Blank
Long Time Member
- Messages
- 6,746
[p][p align=right]Thread Views Counter....[/p]
This will be a real test of my writing skills, and I hope you'll bear with me thru this saga. We will try not to let it get too boring. I've been privileged to be able to go to Africa several times in the last few years, and as a result, I've neglected some of my own state's wonderful hunting. I have put some short posts up before as hunting reports, but never anything of this magnitude, and certainly never chronicled an entire season. Getting such a late start, I will try to catch up the past few months as I fill in the events. Hopefully we can write down some good ones this year. The muzzleloader antelope hunt here is one I'd like to draw again, as Predator (Lisa) and I are both trying to break into the B&C realm on speedgoats with a frontstuffer. Maybe we'll get lucky again this year.
[IMG]http://www.monstermuleys.info/photos/user_photos2/397363_antelope_3.jpg
I decided to make a change in plans this year, and concentrate on having a great deer and elk season locally, whether I bagged some big trophies or not. Hopefully this will be a chronicle of my successes (but will include my failures too). Since I love hunting with my muzzleloader so much, I'm going to try to use it as much as possible. No promises tho.
The hunting season for me actually got started just a couple days before New Year's with my grandson's very first hunting trip. He conpleted his Utah Hunter Safety course in Salt Lake City a month before the 2013 seasons, but is so busy in school sports he was unable to go with me on any Idaho hunts. He was lucky enough to draw a much-coveted public land deer and javelina hunt in Texas on a wildlife management area though, and we got to spend the last week in South Texas. He took a very nice 5 1/2 year old 8 pt and a nice 40# boar; super excited with his success and really enjoyed himself. I can see doing something every Fall now.
2014 now started off for real with elk and antelope tag applications in Arizona. I had an extra antlerless elk tag open on the desert here in Idaho too, and that was made even tougher by one of the mildest winters we have had in quite some time on the desert. In January and February, the snow was less than 12 inches deep; you could drive around in your car! While I could find herds of anywhere from 30-100 bulls, the cows were being very elusive. The third trip out on the 2nd of February, I found a small group out in the open sage, and with a good sneak and a great shot was able to fill the freezer with even more delicious meat and jerky. Nothing better than fresh elk tenderloins, some squash from the garden that you've saved, and a nice red wine to compliment the venison. YUM! The only down side was I tore something in my shoulder dragging it out, and it was about a month before I could lift my right arm. Even now, I still have to take some Advil once in a while. Will see how archery goes this summer.
We were able to get away for the following week to the annual Safari Club convention in Las Vegas, so we picked up Preddy in SLC on the way through, and then my partner, his wife, and the three of us rolled down I-15 to the grand-daddy of hunting shows. About 2000 exhibitors in a million square feet of exhibition space, over a three-day period is serious hunting overload. No wonder the wives just shake their heads, and head off for the spa! We got to see several good friends at their booths and my outfitter from my last South Africa trip. There was plenty of visiting with hunting and fishing folks from around the world.
Since it is my wife's upcoming 60th birthday this summer, and she has been so accomodating to all my hunting excesses, I broke down and booked a week-long trip for us to Crocodile Bay Resort in Costa Rica for some deep sea fishing, spas, zip lines, and eco tourism hikes. That will be coming up here in two weeks, and I hope they have Internet 'cause its when the draws start to come out! Agony!!!!!
After that nice week-long break, it was back to the grind at work and trying to figure out all the confusing new rules, regs, and seasons for draws in surrounding states. Like most of you, this is a time of serious consideration and what-ifs, phase of the moon, slaughter a chicken, or any of the other silly superstitions we have for making our picks. Just wondering "how do I juggle all these without overlapping any of the hunts" is enough to make you crazy. I had 18 points for deer and 14 for moose in Utah, so that was an easy one. Wyoming deer and antelope with max points should result in at least one tag, I hope. The dream tags for Montana sheep comes next as well as Arizona deer and sheep, then finally the Idaho deer, elk, and antelope group hunts with Predator again. The nice thing about Idaho is the fact that even if I'm unlucky I have OTC deer, elk, bear, and lion tags so something is going to get hunted for sure!
I managed to get a second season turkey tag here on the upper Snake River, but they were extremely reluctant to let me shoot them. I found hens on every trip out, but the mystical gobblers were silent and invisible. That is one drawback to hunting later, when they have been chased, shot at, and educated-they are wise in the ways of the world and bury themselves in the thickest islands they can find. Oh well, there's always next year or I can go to Northern Idaho if I really get mad at them.
Bighorn sheep are one of my passions, and I have been lucky enough to harvest one here in Idaho and go on a couple other hunts. I continue to apply in a lot of states, hoping lightning will strike again but no luck so far. The other day I was lucky enough to have nice weather, so ran up to the Madison Range in Montana to look around. They come down during the winter around Hebgen Lake, and are accessible for a couple weeks. I was able to get up the hill on a band of rams, and one cooperated by posing for a couple quick pictures at the end. Very regal looking.
That's got us caught up for now. I will try to be much better about photos as we go along, and hope to fill you all in on summer scouting and luck in the draws. Good luck to everyone!
This will be a real test of my writing skills, and I hope you'll bear with me thru this saga. We will try not to let it get too boring. I've been privileged to be able to go to Africa several times in the last few years, and as a result, I've neglected some of my own state's wonderful hunting. I have put some short posts up before as hunting reports, but never anything of this magnitude, and certainly never chronicled an entire season. Getting such a late start, I will try to catch up the past few months as I fill in the events. Hopefully we can write down some good ones this year. The muzzleloader antelope hunt here is one I'd like to draw again, as Predator (Lisa) and I are both trying to break into the B&C realm on speedgoats with a frontstuffer. Maybe we'll get lucky again this year.
[IMG]http://www.monstermuleys.info/photos/user_photos2/397363_antelope_3.jpg
I decided to make a change in plans this year, and concentrate on having a great deer and elk season locally, whether I bagged some big trophies or not. Hopefully this will be a chronicle of my successes (but will include my failures too). Since I love hunting with my muzzleloader so much, I'm going to try to use it as much as possible. No promises tho.
The hunting season for me actually got started just a couple days before New Year's with my grandson's very first hunting trip. He conpleted his Utah Hunter Safety course in Salt Lake City a month before the 2013 seasons, but is so busy in school sports he was unable to go with me on any Idaho hunts. He was lucky enough to draw a much-coveted public land deer and javelina hunt in Texas on a wildlife management area though, and we got to spend the last week in South Texas. He took a very nice 5 1/2 year old 8 pt and a nice 40# boar; super excited with his success and really enjoyed himself. I can see doing something every Fall now.
2014 now started off for real with elk and antelope tag applications in Arizona. I had an extra antlerless elk tag open on the desert here in Idaho too, and that was made even tougher by one of the mildest winters we have had in quite some time on the desert. In January and February, the snow was less than 12 inches deep; you could drive around in your car! While I could find herds of anywhere from 30-100 bulls, the cows were being very elusive. The third trip out on the 2nd of February, I found a small group out in the open sage, and with a good sneak and a great shot was able to fill the freezer with even more delicious meat and jerky. Nothing better than fresh elk tenderloins, some squash from the garden that you've saved, and a nice red wine to compliment the venison. YUM! The only down side was I tore something in my shoulder dragging it out, and it was about a month before I could lift my right arm. Even now, I still have to take some Advil once in a while. Will see how archery goes this summer.
We were able to get away for the following week to the annual Safari Club convention in Las Vegas, so we picked up Preddy in SLC on the way through, and then my partner, his wife, and the three of us rolled down I-15 to the grand-daddy of hunting shows. About 2000 exhibitors in a million square feet of exhibition space, over a three-day period is serious hunting overload. No wonder the wives just shake their heads, and head off for the spa! We got to see several good friends at their booths and my outfitter from my last South Africa trip. There was plenty of visiting with hunting and fishing folks from around the world.
Since it is my wife's upcoming 60th birthday this summer, and she has been so accomodating to all my hunting excesses, I broke down and booked a week-long trip for us to Crocodile Bay Resort in Costa Rica for some deep sea fishing, spas, zip lines, and eco tourism hikes. That will be coming up here in two weeks, and I hope they have Internet 'cause its when the draws start to come out! Agony!!!!!
After that nice week-long break, it was back to the grind at work and trying to figure out all the confusing new rules, regs, and seasons for draws in surrounding states. Like most of you, this is a time of serious consideration and what-ifs, phase of the moon, slaughter a chicken, or any of the other silly superstitions we have for making our picks. Just wondering "how do I juggle all these without overlapping any of the hunts" is enough to make you crazy. I had 18 points for deer and 14 for moose in Utah, so that was an easy one. Wyoming deer and antelope with max points should result in at least one tag, I hope. The dream tags for Montana sheep comes next as well as Arizona deer and sheep, then finally the Idaho deer, elk, and antelope group hunts with Predator again. The nice thing about Idaho is the fact that even if I'm unlucky I have OTC deer, elk, bear, and lion tags so something is going to get hunted for sure!
I managed to get a second season turkey tag here on the upper Snake River, but they were extremely reluctant to let me shoot them. I found hens on every trip out, but the mystical gobblers were silent and invisible. That is one drawback to hunting later, when they have been chased, shot at, and educated-they are wise in the ways of the world and bury themselves in the thickest islands they can find. Oh well, there's always next year or I can go to Northern Idaho if I really get mad at them.
Bighorn sheep are one of my passions, and I have been lucky enough to harvest one here in Idaho and go on a couple other hunts. I continue to apply in a lot of states, hoping lightning will strike again but no luck so far. The other day I was lucky enough to have nice weather, so ran up to the Madison Range in Montana to look around. They come down during the winter around Hebgen Lake, and are accessible for a couple weeks. I was able to get up the hill on a band of rams, and one cooperated by posing for a couple quick pictures at the end. Very regal looking.
That's got us caught up for now. I will try to be much better about photos as we go along, and hope to fill you all in on summer scouting and luck in the draws. Good luck to everyone!