Utah Draw

I drew out on an awesome hunt (first time in 10 years)!!!

Its a bull elk - muley buck combo during the elk season.
The cool thing is I'll get to hunt for deer two weeks before the other deer hunters start.

My cousin Terrance also drew out on the same hunt so that will be fun hunting together. We went scouting a few weeks ago to an area he scoped out on Google Earth.
We saw 11 deer and 39 elk. Definitely one shooter buck but no bulls.

My dad also drew out on a mule deer hunt up in Idaho in an area where he took these sweet photos of a buck last year. (He couldn't shoot the buck because he didn't have a tag for that area.)

He's going to go after him this year so hopefully he finds him again but this time he'll be bigger.

Dad's buck

Well my dad filled 2 of 3 tags this fall. He got his moose and this past weekend took a nice white tail. I didn't go hunting but did have a great "Elder's Quorum Bonding Activity." I was finally able to put several rounds through the 12 Gauge I got while in Moscow. I was pleasantly surprised at how well I shot.

No 6-points

Well, unfortunetly I was unable to find a 6-point - plenty of other bulls, including a couple of 5 points but no 6-points. I had a great time hunting, seeing 40 to 80 head each day but the big bulls were somewhere else. This picture is of a 4 and 5-point that I could have shot at a number of different times. I had bulls within 10 yards of me once and 40 a couple of times - fun stuff. The picture below was taken from the top of Pot Mountain looking across the Taos Plateau toward the Latir Wilderness and the Costilla Peaks on the New Mexico, Colorado border.

FYI and Advice Please

I was lucky enough to get an on-line first-come-first-serve elk tag this past week. It is a late season archery tag for a bull 6-point or better, on at least on side. This hunt starts Nov 8th and runs for 5 days. (I know, I know, it is going to be a hard hunt - but hey, now I get to hunt elk this year) I have never hunted elk other than during the rut - does anyone have any tips on hunting bulls after the rut? Hope everyone is having fun hunting. Things around here are slow, only two of us in the office have harvested anything - a lot of animals but a lot of missing over here.
Thanks - Jacob (and I am really looking for a rag-horn 6-point verses a herd bull, but suggestions for anything will help)

Tag Soup!!!

Well, my friends, I have good news and bad news.

Good news -- I shot a huge Muley buck opening day.

Bad news -- I didn't bring him home with me.

This last week I went up to Idaho to do some long needed Muley hunting at "No Tell 'um Ridge."

My dad, two friends and myself hit the trail @ 5am opening day to start the long hike to the top of the mountain where we knew the big bucks would be. We got to the top and split up to push through the trees. Luckily, I got the top position to catch any deer that wanted to slip up and over the ridge.

Just like clock work, the guys below me pushed two bucks up -- a little two point and a nice four point with cheaters that looked something like this. (compliments of Leon Parson Studio)

Now, I will tell you what not to do.

First mistake: I waited for him to stop and give me a nice broad side shot. He didn't. So, I fired off a shot and missed causing him to run faster down towards a patch of quakies. I fired again and this time hit him through the hind quarters. After which he stumbled, flipped and laid down in the quakies -- yes!!!

Second mistake: after a few seconds he started getting back up and I did not shoot him again -- bad mistake. He dragged himself a little further into the trees and out of sight. I thought he would just lay in there and die. But, after a short bit I heard some horses through the trees and two hunters on horseback emerged from the trees where he had gone down. They pushed the buck out and he ran below us over a saddle. We fired another shot but missed. After hours of following his blood trail, we decided to move on.

So, to save you heartache and regret this is what not to do if you want to get more than tag soup for dinner.

Gleckler--Duck Hunting

Libby (my chocolate lab) and I have been duck hunting hard since opening day. The ducks have really moved well through the area the last couple of hunts and I actully limited out this last week. Libby has been on fire retrieving ducks and we have seldom lose a cripple. For the first time I shot 2 duck in one shot. I think that the total is 40 ducks so far. Enjoy the pictures.

(Friend's son)

(Libby covered in ice)

(Libby is focused)

A couple of Moose

Since leaving Moscow my opportunities to hunt have been rare. My younger brother Scott was diagnosed with leukemia 2 years ago and while he has literally gone through hell fighting it, he has been able to go on a couple of hunting trips; one to Georgia to hunt white tails, and recently to Alaska to hunt moose. He only got to keep the horns, the guide was lazy and didn't bring back the cape like he was told to do. It was a rough trip in some ways. The guide instructed him to shoot, however bulls have to be 50" minimum and this ended up being 46". They had to report it and the outfitter was fined $500. Scott unfortunately had a phone trial as well, what a crock. They fined him $250 and I don't know what else, but eventually b/c of the circumstances, it was knocked down to the equivalent of a parking ticket. They weren't going to let him take the horns, but after much pleading from my dad, they let him keep them but made him saw them in half so they wouldn't have trophy value. The horns will be mounted anyway and it shouldn't affect the mounting.



My dad and grandpa have put in for the Idaho moose hunt for 20+ years and never had any luck. This year they BOTH drew and have spent the past week hunting up near Bonners Ferry, ID. Saturday my dad had a little luck and called in a bull moose. It has a 43" spread. It's definitely different from the Alaska moose, but it is a monster for Idaho. Dad was able to bring the meat home and do some laundry, and headed back up to help Grandpa harvest his own this week.