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Bill’s 1970 Canadian Moose Hunt

July 12, 2014 Frank Biggs Leave a comment

Boone & Crockett Canadian Moose

Moose 2 — This Moose has hung over the cast iron wood stove in this Log Home for about 40 years! A lot of shrinkage over the years!

Prologue: I do remember the day I recieved the picture of dad sitting on the Moose, I just happen to be in Vietnam. What a surprise, as I did not even know that he was going on such a hunt! A bit jealous I was at the time. I finally got to see the Moose up close on a wall in my parents home in Portland! Cobra

This is my story of one of the greatest hunts that I have ever been on! It has been some 43 years since the hunt into the Wilderness of British Columbia, Canada! Though I might not remember every detail and I hate to type, I have given you the joust of the hunt through this day by day hunt story! William Lee Biggs

Day 1

The first day in Canada at Fort St. John! It took 3 days of driving coming from Portland, Oregon. It was a beautiful drive and very enlightening trip with the sighting of lots of game along the way. Today I met up with the Head Guide “John” and the first question after shaking hands was “what do you weight?” He had a small plane, said it “it will be a little bit of wait, as we have to clear the highway of traffic so we can takeoff.” I said “OK” the take-off went off without a hitch and we were in the air for about 40 minutes when the pilot said “grab the stick; I need to read my mail.” So I said “OK” and was in total control of the plane as we flew over the Rocky Mountains.

What a sight with all the game moving around on the ground below. As the pilot was getting ready to land on the isolated airstrip, there was a big Bull Moose on the landing strip. He moved off pretty quickly and once landed, all the guides were waiting for 4 hunters at the High Camp.

My hunting partners from Portland, Oregon (John Bay – Fred Bay News) went to the Lower Camp. My choice to go to the High Camp turned out to be the correct choice on this hunt of a lifetime.

“It was my last time seeing any humans, no roads, only game and trails!” So I thought!

Day 2

More information: We gatherer up our horses and started the new day and John (Guide) asked me “how big of Moose do want?” I said “the biggest one you have tied up to a tree!” Anyway I wanted a big Moose and John said “I can do that.” We passed up many bulls for about a week and walked many a mile and road horseback on ground that only game had been on. We never saw a deer or an elk during the whole trip, only Wolves, Moose, Sheep, Goats and Caribou!

Day 3

Up at 0700 daily to eat breakfast before the hunt and lucky enough to have a Pro Cook whose name is Luther Boy and what a cook he is, making sure we have a great lunch while out in the field in the Rocky Mountains of Canada. Around 0900 daily is the times we start are hunts every day. We are now back on the trail and we see a lot of Moose, but all are small. John gives the thumbs down on all of them. While on the trail the horses stopped dead, the Head ‘John” Guide said “Stop” it was a Wolverine crossing our path and they are meaner than “Hell Nasty Critter.”

Day 4

This is a resting day, as we have covered a lot of ground the first few days of the hunt. We felt we had plenty of time to find game on this long hunt.

John looks up and says “we may have weather moving in” “Snow! Hell its August and the next thing we have 2 feet of snow. Built a big fire and spent most of the day talking. I asked John “what happens if a man gets sick?” He said “if you’re lucky they put you on a plane, if the weather is flying weather” a lot of ifs, and we didn’t talk about it again.

Later in the day the snow has melted and I look up from the campfire and in rides an Indian with two (2) hunters. They were in a Spike Camp up in the High Country. Ok! Two (2) Hunters, Two (2) Pack Horses, Two (2) Heads, Two (2) Capes and lots of meat. The heads were two record class Stone Sheep.

The High Camp is some distance from the lake (camp).

Nothing eventful, other than Luther telling us we are going to have fresh fish, as he had caught two (2) big trout from the lake next to our camp. Now that was a meal to remember!

Lake near Camp — The lake the tasty fish came from on the Day 4!

Ok! It was a big day for me and the guide to see some Sheep that had been harvested, the thought of being stuck in the snow for a while…

P.S. Also only the Healthy Hunter is allowed on this hunt (Sheep)! So the next day we would be back in the saddle for another hunt!

John said, “Hell how do you feel like going up into the High Country, you’ll see the Goats and Sheep up close.” “I am all in for that trip!”

Day 5

It is now Friday morning and what a beautiful day it is; the horses are ready to move on. John said, “We are going into a new area today up high” “Ok! Let’s do it” We road all morning and came up on a big flat area in between ranges; all of a sudden I see something in the flat, “John what hell is that?” He said, “A bear made a kill here, they move all around letting everybody know this is my area, stay out”, so we moved on!

The rifle I have is Remington Model 700 with custom hand loads in 7MM Remington Mag with 175gr. bullet. It could take down anything that I wanted to kill with it. Great flat shooting and hard hitting round.

Looking up the hillside, John puts his arms up and tells me to “STOP”, then the thumb goes up, “ Biggest Moose I have ever seen in these parts” John says! Off the horses quickly and John tied up the horses.

Dad is 6' 4" tall and has a wingspan of a Condor! — Dad is 6′ 4″ tall and has a wingspan of a Condor!

I am quick to find a down tree, so I have something to lean on and get a steady shot off. The monstrous Bull is at 350 – 400 yards uphill. I shot three (3) times at the broadside bull and he dropped like a log. All three (3) had hit within inches of each other. I learned a long time ago, keep shooting until they fall over. Nothing worst chasing a 1500lb animal in heavy cover and in bear country.

John says, “Reload your rifle; we may not be alone here!”

“Now the work starts”

During the night a bear came in worked over the front quarters of the Moose, yet we were able to get the rest of the meat out in the next couple of days.

Conclusion:

My hunting party that came on the trip with me, that had decided to hunt in the lower camp both got their Mini Moose with little racks. They were most impressed with the big one and wished they had gone the distance on a tougher hunt.

On the way back to the plane, I did take a nice Caribou and was thankful for that harvest also!

John capping my Canadian Moose out for future mount. Finest hunter/guide that I have ever known! BB

This Canadian Moose was the largest that had been taken from the area in many years and the largest that the guide had ever seen taken.

Even after the bear worked over the meat, there is plenty to bring home!

The Canadian Moose scored over 290, and was in full velvet, only wished I had had him scored sooner. It now hangs in the home of my past brother-law in Oregon City; fitting that is a Log Home that one of his sons’ now lives in.

A total of 7 days of hard work on a 15 day hunt, the chance to see game in quantity and drink water next to your horse from a stream or lake!

BILL BIGGS HUNTER

Archery Talk - Posts, Hunting Equipment

Bwana Bubba’s – How Not To Trespass!

April 8, 2014 Frank Biggs 1 Comment

To Trespass Knowingly or Not To Trespass with Technology!

Without getting carried away with the past, I will say that in the day, in Oregon when the Bhagwan & his Cult ruled some 60,000 acres outside of Antelope, Oregon, that also had some 60,000 acres of B.L.M. within the boundary, with a vast majority of it being landlocked, I ran the line to hunt for the big Mule Deer and Rocky Mtn. Elk that roamed the land. Later it was taken over by the Washington Family, who donated the land to Young Life. The Bhagwan was pretty easy if you stayed on the B.L.M. via a public road access. Young Life in the first year allowed access via Current Creek on the Big Muddy Rd. That did not last long when the Management of the Young Life on the Big Muddy found there was real money with the hunting of big game.

In 2002 I was stopped on B.L.M. on the Northeast Sector of the Grizzly Elk Hunt Unit in Oregon by Young Life Patrollers. They demanded our Licenses, which in Oregon if on private you’re going to have to give it to them. I told them we were on B.L.M. and I wasn’t going to give them anything. They were packing handguns and demanded the licenses of all three of us. I said are you going to shoot us if we don’t and they said” are you going to shoot us”, I said funny our rifles are on the Quads some 100 yards down the B.L.M. Road. Standstill for a while and the other hunter (Young Life Donor & Doctor) who was with us gave up this license first, then without any more battle of words we all gave the Olsen Brothers our licenses. Their words when they finally got their old technology GPS’s (old technology GPS didn’t work well in pockets) out of their front pockets and found a signal said the following “we are on B.L.M.” “Ah! We still know you were TRESPASSING!” Let it be known that they had to cross B.L.M. to get to one small parcel in the middle of B.L.M.

When we go out of the B.L.M. via the same trail we took in via B.L.M., an O.S.P. Game Officer was waiting for us on the Hwy 218 road access. He asked the following “did you guys have an incident while hunting” I said of course we did, but we were on B.L.M. and showed him the maps that we had, which were made up of old technology and Garmin GPS to outline all of the B.L.M. and had it color coded, with our tracks going in and out. We were carrying the first Topo mapping Garmin GPS that had come out in 2000. We all thought it was over with the proof that we were legal. Well 9 months later we get ticketed for Criminal Trespassing. The same O.S.P. (Oregon State Police) Game Officer from Bend, Oregon drove over to issue the tickets to us in Oregon City, Oregon. I asked him why, since I had an O.S.P. Game Officer as a neighbor and the Senior O.S.P. Game Officer some 4 houses away. His comment “was he had to do it, as Craig I., said he saw you Trespassing”. Then the next comment was “you know you’ll get off on the Trespassing” and I said yes, but we have to hire 3 lawyers!

What the heck i will share the past. Remember only horses for human foot traffic in the area. Private Land Owners can change the demographics for all with the B.L.M... — What the heck i will share the past. Remember only horses for human foot traffic in the area. Private Land Owners can change the demographics for all with the B.L.M…

In conclusion: The DA of Wasco County didn’t want anything to do with it, as we had the evidence that we were innocent of Trespassing on Young Life.

Comments made by the others hunting BLM, old combat veterans “why didn’t you have a firefight Frank?” It was in jest, but reality we were held at bay with handguns, which should have been kidnapping!

The above story now leads into why a hunters or outdoor people should have a Garmin GPS and onXmaps HUNT Mapping Software. The technology that I used back then took a great deal of time and resources to get it done. Now it takes about 15 minutes to have the advance technology on your computer and your GPS to be 100% sure of where your hunting.

Many of my hunters have waited 10 to 20 years to draw a premium tag to hunt deer, elk and especially pronghorn. I don’t put the sheep or goats in the picture as it might never happen and at least in the State of Oregon, the ODFW Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will help you in locations of goats and sheep. Funny though that many sheep and goats work between private and public land!

The mapping software can be used as a tool to find the private land owners when you see a herd of maybe a 100 Pronghorn in the Alfalfa and most likely get permission to hunt for free!

Many figure they don’t need this type of equipment that paper maps will work just fine for them!

I have given an example of government paper map in the below picture and a picture from onXmaps HUNT so you can compare the difference.

This is what Brett thought he was hunting with National Forest cross fences and coming in from the 160 road working north.

What Brett ended up on was one of the south corner triangle pieces below the Ochoco Creek Rd. with no corner fences. There were no signs either on the land and it was all open timber. Brett was ticketed with a word from the Game Officer he could pay restitution of up to $6250.00 (FOR REAL) to the landowner. Brett offered to put of No Trespassing Signs, the landowner took the signs from Brett and he went to court. He did show the Judge in that particular county a Government Map, which helped a little, but still paid a fine to the court.

I am now informed that landowners do not have to post their lands. So in areas such as National Forest that has private mingle within and no fences, it is your responsibility to know the private (At least Oregon).

onXmaps HUNT has maps for almost every state in CONUS and the great state of Alaska has a map.

I recommend this product with utmost confidence that you’ll have memorial and successful hunts and trips without hassle.

#huntsmarter #teamhunt #onxmaps #bwanabubbaadventurers

Knowing is everything! Bwana Bubba

Hunting Equipment, Successful Hunters 2013, The Henninger's

Henninger’s 2013 Oregon Warner Pronghorn Hunt

February 11, 2014 Frank Biggs 1 Comment

Reason why Mapping and GPS are important!

This is not much of a story, but it is an example of wanting to know where to hunt.

I have known J. Henninger for a great deal of years, along with his brother Brian Henninger the PGA golfer. John use to hunt with his brother Brian a great deal when their children were young. I had lined up Brian to hunt on old ranch in the Grizzly Unit for Elk and Deer, so John had the privilege to be able to hunt the Old Smith Ranch outside of Antelope, Oregon for a number of years.

Last year I get an email from John that he had gotten an Oregon Warner Unit Pronghorn – Antelope Tag for rifle hunting. Wanted to know if I had spots for the Warner Unit. Sent back an email that I had it dialed in for hunting Lopes for the unit.

John's Oregon Warner Unit Rifle Pronghorn Buck! — John’s Oregon Warner Unit Rifle Pronghorn Buck!

Told John I would send him waypoints and what GPS does he or does he have a GPS and any mapping for the area. After a number of emails, John did have a Bushnell GPS. Hmm! This will take some work and I sent him TXT file that he would have to hand input into the Bushnell GPS.

Of course I said to John, now get yourself a colored Garmin GPS and get the mapping from the Montana company which now is called Hunt onXmaps.

I get text message from John in the field that the file won’t load to his Bushnell GPS. Great I tell myself, why hadn’t he call me sooner and get this straight?

I then printed out the TXT file and send a JPG picture of it to John to hand load to his GPS.

I did later get a text message from John that he had harvest an Antelope in the Warner Unit of Oregon. Hmm!

In closing on this short blog of the Oregon Warner Rifle Antelope Hunt in Oregon, is that you wait from 10 to 20 years for a tag, why not spend a little bit of the gas money that I have saved you and buy a good Garmin GPS and the proper mapping to go with it…

The above picture of John’s Oregon Buck is a great picture. Very clean and setup well!

Bwana Bubba aka Frank Biggs

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Octavian – Hunting Deer & Elk in Oregon

December 30, 2013 Frank Biggs Leave a comment

Hunting in Oregon as a Non-Resident

In order to get become successful in hunting for big game you have to put your time in, learn about the conditions of what you are hunting. Finally you will become one of the 10% that harvest 90% of the game! In the future Octavian will be one of them!

Frank,

I first want to apologize for not writing you back for so long. I had a very stressful and busy year since the last hunting season. However, the 2013, bow hunting season reminded me of the great time you made possible for me to have in 2012. I truly enjoyed the experience and action I had hunting in the locations you gave me last year and cherish the memories. Thank you so much.

As I told you before, I have been working on passing the Bar exam and making a living. There was no way I could have been able to scout the land in order to have a good hunt.

I ended up hunting only 2 of the 3 locations you gave me in 2012 (Keating and Pilot Rock) because I had some car problems. Both of the locations were amazing. In 2013, I was able to make it out to the Pilot Rock and Starkey locations for a few days only. I was not successful during any hunts but I did have a lot of action. Below is a summary of the hunts.

2012 Hunt: Keating Deer-Elk

This place was amazing. There were times when I felt like I was at the zoo. This place was packed with animals. We even came across some wolf tracks the size of my palm. But the wolves did not scare the deer or elk away form the area. For that matter they did not scare anyone away-this place was packed with people. This made it hard to find a place to sleep and hunt.

This was the first hunting location I went to and I was not sure how to use the GPS. So it was touch and go. Furthermore, I only hunted this area one day because the transmission on my car went out the next day. Regardless, it was a lot of action for one day.

I tried to make my way to Two Color Lake. I tried to reach the GPS location from the north but it was packed with people. That’s why I decided to try to get to it from the south. So I took roads down and around making my way to Two Color Lake. But I’m not that good with the topo map. As I approached Two Color Lake on the road that leads to it, I ran into some steep, steep, steep, terrain. I made it up as far as I could with the car and then set up camp. I basically made it about three miles south of Two Color lake.

I literally had a hard time not slipping down hill. About 30 min into the “mountain climbing” I realized why I was the only person in this area as opposed to the north side.

About a hundred feet up the road, I ran into about 10 deer scattered around the area. This was an amazing deer spot. But I did not get any shots at a buck. I’m sure that if I would have stayed there all day I would have got a buck. But, I was compelled to move on toward the elk.

I made it to a split in the road. To the right was Two Color Lake, to the left was the Pass. I decided to follow the wolf tracks to the right for a little then departed from them. At this point I was at about 6,800 feet elevation. It was late in the day, around 2pm.

The open grasslands soon turned into forest. The forest soon turned dark and cool covered with lush vegetation. The ground was literally covered in elk tracks and droppings.

After calling a little and walking around this area next to Two Color Lake I was face to face with a spike elk. It was about 15 feet in front of me. It jumped and turned around, and ran about 50 yards away. All I could see was its head. I had no shot. As I sat quietly and tried to make this spike elk believe I was just a cow elk, I realized I was surrounded by elk. They soon took cover. After about 15 min of calling, the spike elk barked at me and ran off and with him the rest of the elk I did not see.

Pilot Rock

This was the second and last area I hunted. This place was also a zoo. There were a lot of elk. I hunted right underneath and towards the Private Property near the location marked “Elk Hot Spot.” This location was steep and hard to hunt. Furthermore, it was packed with people.

However, I had a lot of action. The elk in this location seem to be very aggressive and call a lot. It’s almost like they know people cannot reach them on the steep slopes.

I called in a 5×5 trophy but since I was so exhausted from walking up the hill and calling, I could not draw back in time to get a clean shot off. He saw me and ran down the steep terrain.

In total I saw about 4 bull elk in this location. But since it was so hard to hunt and because of other hunters I did not get any good shots. In fact this location is known by some very aggravating hunters. They come in on the weekends and act like the forest belongs to them.

On my last day of hunting this area I was calling a bull in and a gunshot from someone close scared him off. Furthermore, an airplane flew in close. It came down in a clear cut next to the private property fence and scared away a herd of elk which I had been following the entire day.

2013 Hunt – Pilot Rock

This year was very similar to the last but I only went out for one day here. The place is loaded with elk and hunters. I brought a large bull elk about 30 yards away but could not make sure he was a bull until it was too late. I then walked around until I couldn’t chase another bugle. Some were from real bull elk, and some from other hunters. I was able to spot a large bull on a ridge over but did not have enough energy to walk over.

Finally, I walked to the nearest bugle. As I got closer, I heard another bugle. The second was a group of 3 hunters. I didn’t know until I spotted the elk herd on the other side of them and I was within 20 feet of them. I walked into the open and let them know I’m another hunter. They seemed to be angry at me, but I was the one who just spent morning to night walking the steep terrain. Either way, I had a good time.

Starkey

Here, I hunted the “Elk Park” location only because I did not have enough time to wander around. I did not see any signs of bull elk at the Elk Park. However, I did see a 4×4 bull elk about 5 miles east of the Elk Park as I was driving out on Highway 52. I did run into a lot of cow elk (about 15 in total). There were a lot of bears in the area. One crossed Highway 51 near Highway 52 and I saw a lot of bear droppings and tracks.

Sincerely, Thank you,

The knowledge and experience of these locations changed my life forever.

It was the best hunting of my life. Octavian Dogar

P.S. – My father has not been hunting for a long time since he has been working very hard in this troubled economy. This year he has drawn an elk tag and I was wondering if you could give him some advice too.

Hunting Equipment, Successful Hunters 2013

Mark D’s 2013 Oregon Archery Blacktail Hunt

December 10, 2013 Frank Biggs 1 Comment

First off I have known Mark for about 30 years, in the days of Burns Bros., Sportsmen’s Center and Burns Bros., Travel Stops. Mark and I hunt a number of times in the coast range for elk in those days! Mark use to make sure that during the days of the Travel Stops we would always have the day old Hostess Pastries for a hunting trip!

Mark now lives out in the country on a dandy piece of Blacktail and Roosevelt habitat land. It is bordered by a number of timber companies, so there is little pressure from the public!

OK! BUBBA – HERE GOES!

Not the best picture, but his neighbor shot one of the 7 bulls that came in and it scored 320 Net. Roosevelt Elk1 — Not the best picture, but his neighbor shot one of the 7 bulls that came in and it scored 320 Net. Roosevelt Elk!

I JUST COULDN’T PASS UP THIS STUD BUCK!

This has been Mark D's target buck for 2013! He decided not to show! — This has been Mark D’s target buck for 2013! He decided not to show!

It was the most unbelievable sight ever for us! After spending many many hours in the blind in hopes of the monster 4 x 4 Blacktail coming in (before dark) or after light in AM, the second biggest one that I’ve gotten on Trail Cam showed up with enough daylight to get a pin on him. The waiting in tree stand has been a tough one with extreme global warming that we have here in Oregon in the temperature in the Teens!

My son in law was with me to watch and witness the unfolding of a one in a lifetime shot!

The buck went broadside at 30 yards and mentally I knew my next plan was going to be in milliseconds.

As I was already at full draw, I let my new Mathews Creed go, the arrow hit high and sounded like I hit a rock. It seemed to pick that deer up off his feet and throw him down like someone body slammed him. Then he roared like a red stag! Wow! I have killed many animals with a bow over the years but never have spine one until now.

I shifted into panic mode as he was roaring and trying to get up so, I as quick as I could loaded another arrow and with him thrashing, shot again.

Dandy 3 X 3 Columbia Blacktail buck from west Clackamas County.

Well he twisted as I released the arrow and got another spine shot, this time in top… Crap! Double panic! I run out of the blind and as I approach him to put one in at close range, he lunges at me! Wow! Do they have power! I got as close as I could and got one through both lungs and he soon expired… Who would ever think that I could have gotten gored by a deer?

I hope to never spine one again, I much prefer a double lung on the first arrow…………………….

Mark D!

Mark’s 125 grain Thunderhead Broadhead went completely through the buck and severed part of the spine.

The Thunderhead was still intact!

Story written by Mark D., and Edited by BWANA BUBBA!

Archery Talk - Posts, Hunting Equipment, Successful Hunters 2013

Bwana Bubba’s 2013 Willamette Valley Archery Blacktail Hunt

December 9, 2013 Frank Biggs Leave a comment

The opportunity arose, take the shot or pass?

The opening weekend of the general bow (archery) season in Oregon had past by two weeks. After the opening the bucks had become scarce. Two of the other hunters Mark S. an Oregon State Trooper Game Division and my son Frankie had taken bucks on the opening morning with great one shot kills. The bucks for both young men were their first bow kills for bucks and also the privilege of taking Blacktail Bucks, that are very difficult to harvest in the best conditions.

This was taken on 09-07-13 on the cam in the draw. He only came around 3 times in 6 months!

I had gone out to the vineyard a 90 acre of un-fence land in rural Oregon City – Canby, Oregon area in Clackamas County, Oregon and had sat in the tree stand numerous times in vane. The year prior it was common to see at least 2-4 bucks during the archery season any given morning or evening. Even the crop of spikes and does were not coming anywhere near the draw, bewildering mind set.

Frankie my son came out to the vineyard a couple of times. On Monday the 9th of September he came out with me to hunt again. He had also been lucky enough to draw the Oregon Willamette Valley 615 Deer Tag, which allows you to hunt from September 1st, through to February 28th, the following year. On this Monday night I would work from the tree stand with Martin Onza 3 that has proven itself well the year before, but this year the bow sight would be the H H A Sports Optimizer with the single pin on the pendulum system. A sight that forces one to focus on the pin and the target. With the speed of the bow, I usually leave it set for 40 yards when I am going to stalk and 30 yards when I am in three stand. If I have time for a rangefinder, I can easy move the pin up or down on yardage with my thumb quickly.

Frankie would be packing his recently bought rifle in a 308 caliber. He would work through the timber and see if he could drive a buck my way. If a buck were bust in a different journey then he might get a chance to get his 615 tag filled.
Both us seemed to get bored without the sighting of any deer during the evening hunt. With about 15 minutes of light left Frankie came out of the blackberries on the northern sector of the vineyard and I had setup myself working the tree line just west of the tree stand in the draw.

One should have a camera that will take a picture in low light!

Frankie’s new rifle came with combo setup scope that would prove to be a problem! He should have taken out his Weatherby MK V with good optics! You can have a rifle that is over the counter and inexpensive, but one should always have good optics for the conditions which includes the scope mounts!

He texts me that there is branch buck cutting through the grapes (12″ plants) and he just can’t get on him. At that time I spot the buck, but he is 80 yards from me and just walking along. I work in to get closer to him and when the buck was at 60 yards broadside, I decide it is to late to get a bow good shot. Even with the greatness of the Optimizer and the Onza 3, I would have not gotten it done.
Both Frankie and I could not get on him and get a clean shot!

The positive of this, we did see a branched shooter buck, though the buck was not a resident buck to the area. Thus ended the night of the 9th of September with the sighting of one shooter Blacktail Buck only!

On the Tuesday the 10th, I got off early from work and headed out to the vineyard. Again vineyard is a un-fenced 90 arce parcel of land that is just outside of Canby and Oregon City, Oregon. The deer come and go from many parcels of urual lands in Clackamas County. I have seen the same bucks when scouting on lands that are about 1-2 miles line of sight feeding in the fields.
I decided to give the tree stand another go and within an hour I decided I needed to do another spot and stalk. The deer just weren’t working the draw like they were the year before.

A different perspective of the this buck!

The taking of a buck in the draw during the opener and gutting the buck near the draw might have caused a problem? I can’t see why as the coyotes and buzzards had cleaned the bones and any other evidence of the kill within days.
There was not much shooting light left so I decided to place myself next to the treeline that lead out into the grapes plants (young 1st year plants). As I sat there, glassing, range finding spots that I though figured a buck might emerge from, I got this feeling that I had company and not of the human form. Everyone has had the feeling that there is something close and in many instances we don’t take advantage of the sense! In this case I moved my head and noticed a branched buck working almost in the same area that the buck the evening before. In this case I had a bit more light and knew if I did blow the movement I could get a shot off.

In one fluid motion I move from my sitting position and swung around into the kneeling position. (The buck had his head down the whole time he was moving through the plants.) He never made notice to my movement and with ease I pull back my Martin Onza 3 at 72#, the HHA Optimizer single pin sight was set at 40 yards and the pin focused just below the spine. The buck did not jump at release, as the Onza 3 very quiet! His reaction when the arrow hit was that of a rock. He just went down instantly and quivered for just a few moments. The arrow had gone through his heart! In my lifespan of hunting I have had this only happen twice before on bucks and both of them had been Blacktails also! The Blacktail buck most likely didn’t even know he was dead at impact! It doesn’t happen like this very often, but I will take it anytime I can. One never likes to have to track game in the dense cover of Western Oregon during the evening into darkness. A deer can go a little ways and disappear in the Blackberries, which make for difficult recovery on evening hunts. I have to say when there is a spark of adrenalin, old bones can move without pain!

Though the buck was only a 3 x 4 with the single eyeguard and most likely three (3) year, I would do it again. After opening day it had been tough and one should never have two legal tags. It makes it tough when your trying for the local stud buck. The rack is a very tight rack with the main beams almost touching. His brother the other 4 X 3 with two (2) eyeguards still roams the property. It appears that he will take up residency on this parcel and surrounding properties. He is a bit bigger and will make a good buck in 2014!

Since this writing I was a fortunate to harvest the Even 3 X 3 in November of this year!

Even 3 X 3 Blacktail - November 2013 — Even 3 X 3 Blacktail – November 2013

Bwana Bubba aka Cobra

Hunting Equipment, Successful Hunters 2013, Uncategorized

Bwana Bubba’s 2013 Oregon 615 Willamette Deer Hunt

December 8, 2013 Frank Biggs 4 Comments

Before reading this story, I have been told I should have let this buck go another year. I thought about it strongly! One never knows if they get to hunt private land each year. I have been lucky to be able to hunt this land for 4 years. Another Vietnam Veteran owns the land and I know how he feels when he is in the bush here. The buck had bred for two years! He had a gross rough score of 123″. One can not harvest Boone & Crockett every time in rural America! Frank Biggs

Hunting success is a matter of timing in movement & being somewhere at the correct time!

A picture of Even 3 X 3 on the western sector of the property!

Most stories have more than one part, so naturally this story will also.

My son made a comment to me while he was raising the deer up in the tree with his truck winch. “Dad how come you always kill something when I am not with you?” Take time to think about that for a while!

Many of my readers have known that I have been in pursuit of one particular Columbia Blacktail buck that has been named the Even 3 X 3. Over the last two (2) years I have tried to harvest him via my Martin Onza 3 bow. First year 2012 I had him near my tree stand and made a terrible mistake when I setup the tree stand with the help of Mark and my son JR.! It was setup right- handed with no thought about it, and since I am left-handed, plus the fact of staging the deer right to left it created problems in a tight area in the treestand. Excuses? Yes! But Real!

A short video in early summer of Even 3 X 3 using the same route!

In a previous story during the 2013 regular archery season, opportunity for Even 3 X 3 on opening day was there, yet wasn’t due to a subliminal message not to setup on the Even 3 X 3 at 42 yards. He surely would have gone down with the shot if I had taken it. I would have been selfish to say the least, with JR. having 5 bucks at a less than 5-6 yards from his ground blind. Thus Jr. harvested his first archery Blacktail buck deer! One of the finest shots I must say as he had the Even 3 X 3 with a pin on his boiler room and moved to the other buck! Why you ask? He knew that Even 3 x 3 was my target buck. This says a lot about my son and his relationship to me!

This was taken in the draw on 11-10-2013 at 1038. Last time he was caught on a trail cam!

Even 3 x 3 had not been seen by humans since August 24^th of the opening morning hunt, he and the other entire local branch bucks disappeared from the area. It should be noted that he had only come into the trail cams 3 times in a three month period. Each time was during the wee hours of the AM time zone. He would not hang around long near the Cam areas, with few pictures.

JR. and myself went looking for the Even 3 X 3 during the regular archery season, but only saw glimpses of a couple of spikes and one other deer a 4 X 3 with a single eyeguard. This particular buck and his brother another 4 X 3 with two Eyeguards had shown up twice on draw trail camera from July to August. All of sudden about two weeks into the archery season single eyeguard showed up twice, once with JR. and he was unable to get a shot on him. The following evening hunting by myself the buck was on the exact path I had seen him the evening prior. I was not expecting him and I felt there was something there. I was on my ass watching another opening in the timber, not aware that he was working in on me. I get a glance of him at about 50 yards head down. In one fluid motion I swung around to the kneeling position and pulled up on with the 40 yard single pin on my H.H.A. Sports Optimizer and the Martin Onza 3 bow. I release and he never knew what or who had hit him. He went down in the spot he was standing and kicked for only moments with the heart shot. JR. as usual was very quick to come out to the place and help Hawaiian quarter the buck.

Let’s get back to the story of taking down the Even 3 X 3 buck that I have had an obsession with for two years.

The Ford Escape was maneuvering around the frozen over potholes on the access road to the vineyard, trying not to make so much noise. My intention before going to work was to reset the trail cams and put in new batteries. I figured at 0830 there would be nothing moving and I could get the job done in about 10 minutes and get to work and not be the last one there. Rifle and cameras are all in the back of the rig.

This was taken in August just before opening archery season!

Just to keep things straight I had an Oregon 615 Willamette Deer tag, which is an anything; goes tag from September 1^st until February 28^th 2014. This allowed me two deer in the 2013 year with an Oregon archery deer tag and the Oregon 615 deer tag. I of course wanted to harvest another buck with the Martin Onza 3, but un-expected things happen once in a while.

As I was avoiding the frozen potholes in the gravel road, I see to my right at approximately 150 yards a big buck trotting across the open grass area that lies between the vineyard and the forest. I wasn’t going fast, so I came to a stop, put the gear lever in park, open the door and leaving it open moved without losing concentration on getting to the back of the Escape and opening the rear hatch. Hatch open, I un-zipped the case, slipped out the Weatherby 257 mag., jacked a round into the camber, jumped into the ditch and then atop the blackberry berm. Trying to find the buck in the timber, I could see movement, but when I first pulled up on the movement, I could not see well enough as I had my sunglasses on. Quickly they were pushed up on my head and I could see that buck moving from behind a large Douglas Fir tree finally, then he stopped by another Douglas Fir tree in the mist of blackberries! In one quick movement I pulled down on him with the crosshairs solidly coming to rest on the boiler room, I pulled the trigger (I had been on the ready). To my surprise the buck dropped in his tracks with no movement. I was using a 120 grain Barnes X bullet hand load! “Crap I’ve gone and done it!” The distance to the buck was at about 275 yards + or minus 10 yards. Not a bad offhand shot freestyle, reminds me of the days of shooting competition in high school. The buck was the Even 3 X 3 and I knew that mentally when I saw him at 150 yards in first sight, the only buck on the place with a light color rack.

What is really IRONIC about a new mystery is I put that single 120gr. Barnes X (Vintage of the year 2000) into the chamber, with 100 gr. Hornady Weatherby factory loads in the magazine (Jr. buys factory). I have yet to find any of the remaining Barnes hand loads! I switched to Barnes Bullet in 1998 and the first time out, I shot a Mulie at around 650 yards and he dropped in his tracks! In the same year I shot a Bull elk at 1000 yards and it dropped in it’s tracks. A believer!

Minutes after putting him down. I did move him out of the blackberries to take the picture.

Note: I am a firm believer in not shooting off-hand unless I have too. I have a bi-pod on all my rifles when I take them in the field, which these days is not often. Tree limbs work great when the opportunity arises or going to the sitting position.

Note: This 257 Weatherby MK 5 rifle (Left-Handed) that has not been shot at game for over 10 years. It had always been a tack drive of a rifle since 1983 when I got it from Gene Ramsey, who bought it from me while I had the Burns Bros., Sportsmen’s Center on Grand Ave., in Portland, OR. A great time to be a Weatherby dealer in the days of Harry Bane and Roy Weatherby himself!

Again JR. would come to help with the quartering of the deer! This time he wanted to do old school and gut and take in whole! Jr. said to me “Dad that is more than 300 yards”, Frankie we will keep it at 275 yards.

This leads to me to the first comment that JR. made in the story! Many times when the mentor is hunting with the underscore we are not there for personal gain. Our thoughts are on helping others get it done. We react differently when by ourselves while hunting or any other activity. We react to the situation without thought when alone. Most season veterans have already gone through the process of saying “I saw four 6 X 6 bulls moving on the hillside”, without taking a shot. This comes with only experience in the field in any hobby! I like to think I am in combat mode! “Timing and Time are Limited!”

What is great about my Weatherbys' that I have, whenever I have used one, they have always performed. If I miss, it is me and not the rifle or bow! — What is great about my Weatherbys’ that I have, whenever I have used one, they have always performed. If I miss, it is me and not the rifle or bow!

One has to react to the situation in the moment with knowing it is right! React with no hesitation! Never take too long to setup a shot, as WILD Game waits for no one! Most deer don’t wait for one to setup the sticks!

Meat was dropped off at: Sausage Kitchen – McLoughlin Blvd

On never knows the full movement of game!

Bwana Bubba

Average Joe Hunting Stories, Successful Hunters 2013

Average Joe’s Oregon Blacktail Muzzleloader Hunt

December 3, 2013 Frank Biggs 2 Comments

This is a great story written by David aka “Average Joe”! It is about the love of hunting, success and making new friends! Bwana Bubba

Average Joe tries a Smoke Pole

After last year’s Antelope trip to Wyoming I decided to keep it close to home this year and try to take a nice Blacktail. This is not as easy as it sounds – these deer are not known as timber ghosts for nothing. I’ve taken a couple of forkhorns in the past, but nothing bigger than that. Any buck that made it past his first rifle season is a cagey customer, sticking to the thick stuff and mostly nocturnal – except during the rut.

Bubba hunts as an archer and a fair part of his season is during the rut, but us rifle hunters are out of the woods well before that. Except… turning to the Oregon Tag Guide, there are a couple of black powder rut hunts in southern Oregon that do not take a dump-load of points to draw. Also, a couple years ago Bubba introduced me to a Mike, who lives down in that area and might be willing to help me get my bearings.

First step was to get a proper rifle for this hunt. I settled on a Knight Bighorn, the version that is OR and WA legal meaning it has exposed ignition, no shotgun primers, no pellets, and iron sights. This was a pretty easy choice as it is stainless / synthetic so it will handle wet weather and has a crisp light trigger with no creep, but the double safety is a bit… different. I had it CeraKoted to make it extra waterproof. The notch and blade sights proved problematic as I’m almost 50 and my eyes are not what they were. This problem was solved with a Williams peep sight. Time to hit the range!

This rifle did not like round balls. Past 50 yards the accuracy went off the rails. I’m told this is because a 1/26 twist is meant for slug and not ball. Fortunately Thompson maxi hunters shot well in it. I got it sighted for 75 yards and put a fair bit of time into practicing from field positions to the point where I knew what I could hit and and from what positions out to 100 yards, which was about my limit without a scope.

I talked to the area USFS biologist and he was kind enough to send me a map with some of his suggested areas circled. Common theme – South facing slopes with benches. This being a late November hunt, chances were that many deer would already be concentrating on their winter range.

Mike knew some great places to hunt in this unit and not only offered to scout it with me but was willing to go along on the hunt if his work schedule allowed for it. Mike is a fine gentleman who not only knows the area extremely well but he is also experienced at hunting thick brushy country and is a world class marksman. He and his wife Cristine even offered to let me stay at their place during scouting and hunting trips. They are wonderful people and I can’t thank them enough.

In early October we hit the road to scout and over two days covered over 200 miles of gravel roads and trails. We saw few deer, but the biologist had told me not to expect them to be in the lower elevations until mid-November. We marked 6 places that looked encouraging on the GPS. Mike explained to me his method for rattling in Blacktails. I had heard about this but never seen it done. Would this really work? I sensed Mike might be a bit skeptical about black powder gear (big slow bullets, iron sights and over a minute to reload). I have seen Mikes skill as a hunter firsthand and could see he was confident – I just hoped I could hold up my end when the time came.

The week before I was headed down to hunt, Mike and Cristine put out some trail cams in an area we had marked as promising. They saw lots of does while putting out the cams and one nice three point was on camera when they picked them up a few days later.

Saturday morning had us headed down off a USFS road, down into some oak draws leading to an open meadow in a creek bottom. We set up back into the oaks and got comfortable and Mike went to work. He checked the wind with his bottled smoke – very squirrely wind, changing direction frequently. Then he got out some big shed antlers and started crashing and banging them together, digging up the ground with them, and thrashing the foliage. Then he would give a few grunts on a grunt call and do some more banging and thrashing and then give it a 15 minute rest before doing it again.

After the second set, Mike spotted a deer headed down the hill toward us. A little spike wondering why there was a party and he was not invited. He hung up about 30 yards out trying to figure out what we were. I had already decided not to settle for anything less than a 3 point, so we watched him circle around us through the brush and finally head out after we assume he winded us. I’ve never seen a deer come running TO noise in the woods before. Mike was making a believer out of me real fast.

FYI, these deer are hard to spot in late November as everything in these oak savanna’s is more or less deer colored that time of year. Mike spots them right away but it takes some getting used to if you are used to different county.

After another 20 minutes at that spot we moved a few draws north and set up again. Again with the thrashing and grunting. After about 30 minutes Mike whispers to me “Deer coming in behind me”. Sure enough, a buck has been heading down the hill toward us. He hung up at about 45 yards, behind a little rise, a fat 3 point staring right at us but not sure what we are yet. I shifted sideways and back through the brush trying to get a clear shot past the grass / brush obscuring his lower chest and the Madrone branches in front of me. He is facing directly at us, which doesn’t allow much of a target and an offhand shot is the only one the terrain allows.

I got steady on him and pulled the trigger and CLICK! I had forgotten to take off the second safety. I re-cocked the rifle, got steady again, and this time got the satisfying BOOM and cloud of white smoke. Through the cloud of smoke, the buck dropped without taking another step.

Mike A. with David's Blacktail Buck on the ground! — Mike A. with David’s Blacktail Buck on the ground!

We took a minute (and then some) to reload before approaching to examine the buck. He was very pretty and symmetrical and the nicest Blacktail I’ve had the good fortune to take. Mike has totally sold me on this method of hunting.

We got the buck dressed out and the meat and head loaded in the packs for the climb back up to the road.

It's me with David and my Blacktail! Oh! I have my smoke pole with me also. — It’s me with David and my Blacktail! Oh! I have my smoke pole with me also.

The bullet had entered high in the front of the chest and there was no exit wound so after we had dressed out the buck Mike went hunting for the bullet. Following the wound channel, he found it had gone lengthwise through one lung, raked along the bottom of the spine, and came to rest behind one of the rear hip joints. After going through 36 inches of deer, the slug retained 270 out of 275 grains and had expanded to almost an inch.

This was one of the most fun hunts I’ve been on. It was a great combination of beautiful country, magnificent animals, learning new techniques, and spending time with good friends. I’m planning to save my deer points for a couple years and do this hunt again. Mike seemed to enjoy this late black powder hunt and hopefully Mike and Cristine will put in for the same tag and we will all hunt together next time. David K.

Bwana Bubba Adventurers