Makes you proud to be a Montanan

A great episode about Montana. Bourdain does it well just like he always does. He manages to interview/share food & drink with some of the great people of Montana. Not to mention shedding some light on the ever growing important topic of public land access.

Watch it, you'll be glad.

Hunt Right Montana

I just happened to run across this and thought it was great to see an organization promoting solid hunting ethics. Just as they state, a few can ruin it for the many.

Hunt Right link here

I took the girls out hunting this weekend, staying in a FS cabin and really immersing ourselves in the activity at much as possible. Both were as excited as I've seen them in a long time. They had a great time and the laughs were a plenty. While we didn't lay eyes on any legal elk or deer, we did manage to harvest a large ruffed grouse. I shared my views on hunting and some mistakes I've made over the year, touching on ethics.

We all walked away with some great memories and Mama had a little quiet house for the two days :-).

Not sure what was going here, maybe a pissed off neighbor?

Where ya been?

Been a while since there's been a post on the old kneetopia. Life's been busy and I've fell off the writing habit. The Campbell clan had a busy summer and fall. I spent 3 weeks in the woods on fire in August, greatly accelerating summer. It always goes by too fast. Summer was hot as Hades. But fall has been awesome, if not unseasonably warm. But you gotta enjoy the Indian Summer. I had 2 great archery hunting trips, one down towards SW MT and one over in the Missouri Breaks. Both were awesome, lots of bugling bulls but just 20 yards short.

Quick ride up Blue Mtn

William and I's first bow hunt

Will and I saw these elk on our first hunt together

Bear skull that I found on a hunt

The Missouri Breaks!

Spring time

Just as in years past, I continue to speculate and watch the fire weather forecast in the spring. Why? I don't know exactly. But I usually find myself with extra time on my hands during Spring time. I also think it's some sadistic thing that carries over from my days with the Forest Service. I only did 6 seasons with them, but it left a lasting mark. I enjoy my city fire job much more than the dirty days of the FS, but somehow I still like fighting a good old fashioned forest fire. The vagrant wandering style, camp food, monotony and some hard earned cash is sometime fun.

While I am not hoping for smokey skies this summer, things are still looking a bit ominous across the West. California continues to face serious drought and lack of snow pack. As Unofficial Networks put it:  "Tahoe had one shitty season. Squaw Valley received a measly 79″ at their base this entire season. . As of today, April 23th, 2015, Lake Tahoe’s snowpack is at 0% of average. Other regions have not faired much better with Central Oregon at just 9% of average, Northern Washington’s Cascade Mountains at 6% and Utah having the statistically worst ski season in history." That is some scary shit right there. 

The spring has been nice here in Missoula. We've had some very nice weather and quite a bit of it dry. The family and I have been able to enjoy some hikes and mountain bikes rides. Make hay while the sun shines right? Will turned 3 on Easter and we celebrated with a crazy amount of candy. I ducked down to the Paradise Valley for some shed hunting with my good friends. 

First archery elk

It's been crazy around here, things have been moving at a frantic pace since summer. But I did the get chance to disengage from the electronic world for 8 days. Nothing but wind in the sage, GPS screen (don't count) and the sounds of elk. Thank you to Tracy and MO for making it possible, you don't know how much I enjoyed it! I missed the kids, but the quiet woods were nice too. I think I may have repaired a couple chips in my sanity.

 My long time and regular hunting partner and I convened in elk central and hunted our assess off. We didn't miss a morning or evening the entire time, rising at 4 am everyday and usually not getting back to camp until several hours after dark.

He helped me get onto a bull and I was able to capitalize on a 35 yard shot with my bow. The draw and hold back pushed me to over a minute, but the arrow flew true to its mark. The harvest was big and the pack out rewarding. The opportunity to kill an elk with bow was not taken lightly. I think I may like bowhunting (end cheesiness).

Antelope Camp 2013

Elk crossings

Found a few of these elk crossing videos, pretty amazing to see them keep pouring across the screen.

Another needle

 

We've been busy and probably only going to get busier, but I did manage to sneak away for a few hours last week. I biked and hiked and pushed and slushed and sweated. There was very little snow, only a bit in the shade. I lucked into this shed, about a 40" main beam and good mass, not too far from my finds last year. 

And in other news people are starting to guess at what this summer will bring. Little bit of weather nerd stuff for the Missoula area:

 ...TWO SIGNIFICANT RECORDS ACROSS THE NORTHERN ROCKIES THIS WINTER..
 
 ...MARCH CLIMATOLOGY AND WINTER SNOWFALL DATA THUS FAR...
 
 
 Two significant or near significant records have occurred
 during the past two years.
 
 1. Missoula has not experience a temperature below 0 since
 Feb 25th, 2011.
 This is the second longest period on record. If a below 0 day does
 not occur through October 2013 the all time record of consecutive
 days without sub zero reading will be broken.  This is likely
 for there has never been a sub 0 day in Missoula from April
 through October.
 

I've been slacking on blog updates. Been busy with kiddos and putting together a new house. Flung a few arrows from the bow I got this winter, looking forward to this fall already.

Kneetopia hunting report

Lots of good friends, of which are apparently good hunters had success this hunting season. Western Montana as always is one of the best places to take in Gods endless beauty. And while you are at it, you can chase around some of the most wild creatures out there. I was lucky enough to take part in a couple of these adventures. Take a look at the full album at the bottom and let me know if you have one to add!

Come on, sent it over.

FULL PICTURE album here

179 1/2" Bighorn Ram

408" B&C 7 x 8 Bull

That's a wrap

Unfortunately I'm not wrapping anything up, as in meat, after this hunting season. In one of my slowest hunting season's in my short career, I failed to bring home the bacon so to speak. I have been lucky in the previous 7 seasons to put some meat in the freezer come Fall. Whether it was antelope, elk or deer, one of those varieties has become a regular in my freezer in the garage. As I eat the remaining packages of game, it will likely only see the graces of Otter Pops and corn dogs until next fall.

Here's a recent article from the Missoulian about the hunting season. Seems they are citing weather as one of the big factors. Not too much mention of predation, more to come on that I'm sure.

Meat Eater

Tis the season to think of meat. As has become part of my ritual I expend calories in order to locate wild game. With about a week under my belt in the woods, I should theoretically be getting closer to filling the freezer.

Hormone free, organic, grass fed, what ever you want to call it. It's good for you and I hop to stock up soon. Cervus elaphus is the preferred variety.

Steve Rinella takes the love of meat to another level. His show Meat Eater is great and he's an inspirational hunter. Some interesting commentary and debate below:

On a related note, Ari LeVaux a columnist for the Missoula Independent always puts out some good wild-game related thoughts. Sometimes recipes, sometimes meat philosphy. This article Hunting Vs Shooting was good.

The numbers don't lie either:

Backpack hunting

So there I was, no shit, just looking for the perfect backpack. Scouring the internet in search of the a backpack that would fit my every need. Are you still reading this? Crickets? Anyway I'm just kidding. I have been seriously domesticated, but I'm not that bad yet. Really I'm not.

I'm talking about a bad ass elk hunt with nothing but a backpack. Five glorious nights camped with nothing but what your legs & back could bring in. We had done an early season rifle hunt the 2 years prior, with one year having a successful harvest and the second year no so much.

Our hunting plans festered all winter long. Then finally my hunting partner and I hatched them this late October. Much planning preceeded the trip as usual. Interestingly I seem to enjoy the logistical side of the extended hunts much more than I used to (see old and lame). As a result of the busy family schedule, work and life in general, I literally started packing for this hunt 2 weeks in advance.

I spread out the known necessities on the bed in the basement and then filled in the gaps with all too many trips to the sporting goods and grocery stores. Between a solid list and just one more double check, I only managed to forget 2 things: the gourmet salami and cheese in the fridge & dental floss.

We put up a respectable distance and set up camp at about 8000 feet. The valley floor still had the brilliant yellows clinging to the trees. The high country was ripe for some snow. One day prior to the opener we glassed our quarry. We hoped to find them in the right spots in the morning.

Hunting grounds all fogged in

We split up opening morning and as luck would usually have it, one of had more than the other. RS had the opportunity to pass on two bulls. I saw lot of squirrels and also snuck in to 20 yards of a decent mule deer buck. I watched as he lounged in his bed chewing grass, nonchalantly looking at me over his shoulder for a minute.

Through the rest of our hunt we shared much time around the campfire, telling half truths and discussing life in general. We heard wolves howl, but did not cut their tracks. We watched as our perfect setup on a mature bull was blown by sloppy ethics and bad shooting. Our freeze dried meals were complimented by Glenlivet, warming our bellies after our long days afield. The adjacent camps which were living high on the hog (with horses and wall tents), marveled at our dedication (or stupidity?). We watched 6 inches of October snow fall out of skies. A large grizzly bear followed us as we left the area.

The only things we brought out were memories, motivation and sore legs. Thanks for reading. Leave a comment if you feel so inclined?

More mountain lions

Last year a particular area that I hunted seems to be overflowing with mountain lions. For those of you following along, you may remember the post here. It was also interesting that this summer, not too far from that very same area another mountain lion was seen stalking campers. It was later dispatched by MT FWP and most people were better off for it.

The big game opener also was no stranger to seemingly the same mountion population. A friend hunting in that area ran into a hunter who ended up shooting a mountain lion at "6 steps". My buddy described him as shaking and bone white. Below is the excerpt from the news clip:

Urgent Call To Action: Comment On Wolf Season

For any of you out there that enjoy Montana's elk population, please read this and consider action now. You may not personally want to shoot a wolf, but you will want to support those that do if you want to keep Montana elk hunting the way it was. The decline in elk population has been too drastic to not take note of the wolves implications. I don't believe that they are solely responsible, but I do believe they are a big contributor. Please read on

Keith Kubista, The President of Montana Sportsmen for Fish & Wildlife, is looking for your support on the new wolf hunting proposal.  The choice is yours, if you support it or are against it, FWP would like to hear your opinion.
Below is Kubista’s Call to Action:
There is going to be a lot opposition to the proposed FWP wolf hunting season for this year.  From what I am hearing if a lot public comment doesn’t come forward the FWP Commission might vote to alter or change the proposal.  We need get everyone we know to support the proposal, if not we stand the chance of losing our ability to bring wolf numbers into a balance or lose our wolf hunting season all together.  If you can attend any of the following meetings great, but at the very least you and everyone you know need to submit either a written comment or online comment.  Don’t count on someone else to carry the water on this important issue!
We need you to do two things with respect to WOLVES:

1. Attend the meetings scheduled by FWP and voice your support for wolf hunting, trapping and snaring in Montana, and
2. Send in comments to the Commission regarding the proposed wolf season.

FWP wants to reduce the wolf population however; their current tentative proposal is not aggressive enough to realistically or significantly bring down wolf numbers. We need you to deliver a simple consistent message at all FWP meetings and in your written comments to the Commission stating the following:
I support the MFWP wolf season tentative proposal with the following changes:

1. Delete the 425 minimum target/objective
2. Include snaring for general trapping season and set season to run January 1, 2013 – March 31, 2013.
3. General gun season to end March 31, 2013.
4. Reduce the cost of non-resident license to $50.
5. Eliminate the five-day waiting period between license purchase and start of hunt.

Public information meetings are set for 7-9 p.m. at these locations:

• May 22—Missoula—Holiday Inn Missoula Downtown at the Park
• May 22—Bozeman—Holiday Inn; 5 E Baxter Ln.
• May 22—Great Falls—FWP Region 4 Office; 4600 Giant Springs Rd.
• May 22—Billings—FWP Region 5 Office; 2300 Lake Elmo Dr.
• June 13—Kalispell—Flathead Valley Community College; 777 Grandview Dr.

Online Comments:
To comment on line, and to find more details on the proposed changes, visit http://fwp.mt.gov/hunting/publicComments/2012_13proposedWolfHunt.html or visit FWP’s website at fwp.mt.gov. Click “Hunting.” It took me less than 2 minutes. Use your own words but be consistent in message.
PLEASE ACT TODAY!

Needle in a haystack

Yesterday the dogs and I walked about 8 miles in search of some sheds. We found one pair and a single whitey with nice mass. Now if I could just train them to sniff them like these shed hunting dogs.

Mountain Lions

I put my last hunting day in the bag last Saturday. It was a good day to be outside, but not necessarily the best day for hunting as the snow was very loud. It was impossible to be stealth. The 6" of snow had warmed in the last day or two, crusting over with another few inches on top. We joked that we might have just as well banged some symbols as you walked through the woods. But we made a day of it and walked as slow as possible, then sat on top of a knob overlooking a couple saddles.

 Great views showed us a few separate groups of does nearby, but no bucks chasing them. We also spied  3 other hunters on various ridges surrounding us. Across the way, maybe a mile and half as the crow would fly, we could see at least 30 elk. A dozen of them appeared to sport nice racks. If only that area were open to hunt.

But back to the idea behind this post. Mountain lions. I saw at least 3 mountain lions while I was hunting this year. Two of them in the same general area, the other a couple hours south. Spotting a mountain lion is truly a rare occurance.

The first cat I saw was about a week after I shot my deer.  I was walking into the same area and could hear coyotes, they sound like they are fighting. I glassed down there and saw a mountain lion slinking around, seemingly as if defending the carcass. I listen as the coyotes and the lion seem to fight it out for about 5 minutes. Eventually I see the coyotes run off into the pasture. After a few loud coughs to alert the cat of my presence, I walked within 150 yards of it all and continued on my hunt. 

A few weeks later in the same area, a friend and I were about a mile from the first sighting, hunting during quite a storm. Flakes and wind blew into our face as we cruised through the timber. He spotted a mature mountain lion in front of us at about 150 yards. He described it as leaping over a small knob after looking over its shoulder at us. I glassed in that direction and spotted a cat about 25 feet to the left. We sat for 4-5 minutes, staring at each other. The hair stood up on the backs of our neck as we changed directions and hunted carefully for the next 10 minutes. 

The very next day I was 50 miles to the south hunting east of Hamilton with another friend. We had a productive day, harvesting a nice mule deer buck and following fresh elk tracks all day. Heading out, we hit the pavement in the fading fall light and drove east in the canyon. In the borrow pit, a mountain lion sprinted parallel to the road. We sped up and were able to get next to it for a second. It then lept off into the willows and disappeared with only the rustling of the willow bushes. 

So at the end of the season, I could at least say I had the 3 unique opportunities to see a big cat in the while. Was this a consolation prize for not getting an elk? I don't know but it was one that I won't probably repeat. I looked into a bit of the facts about mountain lions and found they usually require a lot of room—only a few cats can survive in a 30-square-mile (78-square-kilometer) range. They are solitary and shy animals, seldom seen by humans. While they do occasionally attack people—usually children or solitary adults—statistics show that, on average, there are only four attacks and one human fatality each year in all of the U.S. and Canada.

I'll leave you with an exciting but graphic video of a mountain lion taking down a deer. There, I warned you. Anybody else out there see anything interesting this Fall?

Unexpected

One of things I've come to realize I like most about hunting, is the fact that you can never expect anything. Of course the ole' cliche, expect the unexpected is easy to apply. You can plan and dream all season long but as things unravel, you are surprised constantly. The variables when out in the field drive you to pay attention. Maybe it's the weather. It was supposed to be 50deg, the sun drifting low along the horizon light. Instead low slung gray clouds spit rain with gusts blowing sideways. Sometimes you walk 12 miles and don't see a thing, other times you walk a mile and see everything. The picture above was taken from 50 yards, near 50 elk but none of the variety that I was allowed to put in my freezer.

Your planning, route and equipment is what you can count on, with the later being a huge factor. Luckily I have been picking some clothing and gear that keeps my body warm and happy. I like logistics, so I thrive on the plan of the hunt. The hunting route and navigation keeps me up at night. Envisioning the ambush or stalk in my minds eye.

Each time I've been out this season, I've found or seen somethings that's perked my ears. Not to mention the colors this fall have made it easy to walk. I was lucky enough to take a nice 4x4 whitetail the day after opening. A friend harvested a black bear the previous day. I spied a mountain lion munching on my deer carcass. All they while picking up sheds as I go along. Here's to walking in the mountains.