Giving thanks: Bearpaw outfitters hunt report (Deer + Turkey)

[ljsommer]

I don't know the right place for this post, since it involves a guide, deer hunting, and turkey hunting but I decided on the deer forum since the biggest celebration was my wife killing her first deer.

As of 2023 I'd been hunting for about 7 years, with only one deer and one turkey under my belt. My only deer was found by my mom - I posted about that deer here on these forums. This was very special to me, as my mom passed in 2023. When she passed, I took some of the money from her estate and booked a guided turkey hunt for spring of 2024 with Bearpaw outfitters. When we arrived for the hunt we noticed something odd - no birds in fields, none on roads, none anywhere. After two days of fruitless hunting, Dale from Bearpaw sat down with me and we discussed alternatives. We agreed on a plan to return in November of 2024 for turkey but to also add on a guided whitetail hunt for my wife.

For some additional background, I had previously invested quite a lot of money into a "guaranteed trophy whitetail buck" hunt in Idaho with another outfitter and did not feel well taken care of in that arrangement so having Dale demonstrate his character and the pride he has in taking care of his clients really meant a lot to me and my family.

My wife and I arrived in Colville for the hunt and had some dinner with some of the other hunters, who were all wonderful gentlemen and incredibly friendly. I had picked up my son's cold and I had no voice, so I was trying to avoid seeming like I was rude or cold, but I couldn't actually speak with anyone.

The first morning, my wife and I were in a blind together glassing for deer. There were plenty of spikes and does around, so we weren't bored. Eventually a handsome little 3x4 buck. I watched him breed a doe right before he walked into my wife's sights. She was calm and collected and whispered "I am going to take the shot". She had been practicing out to 200 yards, and her 6.8 western did the job and she dropped the deer at 164 yards. He didn't even take a step. I was so proud of her, but that wasn't the end of her success.

That evening my wife and I were in a blind together across the valley from where she shot her deer. We were expecting some birds, but none showed. We got picked up by the guide truck close to but not quite at the end of legal hunting light, and as we were doing so we saw that there were some birds across the valley right where the deer blind was.
We hopped in the truck and drove over there with me in the front seat with my unloaded shotgun in one hand and a shell in the other hand. We drove over there and I hopped out and jacked in a shell and spotted a turkey I was going to try to shoot. I shot the bird on the run and had my first turkey tag filled.

The next morning my wife and I split up and were in separate blinds. I could see hers across the valley with my binoculars, and since there were no birds at mine I enjoyed watching animals come and go from that spot. Eventually I heard a gunshot from her location and brought up my binos only to hear another gunshot and see two birds flapping on the ground.

The guide came to get me and we raced over to see her with two dead turkeys: one jake and one hen. The morning was still young so we then went looking for my second turkey, eventually finding some birds moving through a wooded draw on a hillside. We parked the truck and began putting a stalk on these birds, trying to circle up above them as they were working down below us. I was in the lead and as soon as the hens head popped up out of the woods I took the shot. With that we were fully tagged out: one deer and four birds.

This hunt meant a lot to us, and there was a lot tied up in it. My mom was carrying my grandpa's hunting legacy with her, and she found the one and only deer I've ever shot. This hunt was in celebration of her passing. My wife had never shot a deer or a turkey, and now had both, and with that is now carrying on the matriarch-hunter role in our family. To have someone like Dale and his excellent team of guides taking care of us was more than I could ask for. Dale is a professional and a gentleman and I trust that if you book a hunt with him, he will do his best to make it a successful hunt (whatever that means to the individual hunter). His guides are friendly, energetic, and tireless. The people that frequent his lodge are some of the best folks you'll talk to all year.

I am a big believer of sharing positivity when you encounter it, because there's plenty enough negativity in the world. In the spirit of celebrating the good: Bearpaw is an awesome outfitter to hunt with and I plan on doing so again in the future. Thanks Dale and team!

[jackelope]

Awesome. Dale definitely doesn’t mess around when it comes to his operation.

[Taco280AI]

Looks like an awesome trip with great memories 

[hunter399]

Looks like an awesome trip with great memories 

Congrats 👍

[wadu1]

Looks like an awesome trip with great memories 

I'll second that. I was in a similar situation with Dale and crew a few weeks ago in my dad's memory.

[carpsniperg2]

Congrats that’s an excellent trip and experience.

[7mmfan]

Sounds like a great trip Lars. I was thinking about you today, wondering how this trip shook out for you.

[addicted1]

Congrats on the great trip over there, sounds like a great experience. I’ve got you beat by few years on hunt experience, not by much though. I really found a good guide can accelerate that learning curve, at least it did for me. Keep at it and I am sure you’ll all be notching more tags on average. Is your wife hooked now? Sounds like she is a killer!

[Dan-o]

Looks like an awesome trip with great memories 

 

Thanks for sharing.

[NorseNW]

Congratulations to you and your wife. I really enjoyed reading your write up. Thank you for sharing that great hunt and the review of the guiding experience. I was just on Dale's website yesterday trying to figure out how to pull together a hunt.

[boneaddict]

THanks for sharing.  It looks like you had a fantastic trip.  Special congrats to your wife and her first deer.   That is awesome

[OutHouse]

Great write up! Never booked a guided hunt but with all the research I’ve done Bearpaw is the only one I’d patronize locally when the time comes.

[kellama2001]

Thank you for sharing your experience and congrats on all the filled tags! The smiles in the photos say it all 

[buckhorn2]

Dale is not only a great guide but great friend to me he and his wife Tara run a first class operation that feels like hunting with family. I have hunted deer elk turkey and bison Bearpaw outfitters and had excellent hunts with them if your looking for that special outfitter Bearpaw is your man.

[Falcon]

We need more posts like this

Congrats on your adventure.