Finally Filled a Tag

I finally filled a tag this year! With a zip tie in hand, I tagged a nice Abies Procera, more commonly known as the Noble Fir.

Every year the USDA Forest Service offers Christmas tree permits for $5. I always wanted to try “the Griswold family Christmas tree” outing, but procrastination gets the best of me year after year and I usually end up getting a tree from a local U-cut.

We loaded the truck Sunday afternoon; a good handsaw, warm clothes, water and survival gear. We stopped at the Estacada ranger station to purchase a permit for the Mt. Hood National Forest.

The ranger gave us a topo map of the area, pointing out units where he saw good Douglas and Noble fir trees. After coming up with a game plan we got in the truck and started our trek to the wilderness. I made one last call before we got out of cell service:

“Hi Mom it’s me, we are going to the Mt. Hood National Forest to get our Christmas tree. We are going to be along fire road 4016, if you do not hear from me by 9 o’clock tonight, call the search party. No, really, call the search party.”

We zigzagged what seemed like forever on logging roads. The higher up we went, the hairier the road conditions got, thank goodness for four-wheel drive! We finally made it to our location circled on our topo map. No trails and knee-deep snow, we found ourselves in a winter tree-hunting wonderland.

I realized that when at a U-cut place or a Christmas tree lot, much time is spent finding the “perfect” Christmas tree. You usually narrow it down to two or three choices and do a side-by-side comparison.

When out in the wilderness, the first one that meets your criteria is the one that gets the axe! Finding the tree is the easy part, packing it out and getting it on your vehicle is the hard part!

After setting the tree up in the house last night (it touches our 18-foot ceiling), I had a sense of pride similar to that when I hunt. I didn’t go to the store to buy my tree; I scouted in on a map, went out in the wilderness and cut it down with my two hands.

Babes With Bullets Rifle Camp

Shooter make ready...Stand by...BEEP!

And with that, my heart starts racing. I quickly aquire my first target, two shots fired, I move onto several more in the vicinity placing two shots on every target. Feet shuffling, finger on the trigger I get to my next target, it is a hostage situation. I place my crosshairs on the head….CLICK.

Without a second thought, I rack the slide clear the jam and two shots to the head. I then move past a wall. Now is the time to change magazines. I don’t miss a beat as I pass through a doorway that activates two moving targets, each get two shots. I stop, assess that all targets have been shot. I drop my magazine, clear my chamber and show a safe firearm to my timer who happens to be Kay Miculek.

Kay has won several USPSA National Women’s Open Championships, three-time IPSC world champion, 13 time USPSA National Women’s Multi-gun Champion and the list goes on and on.

“25.8 SECONDS” she yells. I follow her fast pace through the course. “Two alpha, alpha Charlie, two alpha, two Charlie, one alpha and ouch, one Mike” she yells to the scorer following behind us. No, I’m not at a match and I am not at a tactical training center. I am in Louisiana attending a Babes With Bullets Rifle Camp.

Nikon is a sponsor of the rifle camp. Smith & Wesson is also a sponsor and provides M&P15s. Nikon tops them with the new M-223 1-4x20 riflescope with the Point Blank Reticle.

I am not going to lie, I expected us to be spending all of our time learning about functions of the modern sporting rifles and shooting paper the rest of the time. Boy was I wrong! We were shooting three yards out to 100 yards. We were shooting prone, off-hand and on the ground. We were moving, working through malfunctions and strategizing when to change our magazines.

It was intense, but I loved every minute of it. The campers were from every walk of life and from around every part of the country. Most had some sort of shooting experience, while others competed at their local ranges in 3-gun competitions and were looking to improve their times and scores.

I learned how to score a match, how to maximize those five minutes to analyze a course and strategize how to move through it and engage all targets. I have never had any experience shooting competitively, but after this camp, I now have the desire to compete with my AR at the local range!

CO Hunt a Success

I just returned home from a great mule deer and antelope hunt in Colorado.

WinchesterAmmunition, Browning/Winchester Repeating Arms, Mossy Oak and Under Armour teamed up to host a cold, snowy, successful hunt.

We hunted in Craig, Colo., with Dick Dodds of Elkhorn Outfitters (www.elkhornoutfitters.com).

We tested a variety of calibers in Winchester's Power Max Bonded line and their new Power Core 95/5 line, which is a lead free (copper/zinc) product that will be available in 2011.

• Power Max Bonded: 270 Win, 270 WSM
• Power Core 95/5: 30-06 and 300 WSM

The animals were taken from 80 yds to 400 yds and the ammo performed great. Not to mention, the guys we were with could shoot. Most of the shots were taken around the 200 yd mark.

We were able to recover a few of the bullets. Here's the 300 WSM Power Core 95/5 bullet that was recovered from John Taranto's (Outdoor Life) mule deer.

As you can see, all four petals are still attached and are rolled back perfectly. Nearly 100% of the weight was retained from this shot.

We are only days away from launching Winchester's 2011 new product line, so keep your ears and eyes open for the latest information about their new product.

Why I Love my Backyard Part 2!

This guy made the mistake of walking by my treestand yesterday afternoon. And while he's not big by even South Carolina's modest standards, he's my first buck with a recurve and I'm more proud of him than any buck I've taken.....other than my very first.

If you're interested, I was shooting a Stalker recurve built by South Cox. Stalker Recurves

Despite getting a doe every year, it's taken 3 years of hard hunting to get a buck with my recurve. All the close calls, missed opportunities and missed shots have be worth it. I'm hooked forever.

Something about hunting with a recurve reminds me of when I first started bowhunting. Introduced by a neighbor and his wife, who both hunted and shot competitively, I bugged the heck out of them for stories and advice. I can still remember the way my first bow, an old Jennings T-star with a metal rise, felt in my hand. That bow is long gone as are a lot of the woods I used to roam, but it hooked me on bowhunting. Not a year has gone by that I don't spend as much time as possible chasing whitetails with a bow of some kind.

From failing my first period algebra class in 12th grade due to absences (still made honor society much to my mom's anger) or taking a semester or two off in college, I never let the less important things get in the way of hunting. It's good I landed a job in the outdoor industry sinc no doubt I'm unfit for any other form of employment.

We all hunt for the same reasons, but those reasons may not always apply to the same deer. And that's fine. For me, this little 6 pt, taken no more than 100-yards from my back door, from a stand I hung, near a plot I planted and no less than 30-minutes afterI stopped hearing my son and wife playing in the yard, sums up the reasons I hunt.

Pike County, Illinois with My Bow!

For three years I have been going to the same deer camp to film for Archer's Choice TV. I swear, every year the trip gets better!

I landed in St. Louis and met up with my friend Katie from Ameristep. We drove to Eagle Lakes Outfitters in Pike County, Illinois. For one week, women from all over the country gather to share camp and bowhunt the legendary whitetails the area is known for.

Once Katie and I arrived at the lodge, we met up with our good friends from Archer’s Choice Media and Eagle Lakes. We got our gear settled and teamed up with ladies for the next day’s hunt. What made this hunt TRULY a ladies hunt was the fact that women were filming women hunt (prior years we would have guys film us). How cool is that?

I paired off with Jen Johnson from Archer’s Choice. Jen and I hunted together for the first half of the trip. We I had several encounters with the local wildlife that included a bird flying in our blind, being chased by a crazy groundhog and occasionaly being puked on by a squirrel. However, we hadn’t had a bow range encounter with a deer yet. Being superstitious, Jen and I went our separate ways and she shot a doe!

One afternoon my guide asked me if I was afraid to climb anything. Some of the women in camp didn’t feel comfortable climbing into stands. I told my guide that I would climb anything (lies, I was really only comfortable with ladders and low hang-ons). I figured he had a honey hole and I didn’t want to wimp out on it!

He took me to a stand that had the screw in pegs and let me tell you…it was WAY up there. Whoever put up the pegs must have been 6 feet taller than me! My camera guy scooted up the tree like a monkey. I was shaking at the bottom not knowing what to do. I took a deep breath started to climb and only focused on where my next step would be. Before I knew it, I was on the platform. I got my Hunter Safety Harness tethered to the tree, and took a breath. I was still shaking, but I was thrilled that I faced my fears and got into that tree. I felt like I was on top of the world.

I got settled in and looked around. I was in timber, and every tree within 30 yards of the stand was TORE UP. I got excited seeing all the rubs on the surrounding trees. My excitement was quickly overcome with boredom, as nothing was moving.

Just as the sun was going down, I heard my friend say, “BUCK.” Instantly my knees went weak. I got a glimpse, a nice 9-point. The next words my friend said broke my heart, “Don’t shoot, he’s a 120, maybe a 125.” We were hunting in an area where you must shoot a 130 or better.

I watched as he stood 25 yards broadside, his head behind a tree. I would have smoked him with my Hoyt! It was hard to watch him walk off, but I need to tell myself he will be even bigger next year! It was so neat to have an encounter with a good buck.

The week went by fast. It is hard to be back in the office. I would love to be back in a treestand and sharing camp with girls from all over the country who share the same passion: bowhunting and whitetails.