Idaho Bear Double
There are three places in the world that, when I die, I’d like to have my ashes spread; Idaho’s Joseph Plains is one of them. It’s some of the most breathtaking land I’ve had the honor of setting foot on, and the game-rich area is nothing short of spectacular. Last week we filmed another show atop the ‘Plains, this time, spring bear was on the menu. I’ve hunted here with Boulder Creek Outfitters (www.bouldercreekoutfitters.com) many times, and can’t wait to get back. This is a place I could live–remote, wild, rugged and every view, stunning. While I’ve taken bears in this area, the primary purpose was to get disabled U.S. Army veteran, Orlando Gill, his first bear. Orlando had his right leg shot off with a missile while serving a tour in Iraq. Now, he’s a leader for Disabled Sports USA, heading the Warfighter Sports program in an effort to get more disabled veterans hunting, fishing and outdoor opportunities (www.dsusa.org). Orlando’s life story is amazing, and you’ll see it later this summer on Trijicon’s The Hunt on the Sportsman Channel. Despite a 40º drop in temperature and driving rains the day of our arrival, bears were still moving. Orlando sat less [...]
Florida Osceola Turkey & Hogs
The family is coming off a great trip to Florida. We were there thanks to the invitation from a gentleman I met in bear camp last spring, Rick Hollenback. Rick’s wife had taken a nice bear, and we spent some time chatting. Come to find out, Rick had leases near Lake Okeechobee and invited our whole family along to hunt. Once Rick showed us the property, he turned us loose to hunt it on our own. Though the turkey hunting was tough, I managed to call in and take one mature tom. It took three days of hard hunting but the effort paid-off with an exceptional Osceola weighing 22 pounds, sporting a 10” beard and heavy spurs over an inch long. We tried getting a tom for Tiffany, but with the birds being stubborn, it simply didn’t come together. We had one tom almost close within range, but he would never leave his hens. The boys had a blast hunting hogs. Kazden connected first, via spot & stalk, and later got the prettiest hog I’ve ever seen. Braxton nailed a big sow, as did Tiffany and myself. I also managed a pretty good boar by stalking in. The highlight of [...]
Mexico Triple
A day following the NWTF convention in Nashville, I was making plans to hunt ocellated turkey in the Yucatan region of Mexico. I’d always dreamed of hunting these birds, but never thought I would. Camera man, Ty Cary, and I boarded a plane at our hometown airport, and 36 hours later were hunting amid upper 90 degree temperatures. Success came fast, with a lanky ocellated bird making his way by our blind, through thick jungle habitat. These birds rarely respond to a call, never gobble, have no beard and the males are called males...not toms. The noises they make resemble nothing most turkey hunters are familiar with; but their beauty is second to none. Admiring my first ocellated turkey, I was enthralled with all the colors it’s many feathers cast in the sunlight. Never before have I seen such iridescent coloration on a bird. The golden caruncles on his head an neck were mesmerizing, and the crown that sat atop his head, unlike any turkey appendage I’d seen. His needle-sharp 1 13/16” spurs were impressive, and his 12-pounds of mass made him the largest bodied bird taken in camp so far this year. With all the feed these birds have, and [...]
Game Chasers Is Back!
For three seasons Trijicon’s Game Chasers was a leading program that aired on the Outdoor Channel. When we left the Outdoor Channel two years ago and moved our new show, Trijicon’s The Hunt, to the Sportsman Channel, there were 13 episodes of Game Chasers yet to air. Unfortunately, they were locked away...until now. We just received word from the Outdoor Channel that the un-aired, 13 remaining episodes of Trijicon’s Game Chasers will start airing next week, Apri l 2, to be exact. Though the air times are not ideal (12:00 midnight PST, Tuesdays and Wednesdays), the 13 episodes have never been seen, and there are some exciting hunts. Set those DVRs! Braxton starts things off next week with a blacktail deer hunt near our home in Oregon. That’s followed the next week by a kudu hunt in Zimbabwe, and after that, a hunt for one of the biggest black bears, and most striking, I’ve ever had the pleasure of hunting, in British Columbia. In addition, we’ll be hunting turkeys in WA, OR and NE, mouflon sheep and axis deer in Hawaii, varmints in eastern Oregon, hogs in CA and more from Africa. Some of the episodes I’ve never even seen! Each [...]
Columbia Blacktail Slam Complete!
The Oregon archery opener found us chasing blacktails in southern Oregon. After two days and only seeing two does and a small forked-horn, I left the area, for bucks hadn’t started migrating from the high country. In hind-sight, I’m glad it turned out that way, as deep inside I wanted a pure Columbia blacktail to round-out a single season slam, not a Cascade blacktail. The next couple days found me looking for blacktails in my old stomping grounds, east of Springfield. This place had been hammered by Deer Hair Loss Syndrome in 2001, t hen again in 2005. The last big buck I took from this area was in 2005, and I hadn’t seen many deer since. But this year things had changed. Doe populations had greatly increased, many does had twins, even triplets. Buck numbers had also bounced back; I even saw some nice bucks in velvet, during summer scouting missions. Once I started hunting it, I saw some small bucks chasing does, and caught glimpses of two mature bucks running a horizontal ridge that extends for over a mile, east to west. This is one of my favorite places to target big bucks, as they cover lots of ground [...]
Idaho Triple
Our most recent hunt found us back in Idaho with Boulder Creek Outfitters (www.bouldercreekoutfitters.com). This is a place I’ve hunted for the past seven years, and there’s a reason I keep going back. This time I held three tags: elk, muley and whitetail. We hunted west of Grangeville, atop the breathtaking Joseph Plains for muleys and elk, and near White Bird, for whitetail. These areas are in units 13 & 14, which are dominated by private lands. Day one found us in search of elk, and it didn’t take long to find what we were looking for. Along the Snake River breaks of Hell’s Canyon, a herd of over 20 head fed their way up a rugged draw. Looking through the spotting scope, I watched a bull rake the ground then let out an impressive bugle. Grabbing our gear, we prepared for a tough hike, chasing the herd up the canyon as they quickly fed toward their bedding area. Matt Craig, owner of Boulder Creek Outfitters, and I cow called and bugled our way to the herd. Every time we made a sound, the bull would bugle right back. We’d lost sight of him early in the stalk as he moved [...]