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Cathedral Rock Access Debated – By Dylan Darling – Bend Bulletin

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Frank,
Here’s my story.
Dylan
—–
Cathedral Rock access debated • Backers aim to open up the John Day; critics say the plan hampers non-floaters…

By Dylan J. Darling / The Bulletin The question surrounding the proposed Cathedral Rock and Horse Heaven Wilderness Area Act is clear on a map. Just west of the planned 8,686-acre Cathedral Rock Wilderness Area runs Muddy Creek Road, a dusty and bumpy Jefferson County byway. The right angles of the proposed public land boundary mimic the curves of the old road, leaving a ribbon of private land between the public road and the wilderness. Supporters of the federal-for-private land swap that would make Cathedral Rock a reality say the buffer benefits the public and wildlife, creating a wilderness focused on access from the John Day River. Critics of the plan say it makes access difficult for members of the public who would recreate on public land, particularly hikers and hunters. “One of the major goals is to expand the amount of public ownership along the (John Day River),” said Brent Fenty, executive director for the Bend-based Oregon Natural Desert Association. The group has been working with the private landowners and advocating for the wilderness designation for more than three years. He said the plan would make public a four-mile stretch of the river, adding about a dozen campsites for rafters on an increasingly popular run. While the river would provide a route into the wilderness, it wouldn’t be an easy one, said former Madras mayor Rick Allen. He said anyone looking to hunt or hike the land would have to first float the river unless they had permission from the landowners to cross the private land between the road and wilderness. “I don’t understand why anyone would be supporting this,” he said. Wilderness push Sens. Ron Wyden, and Jeff Merkley, Oregon Democrats, are co-sponsors of the Cathedral Rock and Horse Heaven Wilderness Act, which could be lumped together in an omnibus bill for congressional approval with two dozen other wilderness bills spread around 12 states. The Campaign for America’s Wilderness, a program of the Washington-based Pew Environmental Group, called for combining the separate bills into an omnibus bill in November newspaper ads. While he had heard the question about access before, David Dreher, manager for the Pew Campaign for America’s Wilderness, said Cathedral Rock would be a part of the omnibus. “It would be a great win for Central Oregon,” Dreher said. The bill has not been introduced in Congress, which has about a week left in its session, he said. The 112th Congress could be only the second Congress to designate no new wilderness areas since the 1964 Wilderness Act established the process. The 113th Congress is seated in January. Spokespeople for the two Oregon senators said they also are aware of the concerns about access, particularly from elected leaders in Jefferson County, but they still support the plan. “(Sen. Wyden) believes it addresses multiple land ownership challenges presented by the current checkerboard while giving the public more access than it currently has now without the problem of trespassing on private land,” wrote Tom Towslee, Wyden’s spokesman in Oregon, in an email. The Cathedral Rock segment would be named after a rock along the John Day River, and the Horse Heaven segment would be named after a mountain. Both of the geological features would be in the new wilderness. Merkley’s spokeswoman expressed qualms about the access issue. “Senator Merkley believes the proposed Horse Heaven and Cathedral Rock wilderness area has numerous merits, including improved road access to Horse Heaven, and he continues to support the proposal,” wrote Courtney Warner Crowell, his deputy communications director. “He does believe, however, that legitimate concerns have been raised about public road access to the Cathedral Rock portion and that it would be to considerable public benefit if this concern could be addressed.” Trespassing and poaching On the map, private land surrounds pockets of public acres close to Muddy Creek Road. The situation leads to trespassing and poaching issues, said Fenty, of the Oregon Natural Desert Association. Young Life, a Colorado Springs, Colo.,-based Christian group that runs a camp that draws thousands of middle and high school students each summer, owns most of the private acres involved in the swap. Fenty said it has felt the brunt of the trespassing and poaching problems along Muddy Creek Road. Allen said Young Life would be giving up 8,000 acres, including the riverfront land, in exchange for about 12,000 acres overseen by the Bureau of Land Management. Two other landowners would be involved in the exchanges, which would lead to about 18,000 acres of new wilderness. The Young Life camp, the Washington Family Ranch, is the former compound of the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and was once known as Rancho Rajneesh or Rajneeshpuram. An Indian guru, Rajneesh ran the commune in the 1980s before his followers were caught poisoning salad bars in The Dalles and plotting to kill local and state officials. He was eventually deported. Most of the public land around Muddy Creek Road is surrounded by Young Life property. “As the land is currently configured, it is not accessible and usable by the public,” Fenty said. Young Life officials directed calls to Rich Ellerd, ranch manager, who did not return messages left Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday by The Bulletin. Craig Kilpatrick, land use consultant for Washington Family Ranch, in an email response to questions posed by The Bulletin, stated that creating two wilderness areas would bring “greater legal public access than now exists.” Consolidating private holdings presents opportunities for “workable land management” with clearly defined borders for rangeland, agricultural and recreational uses, he wrote. Kilpatrick pointed out that numerous conservation, wildlife advocacy and hunting organizations have endorsed the wilderness bill, including Oregon Wild, the Sierra Club and Trout Unlimited, to name a few. An original wilderness proposal, called Coffin Rock, included a parking area on Muddy Creek Road adjacent to Cherry Creek Ranch, Kilpatrick explained. During negotiations that redefined the wilderness into Cathedral Rock, Cherry Creek’s owners became concerned about public access near the century-old ranch headquarters building, he wrote. Cherry Creek and Young Life representatives were concerned, as well, that those property owners would bear the responsibility for rescuing lost or injured visitors along the unimproved Muddy Creek Road, he wrote. The Cathedral Rock portion of the wilderness proposal would only be accessed by the river. Fenty was quick to point out that the 9,200-acre Horse Heaven portion would be accessible by two roads. Pulled support The Jefferson County Board of Commissioners supported the original proposal for the wilderness, with access off Muddy Creek Road. The commission pulled its support in October 2011. Commissioner Mike Ahern said the current plan would make a wilderness that was a “private little playground” for the landowners along the road while the public would be relegated to floating by it on the river and then hiking out of the river canyon. He doubts that the lawmakers in Washington, D.C., are hearing their complaints, though. “I think the train has left the station,” he said. “I think we are going to get screwed on it.” Matt Smith, manager of the Cherry Creek Ranch, said the access issue is overblown; state hunting tag restrictions would limit use of the private land and hunting in the new wilderness. “There should be no controversy here,” he said. The Cherry Creek Ranch is one of the three private landowners involved in the proposal. Smith said it opposed a prior plan for a parking lot along Muddy Creek Road because the lot would have been close to the ranch headquarters, and visitors would have come right through the property. “You literally can bump your side-view mirror on our barn,” he said. He said the landowners tried to put together a plan for access off the road involving seasonal closures, but the county commissioners rejected the notion. Kilpatrick wrote that Cherry Creek and Young Life proposed gate access and seasonal closures that the commissioners endorsed, a position that changed after four public hearings in which local residents sounded their opposition. Now the landowners are only interested in entering into the swap with the federal government, Smith said, because of the limited access to the wilderness area that could stem trespassing and poaching along Muddy Creek Road. He said chances to preserve parcels like the land around Cathedral Rock don’t come along often, and it could slip away. “It would really be a shame to see such a solid deal, such a solid package as this, to go by,” Smith said. —

Reporter: 541-617-7812, ddarling@bendbulletin.com —— From bendbulletin.com – published daily in Bend, Oregon, by Western Communications, Inc. Copyright 2005.

Average Joe Hunting Stories, Successful Hunters 2012

Average Joe Goes To Wyoming!

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Oregon Hunters – Hunt Wyoming

for Antelope 2012!

Introduction on this story written by David K, aka DAK is the second on Antelope – Pronghorn, one being in 2010 on hunting in Oregon!   David is CFO for a major Oregon company!   CFO’s are like engineers and they are of course very analytical about everything, such as equipment and how they go about life.  My years of observation with buyers of RV’s or Sporting Goods has lead me to Dogma !   They have to do the Research!   So enjoy a real story from the “AVERAGE JOE”    Cobra

Back in 2010 my brother and I (with lots of advice from Frank) hunted antelope in Oregon’s South Wagontire unit.  It was a fantastic hunt and a great experience and we decided we just had to hunt antelope again soon.  The only problem was the 10+ years it takes to draw a tag in Oregon.  We started planning a trip to Wyoming.

My family has always hunted close to home.  As a kid, my father rarely hunted more than a few miles from the farm he grew up on.  Out-Of-State hunts were things that Eastman and Capstick and O’Connor wrote about in magazines.  My family’s hunting trips, if told honestly, sounded more like they were written by Patrick McManus, or Jeff Foxworthy.  But, that never discouraged us before and it was not about to this time.  We had a great time and learned a lot that will help us plan future trips.  In the hope that some of our experience might be helpful to other ambitious antelope hunters (and because Frank again gave me some advice that turned out to be golden) I’m passing this story on to him to pass on to all of you…

Note:  I got a fantastic buck in 2010 and had decided any mature buck would be what I was after.  My brother Brian had never hunted lopes but had studied them as a biologist.  Brian is a bit of an artist at heart and for him the experience of the hunt is a kind of art.  For him a B & C buck shot from the roadside would not be as meaningful as a small buck skillfully stalked in beautiful country.

Step #1 – Getting the tags.  This is surprisingly confusing!  Wyoming antelope tags are either “Any Antelope” or “Doe” tags.  Both of these have early and late season tags (4 possibilities).  These have “Special” draws (the tag costs more) and a “Regular” draw (8 options).  Each of these 8 options will have varying draw difficulties depending on the unit.  Once we figured all this out (not easy) we were able to put in for a “Special, Late, Buck” tag in a unit with good public land access and high draw odds.

Additional administrivia – In Wyoming if you were born before 1964, you have to have a hunter safety certificate.  You also have to have a “Resource License” in addition to your tag.  According to the local game warden these are things out-of-state hunters often miss.

Step #2 – Get good maps.  Frank advised me to get the Wyoming Plat Map for my Garmin GPS.  This shows the ownership blocks in addition to all the usual Topo Data and will jack into the computer so it can be viewed on a big screen.

Step #3 – Use the maps to figure out where in the unit to hunt.  Most Lope country in Wyoming is checkerboard private and BLM land.  You can only access the BLM land where public roads touch it and much of it is “landlocked”  The Topo maps showed some good big blocks of contiguous BLM land in parts of this unit.  The local game warden told me to sign up for the HMA’s.  These are Hunter Management Areas where the private landowners grant hunter access for those who sign up and agree to follow the ranch rules.  These HMA’s can be a few small blocks or 80 square miles, but you have to sign up for them online ahead of time.

So, we had tags, maps, a game plan, and 9 days to get it done (5 hunting days with 2 days travel each way).

Step #4 – Life gets in the way, deal with it…   A few days before the hunt Brian (my brother) finds out that his girlfriend’s mom’s boyfriend has passed away and the funeral is Saturday.  His girlfriend also has an appointment in Portland the Monday after the hunt and he will need to driver her there on Sunday.  Two days gone and the window is narrowing but we still have time for a good hunt.

Saturday evening after the service we get the camper shell mounted on Brian’s truck and find out the lights don’t work (mechanical difficulties have always figured prominently in our mis-adventures so this is no surprise).  After a few trips to the hardware store we have it fixed and are on the road.  Brian tells me his girlfriend’s Uncle Joe who came to the service had a nasty cold and he’s hoping he doesn’t come down with it.  We head east and, of course, he is coughing and sneezing before we hit Spokane.

We got as far as the Montana border before we had to pull over and sleep Saturday night.  We drove all day the next day (Brian coughed, sneezed, dripped and went through two boxes of Kleenex and a multitude of cold meds but he is tough and takes his hunting seriously) and by 10:00 Sunday night had reached the northern edge of our hunt unit.

Lesson #1 – Allow a full two days for the drive or you will miss some beautiful country and start your hunt already tired.

Got up Monday morning and headed into one of the big blocks of BLM land.  Once you get off the highway the two-tracks that go through this BLM land are pretty rutted out and can turn to soup when it rains.  Everything was dry, but we didn’t want to push the truck too hard with a camper shell on top.

Home away from home while in Wyoming!

The BLM blocks had lots of Lopes.  We must have counted 50 in just 5 hours of hiking.  Three looked like decent bucks but all these animals were hyper alert and very skittish.  We saw a couple hunter’s camps in the distance and all the two-tracks had seen ATV traffic.

Lesson #2 – For the best hunting, find places the ATV’s can’t go or are not allowed too go.  The biologist had told me the same thing – get away from the ATV’s.

The wind in Wyoming is fierce.  During our whole trip it blew almost all the time at anywhere from 20 to 40MPH.  I had expected wind, but this was unreal.  Blowing dust, OK.  Blowing sand, still OK.  But blowing gravel was something I had never experienced.  This wind has all kinds of implications for how you hunt and the kind of gear you bring.

Lesson #3 – Plan for high winds, they affect EVERYTHING.

We headed to the southern end of the unit to hunt one of the HMA’s where no ATV’s are allowed.

On the way we probably saw another 100 or so antelope from the county road.  I turned on the Garmin GPS with the Plat Map.  Most of these animals were on private blocks, but some were on public land that had enough cover for a stalk but they were mostly younger bucks and we had just started to hunt.  A GPS with the Plat Map that tells you EXACTLY what is and is not public land opens up huge areas that can’t otherwise be hunted without the risk of a trespass issue.  These checkerboard lands often hold less pressured animals because ATV’s don’t go there (a one square mile block is not enough space to make deploying the 4 wheelers worthwhile).  Thanks for the advice on the maps Frank.

On the way to the HMA boundary we noticed a lone doe on the other side of the fence that paralleled the road.  She was running in circles about 200 yards ahead of us and acting nuts.  Then we saw her fawn, also about 200 yards ahead, and on our side (the wrong side) of the fence.  We had just driven past the gap in the fence and the two of them were separated.  We backed up 500 yards, but neither of them would come back to the fence gap.  We figured the only option was to get up some speed and blow past them and the fawn could work his way back then.  As we approached the fawn, he crossed the road in front of us and started to run parallel about 50 yards off the road and ahead of us.  Brian pushed the gas till the meter read 45 MPH and the potholes just about shook the truck apart and that fawn kept pace with us for the next mile till we hit another fence line and he circled back to join mom.  This fawn was all of 5 months old.

Once in the HMA we saw two big groups of 20+ animals which looked to hold a couple mature bucks.  They were a mile or so off when we spotted them and if we had not had just a couple hours of daylight left we would have tried a stalk.  We decided to come back the following morning and see if we could locate one of these bands again.

Following a county road back to town, just at dusk, we spotted another small band that had a buck in it.  They were following a fence line toward a waterhole to the south and would cross the road ahead of us if they continued.  The Garmin GPS showed them to be on public land.  In the low light I couldn’t get a good idea of the buck’s horns, but he had a dark cheek patch, heavy bases I was sure about, and was a big bodied animal.  Brian stopped the truck and I decided to have a go at him.

I bailed out and worked into a position where they would pass by at about 250 yards which was a distance I had practiced at.  I got seated, put the rifle on the bog-pod and let them get a little closer.  Based on the estimated wind speed and direction I figured about a foot of hold off.  Just as the shot broke, a sudden gust pushed me off by a good 2 feet (fortunately forward of him and a clean miss).  Even sitting from a bi-pod the gusts were nasty enough to affect aim severely, see Lesson #3.

I figured they would blow out of there like scaled cats.  Their reaction was exactly nothing.  They stared in my direction and in the dim light I don’t think they knew exactly what I was.  My dad taught us when you fire a shot you have to assume a hit and you are committed to finish what you started.  At the next shot the buck hunched up and staggered showing he was hit hard and then he lay down with his head still up.  The does were still staring but did not run even now.  My third shot rolled him over.  I had no clue why they had not run at the first shot, but my tag was filled.

Antelope are beautiful animals and I’ve always thought their horns were elegant and graceful.  As Brian and I approach this animal I discovered he was possibly the ugliest antelope I’d ever seen.  This was an old buck with stained and worn teeth who was more than a few years past his prime.  He was big in the body, with a broad, scarred nose from fighting over does.  His horns were heavy and gnarly at the bases, but the tips were chipped and splintered and the prongs were broken and abraded back almost to the main beams.  This old boy was too old to win his fights and not smart enough to know it.  I think this was a cool trophy in a different way and I was pretty happy about it.

We got him dressed out and in game bags.  We stowed these on top of the camper for the night to let the wind cool them.  Field dressing an animal in a 30 mile wind is a huge hassle, see Lesson #3.  By the time we finished it was late and we decided to camp right there and make a plan in the morning.  Brian coughed and sneezed all night in spite of the cold meds.

In the morning we decided to hunt back through the HMA and head back to town and see if we could get some dry ice to keep the meat cool.  We spotted two bucks, one of them nice, on a block of public land off the county road.  Brian bailed out and I drove on about a half mile to where the truck was out of sight, grabbed my spotting scope, and got to the top of a small rise to watch the action.

The Lopes were about 700 yards from where Brian bailed out and there were some deep gullies leading in their direction.  Brian used the gullies to get within 300 yards and crawled through the sage to work closer.  He got within 200 yards, took a bead on the larger of the two, and decided he wanted to get closer.  At 190 yards they busted him and blew out.  200 yards is a make-able shot for Brian.  I suspected this stalk just wasn’t the sort of hunt, the sort of memorable experience, that he had in mind and later he admitted as much.

For my father, hunting was about putting meat in the freezer and I often find myself thinking that way.  Over the years I’ve come a good ways towards seeing it the way Brian does.

Moving into the HMA, we spotted one the bands from the day before.  They were bedded on a bench on the other side of GW creek from the road about a mile away.  Just seeing the truck stop to glass made them nervous and they started to work away from us toward some knobs on the low ridge above them to the north.  There was at least one mature buck in the group.  I thought our odds of catching up with them were pretty slim, but this was the hunt Brian was looking for and he thought we could do it.

This could lead to some long distance shooting or out of sight Lopes!

We drove 2 miles further up the road and parked.  Brian’s plan was to head north, cross GW creek and climb the ridge on the other side, then work our way west toward the knobs they had been headed for.  He thought that if they hadn’t totally blown out, they might be feeding and bedding behind the knobs out of the worst of the wind.

In the creek bottom we discovered an old mining claim.  I don’t know what they were mining for but the tailing’s had lots of red, orange, and pink Jasper.  We pocketed some of the prettiest pieces for our nieces.  We also discovered this country has lots of prickly pear cactus in spots.  This stuff grows low to the ground, is well camouflaged, and has needles 1-1/2 inches long.  It can make a stalk very painful in country where there is no good cover and you have to crawl to get closer.

In Oregon we are pretty lucky and there are only a few places with Cactus!

The wind really started to howl as we crested the ridge and worked our way west.  Brian’s nose would drip and the wind would pick it up and blow it back onto his glasses so he had to wipe them off regularly.  The guys who write articles for hunting magazines never mention this kind of stuff.

Coming up around the shoulder at the base of the first knob I saw the backs and ears of lopes feeding just over the crest of a shallow rise on the other side of a very shallow wash.  I grabbed Brian (who saw them just about then) and we hit the dirt.

Brian stripped off his day pack and crawled on hands and knees down into the wash and up the rise on the other side while I fished out my camera (with good zoom) and took pictures.  As he neared the top of the rise he went down on his belly and scooted forward on toes and elbows, 4 inches at a time, till he could see the lopes.  He stripped off his binos so they wouldn’t scrape on the ground as he crawled forward.  His hat kept trying to blow off his head and go sailing across the prairie toward Sheridan (which would probably have spooked the antelope).  He belly crawled the last 50 yards.

Shooter on the Ground! Could have used him in Combat!

There were a dozen does and 2 young bucks, one of which looked respectable, but no sign of the larger buck yet.  But, every little wrinkle of terrain in county like this can hide animals.  Brian took a bead on the bigger of the young bucks but just then noticed the back of an animal with his head down feeding down the next wash off to his left.  Might this be the larger buck?  Just then the young buck put his head up and stared hard at Brian.  On his belly, he would not have looked like a person or a predator, but he did look like a strange lump on the ridgeline that was not there before and might possibly have moved.  The smaller buck and a doe stared at him also and he figured he’d better take the shot now.  Just then the larger buck fed out into the clear.  Brian took him with one perfect shot at about 100 yards.  From where I was laying about 150 yard away the sound of the shot from Brian’s 30-06 was little more than a muffled pop.  The wind just whipped the sound away.  Another mystery solved.  The buck I took didn’t react at the sound of the first shot because he barely heard it over the 35 MPH wind.  Brian’s buck was a beautiful animal with long hooks and graceful curving prongs and the stalk and the country were classic.

Brian with his Wyoming Lope! Hoorah! He did it his way!

We got his buck dressed and caped and packed it three miles back to the truck.  In addition to the GPS Plat Map, another piece of gear that was really golden was the “Just One” pack.  It is one of those wing style packs that folds down to a low riding day pack but when the main compartment is expanded will let you add 4 quarters, backstraps’, and a cape and head very comfortably.

Brian sneezed and coughed and went through 2 boxes of Kleenex on the way home and somewhere near Billings the grill over the camper’s refrigerator service port was torn off by the wind and went sailing away.  These things happen to Average Joes so we don’t start thinking we are Eastman or Capstick or O’Connor.  But, even those guys would have approved of how Brian got his antelope.  DAK aka David

The way to end a hunt! Wyoming does have beautiful Sunsets!

 

Successful Hunters 2012

Bucks are Rattling In!

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Showing off his buck to the boys down in Springfield Cablea's!

Thought I would share this picture of a first time bowhunter and first harvest with the bow outside of Springfield, Oregon. The hunter rattled in 3 bucks one being a forkie x spike, this 3 x 4 and a monster buck that would not come into him, but did come into 54 yards to his daughter who was also hunting. She did not take the shot as her bow was only sighted in to 35 yards… It was a great hunt for daughter and father with success and a buck that only went 75 yards!

I believe that the buck was taken on the evening of November 24th, 2012!

Shot was at 30 yards through the front shoulder!

Successful Hunters 2012

Mark’s 2012 Oregon 615 Tag Blacktail Hunt

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Legendary “Stickers” Hits The Deck

Mark's buck prior to loading "Stickers" up to be field dressed! Great Picture Mark!

The great thing about Oregon is that you can sometimes be very lucky enough to have two (2) deer tags.   One of those special tags if you have property to hunt is the Willamette Unit 615 tag.  You can take a buck or doe during the long time frame of the hunt with rifle or bow.  So if you’re a bow hunter and a rifle hunter you can pick and chose your weapon of choice.

In this case Mark who is one of my hunting partners here in the valley had decided to bow hunt the parcel of land we have access to in the valley and harvest his first archery deer and make it a Blacktail buck. He also had enough preference points to be able to draw the 615 tag.  Mark drew his 615 Willamette tag and also purchased the archery deer tag.

Prior to the hunt in the early summer months of June, Mark and Jr. were very instrumental in getting all the tree stands up and ground blinds on the property for the archery season and Mark’s 615 Hunt.  The ground work had been set for a great 2012 season.  The big thing for those of us archery hunting for a buck was to get it done prior to September 1st, as the 615 hunt starts on the 1st with lots of action in the rural valley and it might effect the archery season.

 

Cannot give the identity of the butchers that help in quartering the Blacktail!

Mark during the archery season had one (1) particular Blacktail buck that he wanted to harvest along with the rest of us and that was “Stickers”.  During the first two (2) weeks of the archery season in Oregon “Stickers” never came in to the view of any of us.  In just one evening Mark had more than 9 bucks to choose from within 25 yards and past up all of them.   It is very interesting to me as there were 2 other shooters for the early part of the archery season.   Another buck that never came in during daylight hours has been the Odd 3 X 3, leaving only the Even 3 X 3 doing the daylight hours once in a while, which know all to well.

 

The Big 3 of the M & L Ranch - We think, but the rut has not started!

That is another story within itself and this is about Mark’s great hunt and shot. Mark did not make the opening day of the 615 Willamette hunt, but managed to get enough time to go out the same evening that Jr. was hunting from another tree stand about ½ mile away during the middle of the week.   Mark had decided to use his tree stand on the western sector of the farm, plus use his trusty 308 Browning Lever Action that is Grandpa gave him.   There was about 20 minutes of legal light left of hunting during the first evening of this great hunt for Mark!

About a week earlier there was a buck that had been hit by an arrow with only a surface wound and the buck was doing very well, which was evident on the trail cams.  Mark heard a noise of breaking dead-fall and the 3 X 3 that had taken the arrow hit appears!  Mark thought about taking him, but at 8 yards he can tell the buck is doing well and this is a special tag for the chance of getting a very good Blacktail.  There was still about 15 minutes of legal light and he decides to wait just a little longer.  He hears another twig snap along one of the access trails to the field.  Along comes “Stickers” on the trail, but with brush making it difficult to get on him, Mark just waits him out.  He is now hidden behind a tree, not giving a shot.  Light is fading and Mark is a real sticker of being legal with his hunting.

Great hunting ethics as Mark has been taught from his Grand Dad and Father.   Just then “Stickers” moves away from the tree and comes broadside at 10 yards!  The rest is history as the 150gr. Remington Core-Lok put the buck down in his tracks. Mark then gets a call from Jr., “is that you who did the shooting”? Jr. and Tamra quickly make their way over to Mark!   Mark has Jr. get his truck and they were able to get within, Ah! Maybe 15 yards of the fallen trophy Blacktail!  Get Pictures is all I text back to all of them!!!

“Stickers” is an interesting buck, definitely the one of the dominate bucks of the area.  He is a rock solid rack buck with Symmetry in shape, but is a 3 X 2 with both long eye-guards.  Looking straight on him, you would not known he was a fork on the left side.  He does have sticker off the back side of the fork. The Willamette Valley Blacktail Buck field dressed without the hide and head at  130 lbs.  That is probably the biggest Blacktail that I have seen or known about at that weight.
You have to admit that this about the biggest Willamette Valley Blacktail you have seen hanging!
Now Mark sets his future 2012 hunting with the bow for one of the other dominate bucks during the late season archery season. I would like Jr. to harvest one of the bucks, but all N.W. hunters know that Blacktails can be harder to hunt then any other species of deer in North America.
 Congratulations to Mark on his great shot and patience!
Successful Hunters 2012

Bwana Bubba’s 2012 Archery Deer Hunt

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Sunday Morning Hunt

Making the Shot Buck! 

Though this story will end up with harvesting of a small Blacktail Buck from the Willamette Valley in Oregon, it is more about the principles and aspects of aging in the hunting scenario.

I would like to say this is the buck of harvest, but not! Right Handed Tree Stand in background!

Over the years, especially when I was younger I lived to hunt and fish.   I was very selfish and would spend most of my time either at work or doing the great outdoors.  It was a total escapement from reality after serving in the U.S. Navy and being In Country. I found great excitement with chasing and harvesting game.  My fishing was about how many fish I could catch, later finding it was more fun to catch and release.

Now later in life I find I do not have as much time to hunt and fish with the reality of still working into my 60’s.   Weekends are a thing of the past since I have been in the RV selling business.   Hunts have now turned to hunting in the valley close to home for the elusive Blacktail Deer.

What started with getting permission to take pictures of Blacktail Bucks on a parcel of land outside of Oregon City & Canby, Oregon has turned into the place to have the opportunity to harvest a Blacktail.  The landowner himself is a Vietnam Vet and I know he finds great peace to be able to walk his timbered land and in some places be able to escape the daily grind!

This year was different from the past years on the M & L Ranch as I call it.   It is the first time other than a Blackberry thicket blind, that I have setup a real tree stand and fixed ground blind.   My thoughts have always been to glass, spot and pursue the game, with an occasional wait at a nearby waterhole for Pronghorn.

I had past him up at 40 yards, but this is not what I saw from 40 yards through the Blackberries!

The 2012 Archery Season in Oregon was of great expectations in harvesting one of the Big Three Blacktail bucks that we all had captured on Trail Cams.   With Odd 3 X 3 leading the pack, “Sticker” second and finally the P & Y buck Even 3 X 3.  You do notice that I have never mentioned a 4 x 4! I have yet to see a 4 point buck western count in 2012.   In the past I have seen a number of them and have put them on film!

I truly hate to say it, but many of the big bucks I have seen have been poached.   I have heard rifle shots in the familiar sound of hunting situation before the archery season and during the season.  Poaching has become a major issue in Oregon!   It can’t be about the meat, but about the rack.

P & Y Buck at probably 110" Maybe JR can get him!

So with the missed opportunity on the Even 3 X 3 in the first couple of days really took me back mentally.   The easiest shots, can most often not work!  I am sure most know that deal in hunting.   Having hit the tree stand rail not once but twice on the 25 yard shot was embarrassing for sure.    Small note:   WHEN PUTTING UP A TREE STAND AND SETTING UP THE LINE OF THE ANIMAL TO BE POSITION, MAKE SURE YOU PUT UP YOUR STAND IN RELATIONSHIP TO BEING LEFT HANDED OR RIGHT HANDED.   In this case for me being Left Handed I should have put it across the path to the opposite tree.  It is definitely a Right Handed tree stand.  Guess I will have to get another one and put it on the opposite tree 25 yards across the path!  My partner’s JR (Frankie) and Mark are right-handed!  They had decided what tree to put the stand up before I can to help!  Pretty smart guys!

As most of you know that are in the circle, with two weeks into the archery season had a second chance with a 20 yard shot on a nice heavy 3 x 3 at 20 yards (No Hesitation Either).

The one that also got away and survives another day! Flesh Wound!

I shot through the Camo mesh of the ground blind, leading to a close Kill shot (3”) to a glancing arrow hitting the shoulder and ricocheting upward and out.   I have had someone call me unethical for not making this one buck the one find and harvest.  In this case give me a break with a Blacktail and the odds, especially with a bow!   Mark and myself spent 3 hours looking for blood on the buck, which ended with one final drop about 300 yards away in the dark at 2200.  The following morning I spent another 3 hours and found no more blood on the ferns and what appeared to be a buck with normal walk back into the forest (no broken limbs or down branches).

Great shot on a Blacktail Buck - Martin Onza 3 on display also!

So in the following weeks the buck has been on trail cams in good health.  In fact when Mark was in his tree stand with his rifle (Willamette 615 anything tag) the buck came to within 12 yards of him in good health.   As this is another story of Mark’s buck that he took at that time, all I can say is the buck might have been a vendetta for me to get him, but I was not worried about his health any longer.  Just a bad hit!

It is now Sunday September 9th in the morning about 0430 and my wife wakes me up and says “aren’t you going hunting this morning!”  Na!  I got to work and need my sleep!  I am now awake and say to myself, I am gone.   In minutes without combing my hair I headed out the door and into the darkness.  Looking at my cell found I see JR.; my son left me text messages (10) about the morning hunting.  I text back are you awake as I am already heading to my secure parking spot!  No return text, guess I got the place to myself today!  It would have been great to have him with me!

It does not take me long to get ready once there and I head off to the stand about ¼ from the parking spot.   Quickly get up in the stand with the anticipation of a good hunt, as it cooler this Sunday.   I figured I might get the spike and of course plus the one doe with twin fawns in first, with maybe a big boy coming in before 0700.   I patiently wait, which is a major problem for me as it super quite in the draw.  The only noises are the wind rusting the trees and occasional Scrub Jay squawking in the distance.  I should add the lone owl hooting in the canyon!

It is now approaching 0700 with no movement at all on the forest ground, I am extremely bored and need to get on feet and make a ground hunt.   I lower my bow and day pack to the ground, check the trail cam and see that only 6 pictures from the 12 hour period.   I thought about heading back to the house and catch a few winks before work, but I would not get any sleep.   I dropped the pack and headed over to Mark’s stand near the edge of the western sector of the farm.   No movement in the heavy grasses and I surely did not jump anything, as Mark’s stand borders the field and heavy timber.  Hmm!

I pick up my day pack and talked to myself and ask the question to drive around to the eastern sector and hunt from there and see if I can jump a Blacktail Buck.   I tell myself to go back to the stand and head up the trail that leads to the dry creek bed and the eastern sector of the farm (most of us old war dogs talk to ourselves a lot).   I decide that I wanted to go light on this expedition with only my bino’s, range finder and bow!   I am wearing a Camo long sleeve shirt and I have my booties on as it is very noisy place to walk and think you are quiet when making a good stalk.

Here I am only about 200 to 300 yards from my stand on the trail and spot a doe that had just come up out of the draw that leads down to the creek bed and the other side of the farm.  It is a warn trail now and used by the game since Frankie (JR) and his cousin had taken a D-6 Cat through the property, it has given a game when not disturb a bit easier route to feeding areas.  There are places near the creek bottom that are so thick; I would have to eat the deer there!

Ok!  I spot the doe and she is a ways out there, I would put her at about 50 yards line of sight.  Not sure if she has caught me as slither back into the Scott Broom.   I decide to range her in and use my left hand, my release hand.  Shaking a bit, I target to the left of her to a small bush and it says 48 yards.   I got the area pretty well dialed in and will wait to see what come out of the draw.  Finally a very smart move on Cobra’s part!   Her fawns that no longer have spots doodle along and up.   I can not see the doe at all during this time and I assume she did not see me!   Then I see a deer coming up, it stops and see it has a rack, I can not tell the size it all seems to blend into the background of brown grasses and the fir trees.   Knowing what my Martin Onza 3 can do for me, I am at instinct mode and without though of size or distance my eyes as they are looking through the peep side have the orange 40 yard pin set about 1-2 inches above the back bone.  The release is very smooth and no hesitation on my part.   I see the arrow in flight as the Norway Zeon Fusion (pink) vanes are evident in flight.

I love the way these beauties fly and glow for me!

The buck has moved forward during the short time of flight of the arrow.   “Damn” is all I could say when I see the arrow hit the hind quarter forward.  What surprised me was to see the deer drop like a sack of bricks and then he shook!  Wow!  Then to my further surprise the buck go back up and struggled into the Scott Broom.  Out in the distance at about 100 yards there is a monster buck facing directly at me when I stepped out to lay the bow down!   I quickly move up to the spot and find blood.   I marked the spot with my bow and head back to the day pack to get what I needed.  I call my JR and to my surprise he answers his phone! Hoorah!  He is on his way with his truck that he can get back there and not be upset with the blackberries scrapping the side of his truck.  I do check at my launching point and range find to the spot the buck was initially standing at and it hits 63 yards.

I have a head in this picture! Keep it clean! I still have the ability to shoot some distance!

I have to tell you that during the flight of the arrow, there seem to be little arch (trajectory) in the flight.  What a strange feeling of watching the flight which was under a second, like out of a movie!  The Martin Onza 3 is most likely pushing 330fps with my setup!   Outstanding performance for me!  Martin bows have never failed me on a hunt!

I have pulled my rig near the stand, hoof back to the area with cameras and my Gerber’s.   I did not have to go very far from the hit spot, the blood trail was extensive and the buck was stretched out about 80-100 yards from the impact area.  I could see the buck is one that I had seen on camera and past up an evening before when I went to the stand and had him at 40 yards.  He was a young 3 X 3 or better 3 X 2 with no eye guards.

I was in combat mode during this time period of spot and shoot.  I truly love to spot, stalk and then kill!  I have found that the times in the field with difficult shots and I go to combat instinct mode the job usually gets done.  I do not think about anything, but the mind has allowed me to react!  One can read a book call “Blink” and understand what I am saying.  Thinking about a situation to much, I feel that you can make a dumb mistake!  Let me tell you I have made mistakes and failed number of times.  Being on the ready at all times makes for success.

The arrow did hit his hind quarter on the right side, failed to pass through.  During the Hawaiian Field Dressing operation I could see what had happen and I am most surprised, as I have never seen this before. I failed to mention that JR had given me a package of new broadheads to try and just that morning I did put one on my arrow.  The broadhead does not look like it could be as effective or un-effective as the Thunderheads I had on the rest of the arrows.   The name of this broadhead is Slick Trick 100 gr. Magnum.

This is a picture of the Slick Trick 100 gr. Magnum after hitting the ball and socket!

So during the Hawaiian field dressing using one of my gifted Gerber Gator knives I find that if the arrow had passed through there would have been pumping out even great flow of blood, but what happen once the arrow hit the flesh it angled back and somewhat down hitting the knuckle in the hip joint pulverizing the ball joint.  I have never seen this done to an animal with a Broadhead in all my years of bow hunting.   I have seen ribs cracked or cut, but for the arrow to go through that much tissue and still do that at the range of 60 yards is simply amazing.   As you know at this time I will be changing in the future to Slick Trick Broadhead.   Another thing that arrow flew as straight as if I had shot at 10 yard target.  My Onza 3 highly tuned, as all my Martin bows have been.  Reminds when I tried Barnes X bullets 225 grain in my Weatherby 340 on an elk hunt and took out the bull at 1000 yards approx (testimonial proof) and he dropped in his tracks.  I have never looked back on using the product.   Knowing that the product will do the job, if there is a mistake it is usually the hunter!  It can be equipment also if you don’t check and make sure it ready to shoot! So my deer hunting for 2012 has come to an end and I now can if time permits to focus on elk or help JR get his archery buck in the State of Oregon!

This story has been posted in Archery Talk, which is a big deal for me to get a story posted!

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Czar The Wonder Horse

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“Czar”

The Best Hunting Horse

Czar on the backside of the Sportsmen's Center!

When it comes to hunting and phases (cowboy-mid life) that we all go through in our lifetime of hunting is sometimes very interesting.  I have always had wonderment about horses, having worked on getting my Merit Badge in the Boy Scouts at Camp Baldwin up near Dufer, Oregon when I was a kid.  On that outing of two (2) weeks, it was all about having the horses jump over logs and riding a Palomino.  The idea was to lay back on the trail so the wranglers wouldn’t see us doing so!  By the way, the Palominos’ weren’t the best horses on the trail.  It only took me some 20 years later to get worked up on horses again!

I would like to say that Czar was the wonder horse of all!  He was in the aspect of his hunting skills, which included the ability to climb and never wanting to stop.  I would have to turn him downhill so he would take a rest!  Lower the ramp on the horse trailer and he would come running and load up!  He was not a fast horse by any means, but he did get there always!  Czar had the ability not to be distracted by the blood of game, or anything else that might be on the trail as a distraction.  When I first had Czar I took him up to Pilot Rock on an elk hunt up Little Pearson Creek.  We came upon a fresh Cougar kill of a deer on Government 80, the snow was about a foot and half deep, Czar walked up to the kill and smelled it, then moved on!

Czar came into my life after renting horses to hunt the Steens Mtns., in Southeast Oregon in the mid eighties for deer.   It was a real mess on that hunt with the rented valley horses, with there inability to work the east slope with mountain trails, or load up on the trailer. The horses would want to work you up against the fences with one mounted on them.  It had to be the worst time on a hunting trip in my life.  The hunt, which should have been a great harvesting hunt, turned into nightmares.  This included having to chase a loose horse around in the sage brush at Hampton Station at 1AM!  The man that rented the horses had told me they were hunting horses of the best quality as was the horse trailer made out of an old Rambler axle.   It was all crap, but than there would have been nothing to talk about if it had all gone well!  I had to go back the following weekend and hunt McCoy and take a buck using the old truck!

Talking about that hunt with my Uncle Dave and that I needed to get my own horse for hunting,  Uncle Dave said he would sell me Czar, as he now had a younger horse called Brandy for his hunting.  I knew that Czar had hunted Texas Butte and Madison Butte in the Heppner Unit in Oregon for elk.  He had packed out many elk from Texas and Madison Butte. A deal was made and I would pull Czar from Uncle Dave’s place in Oregon City and take him to Madras.

Czar came to the company dinner! He crossed Union Ave in rush hour! Great Horse!

I quickly went out and got a two (2) horse trailer, trade a rifle (Colt AR-15) for all the tack that I would need.  It was great to be running a sporting goods store and having all the right vendors to work with.  Including having a special scabbard made for my left-handed Weatherby Custom 340.   I still have that scabbard today some 25 years later. I made arraignment with a rancher in Madras, Oregon to leave Czar.   I was told in those days that you got to take the horse out of the valley and turn them into a mountain horse.  The great thing about Madras place was there were always rimrock, water and feed for horses.

Czar up at near Haskel Springs

I did most of hunting for deer and elk in the Pearson Creek area outside of Pilot Rock a great deal, but had drawn my first Snake River Elk.  I would be hunting on the South End of the unit and would hunt north of 32 Point and go into Summit Creek.  I was fortunate to have a customer that wanted to hunt the Steens and traded information on the Snake with me!  The first year I was un-successful in harvesting a bull, but the following year I harvested a good bull that won the pool pot (280 bucks).  I had made a very long shot (won’t give you the distance as you won’t believe me) on the bull and he was on a steep hillside in Summit Creek.   It took me more than an hour to get to the bull some three ridges over.   I had to finish him off in his bed (long range round had hit him in the neck) on the steep hillside with blow down.   I tied the rack up so the bull would not slide and get stuck in the blow down, so I could quarter him out.  After doing so I ran, yes ran up the hill to the ridge road (marathon runner) to get Czar.   I got Czar down close to the elk, I had ground tied Czar which was a great mistake, and he slipped and went down with both front legs over trees that were down.  Quickly pull the lead rope knot and got him back up to shack off the experience.  I had to move Czar to a flat spot on the trail about 100 yards away.  Like I’ve told you all he was a great horse with character! I had gotten new bags for Czar and loaded up the quarters, still having a head & rack with the backstrap and tenderloins to get loaded up.  My buddy Ben Olsen came along with my other horse, one that was given to me by an old boss.  Ben was always a hunting partner that knew what was going on and could read my mind.  It was the first time for mare to be used for hunting and she did pretty good getting down into Summit Creek with Ben leading her down to Czar.   The rest of this story in the Snake was not so nice, with the mare balking over a tree limb and flipping over backwards and rolling down the hill.  Ben was on her fast and un-cinched the saddle.  She got back up on all fours, but in the end I let Czar go and he led the mare out of the canyon with the loads.   When Ben and I finally to too the top, Czar and the mare were standing at the trail-head.  Many times while hunting in the Snake, I had left Czar on the Ridge Road in the timber and hunted the canyons below.  He would always be easy to find, as he seem to know when I would get close and I could hear him neigh.

Czar and Cobra at Wild Bill's Place

Czar never let me down in the 10 years that I had him! Czar made a number other hunts with me up at Wild Bill’s place up on East Birch Creek.  Wild Bill was an old time horseman and rancher, so horses was the way to go.   Of course it was required to pack a six shooter side arm also. I once loaned Czar to old Chuck Megeske to use on an elk hunt out of Heppner.  He and his party had 8 cow tags.  They hunted in the snow and Czar drug all the elk out from what Chuck informed me with pictures!   I think he was feeding his Care Home folks with all the elk meat though!

When I started to hunt the Grizzly Unit in Oregon, Czar was not longer needed and I sold him, the Mare and all my tack, including the trailer to an old hunting buddy MJ.  He used Czar for guiding for about 4 more years and finally retired Czar to a mutual rancher outside of Ashwood, OR.  His daughter needed a 4-H horse during her High School years in Madras, Oregon.

The modes of operations for hunting the Grizzly Unit was either walk in or use a Quad to get from point A and B.  Spot the game and go after them in the sage, juniper and rimrock on foot!

Coming out of the lake! Great hunt with Ben!
The road to Frenchglen, pulling Czar! Yes we did cross the lake!