Special Man, A Special Knife, A Special Hunt, Thank You Larry Surtees! (Tat pic p.4)

[House]

This story has its roots back during the St. Jude's Auction.  Some of you are familiar with the Bama Twisters Thread.  Well, I was one of the fortunate ones to win one of the spectacular knives that the Twister team made and Larry was to build a custom gator sheath for the knives (how lucky can a fella get!?).  Well, I got in touch with Larry and ask him if he thought is was in the realm of possibility to have the knife delivered to me in time for a Sept. 15 departure for an elk/mule deer hunt in central Idaho.  He said that he would put it at the top of the list and he'd get it to me in time, right about then I felt as though I was on top of the world.

Well, things have a way of happening and to make a long story short there was no way the knife was going to be ready for delivery in time for me to carry it on my hunt (due in no part to ANYONES lack of effort to make it happen!)  No big deal I thought, I'll just have to try and carry it in the late season in hopes of a whitetail...

This is where the story starts getting very interesting.  I have read on this site countless times of the generosity and selflessness of Larry, but little did I realize that I was about to experience it personally to a degree that would impact not just myself, but my family, in a huge way.  Larry appologized for the knife not being ready but said that he had a Doc Tippit blade that wasn't seeing any use and that if agreeable to me he could send me some pics of it and he would overnight it to me and I could carry it on my hunt!  I was thinking to myself, "are you kidding me?!".  I let Larry know that there was no need to send pics, that I would be honored to carry the Tippit blade on my upcoming hunt!  I told Larry as much and it was then that he informed me that this wasn't just any old Tippit blade (not that any of Doc's are) but was a blade that his son Chris had Doc make special for Larry.  I'm sure most of you are familiar with Chris and I'm not going to get into that, but WOW, what a flood of emotions poured over me.  I shared Larry and I's exchanges with my wife (who was already familiar with Chris' untimely passing) and she cried...for the first time in this story.
The knife arrived and I couldn't have been more pleased with it!  It had what appeared to be Osage scales, with awesome character and the blade was perfect for what I like in a knife!  I contacted Larry and told him I loved the knife and thanked him for getting it out to me so quickly.

What he had to say in return was the reason for tears running down my wife's face for the second time, and yes, mine as well.


"Travis:

I'm glad you like the knife. A little story behind it. My son had this knife made for me by Doc (Tippit). He had one that I really liked made by Doc, so we traded. So this knife was really my son's knife. He would be honored if you carry it -- kill or no kill. I know he'll be smiling down every time you take it out. I didn't want to say anything to you before hand about it in case you might have felt different about it. But please carry it in honor of my son!

Thank you and God Bless you Sir! I'm sorry that the other one wasn't finished in time, but maybe it was for the best as I know this knife found a good home!!!!!!!!

Thanks for your kind and appreciated contribution to St. Judes. Just maybe, just maybe, just maybe that donation will save a child and not go before his or her parents -- the way it should be! Thanks again!!!!

Larry

p.s. Yes, I believe it is Osage scales!!!!"

Well, I wasn't sure then, and not sure now how to respond to what Larry told me...I can say how thankful I am and how honored and humbled I am to be given the opportunity to carry this knife and see to it that it's intended purpose is fullfilled on a critter!  Here in my neck of the woods we have a saying when something or someone is over the top good and it's "good chicken".  Well folks, Larry is good chicken, plain and simple.

For those of you with the patience to read through all of my rambling it's time to reward you with some pictures of this very special blades hunt.
The hunt took place about halfway between the towns of Challis and Salmon here in Idaho.

The high country
   

Saw antelope everyday in the low country in and aroung the ag fields near camp
   

One day saw 16 Bighorn ewes and lambs along the Salmon River near camp
   
   

This is a special drainage for me.  My first Bull Elk was shot with a longbow in the middle of the Quaking Aspen/Cottonwood patch where the sideways "v" comes together 6 years ago.  Just out of the frame on the lower right hand corner would prove to be special again this season!
   

Typical country
   

Shot my first 6 point Bull in this area
   

More to come!

[Froggy]

"Cream of the crop" is a popular saying around here for folks like Larry..... He also has shown me personally generousity over and beyond. No parent should ever have to face the task of burying a child, and Lord forbid I ever have to, I pray to have the strength and class of the way Larry and his family have shown. He is a special person I am proud to know !! Look forward to this unfolding, a congrats on being able to carry such a special blade !!!!

Lanier

[House]

Well, we weren't seeing very many critters in the lower country this year so it was time to cinch up the boots and head for higher country.  I did get a wolf to howl at me 4 times while bugling in the lower country.  The next series of pics were taken of my trek up into a very secluded alpine meadow that lays at the head end of a drainage that elk hang out in.  It is a very steep and rocky ascent to the meadow, and the elk don't seem to hang out up there for long periods of time, but they do fequent it for a day or two at a time.  Unfortunately on this trip I was in between their visits, but I still go up to this place atleast once every year just for the view and the peace of mind knowing that I will likely be the only human visitor perhaps the entire year.

Quite a bit of sign as I was heading up, but most of it seemed 3-5 days old or older, note the rub in the background behind the bow.
 

The canyon as you head up is very narrow in places and no more than about 40 yards wide at the widest point.
 
 

Only a couple hundred yards to the meadow from here.
 

View of the creek as it flows out of the meadow.
 

The meadow is about 250 yards by 400 yards and surrounded almost completely by sheer talous slopes!  I couldn't believe my eyes the first time I ventured up there and found it!
 

Took pics of these little guys while lounging at the edge of the meadow.  I had a blast watching the birds, very peaceful.

Sparrow
 

Chickadee...my wife's favorite!
 

Like I said, no elk or muleys for this day, but what a great hike.  Brought back memmories of when I took my Dad up into the meadow, a special time and place for me!

More in a minute

[bill langer]

Spent a week with Larry in bear camp this past spring, he is good people!

[tippit]

Just a quick note as there is another connection to the Bama Twisters with this knife.  Kenny Yoder (4Runner) helped me with the Twister Tomato Slicer Knife that went to "What's Her Name"...Melissa  :rolleyes:   He did the handle from some amazing Spalted Oak that came out of his firewood pile.  This knife has some really pretty curly Osage that also came from some of Kenny's firewood scraps.  Just thought you might like to know all the people that touched it before going to Chris...tippit

[House]

Spent the next couple of days hunting the high country in search of elk.  It proved to be difficult this season (the toughest the elk hunting has been in the 10 years I've hunted this area).  One of the days went by without seeing or even hearing an elk.  The following day had three different bulls bugling, but only one was fairly near and in a place that we could make a play for him...so that is what we did.  As we approached to what I was guessing was about 250 yards of the bulls location we suddenly had cows mewing and chirping on three sides of us.  Well, as you would imagine it didn't take long for the shifty winds to blow our scent to one of the cows and it was game over for that morning.

 

This is where the elk busted us on the left hand edge of the pic.
 

 


A pocket of trees that has provided elk in past years, I remember wearing out Dad packing a couple out of there one year.  He said he thought it might kill him...but if it did he'd die happy!  The water in the bottom of the valley is the Salmon River and the green field you see is actually my best buddies river field.  Often the elk that come down to feed in this field bed in this timber pocket during the day.  This year the elk that were hitting the river field were coming from the other side of the river (different unit and therefore off limits).
 

The rest of the story coming up soon.

[Mudd]

Thank you so very much for sharing this touching story and hunt with us.

   

[House]

Tippit, thank you so much for the information.  It just helps to make this knife even that much more special...my thanks to you as well Kenny.

Travis

[Over&Under]

Speechless....

Beautiful country Travis, and a special place indeed, made only more special with the presence of that knife.

Very much looking forward to the rest of this.

[jcar315]

Beautiful pics so far.


Larry is one of the truly great folks that I have met through TG as well. Honored to have shared camp a few times and call him friend.

         

[JoeM]

What a story!!!  Everyone should take the time to read this one. Beautiful pics thanks for sharing. Joe

[GO Rogers]

Great story.....♠ thank you.      

[Zbearclaw]

Awesome looking scenery and very touching story behind that knife.  Cream of the crop for sure...

[House]

Well, I recieved some unfortunate news concerning my grandfather at about this point and had to leave the hunt for a couple of days to go spend some time with him.  He isn't only my grandpa, but my idol and best friend.  When my wife and I married in Alaska, where we were living at the time I flew my grandpa and grandma up for the ceremony to make good on a promise I had made to him when I was 14 that if I ever got married he would be my best man.  Well I did, and he was.  He is doing much better now, and I talk to him every day giving myself a pat on the back when I do where the tatoo of a model 1886 Winchester with "Best Man" in the buttstock and his initials "SLD" in the forearm (grandpa collects old winchesters and this is the only model he doesn't have).  When I left his place he told me to "Go get 'em and put that knife I showed him to some good use.  To say this hunt was an emotional rollercoaster is an understatement.

Back to hunting...
I decided to switch things up a bit and try to fill an extra doe tag that I had.  I went to an area that I knew from past experience was a likely crossing route for deer that were headed from the big quakie/cottonwood patch into the open sage and for most on down to one of the alfalfa fields.  This is a perfect spot with large sagebrush (about 6.5 feet tall) with an open shooting lane that faced the trail the deer typically use.  If they followed the trail it would present a 20 yard shot opportunity and they wouldn't be visible to me, nor I to them until it was time to draw.

After about an hour of waiting I saw three deer approaching at about 250 yards.  I could see that it was a doe, a spike and a forked horn.  Neither of the bucks interested me for my either sex tag, but the dry doe looked perfect.  I tried to physically and mentally prepare myself for the shot.  When they came into view the first thing I noticed was the doe was in the lead and they had veered off the trail slightly and were a little farther out.  I was nervous right up to the point I started to draw.  Upon drawing and focusing on a spot in the back half of the doe's ribcage everything went...peaceful.  Not sure how else to describe it.  I honestly don't think there was a thought in my head at that moment.  When all felt right I released and the arrow flew through the deer so fast I began to second guess that I actually hit it.  The doe sprinted out of there and over a little rise, while the two yearling bucks simply looked around.  After a couple of minutes the bucks simply walked off.  I felt the arrow struck a tad far back, although she was quartered away fairly well.  So I sat for a while, I'd like to tell you an hour, but I have no idea how long it actually was.  All I know is that it was as long as I could possibly wait at the time.

I crept up to where the deer was standing at the base of a rock bluff and found the arrow BURRIED in the cliff, about 3/4 of an inch into the rock!  But the blood looked great!

 
 

How I found her after about a 60 yard tracking job.  The blood was very sparse for the first 20 yards or so and the doubt demons started creeping into my frail brain.  But shortly thereafter it became very good.
 

Here she is with the trusty Morrison one piece Dakota (62#@28"), carbon express heritage 250's with 50 grain brass insert, eclipse 145 2 blade mounted on a 100 grain steel adapter, and an EFA quiver, ALL of wich were purchased here in the TradGang Classifieds!
 

Still am amazed at how well the arrow/broadhead held up.  Went through rib going in (although a very rear rib where it is quite small), took out liver and centerpunched the offside lung and exited between ribs, but then burried in the cliff.  It literally took effort to yank that thing out of the rock!  Even the tip is pristine, and still spins true.  Thought about reusing it, but it will have a special resting place with my other trophies from past hunts.  It will forever serve as a reminder for me of this deer, the knife, Chris and Larry, and my Grandfather.

 

The knife preparing to do it's intended work
 
 

The last installment in one minute.

[House]

Here are a couple of me with the deer, a nice year and a half old doe.
 
 

And finally some of this special knife fulfilling what it and I had so hoped for!
 
 
 

I thank all you TradGangers for letting me share this with you and a special thanks to Chris and Larry Surtees for being with me on this hunt.  Nope no elk were killed despite my best efforts over the next 4 days, but it has been the most rewarding hunting season of my life to date!

Travis

Enough Said
 

[Dave Bowers]

Great story and photos..you put a nice shot on her

[Stiks-n-Strings]

Larry and Doc and the whole bunch are some of the best folks I had the pleasure to meet.

 Talked with Larry a little today on the phone and had a good little visit.

 Now let's here the rest!!!!!! LOL

[JoeM]

       

[rushlush]

Great story. And as usual you of how great the people here on Trad Gang are.

[JAG]

None better than Larry!  I'm proud to call him Friend, and part of my extended Family.
I'm priviliged to be Justin's (Larry's Grandson) adopted Grandpa.
Now how lucky is that?!  See I told ya'll we're KIN!
Johnny/JAG