the dogs most of the time, the cat was moving straight through the country, it was literally changing country and not hunting at all, this was going to be a tough hike for Daniel.
Daniel was now about 3 miles from where we started the track a couple hours after daylight, he said the snow was thigh deep where he was following the chase. We were getting into the afternoon, I was beginning to worry about wrapping this hunt up by dark. We are not allowed to hunt after dark so time was becoming a concern. Finally Daniel was rolling over the top into another drainage that we could access part way so Steve and I rode the two ATV's back to the truck, loaded them up and drove around to the other drainage. We unloaded two snowmobiles this time since the snow was deeper in this area and headed up the drainage. I stopped and checked the dogs, at least we had a signal on the dogs now. We rode the snowmobiles as far as we can legally ride them, we parked and started walking.
By now Daniel said that he thought he could hear Banjo and Lady barking treed and was headed down into the canyon to where he thought they were treed. He said that he could hear Blue farther up the canyon going the other direction, still trailing the other cat. He said that Lady and Banjo were chasing the bigger track so we were concentrating on them. Steve and I were about 1/2 mile from the snowmobiles when Daniel called and said he got to the tree and was looking at the cat. We continued for another few hundred yards and finally could hear the dogs. That seemed to energize us both as we picked up the pace.
We had it really easy compared to Daniel's hike, the old road we followed came to within 150 yards of the dogs, then we climbed the steep slippery hillside to get to Daniel, the dogs, and the cat. We snapped a few photos, Daniel leashed the dogs, and I videoed Steve as he shot the cat with a 44 lever action. Because we already had a bad experience on a wounded cat this year I reminded Steve to shoot until the cat fell out dead. His first shot was perfect, the cat tried to climb higher while Steve put 2 or 3 more bullets into the cat for good measure, then it fell out dead. Excellent shooting Steve! :tup:
Daniel was now shivering due to his long hard hike and sweating, the sun was dropping and it was really cooling off fast. I checked on Blue and it appeared he was getting closer, hopefully he had heard the shooting and gave up the other track. I drug the cat to the road and left it with the guys while I headed up canyon looking for Blue. I think he had started coming to us but stumbled onto an old cougar kill, I found Blue chewing on bones at an old deer kill. Blue followed me back to the other guys and we all headed back to the snowmobiles, we fired them up and rode back to the truck. After we got back and took care of everything we went to town and had a nice rib eye steak dinner, we lamented on the day's hunt as we cleaned up our plates, it was a great meal.
I love it when a plan comes together!
Post by: JJB11B on December 27, 2015, 05:21:19 PM
I blew a rear main seal in my Ford F-350 7.3 a few days ago on the way out cougar hunting. I had been watching for Dodges with the older Cummins and manual tranny for a while and jumped on this 2005 a few days later when I saw it had only 49,000 miles.that's a pretty truck! what year ford was it?
Post by: bearpaw on December 28, 2015, 10:01:07 AM
I blew a rear main seal in my Ford F-350 7.3 a few days ago on the way out cougar hunting. I had been watching for Dodges with the older Cummins and manual tranny for a while and jumped on this 2005 a few days later when I saw it had only 49,000 miles.that's a pretty truck! what year ford was it?
The ford is a 2003 with the 7.3 powerstroke. The dodge seems to be more powerful and a little better fuel mileage but I already miss the much roomier ford crew cab. We may keep the ford as a backup truck, not sure what I'm going to do with it yet. Apparently the computer shuts the engine off before engine damage can occur when oil pressure drops. That seems to be what happened, I was going down the road and the engine just shut off, the engine seems to be ok.
Post by: Gringo31 on December 28, 2015, 11:25:44 AM
Post by: KFhunter on December 28, 2015, 08:31:52 PM
Post by: bearpaw on December 28, 2015, 09:15:30 PM
Brian circled around the back side of the mountain in the timber and found the tracks and got the dogs going again. I was checking other roads to see if the cat had crossed again, no luck, it sure would have been nice to get them on a fresher track. Finally the dogs were making pretty good time following the tracks in the timber. In a few hours we figured the dogs were treed and we searched for the best way to get to them.
Brian headed in from the end of a road and let me know that he could hear the dogs when he got in a ways, the guys and I headed in the same way. Brian got to the dogs to find them not at a tree, they were baying all around some old slash piles. Suddenly the cat walks out about 20 feet from Brian without fear, looked at him and proceeded to walk away with the dogs baying aggressively. One of the dogs got too close and the cat grabbed the dog, here we go again, another nasty cat situation. Brian ran at the cat yelling and the cat let go and ran down the canyon with dogs following.
I knew something was up when the dogs moved down canyon and were now just below me. I could hear little Ruby the terrier going wild so I knew things must have gotten pretty western! I called Brian he told me what happened and said he was just approaching the tree it had gone up. He said the cat was moving all over in the the tree and it jumped out again while we were talking, the dogs followed farther down the canyon and it treed again. The hounds and Ruby were all going wild. I told the hunters to hurry down the hill to the tree as fast as they could, Brian would be there, don't shoot until he has the dogs leashed and tells you to shoot! I would move my snowmobile back down the trail closer to where the dogs were at now and hike in from there.
When the hunters got to Brian he leashed the hounds and called me, "This cat is going to jump again, I'm going to have them shoot it!" I answered, "Go ahead, get it done!" I listened and in a few moments I heard the shot, then a finish shot. Brian called and said it was done, a great shot with a back up shot just to be sure, the cat was dead when it hit the ground. BUT, he said a couple of the dogs got chewed up when the cat was on the ground bayed up. He was going to take photos, skin the cat, and bring out whatever meat was desired. While he did that I went to where his machine was parked and got both dog trailer/sleds and moved them down the mountain and waited for the guys.
When they met me the father "Ken" was elated with his cougar, he said "It was a lifetime dream come true, unbelievable, it couldn't have been any better!" I gave Brian a ride back up to get his machine, we rode back down to the guys, we loaded everything and headed for the trucks. Another great day in the wild outdoors!
(Toes was bitten pretty badly in the hind quarters and her tail was nearly bitten off, the next day she could barely walk, 5 days in the house with lots of antibiotics seems to be working, we were worried about her tail dieing and needing docked like the terrier but it looks like her tail might recover too!)
Post by: RadSav on December 28, 2015, 09:19:53 PM
...I was going down the road and the engine just shut off, the engine seems to be ok.
I had a similar thing happen to one of my big ford trucks. Was at the dealership about to trade it in on a new truck when one of the meck-n-nicks came out and said, "Let me try something first." He peels the carpet up under the passenger dash and whacks the emergency roll over fuel shutoff switch with a hammer. Then says, "Try to turn her over now." Vroom vroom!!! $25 replacement switch was much more in my budget than a new $40K truck. :chuckle:
Post by: jrebel on December 28, 2015, 09:26:23 PM
Post by: bearpaw on December 28, 2015, 09:26:48 PM
...I was going down the road and the engine just shut off, the engine seems to be ok.
I had a similar thing happen to one of my big ford trucks. Was at the dealership about to trade it in on a new truck when one of the meck-n-nicks came out and said, "Let me try something first." He peels the carpet up under the passenger dash and whacks the emergency roll over fuel shutoff switch with a hammer. Then says, "Try to turn her over now." Vroom vroom!!! $25 replacement switch was much more in my budget than a new $40K truck. :chuckle:
Sure wished that was the case! I had oil everywhere in the engine compartment and it was draining out on the ground too. They've got it running again, but it's hard to start, they are trying to resolve that starting issue and I will get it back. I know the rear seal part of the bill will be about $900 plus this other stuff, hoping no more than $1700.
Post by: bearpaw on December 28, 2015, 09:33:02 PM
That is a hell of a find on the 05 dodge. Super low miles and looks to be in amazing shape. My 06 has 160K and is still running strong. :tup: :tup:
There was another 2004 with 70k miles, $28,000. Salt Lake area for anyone interested.
This is the best classifieds I know of, over 62,000 autos listed right now, I've bought a lot of stuff through this site:
http://www.ksl.com/auto/
Post by: Boss .300 winmag on December 28, 2015, 09:37:11 PM
That is a hell of a find on the 05 dodge. Super low miles and looks to be in amazing shape. My 06 has 160K and is still running strong. :tup: :tup:
There was another 2004 with 70k miles, $28,000. Salt Lake area for anyone interested.
This is the best classifieds I know of, over 62,000 autos listed right now, I've bought a lot of stuff through this site:
http://www.ksl.com/auto/
That's crazy, I paid 32,000 brand new for my 2004. :chuckle:
Post by: bearpaw on December 28, 2015, 09:56:26 PM
That is a hell of a find on the 05 dodge. Super low miles and looks to be in amazing shape. My 06 has 160K and is still running strong. :tup: :tup:
There was another 2004 with 70k miles, $28,000. Salt Lake area for anyone interested.
This is the best classifieds I know of, over 62,000 autos listed right now, I've bought a lot of stuff through this site:
http://www.ksl.com/auto/
That's crazy, I paid 32,000 brand new for my 2004. :chuckle:
I agree but that's the market! The guy who traded in my truck bought a new Ford Super Duty for $72,000, with tax, license, and fees, I bet it was close to $80k. I think new vehicles prices and cheap fuel is driving up the price of good used big vehicles, especially low mileage desirable models. I felt fortunate to find that Dodge at that price!
2 years ago I bought a 99 Suburban with 96k miles for $4500, I could resell it today for $2000 to $3000 more.
6 years ago I traded in a 2000 Chevy 3500 on the ford for $4000 and felt good, I think the same truck would trade in for at least 50% more today.
Post by: JimmyHoffa on December 28, 2015, 09:59:41 PM
Post by: JJB11B on December 30, 2015, 04:16:16 PM
Those cats are awesome! I would love to do that someday!
Post by: bearpaw on January 01, 2016, 01:45:11 PM
I walked the dogs up the track a few steps and the dogs all opened up barking, I released the hounds and the chase was on. The track had drifted in some places and a few times the dogs struggled but eventually worked it out every time. They were now covering ground pretty fast. I went to the nearest summit and listened, the dogs were way up the canyon, their howling was barely echoing out. We drove around to a different summit on the other side of the dogs, I had to make several runs breaking trail and then we were able to get everyone in to where we could hear the dogs better. We decided they were treed but couldn't tell exactly where they were. We decided to just take off walking and when we got closer we would be able to go directly to them.
We were getting close, I had the video camera out when we spotted the cat 100 yards away. It was climbing all over the tree and the dogs were going wild. We closed the gap to 50 yards and the cat jumped, with dogs in hot pursuit the cat headed to the bottom of the canyon. They treed the cat again in a few hundred yards and we approached again, we got to within about 50 yards and the cat jumped again heading down canyon with dogs right behind. In a few hundred yards the cat treed again, this time he went farther up the tree. We approached quickly, Daniel leashed the dogs, Adam prepared for the shot, and I had the video rolling. "He's a little better cat than I thought, take careful aim and put a bullet right through his chest, shoot again if he doesn't fall out!"
Adam made a good shot, the cat jumped but wasn't making good time and soon went down within 100 yards, Adam and Daniel approached the downed cat cautiously and Adam finished him off. We took photos and then headed down canyon with the dogs and cat. Brian never did get the bigger cat going and came with his snowmobile to a road down the canyon from us. We all loaded onto his Phazer and dog box sled, 5 hunters, three dogs, and the dead cougar, that was about 1300 pounds, a real test of that machine! :chuckle:
Adam and Ken were on cloud nine after having both killed nice cats and getting exactly what they wanted for their mounts, a tom and a female. Congrats guys on a great hunt! :tup:
Post by: WapitiTalk1 on January 01, 2016, 01:51:57 PM
Post by: bearpaw on January 01, 2016, 02:09:27 PM
I must have just missed seeing a female and yearling cougar, it was snowing pretty good and there was no snow in the tracks, the photo shows where they jumped off the road!
We had one little mishap where our friend took an alternate route! Obviously he ate a little crow over that! :chuckle:
Post by: Mark251 on January 01, 2016, 09:14:40 PM
Post by: Jonathan_S on January 05, 2016, 07:35:39 AM
Post by: bearpaw on January 07, 2016, 01:14:57 PM
They will finish photos, skin and butcher the cat and head out to the snowmobiles where I am waiting with Blake's parents.
Post by: cbond3318 on January 07, 2016, 01:19:08 PM
Post by: bearpaw on January 07, 2016, 01:26:03 PM
Post by: bearpaw on January 07, 2016, 01:31:34 PM
Post by: bearpaw on January 10, 2016, 10:39:32 AM
those 7.3 fords are worth a Mint here in my area, farmers love em. Rarely find them for sale. I got $9500 out of my 99 F350 with 235K miles on it when I traded it in, and it needed massive transmission work....but back to Dales hunting stuff.
Those cats are awesome! I would love to do that someday!
I got the 03 Ford back on Friday, rear main seal was gone and a bolt behind the oil filter was leaking. They also did a few other minor things, the bill was a little under $1200, ouch! I drove it and it seems to run as good as before so hopefully there was no engine damage. Wife thinks I should keep it, I actually like driving it better than the dodge, but the dodge does get better mileage and seems to have more power. Might keep both trucks!
Post by: BOWHUNTER45 on January 10, 2016, 11:26:32 AM
Post by: GrainfedMuley on January 16, 2016, 12:59:14 PM
Blake our hunter just dropped this 130 pound Tom. The cat had treed once then jumped, the dogs treed him again, Brian and Blake pushed their way through waist deep snow to get to this cat. Brian leashed the dogs and Blake shot the cat. It jumped again, they pursued a short distance and Ruby the terrier bayed the cat and Blake finished it off. I love it when a plan comes together. :tup:
They will finish photos, skin and butcher the cat and head out to the snowmobiles where I am waiting with Blake's parents.
Dale, is that one of those bad so-called assault rifle he is holding? :chuckle: Or is it OK because it is cammoed? But that does bring up a question that I had never thought about. Is there a minimum caliber for hunting cats? I realize a .22lr is out of the question. Just wondering.
Post by: jackelope on January 16, 2016, 06:32:06 PM
Post by: RadSav on January 16, 2016, 11:34:09 PM
.22 centerfire is minimum in Washington. Not sure where Dale is or what the law says there.
I believe, but not 100% certain, that you can use a 22 Magnum rimfire in Idaho. Finding clear rules and regulations regarding legal firearms makes WA synopsis seem well written. :o
Post by: bearpaw on February 13, 2016, 07:15:41 AM
Weapon Restrictions
Rifle and Shotgun
In any hunt, including any-weapon seasons, it is unlawful to
pursue or kill big game animals:
• By any means other than approved firearms,
muzzleloaders and archery methods.
• With any electronic device attached to, or incorporated
on, the firearm or scope; except scopes containing
battery powered or tritium lighted reticles are allowed.
• With any firearm that, in combination with a scope,
sling and/or any attachments, weighs more than 16
pounds.
• With any fully automatic firearm.
• With any shotgun using shot smaller than #00 buck.
• With any rimfire rifle, rimfire handgun, or muzzleloading
handgun, except for mountain lions or legally trapped
gray wolves.
Post by: bearpaw on February 13, 2016, 08:31:38 AM
There were no deer tracks back in there, but the cat's belly was full, he was also full of quills, it was obvious he had been living on porcupines and probably some rabbits too. There were fresh quills and old quills, apparently due to evolution the quills don't fester in lions, they seem to be immune to them. Almost every cat we've ever taken had at least a few quills in their forearms.
Disclaimer: No dogs were harmed in the making of this hunt, not even Ruby! :chuckle:
Post by: CementFinisher on February 13, 2016, 08:52:24 AM
Post by: bearpaw on February 13, 2016, 08:56:42 AM
Does ruby tree? Or run a track more like a trigg and lounge at the tree?
She trees real good now, she used to just look up the tree, after that one cat had her in it's mouth she really trees good. She also really keeps her eye on the cat, watching it's every move in the tree. The hunters get a kick out of her, she's a real ham with everyone.
Post by: GrainfedMuley on February 13, 2016, 09:00:37 AM
Does ruby tree? Or run a track more like a trigg and lounge at the tree?
She trees real good now, she used to just look up the tree, after that one cat had her in it's mouth she really trees good. She also really keeps her eye on the cat, watching it's every move in the tree. The hunters get a kick out of her, she's a real ham with everyone.
In the pic, which one is she?
Post by: bearpaw on February 13, 2016, 09:03:26 AM
Does ruby tree? Or run a track more like a trigg and lounge at the tree?
She trees real good now, she used to just look up the tree, after that one cat had her in it's mouth she really trees good. She also really keeps her eye on the cat, watching it's every move in the tree. The hunters get a kick out of her, she's a real ham with everyone.
In Idaho we can use a blood trailing dog on a leash to find wounded deer/elk. She is especially good at doing that too! We've found several animals with her blood trailing abilities. :tup:
She's the little terrier, probably weighs 12 or 15 pounds! :chuckle:
Post by: bearpaw on February 13, 2016, 09:05:27 AM
Post by: bearpaw on February 13, 2016, 09:11:54 AM
(you can see how deep the snow was too) :chuckle:
Post by: bearpaw on February 13, 2016, 09:27:59 AM
Ruby is half Jag and half Irish with a much milder manner. Some of her litter mates I'm told are more aggressive acting.