With the Dream Hunt beginning in the morning, we are taking the camp up and setting things up today.

Tracker, No Grimace, Baby Boy and myself with two trailers and a bunch of the gear.

Leaving town at 8 a.m., about an hour from now for all intents and purposes.  Our travel plans will take us through Evanston and then into the Crawford Mountains from there.  We hope to land the same camp location we have had the past two years and unless there are others camped there already that is the plan.

For the next two days we will reconnoiter the area looking for the largest bucks on the mountains.  The ones that meet the hunters demands and dreams.

Until my return, this will be the last posting, but don’t give up.  When I return you will see many pictures of the landscape and what we saw while up on the mountain.  Stay Tuned!

Bears Butt

Nov. 16, 2012

• Today

  Nov 16

  Clouds and sun 46°Lo 27°

• Sat

  Nov 17

  Mostly cloudy 47°Lo 28°

  more

• Sun

  Nov 18

  Mostly cloudy with showers 45°Lo 29°

  more

• Mon

  Nov 19

  Mostly cloudy 44°Lo 27
• This is the forecast for the Randolph area.  On other forecast sites such as Weather Bug the cloudy/chance of precip is in the form of rain/snow.  Mostly 30% and climbing to 60% on Sunday.
• This does not look typical for this time of year in the Crawfords, but we will make do with what we have.
• Bears Butt
• Nov. 16, 2012

Today is the last preparation day before we head off toward the Crawford Mountains!  Tons of stuff to get done and only today to giterdun.

The talk is already turning to “when do we come home on Sunday”?  That is a question always asked toward the last minute of preparation in leaving to go up.  The answer is passed on to loved ones at home so they know when or about when to expect us to arrive back home.

Of course that could all change depending on what is happening up on the mountain.  We all know that.  We could be planning on a return around 2 p.m. on Sunday, and at 1:30 the biggest buck on the mountain stands up and gives the shooter a good shot, only to take a round and bound off, which then requires a tracking job until dark.  We have been there before.

So we take everything in stride and go with the flow.  The bucks that these two hunters are after will not be easy to find, but when they do you can guarantee they will do everything they can to bring the bad boy home.  That could happen this weekend which is coined “reconnoiter” weekend.  Supposedly a weekend to look the herd over and see if there are any bucks big enough to fill the tag.

Keep in mind, it took these guys 13 years to draw this tag.  Do they want just any buck?  Do they want the biggest on the mountain?  Do they want to eat “tag soup”?

Just like a candy store, you don’t just walk up and buy the first gummy bear you see.  They might have a new flavor or a new shaped one.  Gotta check em all out and hope the one that intrigues you the most is still there the next time you pass through the area you last saw him in.  BUT, two years ago, one of the biggest of the big bucks we saw was on the first day of our reconnoiter weekend.  Are we ready for that fellas?

Bears Butt

Nov. 15, 2012

Suddenly we find ourselves faced with the Monday before we head off to the Crawford Mountains.  Fat Duck is down and out and will not be going on the hunt.  He is scheduled for some surgery tomorrow and we wish him all the best with that and a speedy recovery.  Sorry Duck, you will have to see the video later.

Plans have been altered, but only slightly.  Tracker, No Grimace and I are still planning on leaving town on Friday morning and venturing into the mountains as quickly as we can.    Baby Boy will join us either late Friday night or early Saturday morning.  Either way, he is one of the hunters and needs to be their.  Who knows, maybe his “Dream Buck” will be waiting just outside of camp…it has happened before.

The weather forecast looks very favorable for us as the day time highs are expected to be in the lower 40’s.  That will be nice.  Lows in the teens, which will also be nice.  The latest snow fall will make it easier to spot the big boys hanging on the mountain side and also make for good tracking if that is something that needs to be done.  My expectancies are high for the two hunters, No Grimace and Baby Boy, to fill their tags with their dream bucks.

As I understand it, No Grimace is looking for a “table top buck”.  One that has antlers extending very wide, but not so tall.  A buck of this caliber will be a real challenge in the Crawfords as most of them are not so wide, but are really tall.  Just opposite of what he wants to find.  We will find one that fits that bill.

Baby Boy has a dream buck in mind that may or may not be so large, but will have many points sticking out here and there.  This dream buck should be relatively easy to find as they are prevalent in the area.  Our spotting scopes will be trained on the small extra points sticking out the sides of the main rack.  This buck could possibly be taken this coming weekend.

Speaking of this coming weekend, remember fellas it is a “set up camp and reconnoiter” weekend.  You might want to leave your guns and caps at home….just kiddin!  Don’t forget your beaver sharns and bring your luckiest of the lucky rabbits foot.  And your license…don’t forget that!  Everything else is luxury and even though you might think it essential, beer is just more weight to carry.  I’ll have mine as I am in very good shape to carry a lot of it.

Bears Butt

Nov. 12, 2012

No Grimace and Baby Boys Dream Hunt is coming up fast.  With that I have to admit I have been spending some time making little tokens to give away.  Each one takes a little over an hour to produce and I have to do it in steps.  Some steps take longer than others and after awhile it gets really tedious.

Here is where I am at right now, each is a little different than the others and if you had a choice which one would you choose?

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

All made from scratch from the ring to the printing.  Well, I didn’t make the little deer heads or the beads.

Bears Butt

November 5, 2012

Yesterday the news reported 17 inches of new snow fell on the town of Randolph.  That means more than 17 inches fell in the local mountains where the Dream Hunt will begin on November 17th.  17 vs 17, what does that mean? Nothing really.

But will that depth of snow melt or settle enough for the hunters to gain access to all the area that is available to hunt?  That is a tough question.

So, I propose we hire a local rancher, who has nothing to do with his time after he feeds the cattle and the horses, to take his tractor and blade up into the hills and plow out all the roads and trails.  We could pay him in beer when we get up there and set up camp.  We can also offer him a steak on steak night.

I think it’s a great idea.

Another thought is to line up a bunch of snow machines, the type they use to groom trails at ski resorts and for packing down the snow for snowmobile trails.  ANDY!  We need you bad!  Those bad boys have heaters and everything to keep you warm and dry.  I can just see the Willow Creek Free Trappers now all huddled up in those machines cruising the back roads of the Crawfords!  With those you wouldn’t even have to hike to the dead animal, just drive to it.

A third thought is to purchase ourselves some snow shoes and learn to use them.  A whole lot better idea than bucking waste deep snow like we did two years ago.

How about a fourth idea of praying for warm weather to melt what has been laid down?

It’s one thing for the Wind River Range to get a bunch of snow to help push the big boys down to the hunting range, it’s another thing to have all that snow bury the hunting range itself.

Pray for warm!

Bears Butt

Oct. 25, 2012

A light dusting of snow this morning on the foothills above town.  More snow is forecast for tonight and tomorrow.  A quick look at the National Weather map and I see the Wind River Range in Wyoming is also getting hit with snow…..This is all looking up for a great Crawford Dream Hunt in a month or so.

Let’s not wish too hard for snow however, remember two years ago?  WAY TOO MUCH SNOW for that hunt!

Bears Butt

Oct. 23, 2012

I just looked at the calendar and even though it isn’t my dream hunt, I am allowed to go on it, the problem is it is still six full weeks away!

I’m sure No Grimace and Baby Boy are more excited than I am, but still…..

Bears Butt

Oct. 15, 2012

It’s that glorious time of the year when the state of Utah announces who can hunt big game in the Fall.  I’ll let you know right now that I, one of many, have drawn a muzzleloader deer tag and I’m a bit pumped to think I will be hunting and carrying a weapon of choice.

It is a nice feeling to be “in the circle of winners” for this lottery.  But what about those outside the circle?  A bad feeling for sure and we have one of our group who’s credit card has not been hit as of this writing.  Sorry Crock!  I hope it’s just a fluke and your credit card will show a deduction before bedtime tonight.  Even if it doesn’t don’t give up hope.  Someone who did draw may opt out of the hunt and open up the tag just for you!

One of my favorite forum web sites is the Utah Wildlife Net .net and there are a great bunch of guys that post up on that forum.  One even put a thread out there for the “unchosen” and there are a lot of tears on that thread.  One guy came on with a winning lottery statement and was chastised severely for it. Rightfully deserved.

But for us lucky dogs who drew the coveted “whatever” tag we wanted the most for this falls hunting it is a wonderful time.  Just before rendezvous and we have bragging rights at the camp.  The unlucky probably won’t even show up to the camp…all hung dog and sad you know.  I would not blame them.  Why throw yourself in front of a bunch of happy faces and bragging dudes and dudetts who lucked out .  Stay home and be comforted by the spouse about how much money you will save etc.

As for me, I’m glad I drew out, but I would have still gone on the hunt, just to be in camp and maybe get the chance to gut someone elses deer.  But at least be out there gathering up the smoke from the fire into the fabric of my clothes and stinking of the stale smell of beer.  I love the hunt!  I love the camp!  I love the cold beer!  I love the outing and the friends and the animals and the mountains and watching the first of the leaves to begin to fall.  YES!

And then there are the ULTRA lucky!  The ones who put in for the “general” hunt stuff, but also put in for coveted tags that limit the entry of people into a given area of mountain turf and only they can carry a weapon and hunt the game.  THEY are the luckiest of the lucky!  And talk about bragging rights!  They outshine the lucky general tag winners by MILES!  And their smiles show it.

Whenever someone around the fire says “did you draw out”?  They break out into the big old smile that comes with being so very lucky and they hesitate just a moment before speaking about the quest that took them decades to finally draw.  We have two of them in our group who drew such a tag.  No Grimace and Baby Boy!  The Lucky Lucky ones.

With such a feat of luck, they now have choices to make.  What should their shirts say?  A few years ago the shirt read “The Chosen Ones”.  Last year the shirt said “The Chosen ONE”!  Does this years shirt read “The Chosen Pair”?  “The Chosen Two”?  “Dos Elegido, the two chosen”?  Only they can decide.

Yes folks, we are going back into the Crawford Mountains to once again try and educate some of those Wyoming deer.

Bears Butt

May 22, 2012