Post by: bearpaw on March 15, 2023, 08:01:58 AM
Post by: hunter399 on March 15, 2023, 08:25:55 AM
Freaking biggin on the end.
Look In good. 👍
Post by: kellama2001 on March 15, 2023, 08:26:46 AM
Post by: bearpaw on March 17, 2023, 12:16:10 PM
Post by: RB on March 17, 2023, 12:30:16 PM
Post by: Machias on March 17, 2023, 02:43:09 PM
Post by: huntnfmly on March 17, 2023, 05:18:59 PM
Post by: bearpaw on March 25, 2023, 07:40:03 AM
Post by: bearpaw on March 25, 2023, 07:41:48 AM
Post by: bearpaw on March 25, 2023, 07:52:40 AM
I'm undecided how the overall population compares to recent years, the hatch was definitely negatively impacted last summer by rains, and winter was fairly harsh, and as usual there were some variations with where flocks wintered over. There seems to be a fair number of birds and as we scout more I'll get a better feel for the overall population.
Post by: bearpaw on March 28, 2023, 01:19:12 PM
Post by: bearpaw on March 28, 2023, 01:24:50 PM
Post by: bearpaw on March 28, 2023, 04:21:39 PM
Post by: huntnfmly on March 28, 2023, 05:01:46 PM
Post by: bearpaw on March 31, 2023, 04:28:25 PM
Post by: huntnfmly on March 31, 2023, 05:31:34 PM
That’ll do it
Post by: Twispriver on March 31, 2023, 06:45:28 PM
Post by: bearpaw on April 01, 2023, 11:05:41 AM
Have fun with the kids :tup:
Thanks, I wished I was out hunting. :tup:
I'm actually still at my home in Idaho taking care of the boring part of business, my wife Tara and guides Daniel, Zach, and Ray are taking care of everyone. I'm told there was action for everyone this morning but no dead birds yet, sometimes you just have to work through a few bugs, but it will come. Right now they are having lunch and will take a little break from the snowy weather this morning.
Post by: bearpaw on April 01, 2023, 09:18:19 PM
Post by: huntnfmly on April 02, 2023, 04:54:49 AM
Post by: bearpaw on April 15, 2023, 12:20:31 PM
Post by: bearpaw on April 15, 2023, 12:26:48 PM
Post by: bearpaw on April 15, 2023, 12:31:26 PM
Post by: bearpaw on April 15, 2023, 12:34:22 PM
Guys are headed back out for the evening hunt. :hunter:
Post by: bearpaw on April 15, 2023, 01:45:49 PM
Post by: huntnfmly on April 15, 2023, 02:56:20 PM
Thanks for posting Dale
Post by: bearpaw on April 15, 2023, 06:23:42 PM
Post by: bearpaw on April 15, 2023, 06:26:08 PM
Post by: ShaneTyTrey on April 15, 2023, 09:15:10 PM
Youth hunt and first day snow gobbler success for Trey, thanks Jeff and Trey, it’s always a pleasure having you guys for a hunt.Thanks Dale, always a pleasure to spend the weekend with you guys.
Post by: bearpaw on April 16, 2023, 10:58:33 AM
Post by: kellama2001 on April 16, 2023, 11:12:41 AM
Post by: bearpaw on April 16, 2023, 01:19:21 PM
Post by: bearpaw on April 16, 2023, 08:41:39 PM
Wallace was amazed at how many turkeys he saw and this morning he closed another chapter in his 49 state quest with two nice Montana toms! Congrats Wallace!
Post by: RB on April 16, 2023, 10:03:54 PM
Post by: bearpaw on April 17, 2023, 08:57:13 AM
Quest for 49 states, that is cool!
It's becoming a very popular goal for turkey hunters across the country, probably about 25% of our hunters are pursuing the 49 State Slam.
Post by: bearpaw on April 17, 2023, 12:10:42 PM
Post by: bearpaw on April 17, 2023, 12:14:49 PM
Post by: huntnfmly on April 17, 2023, 12:35:08 PM
Nice looking birds thank you for posting
Post by: bearpaw on April 17, 2023, 01:23:32 PM
Meanwhile Daniel was sitting watching another nearby spot scouting and birds showed up all around him, when the birds left he picked up Mike for lunch.
Post by: Machias on April 17, 2023, 02:20:24 PM
Post by: Twispriver on April 18, 2023, 12:12:58 PM
He is probably the kindest, most decent man I have ever met.
Post by: bearpaw on April 19, 2023, 02:42:12 PM
Good for Mike :tup::yeah: definitely
He is probably the kindest, most decent man I have ever met.
Post by: pianoman9701 on April 19, 2023, 03:49:47 PM
Post by: bearpaw on April 21, 2023, 10:14:47 AM
Post by: huntnfmly on April 21, 2023, 10:56:20 AM
Post by: bearpaw on April 21, 2023, 11:11:01 AM
Post by: huntnfmly on April 21, 2023, 01:12:06 PM
Post by: Machias on April 21, 2023, 01:24:39 PM
Post by: bearpaw on April 22, 2023, 06:32:20 AM
Post by: bearpaw on April 22, 2023, 06:49:24 AM
Post by: bearpaw on April 22, 2023, 10:07:01 AM
(I'm missing one photo)
Post by: bearpaw on April 22, 2023, 10:36:36 AM
Meanwhile Eric has only seen hens this morning but that can change at any time! I told him to hang in there, but I know it's tough when your father-in-law is hammering birds left and right (literally) and all you are seeing is hens, but it will come!
Post by: bearpaw on April 22, 2023, 12:10:41 PM
Yesterday Zach and his hunter had a tom come in to about 30 yards, boom, tom down, but they sat tight and quiet so the hens would move away on their own without being spooked so bad as running at them. There is nothing in this world that freaks birds out as much as a hunter running out to pick up a flopping bird.
The hunter watched the downed bird while Zach was watching the hens move away, suddenly the bird was on it's feet again, better hit him again, whammo, bird down second time, but hens are still not far away, so waiting continues and suddenly that tom is on his feet again, whammo, tom down third time, the hens are still within sight, but the third hit surely should has put him away for good. Better reload just in case!
Suddenly, tom is back on his feet again, whammo, tom down a 4th time, and by now the hens are out of sight so the hunters get up and go to get their prize, but what happens, tom jumps back up and is getting away, so whammo, tom down a 5th time, and Zach is able to retrieve the tom this time.
Back at the skinning area bb's are falling out as Zach skins and cleans the bird, amazingly most of the meat is salvageable. Finally after seeing some of the shot and then checking remaining cartridges it's figured out that the wrong cartridges were brought for the hunt, the moral of the story: "Don't accidentally take duck loads turkey hunting!"
The steel shot was not penetrating enough to kill the turkey, most of the shot fell out during skinning, however, that bird might have won a "heaviest bird" contest, LOL!
I give the same hunter a box of #6 turkey loads and the same hunter mowed over another tom this morning with one shot from the same gun!
Post by: huntnfmly on April 22, 2023, 12:17:59 PM
Post by: Duckslayer89 on April 22, 2023, 12:27:38 PM
The Moral Of The Story!
Yesterday Zach and his hunter had a tom come in to about 30 yards, boom, tom down, but they sat tight and quiet so the hens would move away on their own without being spooked so bad as running at them. There is nothing in this world that freaks birds out as much as a hunter running out to pick up a flopping bird.
The hunter watched the downed bird while Zach was watching the hens move away, suddenly the bird was on it's feet again, better hit him again, whammo, bird down second time, but hens are still not far away, so waiting continues and suddenly that tom is on his feet again, whammo, tom down third time, the hens are still within sight, but the third hit surely should has put him away for good. Better reload just in case!
Suddenly, tom is back on his feet again, whammo, tom down a 4th time, and by now the hens are out of sight so the hunters get up and go to get their prize, but what happens, tom jumps back up and is getting away, so whammo, tom down a 5th time, and Zach is able to retrieve the tom this time.
Back at the skinning area bb's are falling out as Zach skins and cleans the bird, amazingly most of the meat is salvageable. Finally after seeing some of the shot and then checking remaining cartridges it's figured out that the wrong cartridges were brought for the hunt, the moral of the story: "Don't accidentally take duck loads turkey hunting!"
The steel shot was not penetrating enough to kill the turkey, most of the shot fell out during skinning, however, that bird might have won a "heaviest bird" contest, LOL!
I give the same hunter a box of #6 turkey loads and the same hunter mowed over another tom this morning with one shot from the same gun!
Steel loads through an X full can get dicey too I would imagine!!
Post by: bearpaw on April 22, 2023, 12:30:33 PM
The Moral Of The Story!
Yesterday Zach and his hunter had a tom come in to about 30 yards, boom, tom down, but they sat tight and quiet so the hens would move away on their own without being spooked so bad as running at them. There is nothing in this world that freaks birds out as much as a hunter running out to pick up a flopping bird.
The hunter watched the downed bird while Zach was watching the hens move away, suddenly the bird was on it's feet again, better hit him again, whammo, bird down second time, but hens are still not far away, so waiting continues and suddenly that tom is on his feet again, whammo, tom down third time, the hens are still within sight, but the third hit surely should has put him away for good. Better reload just in case!
Suddenly, tom is back on his feet again, whammo, tom down a 4th time, and by now the hens are out of sight so the hunters get up and go to get their prize, but what happens, tom jumps back up and is getting away, so whammo, tom down a 5th time, and Zach is able to retrieve the tom this time.
Back at the skinning area bb's are falling out as Zach skins and cleans the bird, amazingly most of the meat is salvageable. Finally after seeing some of the shot and then checking remaining cartridges it's figured out that the wrong cartridges were brought for the hunt, the moral of the story: "Don't accidentally take duck loads turkey hunting!"
The steel shot was not penetrating enough to kill the turkey, most of the shot fell out during skinning, however, that bird might have won a "heaviest bird" contest, LOL!
I give the same hunter a box of #6 turkey loads and the same hunter mowed over another tom this morning with one shot from the same gun!
Steel loads through an X full can get dicey too I would imagine!!
:yeah: Hope no damage was done?
Post by: bearpaw on April 28, 2023, 08:18:02 PM
Post by: WapitiTalk1 on April 28, 2023, 08:27:32 PM
Tom from Maine is one gobbler closer to his one year archery world slam after arrowing this nice Merriam’s today!
Sweet! Congrats to Tom and as always, to the Bearpaw guide who made this possible.
Post by: idaho guy on April 28, 2023, 08:53:40 PM
Post by: bearpaw on April 29, 2023, 12:32:11 PM
Post by: bearpaw on April 29, 2023, 12:35:22 PM
Post by: bearpaw on April 29, 2023, 12:53:23 PM
Post by: Machias on May 01, 2023, 08:38:13 AM
Post by: bearpaw on May 02, 2023, 10:56:57 AM
Post by: bearpaw on May 02, 2023, 02:08:25 PM
Post by: Machias on May 02, 2023, 03:01:41 PM
Thanks Fred, hope you are getting some action on your baits. We still have only one bear hitting our baits but these warm days should bring more bear out. The guys saw a a different bear the other day laying on top of the snow sunning himself! About two feet of snow! LOL
Getting my second bait out tonight. Nothing on the first one, but it is in a brand new place on private property. Not sure how many bears are there, but not many on this property. May take a while before they find it. Good luck, can't wait to see some bears being harvested by your hunters!!
Post by: bearpaw on May 05, 2023, 07:42:28 AM
Thanks Fred, hope you are getting some action on your baits. We still have only one bear hitting our baits but these warm days should bring more bear out. The guys saw a a different bear the other day laying on top of the snow sunning himself! About two feet of snow! LOL
Getting my second bait out tonight. Nothing on the first one, but it is in a brand new place on private property. Not sure how many bears are there, but not many on this property. May take a while before they find it. Good luck, can't wait to see some bears being harvested by your hunters!!
Fred, we have bear on several baits now, the warm weather the last few days really got them moving, I bet you get some showing up soon.
Post by: bearpaw on May 05, 2023, 08:23:43 AM
I really enjoy hunting southern Idaho, Utah, and eastern Montana due to the dry climates. I don’t even mind snowmobiling in 20 below temps looking for cat tracks in the winter, but rain, that’s just not attractive! Yeah I know I’m a wet wimp, several friends even make fun of how I dislike rainy weather!
At any rate back to turkey season!
Last night a new group of hunters arrived, a great family, they hunted with us last year, two fathers, a son and daughter that married to bring them all together, and another son and wife with their 6 month baby. This morning five of them were up to go hunting, mom slept in with the baby.
It rained all night and still raining good this morning, but my hunter and I were in place well before turkey wake-up time. After about 30 minutes the birds started waking up, there was a lot of talking on the roost, the hens were getting excited and so was my hunter, nothing like a morning with noisy birds. Finally they came off the roost, I saw several fly down, I could here them working their way closer but there was a little rise so we could see over that rise to see the birds, finally I decided they had to be close enough, I whispered that I was going to half stand to get a peek, sure enough two Tom’s are strutting next to each other about 28 yards away, I told Tristen to slowly half stand and shoot when he had a clear shot, he rose slowly with me rising again right behind him, at first the birds were lined up but then they split a little, I was afraid we would kill one and wound the other, I whispered for him to wait till they split apart further, which they did and he dropped one, the other birds started running away, we couldn’t shoot at the other tom for fear of hitting hens too, then they got out of range. I whispered to slowly sit back down.
The birds had not seen us and pretty soon the other tom started coming back, we waited until he was close enough and I whispered for Tristen to stand again and shoot when he could see the tom, Tristen did it perfectly and the second tom bit the dirt.
We rounded up birds and gear as the rain kicked into over drive, we didn’t get very good photos of dead wet birds, but we sure had a fun hunt! I love it when a plan comes together, Congrats Tristen!
Meanwhile Tristen’s wife Emily got a bird with guide Zach, and one of the other family members missed a bird with guide Daniel and then got another bird with Daniel. So it’s already a four bird day on the first morning!
I told Tristen the only bad thing about being done early is now he has to babysit, I went and got mom, and she’s out hunting now!
Tristen’s birds here:
Post by: Machias on May 05, 2023, 11:25:45 AM
Post by: bearpaw on May 05, 2023, 07:03:06 PM
Post by: bearpaw on May 08, 2023, 09:00:42 AM
Post by: bearpaw on May 08, 2023, 09:12:18 AM
“Chewy” the Jack Russell even got in on the action, and one of the young hounds that is just getting started proved himself this morning!
Congrats to Josh for a dandy bear!
Post by: Gringo31 on May 08, 2023, 09:18:57 AM
Congrats on your success this season.
Post by: Machias on May 08, 2023, 01:25:38 PM
Post by: bearpaw on May 14, 2023, 08:53:35 PM
Post by: bearpaw on May 14, 2023, 08:55:33 PM
Post by: bearpaw on May 14, 2023, 08:57:49 PM
Post by: bearpaw on May 14, 2023, 09:04:40 PM
Post by: passman65 on May 14, 2023, 09:28:13 PM
Second bear taken was a color phase nailed by Francesco with guide Grant.
Very nice!
I can't wait! :)
Post by: dandjclements on May 15, 2023, 05:21:04 AM
Post by: Machias on May 15, 2023, 02:25:40 PM
I really like this photo of John Roberson and his son Boone from Mississippi posing with their recent Washington birds.
VERY cool photo!!!
Post by: bearpaw on May 15, 2023, 02:47:38 PM
Post by: bearpaw on May 16, 2023, 07:33:04 AM
Post by: bearpaw on May 17, 2023, 07:23:58 PM
Post by: bearpaw on May 17, 2023, 07:29:44 PM
Post by: bearpaw on May 17, 2023, 10:07:39 PM
Post by: bearpaw on May 18, 2023, 01:54:09 PM
Post by: kellama2001 on May 19, 2023, 05:45:43 AM
Post by: Twispriver on May 19, 2023, 06:46:26 AM
Post by: bearpaw on May 19, 2023, 12:07:38 PM
Do you keep a running camp count on turkeys? It looks like you had a good season.
Yes, my wife keeps track of the total number and where every bird was killed, also how many misses. Two years ago was our most birds taken, this year will probably be about our 6th to 8th place for total birds, part of that is due to quite a few of the hunters only wanting one bird. This year we did have had the highest percentage of adult birds ever. The hunters were very selective, only three jakes were taken.
Post by: Rainier10 on May 19, 2023, 01:14:50 PM
Three Jakes, nice job leaving some for next year. Conservation at its best right there.Do you keep a running camp count on turkeys? It looks like you had a good season.
Yes, my wife keeps track of the total number and where every bird was killed, also how many misses. Two years ago was our most birds taken, this year will probably be about our 6th to 8th place for total birds, part of that is due to quite a few of the hunters only wanting one bird. This year we did have had the highest percentage of adult birds ever. The hunters were very selective, only three jakes were taken.
Post by: bearpaw on May 19, 2023, 07:42:24 PM
Three Jakes, nice job leaving some for next year. Conservation at its best right there.Do you keep a running camp count on turkeys? It looks like you had a good season.
Yes, my wife keeps track of the total number and where every bird was killed, also how many misses. Two years ago was our most birds taken, this year will probably be about our 6th to 8th place for total birds, part of that is due to quite a few of the hunters only wanting one bird. This year we did have had the highest percentage of adult birds ever. The hunters were very selective, only three jakes were taken.
We are happy about getting nearly all mature birds but it’s really a reflection of the hunters we’ve had this year, the majority held out for mature birds. If a hunter sees a jake and wants to shoot it we usually let them. But we do have a couple properties where part of the arrangement is to only hunt mature birds. After hunting those properties that way I can say we’ve proven to ourselves it really does work best to only shoot mature birds.
Post by: bearpaw on May 19, 2023, 07:48:12 PM
Post by: bearpaw on May 20, 2023, 05:16:26 PM
Post by: passman65 on May 20, 2023, 07:18:26 PM
Another nice color phase that we will be looking for!
:yeah:
Post by: b23 on May 21, 2023, 10:24:49 AM
Another nice color phase that we will be looking for!
That's a healthy looking one that would certainly put a smile on someone's face.
Post by: bearpaw on May 21, 2023, 04:23:17 PM
He came in during daylight, so odds are good we get him unless he goes nocturnal, the nocturnal ones are more of a challenge!Another nice color phase that we will be looking for!
:yeah:
Post by: bearpaw on May 21, 2023, 04:29:06 PM
Post by: bearpaw on May 22, 2023, 01:28:06 PM
Post by: bearpaw on May 23, 2023, 02:02:15 PM
We have another big black bear located that the guides will be focusing on hunting, hopefully he goes home with one of our hunters this spring. We still haven’t gotten that last big color phase bear either yet.
I still have a couple June dates available if anyone would like to go on a good bear hunt?
Post by: bearpaw on May 24, 2023, 06:53:58 AM
Post by: bearpaw on May 25, 2023, 04:28:10 AM
Post by: bearpaw on May 25, 2023, 04:40:34 PM
Post by: bearpaw on May 26, 2023, 01:14:37 AM
Post by: bearpaw on May 27, 2023, 04:00:28 PM
Post by: bearpaw on May 30, 2023, 01:25:57 PM
Post by: passman65 on May 30, 2023, 01:39:34 PM
Post by: Karl Blanchard on May 30, 2023, 01:55:38 PM
Randon from Oklahoma put down this 6’-2” Idaho blackie on the first morning of his hunt this morning with guide Brian. Well done guys!beauty of a bear! Are they starting to rub out in your areas yet Dale?
Post by: bearpaw on May 30, 2023, 02:01:36 PM
Very nice, that's what I'm looking for on the 26-30th:tup:
I hope you get an even bigger one!
Post by: bearpaw on May 30, 2023, 02:04:22 PM
Randon from Oklahoma put down this 6’-2” Idaho blackie on the first morning of his hunt this morning with guide Brian. Well done guys!beauty of a bear! Are they starting to rub out in your areas yet Dale?
We are hunting pretty high, we still had snow a couple weeks ago, we don’t usually see any rubbing until the end of June and then a lot of them are still ok.
Post by: passman65 on May 30, 2023, 02:09:57 PM
You and me both 8) :chuckle: :tup:Very nice, that's what I'm looking for on the 26-30th:tup:
I hope you get an even bigger one!
Post by: bearpaw on May 30, 2023, 02:11:41 PM
We still have hunts available for 2024 for anyone wondering.
Post by: bearpaw on May 30, 2023, 02:17:54 PM
Randon from Oklahoma put down this 6’-2” Idaho blackie on the first morning of his hunt this morning with guide Brian. Well done guys!beauty of a bear! Are they starting to rub out in your areas yet Dale?
@Karl Blanchard
I should mention, there are some units open until the end of the month of July and there are still some unrubbed bear up high into July.
Post by: bearpaw on June 02, 2023, 06:03:13 AM
Post by: bearpaw on June 02, 2023, 06:10:58 AM
Post by: passman65 on June 02, 2023, 06:49:27 AM
Got another couple good ones that showed up, nice color in the one guy!
Wow! Hope they are still around towards the end of the month :drool:
Post by: bearpaw on June 02, 2023, 07:47:37 AM
Post by: teanawayslayer on June 02, 2023, 07:51:58 AM
Post by: Angry Perch on June 02, 2023, 09:28:16 AM
Post by: bearpaw on June 06, 2023, 09:06:15 AM
Post by: 270Flat on June 06, 2023, 09:37:27 AM
Thanks guys, we think some bear died in hibernation, but the guides have busted their tails with preparation and hunting some new areas and it has made up the difference, it has been very good hunting.
Dale- What would cause death in hibernation or your thoughts on what caused it?
Post by: bearpaw on June 07, 2023, 09:45:17 AM
Thanks guys, we think some bear died in hibernation, but the guides have busted their tails with preparation and hunting some new areas and it has made up the difference, it has been very good hunting.
Dale- What would cause death in hibernation or your thoughts on what caused it?
Starvation!
There was a poor huckleberry crop, bear didn't put on as much fat, and a longer than normal winter. We were worried about it last fall when we saw very few hucklberries, seen it happen a few times over the years. There's some sort of natural culling for every specie.
Post by: bearpaw on June 07, 2023, 10:34:31 AM
Post by: bearpaw on June 07, 2023, 10:35:03 AM
Post by: bearpaw on June 07, 2023, 10:39:52 AM
Post by: passman65 on June 07, 2023, 11:44:37 AM
Two other hunters in camp, one killed yesterday but I don't have photos yet, they had passed bear and then the other hunter missed a bear last night, hoping she gets her bear today!
Leave me at least one for next week Dale :chuckle:
Post by: bearpaw on June 07, 2023, 08:13:26 PM
Post by: bearpaw on June 07, 2023, 08:15:15 PM
Two other hunters in camp, one killed yesterday but I don't have photos yet, they had passed bear and then the other hunter missed a bear last night, hoping she gets her bear today!
Leave me at least one for next week Dale :chuckle:
Hunting should be good! :tup:
Post by: WapitiTalk1 on June 07, 2023, 08:26:45 PM
This is Doug from Washington with his Idaho blackie taken with guide Gilbert, great going guys!!!
Darn good looking bear. Congrats to hunter, guide, and BP Outfitters :tup:
Post by: bearpaw on June 12, 2023, 02:16:38 PM
Post by: RB on June 12, 2023, 02:22:06 PM
Post by: bearpaw on June 12, 2023, 08:26:52 PM
Post by: passman65 on June 12, 2023, 11:35:59 PM
Ethan dropped a cinnamon this morning and tagged a blackie tonight hunting with Gibert, what a fantastic hunting trip!
Great job by Ethan for his first bear hunt!!
Now it's my turn!! :chuckle:
Post by: bearpaw on June 14, 2023, 08:09:39 AM
Ethan dropped a cinnamon this morning and tagged a blackie tonight hunting with Gibert, what a fantastic hunting trip!
Great job by Ethan for his first bear hunt!!
Now it's my turn!! :chuckle:
Good luck, I hope you get another nice one! 👍🏻
Post by: bearpaw on June 14, 2023, 08:13:07 AM
Post by: bearpaw on June 16, 2023, 04:49:33 PM
Post by: bearpaw on June 17, 2023, 10:24:37 PM
Post by: passman65 on June 18, 2023, 04:51:57 AM
Larry from Washington nailed his second Idaho spring bear with guide Grant this week, Larry and Grant have had some great spring bear hunting adventures this season, well done gentleman! 👍🏻👍🏻The absolute best outfitter and guides around!
Just wait for the Bison hunt post! :tup:
Post by: bearpaw on June 30, 2023, 08:37:32 PM
Post by: WapitiTalk1 on June 30, 2023, 08:50:02 PM
All four hunters filled out in less than 24 hrs, various color phases, congrats guys!
Boom! Great job hunters and BP Outfitters :tup:
Post by: passman65 on June 30, 2023, 09:03:14 PM
All four hunters filled out in less than 24 hrs, various color phases, congrats guys!Congrats all!