13/11: Muley Eater
Category: Hunting: Mtn Lion
Posted by: ch0p5
Finally, I've notched a tag for myself this year.
I was hunting Mule Deer with George Peters / High Country Outfitters in Idaho's Frank Church Wilderness last week.
On the third day we were working our way to a glassing point when below us elk started to bark (alert) there was more barking below and to the right also. We sat down to see if we could glass up the elk & hopefully a bull (I had an Elk tag also). George cow calls & they answered back. Glassing, George say's "there's a Mountain Lion" then he say's "the Lion just laid down, perfect!" he show's me where and then ranges it at 591 yards. Thru a window in the pines, behind a downed log I catch the movement of a Lion's tail. That's why the Elk are alerted.
George asks, "Ya want a Lion", Heck yes but that's a long ways. "that's ok, If you miss it's only a Lion, take your time & squeeze one off when ever your ready". During the recoil I think to myself, That felt good! Then at the end of the rifle crack......... twackkkk........ that sounded good! Then George say's "you got him, holy $*#t! what a shot!" ect, ect, ect... It was pretty exciting. Thru the glass George saw the lion slowly roll, tail up then the white belly, then rolls 2 more times down hill and out of sight.
In Idaho the lion season is open, you can use a mule deer tag as a lion tag. It's a tom & measures 7' with a 14" skull, estimated weight of 150 lb. He was in great shape with a thick layer of fat. I glad to have him dead cause he would have eaten a lot more critters in his lifetime.
I didn't get a Muley buck but I did get a Muley eater. I hope everyone has had a great hunting season.
Claude
I was hunting Mule Deer with George Peters / High Country Outfitters in Idaho's Frank Church Wilderness last week.
On the third day we were working our way to a glassing point when below us elk started to bark (alert) there was more barking below and to the right also. We sat down to see if we could glass up the elk & hopefully a bull (I had an Elk tag also). George cow calls & they answered back. Glassing, George say's "there's a Mountain Lion" then he say's "the Lion just laid down, perfect!" he show's me where and then ranges it at 591 yards. Thru a window in the pines, behind a downed log I catch the movement of a Lion's tail. That's why the Elk are alerted.
George asks, "Ya want a Lion", Heck yes but that's a long ways. "that's ok, If you miss it's only a Lion, take your time & squeeze one off when ever your ready". During the recoil I think to myself, That felt good! Then at the end of the rifle crack......... twackkkk........ that sounded good! Then George say's "you got him, holy $*#t! what a shot!" ect, ect, ect... It was pretty exciting. Thru the glass George saw the lion slowly roll, tail up then the white belly, then rolls 2 more times down hill and out of sight.
In Idaho the lion season is open, you can use a mule deer tag as a lion tag. It's a tom & measures 7' with a 14" skull, estimated weight of 150 lb. He was in great shape with a thick layer of fat. I glad to have him dead cause he would have eaten a lot more critters in his lifetime.
I didn't get a Muley buck but I did get a Muley eater. I hope everyone has had a great hunting season.
Claude
05/11: ANNIVERSARY HUNT
Category: Hunting: Bighorn Sheep
Posted by: ch0p5
October 12th thru 22nd 2007
As with all stories, this one starts with a simple impulse. On April 30th2007 I was in the Driggs Idaho Corner Drug store getting what I hoped to be the summer supply of allergy medicine for my 6th summer in Teton Valley Idaho. While I was waiting for the prescription, I filled out the form for my annual fishing and hunting license combo. Elsie Woulk mentioned that the 30th was the last day for application on controlled hunts so coincidentally I put in for my first lottery try on Big Horn Sheep. No one I know has ever drawn a Sheep Tag in Idaho so I put in for my wife Star at the same time hoping to increase the odds. In early June I stopped as I do every morning to check our P.O. box and found the expected sorry Charlie note from Idaho Fish and Game on Star’s draw request. Strangely there was no note on mine. I figured the mail was just a day late on mine and expected the same in a day or so. We live in Felt Idaho population 52. We get the USA Today guaranteed delivery tomorrow, so a delay in the mail is not a crisis. The next day sure enough the letter from Idaho Fish and Game came for me in exactly the same looking envelop as had been sent to Star. I almost threw the dang thing out without opening it but being a glutton for punishment I opened it expecting to see the reject wording. Imagine my shock and delight when the letter started out with Congratulations….
Once I had told all of my friends and settled down, I began the search for a guide. When I put in, I had done no research on the area and actually selected area 26 because the timing of this late hunt fit better with the work at Huntsman Springs. I am the Development Director at a big new community development in Driggs Idaho and the construction schedule does not wind down till late in the fall. The partners were very supportive on the time off and encouraged me to take advantage of the once in a life time draw. With support from work and from Star I began calling outfitters and found out that high Country Outfitters were the best choice by far. Even other area outfitters recommended the High Country gang. The next weekend I drove the 350 miles from Teton Valley to Fairfield Idaho to meet with George Peter and book the hunt. While we with George in his rustic headquarters West of Sun Valley, I asked Star if she wanted to go. Happily for me, she was very positive about a combo hunt for Sheep and Deer which we booked. George and I were both surprised when she not only said yes to the trip, but wrote out her own check for half the cost. Of course the surprise was over when she quietly said that she could not think of a better way to spend our 4th anniversary which I had totally forgotten……I fear there may be a pay back in my future, which if I am lucky may be another hunt trip……
Tag Drawn.Trip Booked...next came the conditioning which consisted of 3 to 5 treadmill days each week, some diet changes and a commitment to take advantage of the great hiking we enjoy near our home at the foot of the Grand Teton. Lucky for me we live at 6800 feet in elevation. I dropped a few pounds and increased my wind a bit but even a fairly fit 62 year old will have a tough time in the River of No Return Wilderness. There is no terrain more vertical in the state and the big rams do not hang out at the bottom. We would have to go up to have any chance of these tremendous creatures.
(1)
The stage was set and now the work began. I was able to follow through on most of the conditioning and could not wait for the flight in to area 26. My hope was to be able to get in position to see Rams and if I was lucky enough to get a chance to stalk, be in shape to do my job. The way I see it the guide does most of the hunting and the hunter is along for a lifetime adventure and the thrilling experience of hunting North America’s toughest game trophy. My job was to keep up (no easy task), keep quiet and shoot straight if given the opportunity. The flight with our pilot Steve was through some cloud cover and involved looking for a hole in the clouds to clear the highest of the ridges. Star was in the front of the small 4 seat Cessna and I was in the back with our gear. The country was rocky, grey and vertical dropping down thousands of feet to the Salmon River and its many small tributaries. We rolled and weaved through the mountain canyons and descended toward a small landing strip some 60 miles from the nearest road or trail head. The Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness is the largest mass of land in the lower forty eight without roads. As we circled in, I could make out two strings of horses and mules heading for the small strip. We soon found out that the welcome party was four hunters coming out and the High Country crew ready to get us on our way. After a smooth landing on the gravel strip we spent some time on introductions and watched as the outfitters unpacked deer, elk and gear for the departing group and packed up the gear we had brought. Among this group was Jeremy Haney a 21 year old fire fighter who grew up on a horse ranch in Oklahoma. In the 34 degree grey morning, Jeremy had on a cotton tee shirt and coon skin cap that one of the departing hunters had dared him to wear. When I learned that Jeremy was to be one on our guides, I wondered if my fate was to spend two weeks in the mountains with a hillbilly. It turns out that Jeremy like most of the young wranglers and guides was taking up the challenge of mountain living and working to save some cash for school. What these boys make generally goes to savings since it is pretty hard to spend money when you are in the wilderness for months on end. It was October 12th and Jeremy had been in the wilderness since August. He came out with us at the end of our hunt and went to do some hunting of his own hear his home east of Boise.
George Peter, the outfitter, had told me that besides Jeremy, we would be hunting with an experienced sheep guide Shane Reynolds from Boise. When the gear was nearly packed, a second small plane landed and we met Shane for the first time. This was the time for first impressions and Shane made a good one. Square shouldered, pigeon chested, thin waist and piston legs, Shane was the ultimate walking machine and I found out soon enough a dog nuts sheep man. We would trust our fate to this man for at least ten days and I was impressed by his professional demeanor. On the other hand I would have a lot to do to change Shane’s first impression of the couple he first met on that small air strip. You see my grand father had been a hunt guide and school teacher in Basalt Colorado in the 20’s. I do not hunt in camo, I still have my Trapper Nelson wood frame pack, the gun I shoot best weighs 11.5 lbs and I think we may be the first grey haired old hunter and wife combo that Shane had guided. No high tech here just old school. Shane would later find out that Star was raised without her mother by a father who valued hunting and the outdoors. She has hunted deer since her eighth year and spent two years working cattle in southern Oregon.
(2)
Sleeping on the ground and enduring freezing temperatures is nothing new to my bride. Shane of course did not know any of this until day three or four. His first thought was they brought too much gear (he was right) and he might be in for a tough trip. Shane’s first comment to me after the name exchange was “Are you tough” I was puzzled at first but now remembering how we must have looked to him, it was and appropriate question. I told Shane that I had killed sheep before and thought that I would be as tough as I had to be. He told me that George had a spot that had not seen any pressure and held some good Rams. Shane also told me that I was the guy he would be taking along to harvest a big one. There was a resolve in Shane’s comments and a commitment to making this a fruitful hunt. Later I found out that this was Shane’s 20th sheep hunt with a client and this would be his 15th kill. Most impressive though is the fact that in a mix of Rocky Mountain, Dall, and Desert sheep hunts, Shane has given his clients 100% opportunity under 200 yards from a dead rest..
From the air strip, it was off to the base camp for a quick few minutes to pack food and a small tent for Star and I. Shane and Jeremy planned to sleep on the horse blankets under a tarp. Pedro, a stocky paint horse, was my ride and became a friend as well. High Country has good stock and there would be no outfitter rodeos on this trip. I asked the fellows what they were packing for food and Shane nicely reminded me that we were here to hunt not to eat. The bill of fare would be ready meals, energy bars, oatmeal, coffee, and dry mix gator aid. Shane figured this would be an extension of my efforts to lose weight and was a lot less expensive than the fat farm route. All meals could be prepared on the small whisper lite stove. Jeremy later proved that the stove could be of great assistance in fire starting with snow covered wood. Since it was our anniversary the next day the guides threw in some fresh eggs and a little bacon but in the excitement to get up to our glassing spot to look for sheep, the fry pan was forgotten…fairly essential tool for bacon and eggs. As it turned out Star and I enjoyed the ready meals, canned tuna, bagels, and cheese whiz that became our diet for the next six days. Star had five 4x4 Mule deer opportunities during the sheep hunt but passed because she did not want to shoot until we had a Ram. So there was no back strap for us.
At the end of day one we made camp in a small wooded clearing near a spring at the top of a no name mountain in some of the roughest country in Idaho. This spot was a 30 minute walk from a ridge point that allowed Jeremy, Shane and I to use our optics in search of the Rams on a mountain side some 2 miles across the intervening drainage. Day one spotted nice ram three quarters of the way up the mountain that we were scoping. Day two spotted more rams and shared some fine wine for our anniversary. We had both brought cards and it was special to have that day in these surroundings so far from the world we are more familiar with., day three spotted more Rams and one really nice mature Ram all near the top with cracker jack views of all around them. It was time to get going. The weather had been cold and windy with overcast, light rain and snow. Nice weather compared to the heavy snow and rain to come. By the way when the spotting phase began, Shane again proved to be the fanatic sheep man I referenced at our landing.
(3)
When we set up to glass the object mountain, Shane poured at least 15k of well cared for optics from his pack and did not look up from his spotting task for three days.
I don’t know about you but the spotting scope gets me in the neck. I have to take at least 15 minutes out every hour and stretch out the frozen joints. Shane told Star and I that the guides three P’s are patience, persistence and positivity. Shane and Jeremy score high on all three When the spotting was done we had seen a number of good Rams .I use the “ we” loosely as Jeremy and I were up to a grand total of zero, naught, nada, none and Shane had the rest.
The trip to our higher camp was almost a full day. The terrain was too steep to ride so the horses and mules were led most of the way and camp was made in a saddle about two thirds up the mountain we would be hunting. The walk to water was about two hundred yards straight downhill and there was no noticeable trail in or out of this place. Now that Shane knew that there were good Rams in the area, a no nonsense attitude began to show through. These young men were exactly the ticket for taking Rams. I knew that they would do their job and the only question was if I could do mine. It would not be the wind, sleet, and snow that kept me awake that night, it was the excitement of the hunt. The next morning day four started with a small fire and a good hike up to the middle of the rock canyons that we had spent the previous three days looking over through our spotting scopes. Star gave me a good luck kiss and elected to tend the camp instead of risking any interference to the hunt.(Her nick name is fidgets) At 1pm Shane looked over and gave me the thumbs up…He let me look at a nice size full curl Ram that was broomed on one side. Shane said the good news was we found a shooter and the bad news was he was in one of the worst spots around at the top of a small slide that fed to the creek below and nestled in trees and rock below a bigger rock out cropping. Getting to this Ram would be tough and we could be easily busted because of the loose rocks and steep walls. I had told Shane that I would like a good Ram but did not want anything other than a representative of the species. Other states are historically better producers of the B&C horns. Idaho has a low population of sheep and does not produce the horn size that Colorado and Montana generally claim. After watching the Ram feed and bed for a bit, we decided to give it a try. If the rocks were positioned better on the back side of the outcropping, which we could not see, there might be a 150 yard shot at steep angle. Jeremy stayed in our original position to let us know what happened when it was all over. It was about a mile climb and side hill trek through new snow and over very uneven steep surfaces. We hoped the other Rams we had seen the day before were not going to give away our position as we carefully moved step by step closer to the Shooter. At about 4pm we got close enough to start looking over rock tops. So far I had kept up and kept quiet, big parts of my job. We looked up over what we hoped to be the final rock and could not see where the Ram had previously bedded. During the time it had taken to get into this position, the old battle scared Ram had moved and unfortunately for us he had moved to a spot that gave him a nice view of the old man and young guide in the rocks above. As the Ram beat it down the cliffs, we broke position and tried to close the gap. This was a time that I truly questioned my sanity because the drop offs were over a hundred feet and I was literally rock hoping to try and gain a vantage point.( not normal for 62 year old executives.)
(4)
When the rock hopping was done and I got to a shooting position, the Ram had reached the bottom of the slide (his proven escape route) about 150 yards down in burnt timber and was about to drive up the other side. I had a shot at 150 yards on this moving Ram in the timber and had him clear in the scope for about two seconds. This was not a shot that I was prepared to take on such a beautiful creature. I passed and we were busted big time as the Ram walked over the rocky crevice to the safety of the next canyon where we had been several hours before.
I knew that the odds of shooting a Ram that had been spotted by glassing might be in the 50% category if you had some good luck. I also knew that odds of spotting and hunting a Ram that knew he was being hunted are next to nothing. Remember the positivity? And the threeP’s Well we had plenty of that and I was grateful to have had the chance that I did have. What better experience than hunting the most magnificent of creatures in his own house.
Day five came with more snow and a good send off from Star. We decided to send Jeremy back to the ridge where we were busted the day before and for me and Shane to do some more rock climbing in the next lower canyons where we thought he might have gone. After a lot of bino work in the falling snow to re-aquire the Roman Nosed Battle scarred Ram, Shane again gave me the thumbs up. Instead of clearing out of the county, the old Ram had bedded down in the Canyon that gave him sanctuary the night before. At 11a.m. he was working up the hill feeding and really looking around. This guy was nervous as hell and was taking no chances. He gingerly bedded down about thirty yards below the slope he had disappeared over the night before. We knew he would not be there for long and luckily enough Jeremy was positioned at the top of the ridge that he was on. Shane and I backed out of our spot and moved quickly to Jeremy’s position. Took about and hour. The three of us then made it ever so slowly down the rock ridge back to the rocks we thought were just above the Ram’s last bedded position. It was about 800 yards of descent. I moved to a position behind a rock that might do for a rifle rest and Shane began to poke his head up. Jeremy laid back. In the five days together I had never seen Shane look like this. Cursing lightly in a whisper, all I heard was “he’s not there, we have been had”. Patience and persistence took over and we began to look around. After an agonizing three or four minutes of feeling a bottomless failure, the Ram walked slowly back into the picture from my left. He had been just over the ridge feeding and was now on his way back to bed down. Shane had to show me exactly where he was about 150 yards to my left behind some timber and brush. I raised my old Weatherby 270 mag over the rock and found a steady rest but there was no shot through the brush and trees. The Ram was still jumpy and we knew he could bolt at any moment. I kept on him with the scope and he moved forward slightly giving me about a one foot round hole in the brush that lined up with his right shoulder. Shooting down hill meant the shot through his shoulder would hit the vitals. Shane said wait for him to move from behind the trees and I said I have a shot through the brush. Shane got to “well if you think you…..” boom came the report of the rifle and the old battle scarred Ram dropped dead in a pile by a log that mercifully kept him from a 200 foot fall.
(5)
The emotion over came us all as the Ram was down and each of us had done well on our assigned tasks. When we got to the Ram, Shane let me know that he had purposefully under spoken on the Ram’s size earlier. He did not want me to get any of the jitters associated with record book talk. Charles Russell once said “Meats not Meat till it’s in the pan” and I guess “trophies are‘t trophies till they’re on the ground”.
From a clients perspective there should be three P’s for the guide as well “Professional, Passionate and Prepared”. On the prepared side, the pictures took an hour with two cameras and the Ram repositioned a couple of times. The hunt of a lifetime deserves at least this kind of effort. So to does the soul of the great animal and the wonderful life lived. It took several hours to cape, bone, photograph, pack and gratefully get our tired bodies back to camp. Star had gotten the water and taken care of the stock which was appreciated by all. Sheep ribs over an open fire on a snowy evening were a great treat. I believe this anniversary will be tough to beat but if the stars line up right again who knows…..
Thanks to my lovely wife for sharing the out doors..
Thanks to High Country Outfitter for good stock, good tack and good people.
Thanks to Middle fork Aviation for safe flights
Thanks to the young men like Shane and Jeremy for loving what they do
Thanks to Mother Nature for the great wild places
by Bill Reid
As with all stories, this one starts with a simple impulse. On April 30th2007 I was in the Driggs Idaho Corner Drug store getting what I hoped to be the summer supply of allergy medicine for my 6th summer in Teton Valley Idaho. While I was waiting for the prescription, I filled out the form for my annual fishing and hunting license combo. Elsie Woulk mentioned that the 30th was the last day for application on controlled hunts so coincidentally I put in for my first lottery try on Big Horn Sheep. No one I know has ever drawn a Sheep Tag in Idaho so I put in for my wife Star at the same time hoping to increase the odds. In early June I stopped as I do every morning to check our P.O. box and found the expected sorry Charlie note from Idaho Fish and Game on Star’s draw request. Strangely there was no note on mine. I figured the mail was just a day late on mine and expected the same in a day or so. We live in Felt Idaho population 52. We get the USA Today guaranteed delivery tomorrow, so a delay in the mail is not a crisis. The next day sure enough the letter from Idaho Fish and Game came for me in exactly the same looking envelop as had been sent to Star. I almost threw the dang thing out without opening it but being a glutton for punishment I opened it expecting to see the reject wording. Imagine my shock and delight when the letter started out with Congratulations….
Once I had told all of my friends and settled down, I began the search for a guide. When I put in, I had done no research on the area and actually selected area 26 because the timing of this late hunt fit better with the work at Huntsman Springs. I am the Development Director at a big new community development in Driggs Idaho and the construction schedule does not wind down till late in the fall. The partners were very supportive on the time off and encouraged me to take advantage of the once in a life time draw. With support from work and from Star I began calling outfitters and found out that high Country Outfitters were the best choice by far. Even other area outfitters recommended the High Country gang. The next weekend I drove the 350 miles from Teton Valley to Fairfield Idaho to meet with George Peter and book the hunt. While we with George in his rustic headquarters West of Sun Valley, I asked Star if she wanted to go. Happily for me, she was very positive about a combo hunt for Sheep and Deer which we booked. George and I were both surprised when she not only said yes to the trip, but wrote out her own check for half the cost. Of course the surprise was over when she quietly said that she could not think of a better way to spend our 4th anniversary which I had totally forgotten……I fear there may be a pay back in my future, which if I am lucky may be another hunt trip……
Tag Drawn.Trip Booked...next came the conditioning which consisted of 3 to 5 treadmill days each week, some diet changes and a commitment to take advantage of the great hiking we enjoy near our home at the foot of the Grand Teton. Lucky for me we live at 6800 feet in elevation. I dropped a few pounds and increased my wind a bit but even a fairly fit 62 year old will have a tough time in the River of No Return Wilderness. There is no terrain more vertical in the state and the big rams do not hang out at the bottom. We would have to go up to have any chance of these tremendous creatures.
(1)
The stage was set and now the work began. I was able to follow through on most of the conditioning and could not wait for the flight in to area 26. My hope was to be able to get in position to see Rams and if I was lucky enough to get a chance to stalk, be in shape to do my job. The way I see it the guide does most of the hunting and the hunter is along for a lifetime adventure and the thrilling experience of hunting North America’s toughest game trophy. My job was to keep up (no easy task), keep quiet and shoot straight if given the opportunity. The flight with our pilot Steve was through some cloud cover and involved looking for a hole in the clouds to clear the highest of the ridges. Star was in the front of the small 4 seat Cessna and I was in the back with our gear. The country was rocky, grey and vertical dropping down thousands of feet to the Salmon River and its many small tributaries. We rolled and weaved through the mountain canyons and descended toward a small landing strip some 60 miles from the nearest road or trail head. The Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness is the largest mass of land in the lower forty eight without roads. As we circled in, I could make out two strings of horses and mules heading for the small strip. We soon found out that the welcome party was four hunters coming out and the High Country crew ready to get us on our way. After a smooth landing on the gravel strip we spent some time on introductions and watched as the outfitters unpacked deer, elk and gear for the departing group and packed up the gear we had brought. Among this group was Jeremy Haney a 21 year old fire fighter who grew up on a horse ranch in Oklahoma. In the 34 degree grey morning, Jeremy had on a cotton tee shirt and coon skin cap that one of the departing hunters had dared him to wear. When I learned that Jeremy was to be one on our guides, I wondered if my fate was to spend two weeks in the mountains with a hillbilly. It turns out that Jeremy like most of the young wranglers and guides was taking up the challenge of mountain living and working to save some cash for school. What these boys make generally goes to savings since it is pretty hard to spend money when you are in the wilderness for months on end. It was October 12th and Jeremy had been in the wilderness since August. He came out with us at the end of our hunt and went to do some hunting of his own hear his home east of Boise.
George Peter, the outfitter, had told me that besides Jeremy, we would be hunting with an experienced sheep guide Shane Reynolds from Boise. When the gear was nearly packed, a second small plane landed and we met Shane for the first time. This was the time for first impressions and Shane made a good one. Square shouldered, pigeon chested, thin waist and piston legs, Shane was the ultimate walking machine and I found out soon enough a dog nuts sheep man. We would trust our fate to this man for at least ten days and I was impressed by his professional demeanor. On the other hand I would have a lot to do to change Shane’s first impression of the couple he first met on that small air strip. You see my grand father had been a hunt guide and school teacher in Basalt Colorado in the 20’s. I do not hunt in camo, I still have my Trapper Nelson wood frame pack, the gun I shoot best weighs 11.5 lbs and I think we may be the first grey haired old hunter and wife combo that Shane had guided. No high tech here just old school. Shane would later find out that Star was raised without her mother by a father who valued hunting and the outdoors. She has hunted deer since her eighth year and spent two years working cattle in southern Oregon.
(2)
Sleeping on the ground and enduring freezing temperatures is nothing new to my bride. Shane of course did not know any of this until day three or four. His first thought was they brought too much gear (he was right) and he might be in for a tough trip. Shane’s first comment to me after the name exchange was “Are you tough” I was puzzled at first but now remembering how we must have looked to him, it was and appropriate question. I told Shane that I had killed sheep before and thought that I would be as tough as I had to be. He told me that George had a spot that had not seen any pressure and held some good Rams. Shane also told me that I was the guy he would be taking along to harvest a big one. There was a resolve in Shane’s comments and a commitment to making this a fruitful hunt. Later I found out that this was Shane’s 20th sheep hunt with a client and this would be his 15th kill. Most impressive though is the fact that in a mix of Rocky Mountain, Dall, and Desert sheep hunts, Shane has given his clients 100% opportunity under 200 yards from a dead rest..
From the air strip, it was off to the base camp for a quick few minutes to pack food and a small tent for Star and I. Shane and Jeremy planned to sleep on the horse blankets under a tarp. Pedro, a stocky paint horse, was my ride and became a friend as well. High Country has good stock and there would be no outfitter rodeos on this trip. I asked the fellows what they were packing for food and Shane nicely reminded me that we were here to hunt not to eat. The bill of fare would be ready meals, energy bars, oatmeal, coffee, and dry mix gator aid. Shane figured this would be an extension of my efforts to lose weight and was a lot less expensive than the fat farm route. All meals could be prepared on the small whisper lite stove. Jeremy later proved that the stove could be of great assistance in fire starting with snow covered wood. Since it was our anniversary the next day the guides threw in some fresh eggs and a little bacon but in the excitement to get up to our glassing spot to look for sheep, the fry pan was forgotten…fairly essential tool for bacon and eggs. As it turned out Star and I enjoyed the ready meals, canned tuna, bagels, and cheese whiz that became our diet for the next six days. Star had five 4x4 Mule deer opportunities during the sheep hunt but passed because she did not want to shoot until we had a Ram. So there was no back strap for us.
At the end of day one we made camp in a small wooded clearing near a spring at the top of a no name mountain in some of the roughest country in Idaho. This spot was a 30 minute walk from a ridge point that allowed Jeremy, Shane and I to use our optics in search of the Rams on a mountain side some 2 miles across the intervening drainage. Day one spotted nice ram three quarters of the way up the mountain that we were scoping. Day two spotted more rams and shared some fine wine for our anniversary. We had both brought cards and it was special to have that day in these surroundings so far from the world we are more familiar with., day three spotted more Rams and one really nice mature Ram all near the top with cracker jack views of all around them. It was time to get going. The weather had been cold and windy with overcast, light rain and snow. Nice weather compared to the heavy snow and rain to come. By the way when the spotting phase began, Shane again proved to be the fanatic sheep man I referenced at our landing.
(3)
When we set up to glass the object mountain, Shane poured at least 15k of well cared for optics from his pack and did not look up from his spotting task for three days.
I don’t know about you but the spotting scope gets me in the neck. I have to take at least 15 minutes out every hour and stretch out the frozen joints. Shane told Star and I that the guides three P’s are patience, persistence and positivity. Shane and Jeremy score high on all three When the spotting was done we had seen a number of good Rams .I use the “ we” loosely as Jeremy and I were up to a grand total of zero, naught, nada, none and Shane had the rest.
The trip to our higher camp was almost a full day. The terrain was too steep to ride so the horses and mules were led most of the way and camp was made in a saddle about two thirds up the mountain we would be hunting. The walk to water was about two hundred yards straight downhill and there was no noticeable trail in or out of this place. Now that Shane knew that there were good Rams in the area, a no nonsense attitude began to show through. These young men were exactly the ticket for taking Rams. I knew that they would do their job and the only question was if I could do mine. It would not be the wind, sleet, and snow that kept me awake that night, it was the excitement of the hunt. The next morning day four started with a small fire and a good hike up to the middle of the rock canyons that we had spent the previous three days looking over through our spotting scopes. Star gave me a good luck kiss and elected to tend the camp instead of risking any interference to the hunt.(Her nick name is fidgets) At 1pm Shane looked over and gave me the thumbs up…He let me look at a nice size full curl Ram that was broomed on one side. Shane said the good news was we found a shooter and the bad news was he was in one of the worst spots around at the top of a small slide that fed to the creek below and nestled in trees and rock below a bigger rock out cropping. Getting to this Ram would be tough and we could be easily busted because of the loose rocks and steep walls. I had told Shane that I would like a good Ram but did not want anything other than a representative of the species. Other states are historically better producers of the B&C horns. Idaho has a low population of sheep and does not produce the horn size that Colorado and Montana generally claim. After watching the Ram feed and bed for a bit, we decided to give it a try. If the rocks were positioned better on the back side of the outcropping, which we could not see, there might be a 150 yard shot at steep angle. Jeremy stayed in our original position to let us know what happened when it was all over. It was about a mile climb and side hill trek through new snow and over very uneven steep surfaces. We hoped the other Rams we had seen the day before were not going to give away our position as we carefully moved step by step closer to the Shooter. At about 4pm we got close enough to start looking over rock tops. So far I had kept up and kept quiet, big parts of my job. We looked up over what we hoped to be the final rock and could not see where the Ram had previously bedded. During the time it had taken to get into this position, the old battle scared Ram had moved and unfortunately for us he had moved to a spot that gave him a nice view of the old man and young guide in the rocks above. As the Ram beat it down the cliffs, we broke position and tried to close the gap. This was a time that I truly questioned my sanity because the drop offs were over a hundred feet and I was literally rock hoping to try and gain a vantage point.( not normal for 62 year old executives.)
(4)
When the rock hopping was done and I got to a shooting position, the Ram had reached the bottom of the slide (his proven escape route) about 150 yards down in burnt timber and was about to drive up the other side. I had a shot at 150 yards on this moving Ram in the timber and had him clear in the scope for about two seconds. This was not a shot that I was prepared to take on such a beautiful creature. I passed and we were busted big time as the Ram walked over the rocky crevice to the safety of the next canyon where we had been several hours before.
I knew that the odds of shooting a Ram that had been spotted by glassing might be in the 50% category if you had some good luck. I also knew that odds of spotting and hunting a Ram that knew he was being hunted are next to nothing. Remember the positivity? And the threeP’s Well we had plenty of that and I was grateful to have had the chance that I did have. What better experience than hunting the most magnificent of creatures in his own house.
Day five came with more snow and a good send off from Star. We decided to send Jeremy back to the ridge where we were busted the day before and for me and Shane to do some more rock climbing in the next lower canyons where we thought he might have gone. After a lot of bino work in the falling snow to re-aquire the Roman Nosed Battle scarred Ram, Shane again gave me the thumbs up. Instead of clearing out of the county, the old Ram had bedded down in the Canyon that gave him sanctuary the night before. At 11a.m. he was working up the hill feeding and really looking around. This guy was nervous as hell and was taking no chances. He gingerly bedded down about thirty yards below the slope he had disappeared over the night before. We knew he would not be there for long and luckily enough Jeremy was positioned at the top of the ridge that he was on. Shane and I backed out of our spot and moved quickly to Jeremy’s position. Took about and hour. The three of us then made it ever so slowly down the rock ridge back to the rocks we thought were just above the Ram’s last bedded position. It was about 800 yards of descent. I moved to a position behind a rock that might do for a rifle rest and Shane began to poke his head up. Jeremy laid back. In the five days together I had never seen Shane look like this. Cursing lightly in a whisper, all I heard was “he’s not there, we have been had”. Patience and persistence took over and we began to look around. After an agonizing three or four minutes of feeling a bottomless failure, the Ram walked slowly back into the picture from my left. He had been just over the ridge feeding and was now on his way back to bed down. Shane had to show me exactly where he was about 150 yards to my left behind some timber and brush. I raised my old Weatherby 270 mag over the rock and found a steady rest but there was no shot through the brush and trees. The Ram was still jumpy and we knew he could bolt at any moment. I kept on him with the scope and he moved forward slightly giving me about a one foot round hole in the brush that lined up with his right shoulder. Shooting down hill meant the shot through his shoulder would hit the vitals. Shane said wait for him to move from behind the trees and I said I have a shot through the brush. Shane got to “well if you think you…..” boom came the report of the rifle and the old battle scarred Ram dropped dead in a pile by a log that mercifully kept him from a 200 foot fall.
(5)
The emotion over came us all as the Ram was down and each of us had done well on our assigned tasks. When we got to the Ram, Shane let me know that he had purposefully under spoken on the Ram’s size earlier. He did not want me to get any of the jitters associated with record book talk. Charles Russell once said “Meats not Meat till it’s in the pan” and I guess “trophies are‘t trophies till they’re on the ground”.
From a clients perspective there should be three P’s for the guide as well “Professional, Passionate and Prepared”. On the prepared side, the pictures took an hour with two cameras and the Ram repositioned a couple of times. The hunt of a lifetime deserves at least this kind of effort. So to does the soul of the great animal and the wonderful life lived. It took several hours to cape, bone, photograph, pack and gratefully get our tired bodies back to camp. Star had gotten the water and taken care of the stock which was appreciated by all. Sheep ribs over an open fire on a snowy evening were a great treat. I believe this anniversary will be tough to beat but if the stars line up right again who knows…..
Thanks to my lovely wife for sharing the out doors..
Thanks to High Country Outfitter for good stock, good tack and good people.
Thanks to Middle fork Aviation for safe flights
Thanks to the young men like Shane and Jeremy for loving what they do
Thanks to Mother Nature for the great wild places
by Bill Reid
27/09: Sheep Hunt '07
Category: Hunting: Bighorn Sheep
Posted by: ch0p5
Sheep Hunt #1:
Sheep hunting has been a challenge this year due to all of the smoke from forest fires. We (Cory and Jess) hunted in the smoke for seven days before finding a ram for our first hunter. He wasn't huge, but we figured he would go about 160 or so. We called Clayton on the Sat Phone and let him know that we had a ram spotted for him and he flew in that evening and we picked him up at the airstrip with the horses. The next morning we went after the ram. George and Kris got accross the canyon to spot the rams and motion directions to us. It didn't take them long to spot sheep and we started our climb. It didn't look bad, but it was definately a pull to get up as high as the sheep. After a few hours of climbing, we finally saw the rams, but it wasn't the ram that we had seen the day before. We were kind of dissapointed because this ram wasn't nearly as big, but Clayton wanted him anyway. I ranged the ram at 366 yards and Clayton made a great shot with his HS .270 Short Mag. After a week of Mountain House dehidrated food, it was heaven to have sheep backstraps that night... we're glad Clayton was willing to share. It's not a huge ram, but Clayton was super happy and he is now down to his Desert Bighorn to complete his Grand Slam. Good luck Clayton, it was a pleasure hunting with you.
Sheep Hunt #2:
After Clayton left, we had about a week of smokey conditions with near zero visibility. On the first day we could actually see, we called our next hunter, Wayne. He has already gotten the other three species of sheep needed for his Grand Slam and this ram would be the last one he needed. We were excited about our prospects and completing his Slam. On the first day of the hunt, we foud a little ram right out of camp that Wayne passed on, then we went five days without seeing a sheep. It was alternately smokey, snowing at almost blizzard conditions and raining. Conditions were terrible! On the afternoon of the fifth day, Kris and Jeremy found some tracks near camp. The next morning, Cory and Wayne followed the tracks while Kris and Jess got to a good glassing spot. At the end of the tracks, Cory spotted a nice ram (165-170). Wayne liked the ram and was going to shoot, but before he could the fog rolled in and the ram was gone when visibility returned. Kris and Jess found two more rams 30 yards below them in the rocks and one of them was HUGE! Around 180! Unfortunately they spooked and we couldn't find them again. Ultimately Wayne ended up going home empty handed. It was a heartbreaker for everybody.
Sheep Hunt #3:
Jess and I flew in to camp with our hunter, Bob Newton on the 29th. We had high hopes of getting the big ram and everyone was excited. The day before we flew in, our second hunter, Wayne had called me and said that when he flew out of camp he had seen a good ram on the ridge just above base camp. Thanks for the tip Wayne. We decided that we would spend the first night at base camp and try to get a look at this ram before we headed up after the big one. Jess and I went different directions to try to get a look at him, but all we saw were a few ewes... oh well, we had bigger fish to fry!
On the second morning we packed the mules and saddled the horses and headed up to sheep camp. Bob is seventy years old and has broken his back a few times so riding a horse is hard on him so he walked the whole way. He is one tough bugger! It's no walk in the park to get up to this camp and he kept right up with the horses without hardly even breathing hard. I hope I'm able to walk like him when I'm his age! We got to camp late that afternoon and after we got set up it was dark. The next morning, we woke to a blizzard and it was blowing so hard we thought the tent would blow over. Needless to say, we were stuck in camp all day. We found out today that not only is Bob tough, but he's funny too.
On the third morning we had great tracking snow and calm winds. Right off the bat, we found ram tracks on the ridge right next to camp and began following them and glassing ahead of us. It didn't take us long to find the sheep a few hundred yards below us feeding up a ridge. I was kind of sick and coughing, so I stayed at the spotting scope to keep track of the rams and Jess and Bob went after them. Talk about stressful having to stay there and watch! There were six rams in the group; two small "Banana Heads", one three-quarter curl, the ram that our last hunter Wayne had a chance at, and the two big rams that Kris and Jess had seen on that hunt. The biggest ram was an absolute monster! With huge, heavy bases, he carries his weight all the way to the end of his broomed off horns. He is a little over full curl, drops below his jaws and flares out pretty well at the end. Great ram! Anyway... I'm up there on the spotting scope drooling over this big ram and waiting for Jess and Bob to get down there when Jess walks into my line of sight through the scope! I can tell he hasn't seen the ram yet and they're right on top of each other! I'm sweating bullets. It seems to take forever, but they finally find the rams all bedded down. The rams were in two groups bedded on the hill, smallest rams on the bottom and the larges rams up higher. The two groups were only yards apart from each other and Jess and Bob were only eighty yards from them. Jess told Bob to shoot the top ram and Bob shot... the highest ram in the bottom group. The three-quarter curl ram. It is a nice ram, but a bit of a disapointment for all of us, especially Bob. He called it an "accidental shooting". At least he took it with a good sense of humor. The rest of the rams just trotted slowly over the ridge.
Bob is now only a Desert Bighorn away from his second Grand Slam and has been on ten sheep hunts. That ram is the biggest ram he has ever seen. Oh well, we still have one more sheep hunter so hopefully we can get him!
Congratulations Bob, and good luck on your Desert ram.
Sheep Hunt #4:
Bill Reide was our fourth hunter and his guides were Shane Reynolds and Jeremy Haney. They glassed hard for three days before they found a ram, but boy, when they did it was a whopper. We think it was one of the rams from the group we had been hunting all season. On the fourth day, they rode horses and hiked to where they had seen the ram. As they slowly hiked over the hill to find him, he spotted them and spooked and then came back for a second look. Bill made a great shot and the rest is history. The ram green-scores 185. One of the largest rams to come out of the middle fork for a long time.
Congratulations Bill.
Sheep hunting has been a challenge this year due to all of the smoke from forest fires. We (Cory and Jess) hunted in the smoke for seven days before finding a ram for our first hunter. He wasn't huge, but we figured he would go about 160 or so. We called Clayton on the Sat Phone and let him know that we had a ram spotted for him and he flew in that evening and we picked him up at the airstrip with the horses. The next morning we went after the ram. George and Kris got accross the canyon to spot the rams and motion directions to us. It didn't take them long to spot sheep and we started our climb. It didn't look bad, but it was definately a pull to get up as high as the sheep. After a few hours of climbing, we finally saw the rams, but it wasn't the ram that we had seen the day before. We were kind of dissapointed because this ram wasn't nearly as big, but Clayton wanted him anyway. I ranged the ram at 366 yards and Clayton made a great shot with his HS .270 Short Mag. After a week of Mountain House dehidrated food, it was heaven to have sheep backstraps that night... we're glad Clayton was willing to share. It's not a huge ram, but Clayton was super happy and he is now down to his Desert Bighorn to complete his Grand Slam. Good luck Clayton, it was a pleasure hunting with you.
Sheep Hunt #2:
After Clayton left, we had about a week of smokey conditions with near zero visibility. On the first day we could actually see, we called our next hunter, Wayne. He has already gotten the other three species of sheep needed for his Grand Slam and this ram would be the last one he needed. We were excited about our prospects and completing his Slam. On the first day of the hunt, we foud a little ram right out of camp that Wayne passed on, then we went five days without seeing a sheep. It was alternately smokey, snowing at almost blizzard conditions and raining. Conditions were terrible! On the afternoon of the fifth day, Kris and Jeremy found some tracks near camp. The next morning, Cory and Wayne followed the tracks while Kris and Jess got to a good glassing spot. At the end of the tracks, Cory spotted a nice ram (165-170). Wayne liked the ram and was going to shoot, but before he could the fog rolled in and the ram was gone when visibility returned. Kris and Jess found two more rams 30 yards below them in the rocks and one of them was HUGE! Around 180! Unfortunately they spooked and we couldn't find them again. Ultimately Wayne ended up going home empty handed. It was a heartbreaker for everybody.
Sheep Hunt #3:
Jess and I flew in to camp with our hunter, Bob Newton on the 29th. We had high hopes of getting the big ram and everyone was excited. The day before we flew in, our second hunter, Wayne had called me and said that when he flew out of camp he had seen a good ram on the ridge just above base camp. Thanks for the tip Wayne. We decided that we would spend the first night at base camp and try to get a look at this ram before we headed up after the big one. Jess and I went different directions to try to get a look at him, but all we saw were a few ewes... oh well, we had bigger fish to fry!
On the second morning we packed the mules and saddled the horses and headed up to sheep camp. Bob is seventy years old and has broken his back a few times so riding a horse is hard on him so he walked the whole way. He is one tough bugger! It's no walk in the park to get up to this camp and he kept right up with the horses without hardly even breathing hard. I hope I'm able to walk like him when I'm his age! We got to camp late that afternoon and after we got set up it was dark. The next morning, we woke to a blizzard and it was blowing so hard we thought the tent would blow over. Needless to say, we were stuck in camp all day. We found out today that not only is Bob tough, but he's funny too.
On the third morning we had great tracking snow and calm winds. Right off the bat, we found ram tracks on the ridge right next to camp and began following them and glassing ahead of us. It didn't take us long to find the sheep a few hundred yards below us feeding up a ridge. I was kind of sick and coughing, so I stayed at the spotting scope to keep track of the rams and Jess and Bob went after them. Talk about stressful having to stay there and watch! There were six rams in the group; two small "Banana Heads", one three-quarter curl, the ram that our last hunter Wayne had a chance at, and the two big rams that Kris and Jess had seen on that hunt. The biggest ram was an absolute monster! With huge, heavy bases, he carries his weight all the way to the end of his broomed off horns. He is a little over full curl, drops below his jaws and flares out pretty well at the end. Great ram! Anyway... I'm up there on the spotting scope drooling over this big ram and waiting for Jess and Bob to get down there when Jess walks into my line of sight through the scope! I can tell he hasn't seen the ram yet and they're right on top of each other! I'm sweating bullets. It seems to take forever, but they finally find the rams all bedded down. The rams were in two groups bedded on the hill, smallest rams on the bottom and the larges rams up higher. The two groups were only yards apart from each other and Jess and Bob were only eighty yards from them. Jess told Bob to shoot the top ram and Bob shot... the highest ram in the bottom group. The three-quarter curl ram. It is a nice ram, but a bit of a disapointment for all of us, especially Bob. He called it an "accidental shooting". At least he took it with a good sense of humor. The rest of the rams just trotted slowly over the ridge.
Bob is now only a Desert Bighorn away from his second Grand Slam and has been on ten sheep hunts. That ram is the biggest ram he has ever seen. Oh well, we still have one more sheep hunter so hopefully we can get him!
Congratulations Bob, and good luck on your Desert ram.
Sheep Hunt #4:
Bill Reide was our fourth hunter and his guides were Shane Reynolds and Jeremy Haney. They glassed hard for three days before they found a ram, but boy, when they did it was a whopper. We think it was one of the rams from the group we had been hunting all season. On the fourth day, they rode horses and hiked to where they had seen the ram. As they slowly hiked over the hill to find him, he spotted them and spooked and then came back for a second look. Bill made a great shot and the rest is history. The ram green-scores 185. One of the largest rams to come out of the middle fork for a long time.
Congratulations Bill.
25/06: Trappers Inn Party
Well, our first party at Trappers Inn was a success. Over 300 people came for food, fun, booze and dancing. We served hamburgers, chorizos and hot dogs. Sound County, formerly U-Turn was the band and they did a great job. If you weren't hear, you missed out. Our next party is on July 21st. You better be there!
I'll be posting some party pictures soon. Check back.
I'll be posting some party pictures soon. Check back.
Category: Friends of HCO
Posted by: ch0p5
Mike Peterson caught and released this lake trout in the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho. Great fish! Congratulations Mike.
Recent scientific and economic continue to be cranked out by both proponents and opponents of breaching of the three dams on the lower Snake River downstream of Lewiston, Idaho.
Legislation entitled the Salmon Economic Analysis and Planning Act (SEAPA—H.R. 1507) has been introduced in Congress. SEAPA would authorize independent studies form the National Academy of Sciences and Government Accountability Office to provide Congress with up-to-date information to make timely decisions regarding the future of the Columbia-Snake River Basin salmon recovery. SEAPA seeks a thorough analysis of salmon recovery measures including dam breaching in order to develop a complete picture of what’s necessary to protect and restore salmon and steelhead populations. SEAPA can be read at www.thomas.gov
Legislation entitled the Salmon Economic Analysis and Planning Act (SEAPA—H.R. 1507) has been introduced in Congress. SEAPA would authorize independent studies form the National Academy of Sciences and Government Accountability Office to provide Congress with up-to-date information to make timely decisions regarding the future of the Columbia-Snake River Basin salmon recovery. SEAPA seeks a thorough analysis of salmon recovery measures including dam breaching in order to develop a complete picture of what’s necessary to protect and restore salmon and steelhead populations. SEAPA can be read at www.thomas.gov
It has been reported that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service received several hundred thousand comments by the May 9 deadline on their final plan to delist Rocky Mountain wolves, including those in Idaho, Montana AND Wyoming. IOGA executive director Grant Simonds submitted IOGA’s comments favoring delisting and also delivered a similar message during the March 6th public hearing held in Boise. It’s possible the USFWS will decide on delisting sometime in early 2008.
Idaho Fish and Game Department’s large carnivore manager Steve Nadeau has assembled a planning team that includes the Fish and Game wildlife managers and wolf specialists that in conjunction stakeholder groups are developing a wolf hunting and species management plan under the guidelines of the Idaho Wolf Conservation and Management Plan. The process will also include public surveys and meetings. It's premature to talk about numbers or how the animals would be hunted. But the goal of population management would be to reduce conflicts and stabilize populations. Fish and Game officials expect to have a final plan for hunting delisted wolves in Idaho ready for Commission approval in November. An actual hunting season on wolves could be months or years away depending on the outcome of the delisting process.
Idaho Fish and Game Department’s large carnivore manager Steve Nadeau has assembled a planning team that includes the Fish and Game wildlife managers and wolf specialists that in conjunction stakeholder groups are developing a wolf hunting and species management plan under the guidelines of the Idaho Wolf Conservation and Management Plan. The process will also include public surveys and meetings. It's premature to talk about numbers or how the animals would be hunted. But the goal of population management would be to reduce conflicts and stabilize populations. Fish and Game officials expect to have a final plan for hunting delisted wolves in Idaho ready for Commission approval in November. An actual hunting season on wolves could be months or years away depending on the outcome of the delisting process.
June 1, 2007, 10:55 am
Working Group Fights for Vista Values
By Jake Putnam, Idaho Farm Bureau Federation Writer
BOISE—From the Tetons to Priest Lake, to the Owyhees, Idaho landscapes are breathtaking but threatened. An unlikely group of Idahoans have joined forces to preserve the scenic beauty of Idaho and they want legislation passed that will set aside the state’s valuable vistas for generations to come.
“If you look at the Tetons and see the rolling foothills in front of them,” said farmer Emma Atchley of Ashton. “Those lands are farm and forest lands. If you cover them with houses we will never have that wide open view again. It’s gone forever; these are the lands we want to preserve.”
The Ranch, Farm and Forest Working group is made up of farmers and ranchers, conservation groups and sportsmen. Joining forces back in 2005 with the goal of preserving Idaho, the group got to work and did their research. They found the same old story in Bonner, Boundary, and Bonneville counties; that Idaho is slowly losing its rural character with developers buying up parcels at an alarming rate. The group proposed a tax credit to landowners that set aside valuable lands.
“In other words they would agree with the state not to develop their land,” said Will Whelan of the Nature Conservancy. “Landowners would get an income tax credit half of the value of their donation to keep the land open and that would provide wildlife and water quality benefits and in exchange they would get the income tax credit, worth half the value of the donation on the development rights on the land.”
Rancher Jim Little of Emmett has seen his county go from rural to urban almost overnight. “As I have watched the Helter, Skelter direction we're going in my area, I think what’s this going to look like in 50 years and I don’t think any of us are going to like it, a lot of people are going to be disappointed with it."
Last session the House Revenue and Taxation Committee printed House Bill 262 but that’s as far as it got. Lawmakers thought the bill complicated and a tight budget turned lawmakers away. This year the working group vows to get the legislation passed because time and land is slipping away.
Rancher Margaret Soulen-Hinson raises cattle and sheep outside of Weiser she says the Ranch, Farm and Forest Protection Act could save Idaho’s greatest assets and values.
“You think about what people in Idaho value, they value the wildlife,” said Soulen. They value the large open landscapes, they value the ability to be outdoors and have room to recreate on.”
The group says Idaho is losing wildlife habitat and that affects not only hunting but the Endangered Species Act, tax incentives for open space would ease Idaho’s growing pains and its ESA problems.
“A lot of the game that we find so valuable relies on private lands to grow them, to provide them the habitat, the winter range that they need,” said Nate Helm Executive Director, Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife Idaho.
The group says the impact on the state budget is minimal, just $3 million year and the group says it works like this:
- The Ranch, Farm and Forest Protection Act would provide a tax credit to owners of agricultural and forest land who voluntarily agree not to develop lands important to fish and wildlife.
- Eligible lands must continually be used for agriculture and forestry.
- An advisory committee will review each proposed use of the tax credit to ensure it meets the needs of wildlife and to safeguard against misuse of the credit.
- The advisory committee will include three government offices — the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, the Office of Species Conservation and Department of Lands — and representatives from the agriculture and recreation communities.
- The committee will select only the highest priority projects because the maximum amount of tax credits offered by the state is $3 million per year.
- Prioritization will be given to the highest value of land critical for wildlife, such as migration corridors or spawning areas.
- A landowner who meets the criteria set by the advisory committee will receive a transferable income tax credit equal to only 50 percent of the appraised value — not the full value — of a voluntary conservation donation. The maximum credit is $500,000.
Courtney Washburn of the Idaho Conservation League says incentives will help keep working lands working and good stewards will be rewarded. “So its time for policy makers to set fourth and start protecting some of those natural resources which largely are in private lands in Idaho.”
The bill's supporters have until January to make their pitch to lawmakers. They’re inviting lawmakers’ summer field trips and outings to show off where the tax breaks would be used. Landscapes with snowcapped peaks, elk grazing in a meadow, and seeing the state’s wide open spaces should inspire lawmakers to act in 2008.
Working Group Fights for Vista Values
By Jake Putnam, Idaho Farm Bureau Federation Writer
BOISE—From the Tetons to Priest Lake, to the Owyhees, Idaho landscapes are breathtaking but threatened. An unlikely group of Idahoans have joined forces to preserve the scenic beauty of Idaho and they want legislation passed that will set aside the state’s valuable vistas for generations to come.
“If you look at the Tetons and see the rolling foothills in front of them,” said farmer Emma Atchley of Ashton. “Those lands are farm and forest lands. If you cover them with houses we will never have that wide open view again. It’s gone forever; these are the lands we want to preserve.”
The Ranch, Farm and Forest Working group is made up of farmers and ranchers, conservation groups and sportsmen. Joining forces back in 2005 with the goal of preserving Idaho, the group got to work and did their research. They found the same old story in Bonner, Boundary, and Bonneville counties; that Idaho is slowly losing its rural character with developers buying up parcels at an alarming rate. The group proposed a tax credit to landowners that set aside valuable lands.
“In other words they would agree with the state not to develop their land,” said Will Whelan of the Nature Conservancy. “Landowners would get an income tax credit half of the value of their donation to keep the land open and that would provide wildlife and water quality benefits and in exchange they would get the income tax credit, worth half the value of the donation on the development rights on the land.”
Rancher Jim Little of Emmett has seen his county go from rural to urban almost overnight. “As I have watched the Helter, Skelter direction we're going in my area, I think what’s this going to look like in 50 years and I don’t think any of us are going to like it, a lot of people are going to be disappointed with it."
Last session the House Revenue and Taxation Committee printed House Bill 262 but that’s as far as it got. Lawmakers thought the bill complicated and a tight budget turned lawmakers away. This year the working group vows to get the legislation passed because time and land is slipping away.
Rancher Margaret Soulen-Hinson raises cattle and sheep outside of Weiser she says the Ranch, Farm and Forest Protection Act could save Idaho’s greatest assets and values.
“You think about what people in Idaho value, they value the wildlife,” said Soulen. They value the large open landscapes, they value the ability to be outdoors and have room to recreate on.”
The group says Idaho is losing wildlife habitat and that affects not only hunting but the Endangered Species Act, tax incentives for open space would ease Idaho’s growing pains and its ESA problems.
“A lot of the game that we find so valuable relies on private lands to grow them, to provide them the habitat, the winter range that they need,” said Nate Helm Executive Director, Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife Idaho.
The group says the impact on the state budget is minimal, just $3 million year and the group says it works like this:
- The Ranch, Farm and Forest Protection Act would provide a tax credit to owners of agricultural and forest land who voluntarily agree not to develop lands important to fish and wildlife.
- Eligible lands must continually be used for agriculture and forestry.
- An advisory committee will review each proposed use of the tax credit to ensure it meets the needs of wildlife and to safeguard against misuse of the credit.
- The advisory committee will include three government offices — the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, the Office of Species Conservation and Department of Lands — and representatives from the agriculture and recreation communities.
- The committee will select only the highest priority projects because the maximum amount of tax credits offered by the state is $3 million per year.
- Prioritization will be given to the highest value of land critical for wildlife, such as migration corridors or spawning areas.
- A landowner who meets the criteria set by the advisory committee will receive a transferable income tax credit equal to only 50 percent of the appraised value — not the full value — of a voluntary conservation donation. The maximum credit is $500,000.
Courtney Washburn of the Idaho Conservation League says incentives will help keep working lands working and good stewards will be rewarded. “So its time for policy makers to set fourth and start protecting some of those natural resources which largely are in private lands in Idaho.”
The bill's supporters have until January to make their pitch to lawmakers. They’re inviting lawmakers’ summer field trips and outings to show off where the tax breaks would be used. Landscapes with snowcapped peaks, elk grazing in a meadow, and seeing the state’s wide open spaces should inspire lawmakers to act in 2008.
31/05: Trail Cam Pics
Category: Hunting: Black Bear
Posted by: ch0p5
Here are the Spring 2007 Trail Cam pictures at our bear baits. We had six baits out and there were cameras on all six. It's kind of like Christmas every day when we look at the new pictures. Makes baiting a lot of fun.
I tried to take a conservative count of the different bears that we have hitting our baits. Here are the numbers that I've come up with:
81% of the total number of bears are color phase!
Chocolate: 57%
Black: 19% *most have chocolate shoulders. Very few true black bears.
Blonde: 14%
Red and Cinnamon: 11%
We updated this page almost every day. Pictures are listed newest to oldest.
--- JUNE 3 ---
We just took down the last of our bait stations for the spring. It was a fun season, especially with the addition of the trail cameras. I'm already looking forward to next spring, and we have some ideas to make things even better. We'd like to thank all of our bear hunters. We had a good time and we hope you did too. Here are the final pictures of the spring. I just figured you would all enjoy seeing some of the bears that will still be around next year.
Here's Toddzilla snubbing his nose at us after all of our hunters had gone home. He's coming to the bait WAY before dark!
Wolverine Bear
Our sixth bait finally started getting hit consistantly. It was just a sow and cub, but it's better than nothing.
--- MAY 26 ---
Well, tonight was the last night of the "Wisconsin Boys" hunt. They had a good night on the stand, but it was bittersweet. Todd got a shot at the new big blonde bear. We spent a few hours last night and a few hours the next morning looking for him before they had to fly out of Boise, but we never found any blood or hair or anything... We're not sure what happened. We spent a long time doing a body search after they left, but never found a thing. We even tried running him with the hounds, but there were so many other bears in the area, we couldn't single him out... too bad.
Craig got a shot at a nice chocolate bear, but after we looked at it on video we concluded that he shot low. Jeff traded his bow for George's 30-30 the last night and saw lots of bears, but he didn't want to shoot a black one. They had a good hunt with lots of opportunities, but no dead bears (we hope).
"Toddzilla" and "Toad" will live another year. Check back next year at the same time, and if you are interested in a bear hunt, check out our bear page on the site. Our bear hunts are already starting to book up, so book fast!
--- MAY 25 ---
Chocolate bear.
This little chocolate bear is colored like a wolverine.
This is a new bear and he's awesome! A big blonde. He has everybody excited.
This little black bear is going to be cool looking when he grows up.
Pretty nice black bear.
Chocolate or red bear. Not sure which.
Moon Bear
--- MAY 24 ---
Well, we just went up and got the pictures from last night and it turns out that the bear Todd passed up was big... really big. Here he is.
Here's the bear that Todd passed last night. He says he'll shoot him tonight... I should hope so. I think we'll name him "Toddzilla".
Todd said that when the bear was on the other side of the barrel, he still could have shot him. You can see why in this picture. You can't even see the barrel behind him. HUGE!
I let the trail camera take a picture of me standing right in front of the barrel and I super-imposed my image over Toddzilla's. You can see here how big he really is. He is between 41 and 43 inches tall at the shoulders!
Here's the blonde shouldered little chocolate bear. Compare him to that big one. Wow.
I think he smells trouble.
Big chocolate sow and her cub.
Little cinnamon bear.
There are two big bears in this picture.
Looks like a pretty good bear.
This is a nice blonde bear and there's a second bear in the background too.
Here's the other bear that was with him... not too shabby.
Is this a new bear or not? I'm just not sure. It seems to have a blonde tint and there hasn't been one that color at this bait.
Cubs
--- MAY 23 ---
No bears for the "Wisconsin Boys" again tonight. Todd passed up a good black bear (the one fighting with the Red Bear in the pictures below), but he wants a colored one. Jeff had cubs again, and Craig had one come in just at dark that he couldn't determine because it was too late.
This is the big bear that Todd passed on. This was taken just when he passed on him.
Here's a better picture of him.
Chocolate bear.
Check out Toad peeing on a log. Just like a dog. Pretty cool, I didn't know bears did that.
See where he peed on the log?
Blonde bear.
I think this is the rubbed male. It looks like he is either running away from something or getting ready to fight something.
The sow and cubs that keep bothering Jeff.
This is the chocolate sow at Jeff's bait that has three cubs.
Not a great picture, but it looks like a pretty good bear.
Here's "Toad" again.
I wish he would come in before dark.
Extreme close up.
--- MAY 22 ---
Tonight was the second day on the stand for the "Wisconsin Guys" They haven't shot anything yet, but all three of them have had opportunities both nights.
Todd passed a really nice bear tonight. I think he'll shoot him if it comes in again after looking at it on the video (I'll try to get the video uploaded if I get the time). Jeff keeps getting pestered by a big sow with three cubs, but there is a nice boar visiting his bait. Craig just hasn't seen one he wants yet. A huge chocolate boar is hitting his bait just after dark every night.
Ghetto Booty and her cubs.
Here's Ronnie again. It turns out he's not orphaned and there are actually three cubs in his litter. He is the boldest of the three.
Not sure which bear this is.
A new blonde bear with what looks to be a cool black bear with a big white mark on it's chest.
This bear is an absolute TOAD! We're pretty sure he's chocolate. We've been calling him black for the past few days.
This is the big red bear... I think.
Nice bear
This is a good bear. Look how long he is. It looks like he may be starting to rub though.
Nice black bear.
Look at how long this bear is. Big.
This is a good looking chocolate bear.
There are two bears in this picture, a black one and the one in the background is either chocolate or red.
--- MAY 21 ---
We finally got pictures from our last bait, and there are some big bears hitting it. Cool! Bad news is that it is snowing and windy and cold. I'm glad it's not me on the stand tonight.
This looks like a nice bear. He is either dark chocolate or black. Not sure.
cubs
chocolate bear
chocolate bear
--- MAY 20 ---
Chocolate bear.
Big chocolate sow and a cub.
--- MAY 19 ---
Little chocolate bear up a tree.
We didn't get a picture of the bear who treed him.
--- MAY 18 ---
Sean Remier shot this nice chocolate bear at 9:00 tonight. It was his first bear and he passed up a different chocolate bear the day before. It's not a huge bear, but he is really pretty.
This is a new bear. She's a pretty little red sow with a red cub. She looks like "Moon Bear", but her chest mark is bigger.
This is a nice chocolate bear.
Same bear a few hours later.
Different bear. Too bad he's rubbed.
Look at this monster! The bottome of that blue mark on the tree is up to my hip.
Nice chocolate bear.
Just sows and cubs hitting this bait.
The same chocolate boar that comes in every night. Usually a great big black bear hits this bait, but he didn't show up last night.
Little chocolate bear. Sean Retmier passed this bear up a few nights ago.
Here he is again later in the afternoon
This could be Ghetto Booty, but I think it's a different chocolate bear.
--- MAY 17 ---
We got better pictures of the new blonde bear last night. It's really pretty, but not very big.
We think this chocolate bear is pretty big, but we don't have a barrell at this bait so it's hard to tell for sure.
Ghetto Booty and one of her cubs.
He showed up again last night.
Same bear.
Wish there was a closer tree for our camera at this bait. This bear looks pretty good, but I can't tell for sure.
Standoff. The close bear looks pretty good.
Ghetto Booties cubs.
Chocolate bear. He came in early in the morning.
This is probably the same bear, but he came in again an hour later.
Here is that blonde bear. Looks more chocolate here, but I think that it's just because it''s a little ways away from the flash (not sure though). Unfortunatley it's not very big, but it'll grow!
See how much more blonde he looks here? Awesome bear! See the other bear standing up in the background?
Scruffy little chocolate bear.
Puny little reddish bear.
--- MAY 16 ---
We had another good night of bear baiting last night. The baits are still getting slammed! EIGHTY pictures between all of the baits! It also seems like the sows and cubs have stopped coming in to most of the baits. It's mostly older boars now, so that's super cool. Things just keep getting better as the month goes on. The only bad news so far is that we have had an early spring and we've noticed that a few bears have started rubbing already. Hunters are going to have to be careful and check the bears out for rubs. We got pictures of a new blonde bear last night too. He is beautiful!
The first bear of the year met his demise tonight. Master Archer Ron Elkin got this chocolate bear at around 6:00 out of a ground blind at thirteen yards This was his first bear and he was excited.
Ron giving a "thumbs-up" to our trail camera right after he shot his bear. I'd say he's a happy guy.
This nice chocolate boar comes in every night. Usually before dark.
This bear has a cool mark on his chest. Looks like a pretty nice bear.
I think this is Moon Bear and her cub again. We haven't seen her for a while.
Here's the new blonde bear! Cool huh? There is a darker bear standing next to the tree in the background.
A pretty chocolate bear, but not very big.
This looks like a pretty nice chocolate bear.
I don't know if this is the same bear or not. We'll just assume it's different. ;^)
This is probably the same one.
Looks like one of our blonde bears has rubbed pretty bad. Dissapointing, but he'll be bigger next year.
This is a new bear. Looks like a cool color. (I think this is the one Ron shot)
This nice chocolate bear is new to this bait. Awesome! We've just had a sow and a cub on this bait until last night.
This bear was new last night. We think he is dark chocolate, but he may be black.
--- MAY 15 ---
Lots of pictures tonight. I guess that is what 1000 pounds of bait per week will get you.
Nice red boar.
This is a big black or dark chocolate bear.
Standoff! This is a cool picture. Do you see them both?
Blonde bear.
Blonde bear.
Good looking red bear.
This is a new chocolate boar.
He looks pretty nice.
Another new bear. This one looks either black or dark chocolate.
This is probably him again.
A nice black bear. Looks like he's rubbed though. Too bad.
Check out the "V" on this one's chest. Cool.
Not sure if this is him again or a different bear.
Looks like a big bear.
Tough to tell what this one is, but it's either red or blonde.
This is a bad picture, but it's a new bear at this bait.
--- MAY 14 ---
I've been away from a computer for a couple of days (busy feeding all the bears), so here are the last few days' worth of pictures. We just got the Internet set up at the lodge, so we'll be able to update from there now instead of having to drive home to my computer.
I cropped this one, but it's pretty cool.
Blonde bear looking rubbed.
This is a nice bear.
This bear keeps a weird schedule.
This is a good bear.
He looks scared of something to me... probably a big boar coming in.
Mr. Blondie with a big chocolate in the background.
MAY 13
There is evidence of a big bear on this bait (tracks), but this is the biggest one we've gotten a picture of so far.
This bear looks decent.
This is a big sow. We call her "Ghetto Booty".
She's checking out the goodies I poured on the tree.
Ghetto Bootie's cubs.
--- MAY 12 ---
This blonde bear comes into the bait early in the morning sometimes.
That's a big chocolate bear on the right. You have to look close to see him.
The chocolate boar scared him up a tree.
See the bear in the background?
A chocolate sow and her two cubs.
One of our hunters actually passed this bear up. Can you believe it? Seriously though, we think he has been orphaned, so hopefully our bait saves him. We call him "Ronnie".
--- MAY 11 ---
This is a big red boar.
Here he is again.
Look at his greasy face from sticking his head in the barrel.
Bobbin' for bear bait.
What's for dinner tonight?
--- MAY 10 ---
We had a rough night for cameras last night. One bait had 23 pictures, but a bear had moved the camera and they were all of the ground. Here are the only decent pictures we got.
Here's one of the culprits who moved a camera. We've got him on our hit list for that little move ;^)
This one looks chocolate to me, but I'm not sure.
Here's mister blondie again. He came later last night.
Don't know if this one is black or chocolate, but he looks like a pretty nice bear.
Two chocolate cubs. These are the first bears to hit this bait. Hopefully a big boar runs them off soon.
--- MAY 9 ---
We finally have it figured out how to set the date and time on these cameras, so after today, they should be correct. Last night we got pictures of a big blonde bear, so that's exciting!
This blonde bear put on quite a show. We got lots of pictures of him. He's just the sort of bear people dream of shooting. Last year, we killed a nice blonde bear off of this same bait, so it's in the genes here.
Here he is again. Check out how his legs are chocolate. Cool bear.
Same bear again. He's so cool, I can't help but put all of his pics up.
We can't tell for sure, but we think this is a monster. Look at the far left side of the picture. He's also the first black colored bear we've gotten a photo of. (there are other bears that may be black, but they came in the dark so it's hard to know for sure)
This is a pretty good bear too (it might be the same bear as the one above). If it's a different bear, then he's the second black one we have so far.
--- MAY 8 ---
Right now, five of the baits are getting hit hard. We're just learning how to use the new cameras, so hopefully the pictures just keep getting better. Keep checking back, we'll be updating the pictures every other day or so. We couldn't figure out how to change the time and date on a few of the cameras, so hopefully we figure that out as we go.
I think this bear is blonde, but it may be what we call red.
This is a pretty red bear with cool markings. See the other red or blonde bear at the barrel? I think she is a sow with a cub. Too bad, cause she's cool looking. I think we'll name her "Moon Bear" because of the cresent moon mark on her chest.
This is a big chocolate boar.
He's a nice boar.
This may be a black colored bear, but odds are he's chocolate.
Blonde?
--- MAY 7 ---
A sow and two cubs. At least one of them is chocolate.
We think this is a big chocolate bear (small ears).
Pretty hard to tell what this one is... I am pretty sure that it's not very big though.
Proudly brought to you by the "Master-Baiters", George and Cory. We work hard to bring you joy. ;^)
I tried to take a conservative count of the different bears that we have hitting our baits. Here are the numbers that I've come up with:
81% of the total number of bears are color phase!
Chocolate: 57%
Black: 19% *most have chocolate shoulders. Very few true black bears.
Blonde: 14%
Red and Cinnamon: 11%
We updated this page almost every day. Pictures are listed newest to oldest.
--- JUNE 3 ---
We just took down the last of our bait stations for the spring. It was a fun season, especially with the addition of the trail cameras. I'm already looking forward to next spring, and we have some ideas to make things even better. We'd like to thank all of our bear hunters. We had a good time and we hope you did too. Here are the final pictures of the spring. I just figured you would all enjoy seeing some of the bears that will still be around next year.
Here's Toddzilla snubbing his nose at us after all of our hunters had gone home. He's coming to the bait WAY before dark!
Wolverine Bear
Our sixth bait finally started getting hit consistantly. It was just a sow and cub, but it's better than nothing.
--- MAY 26 ---
Well, tonight was the last night of the "Wisconsin Boys" hunt. They had a good night on the stand, but it was bittersweet. Todd got a shot at the new big blonde bear. We spent a few hours last night and a few hours the next morning looking for him before they had to fly out of Boise, but we never found any blood or hair or anything... We're not sure what happened. We spent a long time doing a body search after they left, but never found a thing. We even tried running him with the hounds, but there were so many other bears in the area, we couldn't single him out... too bad.
Craig got a shot at a nice chocolate bear, but after we looked at it on video we concluded that he shot low. Jeff traded his bow for George's 30-30 the last night and saw lots of bears, but he didn't want to shoot a black one. They had a good hunt with lots of opportunities, but no dead bears (we hope).
"Toddzilla" and "Toad" will live another year. Check back next year at the same time, and if you are interested in a bear hunt, check out our bear page on the site. Our bear hunts are already starting to book up, so book fast!
--- MAY 25 ---
Chocolate bear.
This little chocolate bear is colored like a wolverine.
This is a new bear and he's awesome! A big blonde. He has everybody excited.
This little black bear is going to be cool looking when he grows up.
Pretty nice black bear.
Chocolate or red bear. Not sure which.
Moon Bear
--- MAY 24 ---
Well, we just went up and got the pictures from last night and it turns out that the bear Todd passed up was big... really big. Here he is.
Here's the bear that Todd passed last night. He says he'll shoot him tonight... I should hope so. I think we'll name him "Toddzilla".
Todd said that when the bear was on the other side of the barrel, he still could have shot him. You can see why in this picture. You can't even see the barrel behind him. HUGE!
I let the trail camera take a picture of me standing right in front of the barrel and I super-imposed my image over Toddzilla's. You can see here how big he really is. He is between 41 and 43 inches tall at the shoulders!
Here's the blonde shouldered little chocolate bear. Compare him to that big one. Wow.
I think he smells trouble.
Big chocolate sow and her cub.
Little cinnamon bear.
There are two big bears in this picture.
Looks like a pretty good bear.
This is a nice blonde bear and there's a second bear in the background too.
Here's the other bear that was with him... not too shabby.
Is this a new bear or not? I'm just not sure. It seems to have a blonde tint and there hasn't been one that color at this bait.
Cubs
--- MAY 23 ---
No bears for the "Wisconsin Boys" again tonight. Todd passed up a good black bear (the one fighting with the Red Bear in the pictures below), but he wants a colored one. Jeff had cubs again, and Craig had one come in just at dark that he couldn't determine because it was too late.
This is the big bear that Todd passed on. This was taken just when he passed on him.
Here's a better picture of him.
Chocolate bear.
Check out Toad peeing on a log. Just like a dog. Pretty cool, I didn't know bears did that.
See where he peed on the log?
Blonde bear.
I think this is the rubbed male. It looks like he is either running away from something or getting ready to fight something.
The sow and cubs that keep bothering Jeff.
This is the chocolate sow at Jeff's bait that has three cubs.
Not a great picture, but it looks like a pretty good bear.
Here's "Toad" again.
I wish he would come in before dark.
Extreme close up.
--- MAY 22 ---
Tonight was the second day on the stand for the "Wisconsin Guys" They haven't shot anything yet, but all three of them have had opportunities both nights.
Todd passed a really nice bear tonight. I think he'll shoot him if it comes in again after looking at it on the video (I'll try to get the video uploaded if I get the time). Jeff keeps getting pestered by a big sow with three cubs, but there is a nice boar visiting his bait. Craig just hasn't seen one he wants yet. A huge chocolate boar is hitting his bait just after dark every night.
Ghetto Booty and her cubs.
Here's Ronnie again. It turns out he's not orphaned and there are actually three cubs in his litter. He is the boldest of the three.
Not sure which bear this is.
A new blonde bear with what looks to be a cool black bear with a big white mark on it's chest.
This bear is an absolute TOAD! We're pretty sure he's chocolate. We've been calling him black for the past few days.
This is the big red bear... I think.
Nice bear
This is a good bear. Look how long he is. It looks like he may be starting to rub though.
Nice black bear.
Look at how long this bear is. Big.
This is a good looking chocolate bear.
There are two bears in this picture, a black one and the one in the background is either chocolate or red.
--- MAY 21 ---
We finally got pictures from our last bait, and there are some big bears hitting it. Cool! Bad news is that it is snowing and windy and cold. I'm glad it's not me on the stand tonight.
This looks like a nice bear. He is either dark chocolate or black. Not sure.
cubs
chocolate bear
chocolate bear
--- MAY 20 ---
Chocolate bear.
Big chocolate sow and a cub.
--- MAY 19 ---
Little chocolate bear up a tree.
We didn't get a picture of the bear who treed him.
--- MAY 18 ---
Sean Remier shot this nice chocolate bear at 9:00 tonight. It was his first bear and he passed up a different chocolate bear the day before. It's not a huge bear, but he is really pretty.
This is a new bear. She's a pretty little red sow with a red cub. She looks like "Moon Bear", but her chest mark is bigger.
This is a nice chocolate bear.
Same bear a few hours later.
Different bear. Too bad he's rubbed.
Look at this monster! The bottome of that blue mark on the tree is up to my hip.
Nice chocolate bear.
Just sows and cubs hitting this bait.
The same chocolate boar that comes in every night. Usually a great big black bear hits this bait, but he didn't show up last night.
Little chocolate bear. Sean Retmier passed this bear up a few nights ago.
Here he is again later in the afternoon
This could be Ghetto Booty, but I think it's a different chocolate bear.
--- MAY 17 ---
We got better pictures of the new blonde bear last night. It's really pretty, but not very big.
We think this chocolate bear is pretty big, but we don't have a barrell at this bait so it's hard to tell for sure.
Ghetto Booty and one of her cubs.
He showed up again last night.
Same bear.
Wish there was a closer tree for our camera at this bait. This bear looks pretty good, but I can't tell for sure.
Standoff. The close bear looks pretty good.
Ghetto Booties cubs.
Chocolate bear. He came in early in the morning.
This is probably the same bear, but he came in again an hour later.
Here is that blonde bear. Looks more chocolate here, but I think that it's just because it''s a little ways away from the flash (not sure though). Unfortunatley it's not very big, but it'll grow!
See how much more blonde he looks here? Awesome bear! See the other bear standing up in the background?
Scruffy little chocolate bear.
Puny little reddish bear.
--- MAY 16 ---
We had another good night of bear baiting last night. The baits are still getting slammed! EIGHTY pictures between all of the baits! It also seems like the sows and cubs have stopped coming in to most of the baits. It's mostly older boars now, so that's super cool. Things just keep getting better as the month goes on. The only bad news so far is that we have had an early spring and we've noticed that a few bears have started rubbing already. Hunters are going to have to be careful and check the bears out for rubs. We got pictures of a new blonde bear last night too. He is beautiful!
The first bear of the year met his demise tonight. Master Archer Ron Elkin got this chocolate bear at around 6:00 out of a ground blind at thirteen yards This was his first bear and he was excited.
Ron giving a "thumbs-up" to our trail camera right after he shot his bear. I'd say he's a happy guy.
This nice chocolate boar comes in every night. Usually before dark.
This bear has a cool mark on his chest. Looks like a pretty nice bear.
I think this is Moon Bear and her cub again. We haven't seen her for a while.
Here's the new blonde bear! Cool huh? There is a darker bear standing next to the tree in the background.
A pretty chocolate bear, but not very big.
This looks like a pretty nice chocolate bear.
I don't know if this is the same bear or not. We'll just assume it's different. ;^)
This is probably the same one.
Looks like one of our blonde bears has rubbed pretty bad. Dissapointing, but he'll be bigger next year.
This is a new bear. Looks like a cool color. (I think this is the one Ron shot)
This nice chocolate bear is new to this bait. Awesome! We've just had a sow and a cub on this bait until last night.
This bear was new last night. We think he is dark chocolate, but he may be black.
--- MAY 15 ---
Lots of pictures tonight. I guess that is what 1000 pounds of bait per week will get you.
Nice red boar.
This is a big black or dark chocolate bear.
Standoff! This is a cool picture. Do you see them both?
Blonde bear.
Blonde bear.
Good looking red bear.
This is a new chocolate boar.
He looks pretty nice.
Another new bear. This one looks either black or dark chocolate.
This is probably him again.
A nice black bear. Looks like he's rubbed though. Too bad.
Check out the "V" on this one's chest. Cool.
Not sure if this is him again or a different bear.
Looks like a big bear.
Tough to tell what this one is, but it's either red or blonde.
This is a bad picture, but it's a new bear at this bait.
--- MAY 14 ---
I've been away from a computer for a couple of days (busy feeding all the bears), so here are the last few days' worth of pictures. We just got the Internet set up at the lodge, so we'll be able to update from there now instead of having to drive home to my computer.
I cropped this one, but it's pretty cool.
Blonde bear looking rubbed.
This is a nice bear.
This bear keeps a weird schedule.
This is a good bear.
He looks scared of something to me... probably a big boar coming in.
Mr. Blondie with a big chocolate in the background.
MAY 13
There is evidence of a big bear on this bait (tracks), but this is the biggest one we've gotten a picture of so far.
This bear looks decent.
This is a big sow. We call her "Ghetto Booty".
She's checking out the goodies I poured on the tree.
Ghetto Bootie's cubs.
--- MAY 12 ---
This blonde bear comes into the bait early in the morning sometimes.
That's a big chocolate bear on the right. You have to look close to see him.
The chocolate boar scared him up a tree.
See the bear in the background?
A chocolate sow and her two cubs.
One of our hunters actually passed this bear up. Can you believe it? Seriously though, we think he has been orphaned, so hopefully our bait saves him. We call him "Ronnie".
--- MAY 11 ---
This is a big red boar.
Here he is again.
Look at his greasy face from sticking his head in the barrel.
Bobbin' for bear bait.
What's for dinner tonight?
--- MAY 10 ---
We had a rough night for cameras last night. One bait had 23 pictures, but a bear had moved the camera and they were all of the ground. Here are the only decent pictures we got.
Here's one of the culprits who moved a camera. We've got him on our hit list for that little move ;^)
This one looks chocolate to me, but I'm not sure.
Here's mister blondie again. He came later last night.
Don't know if this one is black or chocolate, but he looks like a pretty nice bear.
Two chocolate cubs. These are the first bears to hit this bait. Hopefully a big boar runs them off soon.
--- MAY 9 ---
We finally have it figured out how to set the date and time on these cameras, so after today, they should be correct. Last night we got pictures of a big blonde bear, so that's exciting!
This blonde bear put on quite a show. We got lots of pictures of him. He's just the sort of bear people dream of shooting. Last year, we killed a nice blonde bear off of this same bait, so it's in the genes here.
Here he is again. Check out how his legs are chocolate. Cool bear.
Same bear again. He's so cool, I can't help but put all of his pics up.
We can't tell for sure, but we think this is a monster. Look at the far left side of the picture. He's also the first black colored bear we've gotten a photo of. (there are other bears that may be black, but they came in the dark so it's hard to know for sure)
This is a pretty good bear too (it might be the same bear as the one above). If it's a different bear, then he's the second black one we have so far.
--- MAY 8 ---
Right now, five of the baits are getting hit hard. We're just learning how to use the new cameras, so hopefully the pictures just keep getting better. Keep checking back, we'll be updating the pictures every other day or so. We couldn't figure out how to change the time and date on a few of the cameras, so hopefully we figure that out as we go.
I think this bear is blonde, but it may be what we call red.
This is a pretty red bear with cool markings. See the other red or blonde bear at the barrel? I think she is a sow with a cub. Too bad, cause she's cool looking. I think we'll name her "Moon Bear" because of the cresent moon mark on her chest.
This is a big chocolate boar.
He's a nice boar.
This may be a black colored bear, but odds are he's chocolate.
Blonde?
--- MAY 7 ---
A sow and two cubs. At least one of them is chocolate.
We think this is a big chocolate bear (small ears).
Pretty hard to tell what this one is... I am pretty sure that it's not very big though.
Proudly brought to you by the "Master-Baiters", George and Cory. We work hard to bring you joy. ;^)
We just got back from the IOGA Sportsmans Show in Boise. On the last day of the show, George entered Cory in the elk calling championship. He didn't have any of his calls, so he bought one from the booth accross the isle from us (Deep Timber Sounds) and went out in his Jeep to practice for a few minutes. He was the last one up and we could tell he was nervous, but after it was all over he won the adult division! Check out his buckle.
