Preparation for a successful winter outing begins in the garage. Your vehicle may be the only way out when you’re miles back, with no cell service, where few if any hunters will be and logging crews are not active in the area.  Therefore, my truck has to be in tip top shape.  A four wheel drive on winter tires with lots of tread and chains for at least two wheels is mandatory.  I also include 5 gallons of extra fuel,  a short-handled spade,  come a long,  heavy section of rope,  tow strap,  power saw or quality bow saw and axe,  and tarp for laying on when doing my own roadside assistance.  I recently purchased a used Lewis chainsaw winch  from a guy in Montana that I hope will handle any larger recovery problems I may encounter as it will comfortably pull 8,000 lbs when powered by a larger power head and used with a snatch block.  I sure could have used it this last fall when I tipped over a 47″ bull moose and had an all day packing  job to do. ( another blog another time) As I write this blog for our website, the only thing  recovered to date, with the “Lewis” has been several trees from the back of my property that I skid up out of the ravine. Great fun, noisy and smokey.  I can’t wait to break out my portable winch to pull out something with four legs and fur.    

My accomodations for these winter hunts is a homemade wall tent and lined truck canopy.  I like to be ultra mobile and travel as light as possible.  I don’t like a camper on the truck as it is too top heavy and apt to scrape on the trees when driving off road.  Also, I like to camp fairly close to my hunting area and this often involves setting up on small patches of flat ground which would hardly be suitable for a larger rig to turn around or navigate.  My wall tent is a creation of my own design that can be set up by one person and is lightweight and very portable.  I built the frame from round aluminum tubing in a 10′x10′ size.  The walls are 7′x30′ heavy tarpaulin and  the roof is a waterproof gazebo top.   The roof holds out the moisture well enough but isn’t too good at holding the heat in, so I drape two 10′x12′ heavy tarps over the top and this gives me extra waterproofing and insulation.  The reason  I like the tarpaulin is two-fold,  when hunting in snow or rainy conditions,  this material won’t absorb moisture and can be temporarily put away wet and not become mildew laden like canvas.  For heating needs,  a forced air propane heater provides warm,  clean, carbon monoxide free air and I’ve been comfortable in sub zero temperatures with no problem.  To give the place a “homey” feel,  and facilitate slipper wearing, I also lay down a piece of all weather carpet.  Finishing off my list of hunting camp furniture,  is a folding table, chairs, camp stove, lantern and if I can’t live without electricity, a gas generator which adds the bonus of electric lights and power for the DVD player.  The last and most important piece of equipment is my cot, complete with mattress , double sleeping bags and an extra blanket.  The mattress is critical if I want to avoid waking up with a damp sleeping bag as I’ve found that a cot with a nylon skin traps moisture and doesn’t breathe very well, the mattress not only provides extra padding but keeps me dry when it’s cold. 

After my camp is set up to my satisfaction, I’ll take an afternoon drive on some of the access roads to check any new logging activity and get a feeling for game movement in the area.  One of the benefits of hunting the same area for many years is the ability to not waste valuable time in unproductive terrain. I can normally pinpoint some of the best travel corridors in short order and get ready for an evening hunt.  If I find an area that is really ripped up, I’ll spend considerable time looking for a natural funnel or game concentrating feature that I can use to my advantage.  After all,  bucks and especially larger ones,  develop an innate ability to stay out of sight.  It could be a genetic thing developed from years of hunting pressure or a more acute sense of the predator/prey relationship.  Either way,  I try to be cognizant of every detail when trying to close the gap on a wary muley.  I’ve noticed that areas which offer the greatest concealment also offer the greatest opportunity to get close.  When given the choice of crossing or skirting an opening, a buck will normally plunge through heavy cover pausing frequently to look for any signs of movement.  Careful observation of these natural or manmade funnels can make all the difference in reaching the preferred 40 yard or closer range.  For mulies, I like to look for strips of timber flanked by sparse vegetation that join larger areas of cover.  Some can be no wider than 50 yards but to a deer there is a level of invisibility afforded for which there is no substitute.  Exceptions do apply though,  as some spots which might look perfect,  are anything but,  as an area may have too much windfall  or be void for another completely unknown reason.  Adjacent cut blocks can also be good.  Providing that the blocks themselves aren’t  too grown up or too far apart.  There has to be a concentrating effect somewhere between the two logged off areas that funnel game activity or it won’t work.  If the snow is super crunchy,  It can be impossible to hunt any other way than with a treestand in just such a location.   I also choose to scout these areas during the afternoon when most deer are bedded up and there is less chance of spooking game out of the area.  The key to finding the heavily used travel paths,  is lots of walking  with the emphasis on keen observation.  I don’t know how many times I’ve missed lunch because there is another timbered ridge across another valley that I really should check before going home for a bite to eat.  You won’t find them all as I’m sure the natural and altered examples of bottlenecks are virtually endless,  but what better time to find one than when snow blankets the ground showing a myriad of tracks. 

There is a vast amount of information contained in an area of concentrated tracks if you slow down and read the sign.  For example,  if I find an area of heavy deer movement and the tracks show travel in both directions it is probably worth exploring why the deer prefer this route and what the final destinations are at the opposing ends.  Often it is simply a safe route between the right bedding cover and opportunities for browsing in heavy snow.  I also find some very useful information can be learned by walking backwards on a particular set of tracks.  Most people have a tendency to follow a set  of tracks in the same direction of travel but I want to know where that fresh set of big tracks came from so that I can gather a more in depth understanding why the deer like some areas and leave others vacant.  From this unorthodox method,  I learn where beds are preferred, the presence of hidden trails often close to roads,  and valuable micro sites where food sources are.  On a side note, I know of a little spot in my elk hunting area where the elk regularly travel during the daylight hours within 100 yards of a logging road.  The trail is not easily seen due to it’s location and I have seen many elk use it when sitting quietly out of sight with a good downhill  breeze in my face.  The same holds true for deer,  they develop ways of staying hidden while moving around their habitat.  If it’s a muley buck I’m after there are other factors to consider also.  The first being track quality.  Simply put, the bigger the track the bigger the deer.  I know there are exceptions as some large does have large hooves but,  the really big tracks are usually bucks.  Another key is stride length,  a larger animal will have a longer stride, and if I see a 3 or 31/2″ print with a 24″ or longer distance between them it will pique my interest and keep me in the area.  If that large, solitary track appears to be following a band of thick jack pine or other heavy cover down the ridge or draw,  that is another clue as to what sex of deer we have.  Bucks are often loners using thick corridors to get from a to b.  Some hunters feel the pronounced  impressions of the dewclaws,  signifies a buck,  I don’t know about that one as both bucks and does have these short toes on the back side of their hooves.  However,  the sheer weight difference between bucks and does could cause a deeper imprint and more dewclaw marks.  When following  the tracks of a deer that I suspect is a buck,  careful attention is paid to the smaller trees along the trail as late November or early December mulies are still feeling the effects of the rut.  Freshly shredded bark and broken limbs strewn across the top of the snow is a exciting piece of sign to find.  Finally,  on the subject of track and trailing,  there is the physical differences in how a buck will urinate in the snow versus a doe.  Bucks,  will have a tendency to spray forward in the direction of travel,  while does will create a more defined ” hole ” in the opposite direction of travel.  If the tracks in your area are small and close together,  and there doesn’t appear to be any fresh rubs around,  move on. 

If the rut is definitely active,  I won’t entirely ignore the does in the area or the presence of smallish sign.  I have been successful on occasion by ” watching ” the movement of the female members of the deer family as bucks will certainly find them and stay with them for some period of time.  Glassing an unsuspecting group of does often works as the buck can be back in the cover or laying down out of sight.  If after a lengthy session and the does move off without a trailing suitor,  it’s time to move on.  The presence of a  much larger track amongst the small ones in a recently glassed group of deer that fed out of sight is worth hunting out as well.  

Another prospect worth considering is the position of the sun during the winter months as it directly affects deer activity.  South-facing slopes are always worth a look when deep snow covers the ground.  The first area to melt off is the area with the greatest sun exposure.  Many times,  I have noticed heavy foraging on hillsides where the snow is pawed out in dozens of places and the ground directly below large standing timber is completely exposed.  The deer find these spots where the sun has removed most of the snow and provided access to decent forage.  There is also the thermal component.  Deer and most big game animals will seek out warm, sunny bedding sites where they can absorb the heat of the sun’s rays and conserve  fat stores to survive the winter. 

Hunting with the benefits of snow to aid in finding deer can only be maximized if we take into account the visibility of different clothing colors and tones.  This factor can make or break your being successful.  Fall camo patterns appear very dark when highlighted against a backdrop of white.  At longer distances,  camo clothing with a predominantly brown or tan color scheme will appear almost black as snow creates a contrast that is highly exaggerated.  Look at how easily we can spot a brown or grey deer when it stands on an open hillside.  When you walk up to a deer that you have recently harvested in the snow,  your eyes can once again see the light tones of the fur.  I am a big believer in snow camo,  while wearing it I have had hunters and deer walk by at close distance with no clue I was ever there.  I feel that game animals look right past you when wearing it.  This fact became apparent to me one afternoon when I was hunting mule deer and came across a group of feeding does.  There were about 10 sets of eyes to fool,  and I managed to follow the suspicious herd around for more than an hour by simply moving and freezing whenever a glancing deer looked my way.  I knew the rut effects hadn’t worn off,  and I was sure there  was a buck close by evidenced by fresh rubs and a large single deer that was separate from the group when I first spotted the deer.  Unfortunately, I never had a clear view of the head of that single and it walked off in a different direction.  At some points,  I was only 30 yards away from the closest animal.  Snow camo works.

By putting these different strategies into practice and keeping a keen eye for details,  I have been able to close the gap on some nice mulies over the years.  I haven’t always been able to come home with a buck,  but it’s called hunting not shooting after all and trying to do it with a bow is certainly a lot of fun.  The buck in the picture was taken with a doe on November 27, 2006.  The night before had been close to -20 c and the deer were feeding vigorously on a south-facing hillside below a section of heavy bedding timber.  I had scouted the slope the previous day and still hunted down a draw above a creek just to the west of this slope.  On the way down it had been very foggy and I glassed a two-point from his bed and stalked him as he fed down through a stand of small pine,  only to lose his direction of travel after exiting  the thicket myself.  Tracks crisscrossed the slope and there were many pawed out troughs in the snow where deer fed.  Higher up,  I had hit a set of  very large tracks (much bigger than the buck in the picture) and planned to return as the bed that belonged to those tracks looked like it had been made by a calf moose as far as size went.  A few years before a 30″ plus buck was taken in the area during rifle season and a huge,  bedded non-typical was spotted under a bull pine in deep snow.  Sadly,  the snow up there was over my knees and I couldn’t make it back up the ridge again the next day.  I decided to hunt lower down hoping the deep snow would push more deer down the same ridge where I had seen the promising sign.  The next morning,  I stopped this 4×3 buck at long range with a doe bleat and hit him through the lungs at a distance measured later at 60 yards.  That was the longest archery animal I had ever shot.  The longest deer I had shot before that day was 50 yards also uphill.  On that occasion I had time to use a rangefinder and adjusted for the uphill angle aiming on the chest with a 45 yard hold.  I only made it back one more time to my favorite mule deer spot before moving to the Kootenay region of B.C. and that trip was a complete weather disaster with huge snowfall in a few short hours forcing me to leave early.  I had one chance on a very respectable 4 point at a little over 20 yards but I clipped a limb missing him clean.  Oh well.

Wishing you many happy returns until my next blog column.  Mike.  

SSSO

Drove 11 hours to East Kootenay, stopping only for gas & lunch. We wanted to be in position for evening spotting at 5pm. 3 hours of glassing later, I counted 22 elk including 8 bulls- 4 of which were branch antlered & 4 spike/fork- the rest were cows and calves. Sometimes I think this is the best part of elk hunting , watching undisturbed animals in their summer routine.

I reflected on how important timing can be, I was sitting in this exact spot last year but about 11 days later than today and the area was alive with rut activity. There was a large bull controlling the majority of the cows, his bugles echoeing across the valley every few minutes, several smaller bulls lined the perimeter not wanting to challenge their senior counterpart. A young 5 point with a single cow and calf stood at the other side of the meadow, he wasn’t coming any closer to the 6 point and risk losing his small harem. For the next few weeks the bulls would run themselves ragged. I hadn’t wanted to leave but the dimness of the spotting scope told me my my fun was over and as I walked away last year I could hear bugles into the night. What a difference a few days can make.

Watching the band tonight, everything was right as rain between the bulls as they fed together and bedded together. That would all change very soon as friends turn to combatants. I felt a little sorry for the small spike bulls amongst the cows, their introduction to the rut would be the most difficult for sure.

Aug 31, 2007: Last minute prep

The day before opening was a good time to prepare our equipment and set up a temporary camp. I say a “temporary” camp as this was not our primary hunting location and also subject to the “local” factor. Our elk meadow was known by local hunters and there was a good chance we weren’t the only ones making plans. Just when you think you may get that “easy” bull somebody else may be moving on the same herd and throw a wrench into the mix. After 20 years of hunting the area I’ve learned to always have several areas to hunt just in case. We have always left the tougher more out of the way spots for last, hitting the most accessible first.

Sept 1, 2007: Take a stand for a bull

I took the opening morning off as I felt I had a better chance in the evening as the thermals would be more consistent and the elk more likely using the same trail network to enter the meadow as the night previous. It would still be dark when the elk left their feeding area, but slightly earlier when they moved in and that was the window I had timed. My game plan was simple, I had carefully noted the corridor that the two largest bulls were using each night so I could move in quietly and place a stand some 20 feet up between the two main trails. Eveything looked good and I felt fairly optimistic that I would achieve success in that last 20 minutes or so of daylight.

Well, as things often do, you plan, prepare, calculate the small details and something goes wrong anyway. Budgeting for travel time and stand istallation, I left 3 1/2 hours before dark but was too late already. Two other hunters had beat me into the area – crossbows in hand, blue jackets on, they were moving at a brisk walk through the bedding area. My heart sank with disappointment as the odds of arrowing a nice bull were now greatly turned against me. I decided to play the night out anyway and possibly catch a fleeing bull unaware as it ran from the secluded bedding area of the timber. After about 30 minutes, I could hear the sound of elk hooves pounding a line out of the cover. It was a cow and her calf. My new bowhunters were flushing the thicket for me. Sadly, that would be the only two elk I would see this evening.

Sept 2, 2007: Starting over

We decided not to spend anymore time competeing with other hunters and loaded our gear, gassed up the truck, grabbed a quick lunch and made our way up to high camp. Quiet, cool & loaded with elk were three good reasons we liked our annual trip to “the mountain”. It was always a bit more work to recover your bull up here, as they didn’t usually drop on the road for you. I remembered once being able to drive the ATV right to a spike bull I had shot. That was a much appreciated bonus. Reality says always include a packframe and clean meatbags on my list of hunting equipment when elk are the quarry.

From experience, I knew that early season and pre-rut elk hunting can be tough, especially when you don’t have access to private property and alfalfa fields. The elk up here are non-reliant on man made food sources, preferring to browse upon naturally occuring greens. You have to hunt them on their turf. I generally concentrated on deep, dark draws, north slopes, trails that lead to watering sites, wallows and when the elk permit- calls and decoying.

Tonight, I would hunt what I called “#2″ road. It didn’t go far, it was washed out, grown-in and covered with windfall. Just the kind of place I loved as it meant no vehicle access and undisturbed elk. I walked the old logging road to it’s end and was pleasantly surprised to find a small sapling, freshly stripped of it’s bark to over 6 feet high. A branch antlered bull to be sure I thought. Many times I have seen spike bulls and forkhorns this early and they always have the velvet on, this was something a little bigger.

Leaving the old roadbed, I followed a finger ridge that was very steep on both sides confining movement to one heavy elk trail leading straight down the middle. The trail was freshly used but I couldn’t distinguish any tracks so I carried on to where the ridge began to widen and then decided to set up and call. I slipped about 20 yards off the trail, popped a single reed diaphragm into my mouth, pulled up my face mask and let a sequence of chirps and mews carry up into the timber. After about 10 minutes of straining to hear even the slightest sound with nothing to show for my efforts, I moved up higher and higher again to where the ridge blended into the mountainside at 4800 feet. There was a consistent string of old rubs all the way indicating that this was a place bulls liked to frequent but maybe not today. I felt the elk were close but I would have to return another evening as I could just clearly see the trail on my way back down in the pale dusk light.

Sept 3, 2007: Getting closer

A new day and I was planning on going up to big creek this afternoon, a kind of scout and hunt venture. It was the furthest point on the mountain from camp, and maybe there I would find some action. I drove the quad as far as I could then loaded up my daypack, complete with pepperspray, grabbed my decoy and set out along the trail. Old rubs dotted the landscape as I slowly pushed through the timber above the creek draw below. It made me wonder about all the big bulls that had walked these hills over the years, their calls, fights and struggle to survive after a long hard rut.

I continued on a pretty much dead west direction until a cut line could be seen through a screen of trees ahead, I stepped closer for a look as I didn’t even know this inactive road existed. Suddenly my eye caught movement across the opening in the timber on the opposite side, a large elk body trotting away. I couldn’t tell if there were any antlers on top, the cover was too thick and I was too slow with my binos. A few cow calls and the animal stopped but it was still too thick and eventually the gig was up as I could see the south end of a northbound elk moving clear out of sight. I waited a short time before moving and after a couple of steps another elk streaked across the horizon above me, only the head and shoulders visible. It looked like a cow and I climbed up for a closer look at the spot the second elk bolted from. 100 yards or so further, I topped out on a little bench which had several beds and some very fresh droppings. I was making a mess out of this area so I turned back toward the creek draw in hopes of setting up for some more calls. I didn’t have to go far before I cut a well used trail that pointed up the canyon and angled down toward the creek. It was another good looking setup, the trail followed a steep sidehill and the rocky outcrops above created a reasonable bottleneck. I figured any bull responding to my calling would use this trail and I positioned my decoy in the best vantage point 30 yards to my right. A quick check of the wind and I slid down below the trail and behind a tight screen of cover. To eliminate any untimely noise I cleared out the ground beneath my feet and levelled the sidehill slightly so I could stand and move with absolutely no risk of spooking an animal at close range. It was going to be a repeat of the night before – no bugles, no elk.

Sept 4, 07: Cow calls work

Today I would try the opposite ridge at the top of #2 road. There were good rubs on a small plateau last year and I wanted to probe a little deeper.

I hit the flat as the evening started to cool down and the absence of any rut activity on top made me walk to the far side and up a moderately used game trail that led into a little valley of black soil. Tucked among the big spruce I found a wallow that was dry, no water, just sticky mud, but there were elk tracks in it just the same. Within 50 yards a repeat of the first, another dry wallow. Nothing fresh here but good elk country for sure. Elk usually have considerable trails leading to and from these sites and I found one coming down off the ridge above and to my left. Following the trail back up the hill I moved very slowly and quietly not wanting to spook any unseen elk. The path flattened out and opened up to good shooting lanes and I decided that here I would set up. Placing my decoy downwind, I cut a few small branches, cleared my footing and let out a string of enticing cow mews.

I had a response almost immediately, but not the answer I was expecting. I distinctly heard a chirp, not a bugle. The sound came from my left, higher up on the mountain and fortunately upwind. I repeated my calling and wondered what I could expect to see, a calf or maybe a spike bull. There wasn’t a second answer to my call so I settled in for some careful listening as elk have a tendency to come in quiet. Well, patience is required when trying to lure in any animal to a call and probably 30 minutes passed before I got a glimpse of some long, brown legs slipping along the edge of the clearing , it was a spike with 12″ chocolate bars on his head. I was more than ready for the shot by this time as I could hear twigs snapping and brush moving for several minutes. I wasn’t too keen on shooting the little guy as I wanted a branch antlered bull so I passed him up. Eventually, a forkhorn bull joined our group and I played cat and mouse with this pair for over an hour until one bull closed in to 12 yards and I purposely spooked him away. It had been great fun calling them in and watching them walk away then calling them back but I would try somewhere different the next day.

Sept 5, 07: Close the deal

After last night I felt things were starting to get interesting. The small bulls were on their own instead of with the cows, a sign that the herds were being established. In all, we had seen at least 5 little guys in different locations that were homeless and wandering. There would be larger bulls looking for company as well and that would be my focus.

I really couldn’t make up my mind where I would hunt tonight so I set off toward #2 road but decided at the last minute to take the #3 turnoff , an area I had not spent much time exploring. My trek ended up taking me to the south side of big creek and to the bottom of a very gently sloping saddle between two ridges. My heart leaped when I saw a five inch tree ahead that had been given the “business”, it was absolutely shredded and the torn fragments of bark lay strewn all over the ground. This was my favourite type of elk sign as it meant I had a bull travelling this saddle from time to time and very likely bedding in the heavy cover on the slopes above. Once more I assembled my decoy and placed it in plain sight, but further away this time, some 60 yards downhill/downwind from the drooping spruce I had chosen for concealment. If a bull hung up unsure of what his eyes showed him I would be in a better position. A few cow elk urine wafers placed near the decoy and one close to me and I was ready.

After several call sequences , I was greeted with music to my ears. I had raised a bull, the first bugle of the trip. My lonesome cow routine had been well received and I hit him with more soft mews until I couldn’t get another answer. I needed to determine his position and whether he was moving closer, or not interested enough to drop down from high up in the canyon. Whatever the case, I became even more vigilant in my listening and watching, knowing full well that bulls often came in with only their steps betraying them. Judging by the last bugle I heard, he seemed a little closer but still a good 1000 vertical feet above me. I felt optimistic as years ago, I had called in a big bull from way up on a slide. That had been a very exciting hunt watching through binoculars at 800 yards or so, and eventually a face to face encounter at 30 feet. A long time passed with no more answers from the bull. Then I definitely heard something pushing through the brush followed by dry branches cracking. He was here. Slowly, the sounds became louder and I could tell he was following a little ridge to my right that would take him past me at about 50 yards. When I know a bull is getting close, I stop all calling in an attempt to get him to search for me. It was working and I could finally see glimpses of that distinctive yellow fur through small openings in the cover. There was a narrow clearing on the ridge and after a few more steps the bull was in plain view, the white tips of his antlers shining. A beautiful 5 point. I watched and waited to see his reaction to the decoy but he must not have been able to see it. Elation turned to mild panic as he continued through the opening and past me. I turned my head and directed one soft mew down the draw behind me. He stopped and turned around, now facing slightly down the hill toward me. Then it happened, his eyes must have caught that shapely form of a young cow elk below as he ran not walked to the bottom and did a 180 degree flip of his body, hind feet high in the air. He landed facing the opposite direction of the cow, then calmly turned around and stared intently at the decoy. By this time the bull was maybe 15 yards away and my 25 yard pin was squarely settled behind his shoulder. He was perfectly broadside when the arrow hit him and I heard a distinctive “crack” upon impact. He ran full out from my left to my right then circled down and to the left again and out of view, leaving a wake of broken limbs in his path. A sickening feeling comes over you when you think you’ve made a less than perfect shot, as he went past I noticed penetration was only about 50 percent. I hoped that I missed the near shoulder and still passed through lung.

It was late but not dark as I took up the bloodtrail. There was blood and it was foamy, bright red to be sure but not a lot to follow. If the arrow was still in there, the hole could be partially blocked, I thought. By now I needed a flashlight to see anything, (me and my evening elk hunting). I was getting used to stumbling around in the dark looking for some poor creature with an arrow in it. I replayed the shot in my mind, it looked textbook, halfway up behind the shoulder, he should be laying here. I covered the immediate area as best as I could, then decided to get a message to my partner, who was hunting several miles away in the direction of our camp. We returned with more flashlights and scoured the area for several hours to no avail. It was 5000 feet above sea level and cool up here. Even though I hated to leave I would have to start fresh in the morning.

Sept 06, 07: A race against time

After 4 hours sleep, I came back alone and began a grid type of search on the premise that the blood trail was too poor to even attempt. Several hours of looking had passed in what seemed like the blink of an eye and the sun was starting to shine down on me. Elk are thick skinned and don’t keep well when it’s warm , I was growing concerned. Finally, I said a prayer to the big man upstairs, of what to do? A little voice urged me to get back on the bloodtrail and start over.

I found the torn soil where the bull had exploded from, then a broken piece of arrow. I retraced the bloodtrail to where I had lost it in the dark and noticed the bull had left the trail he was on and and had turned abruptly left. That was my mistake last night. The leaves now showed steady blood and on both sides of the trail. It was much easier to follow and I started to move fairly quickly. I climbed a short but steep section of sidehill and then began to parallel the creek draw below. Another 60 yards and I could see tan hide under a small cluster of spruce ahead. My packframe, tarp and meatbags were on my back and I wasted little time skinning, quartering and de-boning my elk. I layed out each piece of meat in the shade and the flies were little trouble. Three packloads later, bringing shotgun and equipment with the last hind quarter, I tied down the antlers, wrapped a tarp around the cheesecloth, covered front shoulders and backstraps and was off. By 1:30 I was back in camp.

We started the freezer and let it run for many hours, hoping to pull any trapped warmth out of the thick hind quarters and prevent bone sour. While we relaxed, a few steaks were removed for dinner and we were’nt disappointed. Fresh elk, slightly rare, is hard to beat.

After more than 20 years of bowhunting, I still find I need a refresher course in bloodtrailing now and then. An arrow doesn’t have the shocking power of a bullet to anchor game and some trailing work is usually in order. Other than the placement of the arrow, those fleeting few seconds after the shot are of extreme importance. I can’t stress strongly enough the need to watch your animal as it runs and listen for not only the direction of travel but any tell-tale signs of collapse out of eyesight. Sit quietly, think about the quality of the hit and memorize and mark the precise location where the animal stood at impact.

Epilogue

My arrow had squarely punctured both lungs, he probably expired within 20 or 30 seconds. What impeded penetration? The arrow impacted heavy shoulder bone on the opposite side, appearing to be a less than ideal shot. The distance of travel was fairly long as well, I estimated 150 yards into moderately heavy cover. A sparse bloodtrail in the beginning, compounded by the failing light strained my tracking ability and almost spelled disaster. The key clues on this recovery would be; the section of arrow shaft laying on the trail was about 15 inches long, or half the overall length, the leaves showed bright red foamy blood from a lung shot, my initial impression on arrow placement was tight to the shoulder and midway up. These were the reasons I never abandoned the trail, despite the fact it looked like my bull had all but vanished from the area.

Spring Fishing

The onset of warm temperatures here in B.C. means several wonderful and highly anticipated events occur for both trout and trout fishermen alike. Ice covered lakes open up and the sun’s rays begin to stir abundant insect activity, ringing a giant dinner bell in the sky for ravished trout, after a long winter hiatus from many of their favorite foods. For the keen fisher, who carefully observes the variety of trout-size table fare including color, length, surface or sub-surface habits of the various tiny delicacies swimming or crawling throughout the water, the fishing can be remarkable.

Fly-fishing is perhaps, one of the most exciting and enjoyable ways to participate and fool a few wary trout, while plying the waters of our local lakes. The equipment required to begin catching rainbow trout on a fly rod and reel is not complicated or expensive. The basic list includes a rod, reel, backing, line, leader, tippet and of course the terminal presentation, the fly. Rod selection ( for trout) is generally confined to lighter weights (or ratings) from 4, 5 or 6 class which refers to the relative stiffness differences with 4 weight being the weakest and 6 weight being the stiffest. The reel is matched to the rod by the same rating and is designed to balance with a given rod rating. Next, we choose a line, once again matching the previous matched rod and reel combination, so if we have chosen a 5 weight we select a 5 weight line of either a floating, sinking or sink/float variety depending upon the exact presentation required.

Proper installation of the fly line would begin by installing a length of backing first, backing simply being a back-up line attached to the reel’s spool to which the line is attached. Backing is usually a 20 or 30 # brightly colored Dacron line which can save the day if an exceptionally large fish is hooked and strips off the contents of your reel faster than expected. Leaders attach to the line and provide a tapered, less visible connection to the fly, so as not to “spook” cruising fish. Leaders are generally made of one of two materials; either monofilament or fluorocarbon. Tippet is also constructed of the same type of material and is used primarily to replace a section of leader lost due to cutting and re-tying of different flies or secondly, to customize leader lengths for specific types of fly presentation.

The item of greatest mystery for beginning fly fisherman has to be the fly itself as there are literally thousands of different patterns to choose from. There may be only slight contrasts in color, shape or material representing different life stages in an insect’s development but that is often all it takes for a pattern to be an overwhelming success or be rejected altogether.

To simplify the beginning process we have outlined some excellent choices amongst the categories of rods, reels, lines and fly patterns to outfit the prospective fly caster.

Feel free to contact us at the store or stop by if we can help and Good fishing!

Michael – Rainbow Trout

There wouldn’t be any time for scouting new areas so we would have to rely on past experiences, where we knew the elk liked to bed and feed. The first morning was a combination of hunting and checking for fresh tracks on trails, wallow activity, and soft green droppings. We weren’t disappointed by what we found, the sign was fresh and in the same areas we had seen the year before. The hub of activity centered around a set of wallows and it was clear that a bull had been there rolling in the mud probably several days ago. Everything was shaping up for a good evening hunt, fortunately I prefer to hunt elk in the evening anyways having killed every elk in the past just before dark. This year would prove to be a very similar circumstance and approach. Over the last 10 years I have found using treestands for elk a very practical and deadly method. The number one factor for me is wind direction, if it can’t be predicted and worked with I will completely forget hunting in an area until it is in my favor. The elevated position a stand gives the hunter can sometimes make the difference between success and failure when wind currents are fickle.

After selecting a suitable tree I proceeded to remove any obstructions to achieving a nice clear shot and carefully plotted probable elk travel routes around my stand. There is considerable noise generated from using a handsaw and installing a stand, I always approach a location slowly and carefully so not to spook an animal that may be nearby. This evening was no exception, I managed to hike all the way in without spooking any game, but while I stood and selected the tree an elk which I couldn’t identify crossed down below me about 70yards away. They were already active, I would have to be doubly carefully. There was about three hours of daylight left by the time I was seated and comfortable. I normally like to sit and listen for any sign of rut activity i.e. bugling before I try any calling myself. I found you need to assess the situation when bulls are calling back and forth or on their own. Over the years I have found a good way to start calling is by using cow & calf talk which has produced bulls from spike horns to six-points. The soft welcoming sounds of a cow elk, are especially effective for calling in juvenile bulls which may have been recently pushed out of the herd.

Everything was dead quiet that night, I didn’t hear any bugles or moving elk whatsoever, but I continued to present the scenario of a cow/calf group interacting. As it was my first night in this stand location, I wasn’t too concerned as my watch revealed 30 min till dark. As the old adage goes, its not over till its over. The view thru my sight pins was becoming fuzzy & grey, but I decided to push thru till legal light expired. I had just finished a calling sequence and was straining hoping to hear a response, when I got my answer. A lot of times, an elk can cover distance faster than you expect, and I barely had time to prepare for a shot when I could see the creamy yellow hide filtering thru the trees toward me. I was looking for one thing in particular-antlers. I got my wish, as a young bull began to cross thru my shooting lanes. I reached full draw in time and stopped the little guy with a hurried cow chirp. My 25-yard pin was resting behind his shoulder, I knew the distance was probably closer to 30-yards, so I elevated my hold slightly and sent the arrow on it’s way. The bright fletching seemed to be hanging down and out of his rib cage, and I instantly questioned the quality of my shot. I had to get down on the ground in a hurry as the light was fading fast. I made my way over to where the bull was standing when I shot, and I could hear another elk walking away from me in the direction they had approached from. It was probably another small bull, juvenile bulls often travel in groups. The ground was showing deep hoof marks, but not a speck of blood. I began to wonder how vital my shot was. I had listened carefully while my bull had run, hoping to shorten up my search time. There was a lot of crashing followed by quiet, usually indicating your animal has run full out and fallen in earshot, but I couldn’t find a thing. After some searching, I decided to head back down to the road to locate my partner as we would have a much greater chance with two lights. By the time we returned it was completely nightfall, with very little moonlight if any to aid us. The two of us began searching in a grid pattern using handheld flashlights. After 2 hours we were no further ahead, and I spent the evening in camp dejected and replaying the shot over in my mind.

Next morning we were determined to continue our search and we packed meatbags, saws, rope-everything you would need to recover a large animal. Back to the point of the hit, my partner spotted a little blood sign on a fallen log, and my hopes were renewed. By moving slowly we were able to pick out small, yet consistent, spots of blood on a trail that was climbing rather than descending. Even though it had been cool during the night our hopes of retrieving edible meat were somewhat darkened as an elk’s hide is thick and its not uncommon to lose meat due to bone-souring. My eyes were down and focused on the trail, when my partner exclaimed “There’s your bull!” He hadn’t made it 70-yards falling in mid-stride across a windfall. We worked for the next few hours skinning & quartering and to all appearances the meat smelled fine.

All my fears of making a poor shot were soon dispelled when I realized the arrow had hit its mark half-way up behind the front shoulder. In flight the rearward motion of the elk’s front leg had broke the shaft in two, explaining the appearance of a low hit, as the broken shaft was hanging before it fell. Unfortunately, and contrary to normal behavior my bull had run uphill before expiring. I had assumed that he would have taken the path of least resistance which I have observed in nearly every case when dealing with a mortally wounded animal. The last word on our recovery efforts would be left to the butcher, as he would determine if in fact the meat was good. One day after our trip to the meat locker the butcher determined that there had been some loss in the forward quarter, but the majority of the meat was excellent. I can’t stress enough how important it is to dress and skin an elk immediately after a harvest, even when temperatures are cooler.

Many times people are interested in knowing what field equipment I use for hunting. Here is a list of the basics:

• Bow: Hoyt Compound set at 29” 65# of draw weight
• Arrows: Carbon Tech Whitetail 40/65 cut at 29” using white nocks, 3-4” Plastic white vanes, fletched with a slight off-set.

• Broadhead: Grim Reaper 100gr. Razor Tip 1 3/8” Cutting Diameter

• Release Aid: Jim Fletcher

• Rest: Ripcord Fall Away

• Sight: Cobra Sidewinder 3-Pin Fiber Optic

• Clothing: Selfast Thermo King Fleece Waterproof Camo

• Boots: Danner “Canadians”

• Accessories in Hunting Pack:

• Scent-Away Spray
• Wyoming Knife (Guthook & Skinning Blade)
• Gerber 2-Blade Folding Saw
• Re-usable Heavy Duty Meat Bags
• Blunts for Grouse Shooting
• Primos Diaphragm Single & Double Reed Calls
• Rangefinder
• Flashlight (Hand-held & Headlight-a must have for field dressing at dusk)
• Folding Scissors For Cutting Tags
• Fire starter
• Lighter
• Rope & String
• Motorola 2-Way Radio
• High Energy Snack and & Water

Time for Deer Hunting……

Since my elk hunting took a grand total of one day, I decided to turn my focus to whitetail deer. I liked to hunt for deer, especially whitetails from a treestand. They are very difficult to fool on the ground at close range. The treestand evens things up, as our western deer don’t see a lot of stand hunting. I wouldn’t have the luxury of calling since the rut was at this point still two months away. So, I decided to concentrate on two things both of which revolves around a whitetails stomach. Whitetail deer have an uncanny ability to move around during the heat of the day when their thirst overcomes them. I had two choices. Option #1, I could set up over trails close to water and try to catch a parched buck sneaking down, which would be effective anytime during daylight hours. Option #2 involved alfalfa and I just happened to know a location of a field that lay at the base of good bedding cover which consisted of a gradual slope originating from a timbered ridge. The field location looked excellent, and I had seen numerous whitetail does heading through the final stands of timber and into the field just before dark. I would try the field tomorrow. The next afternoon was spent walking the field edge, straining to find any clues to preferred travel routes and specifically buck travel. I was hindered by really hard ground cover due to a lack of rain and I couldn’t pick out any larger hoof prints at all. However, one thing I have learned over the years is the fact that bucks don’t generally travel, especially bigger bucks, where does & fawns choose to go (except during the rut). In fact success can come by looking for the thickest, most concealing stands of timber that link up where a buck has been and where he wants to go. Numerous times I have seen bucks traveling thru, sometimes very narrow yet thick runs of cover, trying to stay hidden as they went back to their bedding area. Cover that you might not think any shy buck would use and often only willow or low brush slightly taller than his antlers. I located what I thought would be the perfect thicket connected to a point of land that terminated at the field edge. It would offer decent cover for any wary buck. That evening I would set up an ambush, and hang my stand in amongst several trees-trying to find some cover & break up my outline. That would prove to be a tough proposition as the area below the thicket appeared to be selectively logged. I wouldn’t have good trees in terms of density or caliber. Whenever this problem arises I usually try to go higher up the trunk, say 20 or 25 feet up and pay close attention to my movement and noise as it doesn’t take much to draw a deer’s gaze when they may be less than a hundred feet away.

Once I had gotten settled in with all my equipment hanging within easy reach, I began scanning the outer edge of the thicket looking for leg movement or the flick of an ear, anything that would betray a careful buck’s presence. I would be in for a long wait as nothing moved along the horizon until at last, just before dark, a deer stepped out way down to my left and began slowly moving along close to the heavy cover. It was getting dark fast if he hesitated for any period of time I would be sunk. As if on cue the buck moved toward my position pausing for very brief moments along the way. It looked like my shot would be down to the left and close if I could stop and not spook the nice little 4 point. My view through the sights was becoming fuzzy and my eyes strained to keep a good accurate picture of pin/peep relationship as the shot opportunity drew near. The whitetail buck was very close now, I guessed 20 yards give or take and I made a slight grunt with my voice as he stepped into a clear shooting lane. Without a conscious thought the shot was done, the string shot forward, the shaft covered the short distance in an instant and hit hard driving through to the opposite shoulder. I watched in anxious anticipation as he fell down, recovered himself and made a desperate run across the sidehill. It was only about 70 yards to the last place I saw the deer as he entered a small patch of brush and heard that distinctive crash followed by silence.

My buck sported a nice even 4×4 rack and was fat as butter as we dressed and skinned him that night by portable light. An alfalfa fed whitetail is about as good as it gets and we were concerned about possibly losing the deer to a black bear as this area is home to at least one very large animal that cruises the ranchland cleaning up after hunters. I decided to sleep outside in a tent that night and I built a perimeter of logs around the meat pole to give me a sort of “early warning system” as I tried to get a decent nights sleep. Gladly, mr. bear never showed and we delivered a perfect piece of meat to the locker the next day