Trad Gang
Topic Archives => Memorable Hunts => Topic started by: Charlie Lamb on June 13, 2007, 10:04:00 PM
-
Where do you start with a trip like this one? Like every other trip, you start at the end... at least that's where the story tellin starts.
In that respect this story is like every other bowhunting trip, but that's the only way.
It had been coming for far too long and I was past ready when I rolled up to Shaun Webb's log home in central Iowa.
The weather was gloomy but it could hardly suppress the anticipation that only seemed to be snowballing after a long winter of preparation and dreaming.
It'd been 25 years or more since the last time I'd released an arrow at a bear... an average size black that took a cedar shaft from my 70# longbow "yellowgirl" and expired back in the dank recesses of a northern Minnesota swamp.
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/yellowgirlnbear.jpg)
I thought about how long it had been between kills even though I'd hunted diligently with outfitters and on my own. With a little aching under my wallet (and in it) I remembered all the long hours spent in trees waiting for my furry quarry to appear.
I remember the disappointment of each failed trip and how after time the disappointment was replaced with fond memories.
In time with age and maturity as a hunter the disappointment faded more quickly until it was replaced by the glow of satisfaction even before the hunt had ended.
Like the words in the old Rolling Stones song, "you can't always get what you want..."
How well I knew that tune!
-
Shaun and I visited for a while but there was electricity in the air and we both felt it. Before long, even though the hour was late, we threw our gear in the back of his truck and were soon headed west down I-80.
Some where in Nebraska in the wee hours of the morning we finally stopped and grabbed a couple hours shut eye in a rest stop. Before the rising sun reflected in the rearview mirror we were beyond anything that resembled eastern cover.
The corn fields and oak wood lots long since replaced by vast expanses of open, covered with bunch grasses and the occasional windmill squeaking out it's mournfull song on a prairie wind.
-
I'd expected we'd be on the road for at least two days but that was before we took off ten hours ahead of schedule.
Now it looked as if we'd add almost a solid day to the time I'd planned visiting my buddy Vance Brewer.
That was a good thing and I hoped that it fit his schedule... I was pretty sure it would.
(cont. in the morning)
-
Charlie...
"But if you try REAL HARD, you might just get what you NEED"
Very "wisdomous" from the old boys; I often sing that one to my 8 year old son :thumbsup:
-
Got my story teller mug and am ready for some reading.
-
Been waitin on you Bud. Glad to start this adventure. Can't wait to hear how it all ends. :thumbsup: See ya in the morning. CK
-
Can't wait to hear the rest!
-
This should turn into an epic tale! We got Charlie, Curtis, and Shaun, three of my favorite story tellers collaborating on the same adventure! Pull up a stump freinds, this one may take awhile........... :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
-
This is gonna be a good one! Can't wait to read the rest.
-
My story teller mug if full and I'm ready.
-
:coffee:
:coffee:
:coffee:
-
Ahhh yes. Another Lamb masterpiece told in the appropriate Lamb fashion (i.e. keeping the audience in constant suspense for a seemingly endless, agonizing period of time) ;)
Looking forward to it Charlie! :campfire:
-
:coffee:
That makes four cups already this morning. I'm going to be bouncing off the walls waiting on this one! :rolleyes:
-
:campfire: :coffee: :coffee: :jumper:
-
It's hard to figure how many times I'd made this very same drive to western Wyoming. It's also hard to figure just how many times I'd wished for some majical shortcut that would trim hours off of the drive.
In the delerium brought on by I-80 and mid Nebraska (they didn't chose the highway location for it's scenic properties) I'd often fantasized about driving into a time warp, a starship portal which would save me from the boring hours behind the wheel.
Of course there are no such portals and the eighteen wheelers which threatened to run over the top of us weren't really Clingon birds of prey... ok, so there was this one really ugly driver.
In due course we arrived at Vance's no worse for wear.
-
It was good to see Vance again. In his typical fashion he welcomed Shaun like a long lost friend... it's the kind of guy he is.
We were soon wrapping ourselves around some homemade vittles and sharing the events of the trip and the long winter just past.
Spring comes slowly to most of the rocky mountain west and it was just showing it's full beautiful self when we got there.
The morning after our arrival Shaun and I slipped away, while Vance tended to business, for a quick tour of my favorite mountains and a brief encounter or two with the little ground squirrels of the area.
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/WeitasShaunMtn.jpg)
I knew Vance would be waiting to share the adventure with us, so I kept the goofing around to a minimum. It was tough to do with so much to see and places to explore.
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/WeitasShaunSign.jpg)
We limbered up our bows in the cool mountain air and sucked in deep draughts of the pine flavored elixer.
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/WeitasShaunShoot.jpg)
-
Why the time warp thing is absent during the drive out to Wyoming and is painfully present once I get there is beyond me.
Soon we were joined by Curtis Kellar, who'd also made record time in joining us. The short days ahead would resound with bull sessions and the loud "whop" of blunt arrows finding their mark on the ever present ground squirrels.
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/WeitasCurtisWyoSquirrel.jpg)
It was good practice for all of us and Curtis especially needed to grow accustomed to shooting with additional layers of clothing... he adapted just fine.
Often we hunted in pairs or even all together... ground squirrels offer those kinds of opportunities.
Near some old corrals we found the squirrels quite abundant and circled off in our own separate directions to see what we could see.
I made a couple of hits and a few misses... if ground squirrels are anything, it's fast!
A little haphazard at first (by ground squirrel standards), we soon cleaned up the slop and were thumping the little squeekers on a fairly regular basis.
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/WeitasShaunandVance.jpg)
Since this was the shake down part of this trip and we were fine tuning for bigger things we also tripped off to the mountains for some broken ground shooting at more severe angles.
Stump shooting in these mountains not only includes a wealth of stumps, but for the imaginative, the trees are full of snarling mountain lions... of the pinecone variety. ;)
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/WeitasCurtisWyoWalk.jpg)
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/WeitasCurtisshootup.jpg)
We all got in on the pinecone action...
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/WeitasShaunshootup.jpg)
(cont.)
-
Thwop! The pics are great!
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/ck/Wyomingmountains.JPG)
-
Man, you and Curtis' story telling and picture taking have me able to smell the woods from my office down here in Florida. Hats off to you brothers! Great story and pics. Thanks for sharing with us all.
-
P.S. Where can I buy one of those nice-looking Bowyer's Journal caps?
-
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/shaunw/BearHunt07069.jpg)
-
I love these stories...thanks for sharing
-
Curtis to Shaun, "Man, you just gotta get a faster bow!"
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/shaunw/BearHunt07048.jpg)
-
Gees, I have a meeting to go to but I can't stop reading and gawking at the pictures, this is great!
David
-
That's what I'm waiting for! :thumbsup: A stop at Vance's is worth the drive all by itself!
Any pictures of the food? :biglaugh: :biglaugh:
-
No food pics from Vance's but we did stop at the grocery store. Here Charlie cathces up with a local warden he remembered from his days living in this community. I normally just buy the bright shinny stuff at eye level, but all I got in this store was a sack of pecan sandies and a case of squirrel hunters' neck and this was only the deer/antelope wall. You should have seen the rest of the place. Ah, the west...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/shaunw/BearHunt07057.jpg)
-
Hey Shaun. Based on that one pic, if you miss your meat you can still go home with a pie! :bigsmyl:
-
Best General Store I've ever been in. My wife and I discovered it once on a trip to WY before I even knew Vance. I think this is the place where Cabela's got the idea - a guy could wander around in there for a long time!
-
Yea Whip, and they have a nice bench out front where the views get soooooo much better. :readit:
-
:campfire:
-
Littlefeather,
What kind of heads were you using for those ground squirrels?
-
Things have sure changed around Wyoming as far as bear hunting is concerned. I'd made a half assed attempt to understand the regulations once before and gave it up.... they didn't apply to me anyway and were much too complicated for this old Missouri boy.
It didn't keep me from letting my mind wander back to those secret haunts of days gone by where I'd laid my plans for a bear rug, thick and ebony colored.
I'd been successful at it too... though opposite to what I'd thought in the beginning, the "black" phase bear had been tougher to get than I'd reckoned.
Heck, I even held a state record for a short time... biggest bear taken with archery equipment. I think it lasted about a year and someone blew it away.
The time to head into Idaho came around all too fast and I can tell you right now, I was tempted to stay right where I was.
Ground squirrels and rockchuck hunting sounded like all the fun this old man could want anyway. I'm just partial to Wyoming, I guess.
-
:thumbsup: :campfire:
Tracy
-
Yea Charlie, Wyoming is special and when you got GOOD friends there it'e all the more special. I've only been there a few times and it's always tough to leave. Now lets hear some more of the story. :pray: :pray:
-
I suppose I'd have stayed if I didn't have a healthy deposit on the bear hunt and if my friends weren't counting on me to go. It was only with a little reluctance that I loaded up in the rig with Shaun and we headed out for different mountains and new adventures.
Idaho, like many of the mountain states, is diverse in it's topography. It's sure not all potato country and we saw lots of wheat growing in fields of immense proportion.
The rocks were different as well. They looked almost black in many areas, making me think that maybe they held iron deposits. I may never know, but it was food for thought on the tedious road north.
At last we hove into Kamiah (Kam-ee-eye)where rooms awaited at the Lewis and Clark Motel. A lot of the history of this country has to do with the exploits of the explorers.
Shaun was sure we'd gotten the same room they'd had on their journey, but I doubted it. :D
We'd meet the guys that we'd spend the week in camp with at the motel and they all proved to be fine companions.
PV from Mass. and Ty Green and his son Ty... don't think that didn't make for a little confusion from time to time.
The two Ty's were rifle hunting and Paul V. was a dedicated traditional bowhunter and bowyer of no mean skill.
We all got along just fine and shared many laughs around the camp house.
Ty senior is a very gifted banjo player from way back and we often sat on the camp porch while he played a host of great music.... it sure did fit the scene.
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/Weitasporchbanjo.jpg)
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/Weitasbanjo.jpg)
-
I smell bear tenderloins on someone's breath
:campfire: :archer:
-
Man..they even rolled out the red carpet for your guys..thats good treatment.. :bigsmyl:
-
Simply put..........Thank you I needed this right now.
-
It was real hard to leave Vance and Sandra's place. A couple more days and I could have sprouted roots there. Even the Texican was starting to look like he belonged in the mountains of Wyoming.
On the drive to bear camp there is a stretch from Masoula down to Kamiah on Hwy 12 over the Lolo pass to where the road follows the Lochsa River. Some of the pretiest fly fishing and rafting water you ever laid eyes on. Had to stop the convoy for a look and a picture.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/shaunw/BearHunt07111.jpg)
-
dont stop there...its still early :campfire:
-
Sure enjoying the trip :thumbsup:
The Lochsa country is my second favorite part of Idaho. My Dad was from the headwaters of the Snake River.
Waiting for more :campfire:
-
Great story telling from 3 of my Favorite TG'rs...awesome stuff fellas :campfire:
-
It sure does make me smile, great job guys :thumbsup:
-
I'd rode up the mountain with Ted Fry in a little beast of a machine by Yamaha. It was so noisey that Ted handed me a role of toilet paper before starting and suggested I plug my ears... if I'd have known how noisey it was gonna be I'd have just jammed the whole damn role in my ear and asked for a second for the other ear.
And you sure didn't want to lay your arm on the console... that noisy sucker of an engine was under there and wasn't lacking in heat production either.
Our arrival during midday was hot dispite the snow which had blocked passage of our vehicles at the drop off point and which still lingered in the shady northern exposure places.
The fellas from the previous week spoke of hunting in shorts and long sweaty vigils. If that was so, then it was going to be a different kind of bear hunt for sure.
I was glad I had a Thermacell in my kit and expected it would see a lot of use.
-
We'd come in on Sunday afternoon and would spend that time acclimating to the new country and settling in to our home for the week.
Accomodations were simple but about as scenic as a guy could ask for... here's home.
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/Weitascabin.jpg)
The view was stellar and it would be easy enough to while away the time between stand sets just sitting on the porch staring off at the mountainside dreaming of everything but the problems that may be raging at home and work of any kind.
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/Weitascabinview.jpg)
-
We'd barely settled into our home away from home when Ted drug out some aerial targets and threw down the gauntlet.
He had a couple dozen flu flu arrows in camp, several of the targets and a young son (Jesse) who was a willing target launcher.
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/Weitasaerialtargets.jpg)
Notice young Ty Green on the left of the picture. He gravitated to the bow as naturally as any young man I've seen and proved to be a fine shot in very short order.
He'd spend ever increasing time with the bow during the days that followed and it became apparent that the hook had been set.
Even Ty senior was sneaking in some practice time (away from his 7mm magnum)and would hunt with a recurve in the waning hours of the hunt.
Once burned by the attitude of some loud mouthed elitist stickbow shooter, Ty senior easilly accepted our low key bunch and you could see that the seeds of conversion had been sewn by weeks end... and that's the way you do it... keep the name calling out of the picture and let the bow do the talking.
-
All right. Bear Hunting with CK and Charlie!!
-
Keep it coming Charlie.
:thumbsup: :campfire:
-
Story time at the front porch
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/shaunw/BearHunt07252.jpg)
-
I'll be back with more around noon... gotta get the yard under control. :eek: :scared:
Next trip I go on, I'm gonna put Roundup on the yard before I leave... should slow it down some. ;)
-
24 minutes...Tick Tick Tick...
-
Is it noon yet? :D
It seemed like an eternity before we finally set off to sit our baits for the first time. It gave me plenty of time to reminisce and revisit old feelings.
There's for sure a diffent feeling when you walk off into the woods after a bear. Hard to describe but I've seen it in a bunch of guys and experienced it myself a long time before.
I wondered how I'd feel off there in those strange mountains all by myself.
It didn't matter that I'd have been quite comfortable out there if I was deer hunting or elk hunting, but the focus was different.
We were after bears and we all know they eat people... right? Well, we're all a little more knowledgable than that, but there for sure is something primal and deep inside that touches a man when his quarry is bear.
Ted Fry walked me to my assigned bait and refreshed it's contents for me while I made myself at home in what might best be called a "hasty" ground blind.
There was a good blond bear working this bait and I was almost certain to get a shot. That and the fact that the shot from the blind to the bait was a little further than most was the reason I'd been chosen to sit here.
I appreciated the vote of confidence, but would have prefferred to be a little closer.
The distance was 21 steps,a distance that I was plenty comfortable at.
What I would find was that as the light began to dim the distance appeared to increase. I was sure my perspective would improve if only a bear would walk into the picture and give me something to look at.
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/Weitasbait.jpg)
Sorry for the quality of the photo... the new little digitals are handy as hell, but hard to hold steady at times.
You should be able to see the "bait ball" gizmo hanging above the bait pile.
-
I don't think I'd been settled in for an hour. A steady breeze blew from my right to my left...I'd been told the bear should approach from behind the bait or off to either side of it... so the wind should have been fine.
A clearly defined trail angled up the steep mountainside and concluded at my blind. I'd spruced it up (pun intended) with a few cut boughs and a couple of saplings, so my cover was good.
If a bear came up that trail I'd have plenty of warning.
What I knew of bears told me that he'd most likely make his approach from the down wind side and that lacked a whole lot as far as being in my favor.
The bait and my blind sat astride a razorbacked ridge, with my blind slightly off to the side.
The very crest of the ridge was to my left and at eye level.
Anything coming from that side would be within a few feet of me before I could see it.
I didn't like that much, but you can't have it all I guess.
Anyway, an hour or so had passed when all of a sudden there was the sound of rotten log coming apart and sticks breaking... about 30 feet away over the ridge top and directly downwind.
Lets just say I became very alert, very fast. But it wasn't the sound of a feeding bear and it didn't sound like the retreat of an elk or moose.
It sounded like a bear who'd just winded me and got the hell out of Dodge.
Not another sound the rest of the evening even though I sat patiently until the fading light made an ethical shot impossible.
I eased out to the road to await my ride.
Back in camp I got the good news that Curtis had filled a tag and there had been other bear seen. I think young Ty Green shot his first bear with a rifle that night.
Everyone seemed in good spirits.
-
I admire your story tellin Charlie,,It sure is heplin me out missin compton and all..Thanks and keep it comming.
-
As much as I hate to admit it, it punked out on the second day of the hunt. A steady rain had started that morning with a temperature drop of twenty degrees... we watched the temperature drop on the thermometer that hangs on the cook house porch.
I piled on an extra layer and was chilly even then. Soon I'd added another and by the time the guys had suited up and were heading for the timber, I had a roaring fire going in the woodburner back in the cabin.
Even with rain gear, I wasn't going to sit out in that crap and freeze my tookus off.
I did catch up on my sleep... much needed due to "truck lag".
My notes are incomplete, but I don't think anyone saw anything that night.
The third night of the hunt was a repeat of the second except someone did see a bear for a moment. The outfitter put Shaun on my bait since I wasn't using it. It was a bust for him and proved the wisdom of my wimpyness. :D
Over breakfast the fourth morning of the hunt I decided that rain or not, I was going to the woods.
Two nights was one thing, but I wasn't about to waste the whole hunt sitting in the cook house drinking coffee.
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/Weitasmeal.jpg)
There would be no test of my resolve this day, however. The rain was growing less intense with each bite of morning fare and soon it would leave the mountains fresh and sparkling, although a trifle soggy.
We had been discussing bows (with the occasional comments about balistics for Ty senior's sake) with our meal when Gary (the outfitter) mentioned that he had a John Shulz "Natural" longbow.
For those of you that don't know, John Shulz was a former bowyer for Howard Hill and to my way of thinking the best that ever was...not just Howard Hill bowyers,but all bowyers. His work is amazing.
Anyway, after leaving Howard Hill Archery, John started producing his own line of bows under the name American Longbows. His Trophy Hunter series are superb longbows.
Finally John quit using fiberglass and started his "Natural" series of bamboo backed bamboo longbows.
I'd coveted one of those bows for some time and told Gary so.
He casually commented that the bow was out in his truck. I was thrilled.
Soon we had the bow in the cookhouse being handled and admired by everyone.
At 5'1" ntn, it's a shorty of a longbow. The draw length is for a shorty also, marked 60# @ 24" and was not something I'd ever draw to anchor... my draw with a longbow is 29".
It wasn't long and a couple of the guys had the bow out in the yard shooting the little speed demon.
Here's some pics of Curtis shooting the Shulz bow.
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/Weitasshulzdraw1.jpg)
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/Weitasshulzdraw2.jpg)
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/Weitasshulzdraw3.jpg)
-
Keep it comin Charlie...lovin-it! :campfire:
-
We Bowhunters are a rare and interesting breed. What would ever possess a hunter to leave the comfort of a fir fire dancing seductively against a log cabin wall for the discomfort of snow and rain I'll never know.
The question certainly pecked away at me as Ted and I headed off in a half hearted attempt to fill my second tag. The gloom of a dreary and cold afternoon hung as heavy and thick as the drapery of clothing clinging loosly from my frame. The forrest was dark and my spirits were damp. The smells of wet, rotting earth and cedar invaded my sences and I felt myself drifting in and out on daydreams. I'd come to Idaho to hunt and it was these thoughts alone that pressed me forward into the evening.
As I sat in the low hung tree stand it continued to spit rain and snow. (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/ck/CKcoldface.JPG)
As my many layers of clothing soaked through a layer at a time I found myself re-evaluating my time here. It's amazing how easily a hunter can become swallowed up in his own mind while nestled alone in a dark and cold place such as this. I looked down at my bow and wondered if I could even find the strength to draw my trusty friend if the time should come. I'd named her Artemis some years before, she was a Godess of the hunt. My Godess seemed to tremble in my hand as the snow begain to settle on her shoulders.
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/ck/Snowbow.JPG)
And it was here in the fleeting moments of daylight that I found myself alone in a place of shadows and silence as the shades were drawn on yet another day in the solice of these mountains. I'd shake off the snow and the cold and return to the flicker of firelight where I'd dream once again of what magic and promise tomorrow may hold.
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/ck/eriepines.JPG)
-
Nice form CK! He did take a little teasing about his habbit of putting his feet close together. But you won't find a much better shot. That Schultz bow sure looks sweet at full draw. I tried shooting it too and it was amazingly quick for a 24" pull. There was no 26" pull to it, specifically designed for the draw length. Charlie mentioned making bows of similar design someday, put me on the waiting list.
-
That Shultz bow is a beautifull piece of workmanship. As Shaun mentioned amazingly quick for it's design.
For those of you who haven't seen it Sunbear is a fine example of Charlies craftmanship.
Spinning great yarns is just one of his talents.
Shauns horn bellied osage is a thing of beauty.
-
gaz'n out the window of my office, for a minute i felt like i was right there with you guys. great story fella's and thanks for sharing. i'm dreaming of hunting out west again... :campfire:
"impatiently waiting on more food for the soul"
-
I would like to see that cold weather.95 don't cut it for me.
-
WOW! Took me awhile to let all that soak in...Thanks a lot for sharing fellas...Great story and beautiful pictures!! :clapper:
-
With time to kill we made the best of the opportunity to explore these mountains that seemed so strange to me.
The mountains of my youth were arid and except for downed timber little covered the forest floor save the usual huckleberry carpet.
These northern Idaho mountains were anything but arid.
When Ted Fry had told me they were rain forest I have to admit to a moment of doubt. How could that be? I'd wondered.
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/Weitasckcreekcloud.jpg)
But rain forest they were...indeed! Everything was covered with moss of one form or the other. Underbrush grew rank on the precipitice mountainsides. It would be easy to get lost in these hills if it weren't for the very rugged nature of the mountains.
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/Weitasckctsign.jpg)
I believe that the trees in this forest, red cedar, fir and others were bigger than anything I'd ever been around.
Notice how Curtis just disappears in the cover. ;)
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/Weitasckhide.jpg)
On one of our little exploratory trips Curtis and I found this forest giant tipped over. It was hollow inside and we imagined it would make a perfect den site for a bear.
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/Weitasstumpden.jpg)
-
Great read and GREAT pic's :readit:
-
:thumbsup: :archer:
-
having withdraw's!!!! more, more, more..... :coffee: :coffee: :coffee: :jumper:
-
Notice the stuff that Curtis is holding in front of his face? Those ain't leaves! That's some kind of moss or dead tree recycling growth. Like I said, moss and stuff like that were everywhere.
In the process of making a new addition to the story. Thanks for being patient.
-
Did I mention that we ate a lot? LOL We sure did and for the level of activity going on I'm sure I put on a few extra pounds during the hunt.
That first day back at the bait after the rain was a long one. We went in around 1 p.m. and stayed until about 9 p.m. which was when it got too dark to shoot where I was... some of the blinds were more open and the ambient light allows for a slightly longer stay.
I was pretty stove up from all that time on a stool waiting for a bear.
If I've learned anything over the years, it's that you should never grow complacent when on stand.
If you do it will be that very moment when the target animal will show up... don't ask how I know that.
The wet conditions and warming temperatures brought out the nemisis of all bear hunters everywhere... mosquitoes!!
They weren't as thick as I've seen them in other places, but I suspect that was just because of the conditions in that place at that moment.
I'd made the disconcerting discovery that my Thermacell unit wasn't functioning correctly, and without "Off" or any other insect repellant, I was at the mercy of the bloodsuckers.
Since I had on my heavy hooded camo jacket, I simply cinched the hood down tight, pulled my fleece neck gaitor up over my mouth and nose, put my hands in my pocket and peer out through the space that was left. It worked just fine.
Here was the veiw I had most of the time I spent on that stand.
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/Weitasbowontree.jpg)
-
I know about the lemon drops, but I was there. How long you gonna leave em guessing?
What you said about the soft approach to advertising trad archery is so true. When I first learned that we would be sharing camp with a couple of riffle hunters, I wallowed in resentment and self pitty for about a minute, then did the old cranial rectal extraction and got on with life. As usual my fears were unfounded and Ty & Ty were one of the highlights of the hunt. They were witty, genuine and full of homespun wisdom. Dang fine hunters too. The attraction of grown or at least older men playing with bows and arrows was too much for them to resist. Couple of converts created.
Quotes: Ty Sr "Ready? I'm like lunchmeat - always ready!" Ty Jr "A blow to the head like that and you'll be getting coloring books for Christmas for the rest of your life!"
-
Meanwhile down the mountain a long ways, Paul was having encounters with the bear that had come to be known as "Big Black" and Shaun was having his own sightings.
One thing you'll notice when you're bear hunting and a thing you should pay attention to.
You may have visitors other than bears at your bait station.
In my case, at this particular bait, the visitors were Columbia Ground Squirrels and Chipmunks. In Wyoming it had been Gray Jays (camp robbers).
They not only provide some intertainment during the long vigils, but they are also an early warning system of sorts.
If you are sitting there and all the little critters that have been hanging around suddenly leave, it's a real good idea to be extra alert... a bear may be about.
It also pays to pay attention to the woodland sounds, as squirrels are very likely to tell on an approaching bruin.
In Curtis' case there had been a snow shoe rabbit playing around under the bait ball that hung near the bait pile.
When the little hare suddenly alerted and stared off into the timber and then just as suddenly left the area, Curtis knew to pay close attention to where it had been looking.
It wasn't a big surprise when his bear strode into view.
-
Well Shaun, to tell the truth, I kinda let the gumdrop thing slip away. Here it is...
Curtis is real fond of Lemonhead candies... little lemon flavored gumdrop hard candies. He usually has some in his duffle on any trip. At least he has on the trips I've shared with him.
He'd very generously tossed several of them out in front of him at his bait site and when the bear came in it was distracted by the new and apparently appealing sweet treat.
I believe the bear was reaching for a lemon drop when Curtis sent a razorsharp Sasquatch broadhead into his armpit.
Is that fair????
-
When we were back in Wyoming we'd taken advantage of the opportunity to shoot ground squirrels. I've shot literally thousands of the little buggers and think its about the most fun a guy can have.
I knew Curtis would fall in love with it and he did.
Now in Idaho we had a whole new species of ground squirrel to chase and I was up for the game.
I'd shot Thirteen Lined ground squirrels in the past. The little ground squirrels in Wyoming are the Richardson's variety and the squirrels we found in Idaho were the Columbia Ground Squirrel.
The Richardson's make the Thirteen Lined look tiny and the Columbia makes the Richardson's look small. I was eager to add the big Columbia to my life list.
Once we got started I knew we'd have to pry Curtis loose from the squirrel shooting. Like myself, he is a small game addict!
For whatever reason I don't have a single picture from the day we set aside for our ground squirrel adventure. I should be shot.
Ted took us to a place he called squirrel hill. It was a large open meadow on the top of a mountain. With small patches of native timber scattered here and there throughout the meadow it was an idyllic place to hunt.
While I suspected that the sport would be rather common compared to hunting the little "gophers" of Wyoming, I was in for a surprise.
Easilly four times larger than their cousins across the mountains, they were every bit as jumpy and lack nothing in the department of quickness.
I found that out on my very first shot.
-
Here's one. (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/Shortbldtr/IMG_0051.jpg)
-
Hey Charlie + Shawn
Great story and photos.
Is that Valley foods ? with all those mounts.
-
Yea, never leave home without your trusty Lemon drops. Never know when they may come in handy.
Some pics: The Guides not so trusty steed.
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/ck/Garybike.JPG)
Something that will haunt me till Fall.
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/ck/elktracks.JPG)
The newest Traditionalist to our camp preoccupied with other things.
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/ck/Tyshrooms.JPG)
Shawn discussing culinary masterpieces no doubt. Cooks gone wild!
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/ck/CookShaun.JPG)
Beargrass blooms. The sweet fragrance of all the flowers in the forest is incredible.
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/ck/Beargrass.JPG)
-
Keep it coming guys! Loving this. There hasn't been nearly enough "Lamb" storytellin lately.
-
Those Columbia Ground squirrels were something else and for this old midwestern boy, they looked like they belonged in a tree.
That would have made them even tougher, for although I do a pretty good job of shooting groundsquirrels, I have a dickens of a time hitting tree squirrels.
No figuring that one out... just the way it is.
I spotted my first Columbia not long after I entered the meadow. I'd seen Shaun stalking along the eastern edge, so I went west.
Not far from the end of a long dead fir which lay like a long finger pointing the way, stood a squirrel.
It was a figure from right out of the pages of one of my archery magazines... my hero Chet Stevenson had shot them often near his Oregon home.
I promptly flubbed the shot and with a chirp the squirrel was gone.
Usually I'll try to sneak up as close as I can on ground squirrels... or any squirrel for that matter.
It's a reasonable plan, but not always the best strategy
That proved to be the case this day. I'd ease up to within "gimme" distance and watch the squirrel duck my arrow.
My shooting was right on, the squirrels were just reacting too fast and were gone when the speeding missile arrived.
I suppose a quieter bow would help, or a quieter arrow, or less visible arrow or ideally a hand grenade... I'm pretty good with those.
:D
I nailed my first squirrel of the day at a solid 15 yards and others even beyond that. It seemed to be a much better plan as the squirrels were much less jumpy and would sit while the arrow sped in.
It's so true of so many game animals. We thing that by getting right on top of the game that we increase our chances of success and in reality we can lesson those chances.
In this case the squirrels were reacting to the movement of the bows limbs and that happens with deer as well. No way to eliminate that.
That movement does become less noticeable or at least less threatening to game the further you get from it.
In the case of the squirrels, 15 yards seemed to be the majic line... I've found it to be the same for deer and the more skittish the deer are in an area, the further that distance is.
I've seen super spooky south Texas deer that would be easier to hit at 30 yards than at 12 yards...at 12 they aren't gonna be in the same place as when the arrow was released. Guaranteed!!
With several more squirrels in the bag I headed to my bait that afternoon brimming with confidence... and I'm sure that if anything had come in it would have been toast.
-
CK reminded me of something that I just have to comment on. Mushrooms!!
They were everywhere... well, not EVERYWHERE, but where they were, they were just thick.
We had morels for breakfast in our scrambled eggs and almost every night in one form or other. With some meaty Coral mushrooms thrown in from time to time it only added to the feeding frenzy around the supper table.
Look at the picture Curtis posted of Ty senior. That's an armload of coral mushrooms and the guides were bringing in equally large batches of morels.
Kinda makes me sick when I think I didn't find a single mushroom at home this year... or course I'm the world's worst mushroom hunter. ;)
-
Ahhhh, dreaming of ground squirrels... The siloutte gracefully outlining the horizion line where the ground met with the edge of the sky. Squirrel hill was an awesome little place where the steep edges met with the lush green ridge. I love the way it streched out across there for what seemed forever. You could see those squirrels intent on our every move even at great distances. It was the long shots that made it all so much fun. When you pick one of those guys off in excess of 30 yards you've accomplished something, even if it was just a lucky shot. :bigsmyl:
CK
-
Great Stuff... (sigh...) :)
CK,
Ain't "luck" when opportunity intersects with lotsa practice?
-
We're not done yet are we?? Another installment for morning wake up? :coffee:
-
As the last day of the hunt came around I thought of how the hunt had gone.
It wasn't really any different than most of the other hunts I'd been on... the bears treated me with the usual contempt that I'd come to expect.
Just like other camps I'd made new friends to last a lifetime and you can't have too many of those.
I'd gotten off into a different kind of mountains and gained great respect for the country I was hunting. That just goes to show how different it all really is.
I know it really opened up my eyes. The fertility and recyling of the old and the the new springing forth with a vigor that defies description.
For my parting shot the guides had put there heads together and placed me at a bait they called the gravel pile bait.
Curtis had sat it the day before and had seen nothing, but everyone seemed positive it was due to be hit... I couln't argue with that. It was as good a looking spot as I had seen.
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/Weitasmestand.jpg)
This time I was off down the side of the mountain about 15 yards from the bait. Gary had walked me in and showed me where to expect the bear to come from. "Yep", I thought to myself, "a natural".
As the hours till dark turned to minutes I found that I really didn't care if I got a bear or not. Sure it would have been nice to shoot one, but I'd given it a good try and that's just as important.
Across the ridge I could hear a pine squirrel calling in that irritated chatter they do when they see something they don't like.
After a bit another sounded off down the ridge further. Then again the one right over the ridge sounded off.
I imagined the bear was around and checking things out. The wind was in my favor so I wasn't worried about that. Only time was my enemy here.
A small stick breaking off to my left got my attention as a cow elk walked nervously below me.
She never really looked at me and I wondered if it was the bear that kept her muscles rippling under a sleek tawny hide.
Soon she had walked out of my life.
I kept looking down the ridge expecting, even trying to will the bear to appear, but it was not to be.
As the space between shadows blended together and the mountain was inveloped by the darkness, I folded my stool and trudged away from the bait. It was over now and I knew it.
When I got out to the road I decided that since it would take Gary a while to get to me from where he would pick up Shaun, I'd just walk on down the road and meet them along the way.
I don't know what made me take off in the direction I did. I knew better, but wasn't thinking I guess.
It was the wrong way.
I guess I put on a mile or two before tiring and setting up my stool in the road to wait. It seemed a very long time until finally lights of a vehicle appeared around the bend in the road.
Gary had gotten to my pickup point and not seeing me waiting there had walked in to help me with what he was sure would be a dead bear.
Of course I wasn't there, but what he found was interesting to say the least... the bait had been hit.
I hadn't been gone a half an hour and the bear had made it's appearance.
Well, that figures! The bear had probably waited for me to leave, knowing full well I was there. They do that sometimes.
I had to laugh a little inside. The bears had won another one... and I didn't care a bit. It had been a great trip and I'd go again in a heart beat.
Because like the Mick sang in the song, "You can't always get what you want... but if you try sometime, you might find... you get what you need!
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/Weitaskit.jpg)
-
:D
Went away for the weekend and got to read the whole thing at one sitting! Looks like a good time was had by all!
-
a successful hunt is not measured by the kill, but rather by the experience and from this story i can tell you guys had more than a successful hunt. great story and thanks for sharing.
-
What a great story and awesome pictures! Thanks guys that is for sure a classic!
-
It was tough, but I waited all through yesterday so I could read this one this morning....thank you Charlie. Always a pleasure to hear your stories, sure am sorry I didn't get to share this adventure with you guys first hand.
Save a day in your schedule for ground squirrels and rockchucks at Vance's, I got a small game hankerin that's gone too long unfulfilled!
-
Thank You Sirs :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
It's always such a pleasure to sit around this fire :clapper: :clapper:
-
Nice Charlie!
Enjoyed every word! :clapper: :clapper:
LD
-
Got to read the whole thing today...Cudos Charlie for inspiring me to keep on my quest for a black bear tradstyle! :thumbsup:
-
:thumbsup:
-
THANKS!
-
I missed not being able to be hunting bears this spring, (first time not to go in last 5 years) and your posts remind me of what I am missing. I resolve to not let next spring pass without finding my way to bear camp.
-
Great story, and times around the :thumbsup: Brent
-
Thanx fellas...that was a great hunt you took us on :clapper:
-
Ain`t it something how you watch your backtrail when you walk away from a bear bait when darkness falls? Sometimes you just KNOW they are waiting for you to leave.
Thanks for sharing your stories guys. I wish you all many happy returns. Bowhunting forever!
-
Savoring!!!!!!!.......I've made it through page 5....back to work! Thanks again for sharing your adventures......I'll finish in the AM with my 1st cup of :coffee:
-
Bonebuster... I didn't hunt from a tree at all on this trip, but always have in the past. Nothing like turning around and climbing down that tree with the dark growing around you while thinking about that bear that you just know is waiting at the bottom with his mouth open. LOL
Just part of the fun of bear hunting.
-
Even though I failed to tag a bear while hunting with Weitas Creek Outfitters, I would highly recommend Gary Haight and his crew of guides.
They busted their butts to make the hunt all that it could be.
Food and accomodations were excellent and the country was awesome.
Ted Fry of Raptor Archery guides for Gary and can be contacted for more information about the hunt.
Ted is always a fine campmate and knowledeable about all game not to mention his vast knowledge of archery's many facets. He also gives first class service through his archery retail business... Raptor Archery (http://www.raptorarchery.com/)