By: Bears Butt

 

Seems pert neer like yisterday a bunch of us wuz up near the Sweet Lake area tryin ta make meat.  All us wuz dun out meat  in the camp an needed sum perty quick like.  The squaws wuz makin us feel down right not gud, cuz we dun runned outa meat.  So here we is.

You knows this plenty by now what we is dang good at shootin our smoke poles an all and we is about ta show how gud we is one more time on this here hunt.  They be a heap o game in this here spot we is campin an we knowed the meat pole is gonna be full right quick like.  Whenst we dun gitted ourselves outten the bedroll the next morn, we dun looked up at all the stars what wuz out an we dun said what a beaut of a day wuz ahead.  They wuzzn’t one cloud coverin any stars an there wuz a sure chill in the air what wuz tellin us winter wuz a comin, but not too soon yet.

I kin see them stars in my mind right now when I close my eyes.  The whole of the sky what I cud see with both of my eyes at the same time wuz filled to the top with stars.  Big stars, little stars and stars what cud bearly be seed.  Sum stars put tagither even made designs an such if ya used yer magination sum.  Oh, it wuz perty.  An offin in the distant we cud heer us a cyote what wuz howlin an barkin.  Dang nice place ta be on such a fine morn as that.

We lit up a fire an got us sum coffee brewed an wuz sittin waitin fer light enough ta git ta huntin.  Kint shoot in the dark ya know, an them critters kin see whenst we kint see an so they wud skeedadle as we dun comed down the trail.  So, there we sit talkin an drinkin our coffee whilst waitin.

Dry Dog, he dun said he gonna kill him a big ol buck what wuz up on that there mountain an he be back in camp an have it hung right perty like on the meat pole first afor any body else cud be back ta camp with theys buck.  Well, whenst he dun said that it brought a good stir frum the rest of us, what wuz huntin an we dun made us some bets on who gonna be doin that first afor anybody else.

Twernt too long a time an it wuz pert neer light nuff ta see, but not pert neer light nuff ta see yous sights.  Iffn ya goes huntin, an ya kint see yer sights, ya might as well not be huntin, cuz ya aint gonna be killin no bucks.  All ya gonna do is skeer them off.  So we wait a bit longer.  Magpie dun cums ta the fire an sez he has sum room in his wagon iffn anybody wants ta  git huntin where he is gonna go.  An a bunch dun gits up an heads fer his wagon with all theys possibles an guns an such.  Dry Dog, he says he is gonna ride out his own way, by hisself an that will be just dandy with the rest of us.

I dun got me a wagon too an I ask if they be anybody else what wants ta ride with me, cuz I’m gonna go ta a far off ridge an hunt.  My far off place ta hunt is opposite direction frum  where Magpies wagon is goin.  Pert soon my wagon is full o mountain men,  possibles an such an they is ready ta git gone.  When I git up on my wagon, I kin see it be light nuff ta see my sights sure nuff.  An off we goed.

Twerent long down the trail we start ta see the game what we dun cumed for, but none is bucks, an we dun comed ta git bucks.  Aint gonna be no girl deer on our meat pole fer sure.  That there morn it wuz such a perty morn ta say the least an soon the sun wuz cumin in our eyes an makin it hard ta see if they be any bucks er not around.  So I pull the reigns an we angle aside the sun light.  We kin see perty good now an we start ta see bucks.  They wuz far off, so we dun sneeked up ta git closer fer a shot.  Them bucks wuz smart an they dun gits outa there fast like an we did not even git ta shoot.  So offn we goed ta see ifn we kin find sum more.

Well, we made a big ol circle in our drivin the wagon an pert soon we is back ta camp.  No bucks in my wagon this morn.  We dun feel it be a gud time ta have us sum lunch.  So Many Steps he dun starts up the fire right gud an we start ta cookin up sum grub.  Bout the time we be eatin, in cums Magpie an his wagon an we is all surprised like, when his wagon dun got no bucks in it.  His wagon always has bucks in it when he dun comes back ta camp.  Not so this here time.  An he an the rest join in ta eatin with us.

We is dun eatin soon nuff an here cummed Dry Dog ridin in on his horse, an it be pert plain he dun got no buck neether.  We all go ta talkin bout what bucks we did dun seed an  how many took shots, but none wuz took even tho there wuz a heap o bucks seed.  Dry Dog, he dun cooks hisself up some vittles an we talk sum more about what next ta do.  Dry Dog he says he is gonna ride up a differnt way till it gits dark an then he be cumin back ta camp.  I plan out my wagon ride fer the same part of the day an so duz Magpie.  All what rode wid me an my wagon this here morn is gonna go wid me agin, an same with Magpies wagon load.

Onst Dry Dog gits dun eatin, we load up the wagons an head on out.  This time sure, we be cumin back ta camp wid bucks.  Dry Dog mounts up an heads his way an we all goed our way.  After a long ride in the wagon that afternoon the sun it is goin down an we turn round cuz by the time we git back ta camp it is gonna be dark.  Cummin back down the trail what we just cummed up we is seein all sort of deer, but no bucks.  Then when it is pert neer too dark ta see yer sights we start ta see bucks, but they is jumpy an we kint git no gud shots.  This goes on till it is too dark ta see ours sights so we head back ta camp at a quicker trot.

Back at camp we seed Magpie an his wagon dun got there afirst before us.  But he dun not got no bucks in his wagon, just like me an my wagon.  Twernt long, here cums Dry Dog ridin in an across his saddle lays a big ol buck, what Dry Dog dun kilt!  We is all happy like an we help him tie it ta the meat pole.  He is a happy mountain man among mountain men an we is happy too.  He dun showed us who gonna bring in a big ol buck first ta camp an sure nuff, he dun showed us but gud.  We noticed one perculiar thing about his buck tho, when we wuz hangin it up in the meat pole an that wuz it wuz soakin wet an we aint had no rain ner nuttin.  So we asked ol Dry Dog bout that very thing.  Why is the buck what you dun bringed in ta camp all wet?

Dry Dog, he perseeds ta tell us his story an it goed sumpin like this here:  Well I wuz ridin down the trail all lonesome like lookin left an right ta see ifn I kin see a buck.  I wuz seein lots of girl deer, but I aint huntin ta git me a girl deer, I’m after a buck.  I cummed round a corner in the trail an there stands this here buck.  Big as big kin be.  So I hol up on my hoss an step of wid my rifle an take aim real careful like.  When ol trusty went off with a bang the smoke filled the air an hung right there not letting me see zactly where my ball dun goed.  But I dun heared it hit the buck real hard like.  When the smoke cleared, the buck wuz gone, but I cud heared it up the hill in the thick trees.  I perceed ta reload ol trusty, an as I’m bout dun reloadin, down the hill cums my buck an jumps head long right inta a pond o water what wuz longside the trail!  I kint believe what I wuz seein.  I dun thought I dun kilt that buck an he wuz up the hill all dead like, but he dun cummed back ta life an jumped right inta that there pond.  Then it goes ta staggerin an movin towards the edge of the water an then tips over dead as dead.

I sure wuz glad what that buck dun commed over ta the edge, cuz otherwise I wooda had ta git ta swimming ta git him outta that there pond, an ya knowed I kint swim so gud as ta be draggin no big ol buck wid me.  An so, that is how he dun gitted hisself all wet like.

We had ourselves a gud ol time wid that story fer a long time after that.  Even tho he dun winned the bettin an bringed in the first big ol buck fer the meat pole, we dun figgered he might have part of one of them retriever type dogs in his blood.  And even now, whenever we dun ride passed that there pond we still talk about ol Dry Dog an his big ol buck jumpin in it.

Bears Butt

June 28, 2011

Written on June 29th, 2011 , Just more stories
By: Bears Butt

Yesterday was Monday June 27.  This site had 10 brand new visitors and they read 22 pages of whatever it is on here.  I thank them dearly and hope they return again!

Bears Butt

Written on June 28th, 2011 , Uncategorized
By: Bears Butt

Every hunting camp I have ever been involved with have some sort of ritual or right of passage, in the case of new comers.  Ours is no different.  I first learned about hunting camp traditions when I was about 13 years old.  I was allowed to go and camp with the hunters and actually got to go out in the mountains with my parents on an actual deer hunt.  I remember that hunt as if it was yesterday.

Two buck deer came running straight at us and mom and dad both were blazing away with their rifles trying their best to put both of them down.  Only one actually got hit and killed, and again that memory is with me to this day.  Fun stuff right there.  I was hooked before that, but for sure, that event solidified my desire to hunt big game.

Back to the tradition of our hunting camp.  Usually the night before the opening day, while sitting around the camp fire talking about past hunts and tomorrows plans, someone will bring up the “big buck contest”.  This is a contest where everyone hunting will put a dollar or five or ten or whatever into the pot.  When the hunt is over, the hunter that tags the largest buck in the camp wins all the money in the pot.  Pretty simple and it adds to the “should I shoot that small of a buck right now, or hold out for a bigger one” question that almost always runs through the hunters mind before they pull the trigger.

Well, currently our muzzleloader deer camp has added another bit of a twist to the age old big buck contest.  Ours goes like this:

Every hunter that wants to play in the contest puts in $5.  This has to be done before the hunt actually begins, so just as in the past, must take place no later than first light of the first day of the hunts opening.  The biggest buck will win the pot (all the money).  The biggest buck is determined by the total number of points over one inch in length, plus the distance at the widest point across the antlers.  So, by Western count, if a person bagged a 4 point muley, with eye guards longer than one inch, they would have a total point count of 10.  (Four points on each side of the rack, plus the two eye guards).  That 10 is then added to the distance across the antlers for the total.  So if the rack measured 15 7/8 inches across, outside of antler to outside of the other antler the total would be 25 7/8 points.  In my camp that would be a tough one to beat most years.

Most of us are meat hunters and bag two point bucks usually and our total counts are usually less than  15 inches.  We don’t care.  We are out for a good time and maybe even get to take a buck home for the table.

So far, our contest sounds pretty much like your camp contest doesn’t it?  Well, here comes our twist on things.

We have what we call “The Boobin Baby Board”!  A picture of a baby who is crying very hard and has a saying above his head the reads “WHAAAA!!!!….I..Well I….I guess I shoulda…If he’d just held still longer.  He was out of range…I CAN’T BELIEVE I MISSED!!!!  WHAAAAA!!!!!!”

So what is the purpose of this Boobin Baby Board?  The picture is pinned to a very stout board and on the board is also placed a clean piece of cardboard  that measures about 12 inches wide and maybe 20 inches long.

Another rule is now in effect:  If you shoot during the hunting time and you do not bring a deer back to camp, you owe the pot $1 more to stay in the contest.  It does not matter if you shoot at a can, target, coyote, deer, squirrel or whatever, if you shoot and do not bring a deer back to camp you owe the dollar…AND in addition to that, your name is written on the Boobin Baby Board for all to see.  Take a look at this picture from the 2009 muzzleload deer hunt, can you count the number of missed shots during that 5 day hunt?

We have added another fine little picture that is pinned to the tree with the pot of money and you can see from the picture just how cute it is and why we have chosen to use it.

One final rule for our contest.  We pre-determine when we are going to break camp and go back home.  In order to claim the pot of money, you have to be back at camp before noon on the day we plan on breaking camp, or the money goes into next years pot.  We have never had the money go into next years pot and I doubt it will ever happen.

Oh ya!  There is one more little item I almost forgot.  It is a tradition that the hunter that bags a buck, any buck and brings it to camp deserves a little toast in his or her honor.  We have a little bit of a surprise, in the way of a sip of some of the most horrid whiskey made.  It is store bought, so you know it is sage, but boy howdy does it make you shudder as it goes down…we call that “grimacing”!  This is what the Front and Back labels look like:

So, there you have the story of the traditions that occur in the camp of the Willow Creek Free Trappers!

Bears Butt

Written on June 27th, 2011 , Hunting/Fishing/Trapping Stories
By: Bears Butt

I had a cousin and her husband come visiting our home yesterday and we had a very wonderful visit to say the least.  During the day we were swapping hunting stories with him (Mike).  His son lives in Illinois and of course out in the mid west most if not all of the land is privately owned.  Most people who hunt out there have to either join a club that has leased hunting rights or they lease their own.  At any rate, their hunting camps are just like my hunting camp.  They are all there for a “good time” and the bagging of a buck is a bonus.

From all of the conversations came the thought that perhaps Bears Butt should create another category called Hunting/Fishing stories and I could share some of our experiences at both events with you on this site.  All for fun you know!

Give me some comments.  Should I or not?  Or should I just include them in “Just more stories”?

Bears Butt

Written on June 27th, 2011 , Uncategorized
By: Bears Butt

It dawned on me that perhaps some of you readers might not know what a “Free Trapper” is.  To explain that to you I must explain about the “Company Trappers” of the past.

Demand for beaver pelts was nearing its peak in the early 1800’s by men who liked to wear top hats made from these pelts.  It made the men look “stately” and showed others they “had money”.  Of course we all know that a lot of men wearing such a hat were pretending the above.  At any rate the demand was there, both in the United States and in Europe.  Many beaver pelts were made into hats.

In order to gather up the most pelts  possible during the time that beaver hides were at their prime, meant that a bunch of trappers had to be in the forests and mountains trapping in February, March and April.  This is the time of year the streams and lakes were thawing out and the beaver were busy scurrying about, exercising from a long winter under the ice.

So, there were companies formed like the Hudson Bay Company, who would hire men to trap for them and in exchange would give the trapper a gun (usually a shotgun), powder, ball, shot etc.  A few traps, usually 6.  A horse, some food supplies and other items that should sustain the man during the months in the mountains.  The hired men would travel in groups and would trap streams and lakes along a designated water way.

When they were done with their trapping, skinning and stretching.  They would ride back to a designated meeting place and give up their furs to the company man in charge.  The company would pay for these furs with a “token” amount of money, as compared to the amount a man not hired by the company would get for the same pelt.

Because the company had “outfitted” the trapper with all the essentials to do his trapping, was the justification to pay a “token” amount for the furs.

Travel and trapping  in the mountains by the company men was safer, because of their numbers.  A single trapper was constantly at risk of  “going under” from the knife or arrow or even from slipping and breaking a leg or being attacked by a grizzly bear.  Enough history already.

You should have the idea of what a “Free Trapper” is by now.  A “Free Trapper” supplies all of the necessary items for his time in the mountains.  He provides his own safety.  He provides his own travel route and can change his direction at the pull on a reign.  He can begin his trapping season whenever he wants and end it when he feels the pelts won’t bring him a good price.  He cashes in his pelts at a place he feels will give him the best price and accepts or denies the purchase of his pelts at his discretion.  He owes no allegiance to anyone but himself.  He is, after all, a “Free Trapper”.

We have all read stories about Free Trappers who group up on occasion, but if they disagree with the others they can go their own way at any time.  Of course they were not stupid men, by any means, and while trapping in areas where it was known there were hostile folks abounding, it was always wisest to stay in small groups.  And of course at the rendezvous, when they met to trade their pelts for “supplies” and cash, survivors of small groups could inform the others that “so and so” had “gone under” and tell the story of how their demise happened.  Not so, if a trapper traveled alone all the time.

I’m not a very learned man, but that is my take on the Free Trapper deal.

Bears Butt

Written on June 26th, 2011 , Uncategorized
By: Bears Butt

Went fishing with my two boys Brandon and Mitch and the two oldest grandkids Conner and Sydney, today.  Hit Willard Bay about 9:30 or so this morning.  Water temp about 74 degrees.  We caught 4 wipers (cross between a white bass and a striped bass), Conner caught the biggest wiper at 3 1/4 pounds!  Nice fish.  We kept the 2 largest wipers and I managed to catch 3 nice catfish.  Catfish do not get thrown back…sorry fish…you will be supper one day!

A really gorgeous day to be on the lake.  The boys are learning quickly the ins and outs of handling a boat.  There will come a day, when they will invite me and we will go boat fishing and I will be in the front of the boat instead of behind the wheel.

Nice day, good fishing and wonderful company!

Bears Butt

Written on June 25th, 2011 , Uncategorized
By: Bears Butt

bearsbutt.com es un sitio divertido para visitar y leer acerca de algunas de las travesuras de un hombre de la montaña y un compañero llamado Sir Butt. Disfrutar, se trata de entretenimiento!

Bear Butt!

Written on June 23rd, 2011 , Uncategorized
By: Bears Butt

bearsbutt.com это весело, чтобы посетить сайт и прочитать о некоторых проделках человеку горы и кореш имени сэра Батт. Наслаждайтесь, это все о развлечениях!

Медведь Butt!

Written on June 23rd, 2011 , Uncategorized
By: Bears Butt

bearsbutt.com ist eine lustige Seite zu besuchen und über einige der Eskapaden eines Berges Mann und Side Kick namens Sir Butt zu lesen. Genießen, dreht sich alles um Unterhaltung!

Bears Butt!

Written on June 22nd, 2011 , Uncategorized
By: Bears Butt

A new series from Sir Butt is in the making and will be posting soon.  This will be a series you won’t want to miss out on.  Sir Butt finds himself in some very precarious positions and predicaments, and always seems to wiggle his way out of them, even if it means he just rides away on Something (his steed).

If you have not read about Sir Butt yet, you should make yourself familiar with him and get a good feel for his background or some of what you are about to read will not make much sense (as if there was any sense to be made of any of Sir Butt and his antics).

Please keep an open mind as Sir Butt and the rest of this site is all about fun.  Sir Butt has the most fun of all and please, please, please…Read Between the Lines.  This is a family show and I must hide some of my true meanings from the children!

Enjoy the ride!

Bears Butt

June 21, 2011

Written on June 22nd, 2011 , Uncategorized

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BearsButt.com | Stories, Ramblings & Random Stuff From an Old Mountain Man

Just some of my old stories, new stories, and in general what is going on in my life.