Two years ago I ran a series of  “how a beaver can kick my butt” as I attempted to catch a couple of adult beavers that had the Willow Creek dammed up real good.  Last year No Grimace got his butt kicked by another (or maybe the same one) beaver and then Magpie announced he saw a dead beaver on the freeway close by.  All beaver activity stopped and we dismantled the dam.

Just the other day No Grimace found that a beaver has once again decided our creek was a fine place for dam building.

Bones has taken the challenge on to show us how to trap a beaver.  Although she has never set a beaver trap, she is determined to catch this nuisance.  And since she has never before attempted such a feat, I have included a little video as to how to set a couple of sets.

Good luck Bones!  May the beaver trapping Gods be on your side!

Bears Butt

Oct. 22, 2012

I have cousins that live in the San Fransisco area of California, but they have kids elsewhere in the U.S.A.  Each year during the hunting season Mike Campus likes to go hunting with his son, Marcus, out in Illinois (I think that is the state) and of course Mike likes to roam around during his hunt.

Marcus will tell his dad, “Now Dad, you go sit right over there and stay put.  The deer will funnel past that stand and you will get a shot”.

Of course Dad knows more than his son about deer hunting and about how compass bearings work and all that woodsy stuff.  So, Mike heads off in the direction Marcus has pointed, but as he is looking for his favorite fallen tree stump to sit by and wait for it to get light enough to see a deer, he is disoriented a bit and can’t seem to find the tree stump.  Now this tree stump has not moved in 50 years and Mike has sat by it almost every year since Marcus moved to Illinois, but this particular day, Mike can’t locate it.  But he tries.

Soon, Mike finds himself back at the truck.  He has come full circle and it’s beginning to get light enough to see.  Mike heads back out to find that tree stump.  As he approaches a deep ravine, he sees movement across the way.  A very big buck is standing there.  A buck bigger than life itself and bigger than any buck Mike has ever seen in all his days of hunting.  He raises his rifle and takes a shot.  BOOOMMM!

The deer kicks and disappears into the ravine.  Mike is sure he hit the animal in a vital spot and that the deer will be laying right down near the bottom of the ravine only a short walk from where Mike is standing.  Mike sits down and waits as he knows Marcus will be coming along very soon.  Marcus is like that.  When he hears a shot from his dads position he will come running to find him and help him with his animal.

It doesn’t take long for Marcus to show up and he is all upset that his dad is NOT where he is supposed to be sitting.  Mike tells him about the big buck and the two of them proceed to go look for it.  Sure enough there is blood where the buck was standing and a good trail for them to follow.  It is a short tracking job to find the animal and both of them are very much surprised by the size of it.

This took place back in 2011, last year.  And here is a picture of the buck as it hangs on the wall in California somewhere.

Very nice Mike!  Congratulations!

Bears Butt

Oct. 20, 2012

The last day of the 2012 muzzleloader deer season found Winemaker, Weasel, MAPA’s and myself bouncing along the dusty mountain roads of Unit 2.  Lots of animals abounded as we tripped our way through the day.  There really wasn’t a time where we thought the deer were all bedded down, as we saw deer pretty much all day long.

Some were us as high as the roads we traveled went, while others were midway and still others down low.  We saw many deer very low when we ventured into the local small town for more fuel.  You see, it takes a lot of fuel to road hunt.

The local establishment must love the hunting season and they must truly love the road hunters and if I owned that store I would offer free snacks to the road hunters and encourage as much road hunting as possible…just sayin.

We saw a small moose and even though I took a picture of it that turned out fuzzy, I think my camera had too much dust inside the body to be able to focus.  And so I can’t post a picture of it, but there didn’t appear to be a momma moose around it.  We also saw a weasel in it’s coat of brown cross the road in front of us.  No picture there either as they can move quite fast.

MaPa’s too had a fun time with squirrels and chipmunks at our numerous stops to stretch and grab a snack out of our snack bag.

It was a very fun day.  A bit breezy all day and colder than what has been the norm of late.  A cold front has come in and if I was to have been camping and didn’t know the weather forecast I would have predicted a drastic change in the weather coming very soon, like today.  Perhaps it was the wind and the change that had the animals out and about.  They did seem to be everywhere, but alas only one buck all day long and he did not afford us an opportunity to take a shot.

We did see groups of deer like these:

To be able to get out and visit the nature that houses in these mountains around Northern Utah is really a blessing.  We saw a total of 115 deer in our venture and that is not counting the one that crossed the highway in front of us as we made our way to the hunting area.  THAT is a LOT of deer and to only have one buck among them was another thing that makes you scratch your head.  Maybe Option 2 (for those of you who know what I’m talking about) will change that, but I have my doubts.

We looked across the skyline last evening as we drove our way off the mountain and with the high winds blowing across the ridge we rode along and this is what we saw:

Not just one, but two forest fires burning in the distance.  Our discussion lead to why one would not be more careful with their camp fires, when suddenly it dawned on us that these fires were no doubt the cause of disgruntled hunters opposed to Option 2.  And with the close of the muzzleloader deer season we deduced the fact that the SFW probably had a hand in it too.  With camps showing up for the rifle elk hunt that begins tomorrow, we also decided that those elk hunters were probably sighting in their rifles using steel jacketed bullets and that combined with Option 2 and the SFW it’s no wonder there were two forest fires burning.  I hope they get them put out before next muzzleloader deer season.

It was a fun season, but now another 365 days to wait….It’s going to be a very long year.  Thank you all for being a part of it for me and my family!

Bears Butt

Oct. 5, 2012

Tomorrow, Oct. 4, 2012 is the last day of the muzzleload deer season.  I have prepared some baked chicken for our lunch, packed the truck, packed the cooler and am preparing to go to bed in anticipation of this “end of the season day of hunting”.

So long to come, so short to go.

Weasel, Winemaker and myself (along with the pup, MAPA’s) are heading out for a day of driving around the mountains and enjoying the beauty of it all.  The fall colors are wonderful and my wife needs to get out and see some of it.  Of course with nobody home, the dog, MAPAs gets to go along.  He was fun last year.  Who knows maybe we will have to use him to find our wounded animal…?  I hope not.

Roadhunting!  What a scorned practice.  Hunters all over the U.S.A. frown on this sort of “hunting” and yet it is probably the most actively sought after way of hunting there is.  Look around…atv’s, utv’s, golf carts, 4 wheel drive vehicles, bicycles and even family cars are being built to double as a vehicle that can be driven up the back roads of our mountains while  all the occupants are looking for the deer that daddy can shoot.

It’s a fun way to get out and have a good time.  But the anti-road hunters disagree…plastic water bottles are tossed and lay along side the roads everywhere, and what about the beer cans and bottles and plastic wrappers from the donuts the kids ate?  The empty 30 pack boxes from the Keystone Lights drinkers.  But wait!  I found a very large plastic tarp this year with nice heavy duty ropes that once held it down…well it was being held down until apparently the wind lifted it up off  the truck it was on and tossed it down the hill.

I know the garbage we see along side the roads is “peoples fault”, it is also peoples fault for letting it lay there.  I have picked up a bunch and plan on doing more tomorrow.  No sense letting the upcoming elk hunters see what the muzzleloader hunters left behind…those trashy muzzleloader hunters anyway.

I’ll have an update for you tomorrow evening, or maybe the next morning on what our day was like.  Afterall, we are out to fill a couple of deer tags, ROAD HUNTING, and enjoying ourselves.  I hope someone doesn’t mind if I build a small fire in the middle of the road to roast a hot dog for lunch, oh never mind, I have some left over chicken.

Bears Butt

Oct. 4 (predated), 2012

The Weasel, Bones and I are heading back into the hunting area for a day trip, hoping to find one of the last of the bucks hiding in the trees.  Actually, hoping to find 2 bucks.

I am not so blessed as to have room inside the vehicle for more than one, if we are that lucky and so if there are two gotten they will both be tied to the top of the rig.  A rather redneck thing to see.

Wish us luck as we venture into the wilds of the Rocky Mountains!

Bears Butt

Oct. 2, 2012

Update on Yesterdays Trip

We left town at exactly the time we wanted.  All three of us very excited to get back into the mountains for more fun.

Safely arriving at the place we wanted to be just at first light.  It was a beautiful day ahead.

We were a little sleepy eyed as was the camera when I took this picture of a sky lined cow moose, but it showed us a preview of what was in store for us this day.

We continued on our journey up and over the great pass we were venturing on and into the area we really wanted to be hunting in.  Our travel lead us into an area we had never been before and on that trail we came across three Blue Grouse.  We named this new trail “Three Grouse Road”.  One can really see in this picture how the bird got that name.

As opposed to its cousin the Ruffed Grouse, which is much smaller, but just as tasty!

It’s a wonder any of these little birds are even in existence as they just don’t do things that are typical of animals that every wild predator likes to eat.  On a side note, this little guy is standing right out in the open and notice how it blends in quite well, it is this camouflage that prompted the owner of “Grouse Wing Camo” to develop his pattern.  I say he is on to something here.

Our continued travels had us seeing seven doe and fawn on our way up to the top of Rock Creek and on over into the Bug Lake area.  Once on top we started to see more and more deer.

It seems that most of the doe have two fawns but some even had more, at least that is what it appeared to be.

(sorry about the sharpness of the picture, my side kick took the picture)

Some of the doe have kicked out offspring very late and I’m not so sure some of them are going to make it.

This little guy doesn’t look to be more than a week or so old.  Why so late?  You tell me.

As the day progressed we found ourselves wishing for a hot dog and we decided that we would venture on to Crocodile Rileys camp and start a fire in his fire pit.  We found out from them that hunting had been quite good, especially this morning.  They had had 5 shots between three hunters, but did not tag any more bucks.  There is a possible naming for one of his crew from the happenings of their morning hunt.  Crock did show us the buck he downed last Sunday.

Congrats to you Mr Crocodile!

After a brief lunch we went on to our travels.  Up over and around we went until we found ourselves coming around Buck Mountain.  But no deer.  HMMMM where are they?

Onward toward Crocodile Monument and suddenly 5 deer are spotted on the ridge above us…doe, doe, doe, doe, BUCK!  Our spirits were lifted very high at this time.  How can we get on him?  No way, the area is way too open and they can go in any direction without any problems.  We watched as the spike ran off.  The unique thing about his antlers was they almost touched at the tips and they were about 12 inches long.  A trophy for sure.

We were on a road I had only been on once in my life and so we continued up that road and made another plan as to our direction of travel.  Suddenly Bones spots a deer nearly hidden in the brush….doe…another on the right….fawn.  Dang.

“There’s One”!  And the Weasel is pointing in the opposite direction of the two that Bones had just spotted.  “Let’s walk over the edge and see what it was, I didn’t get a look at its head”.

And over we walked, rifles in hand….BUCK!  And the deer was running hard away.  But like almost all muley deer, it stopped about 125 yards out and turned broadside to me.

I settled the open sights on its shoulder and touched the trigger…the rifle roared and the dust flew right in front of its brisket!  DANG!  Another missed shot.  The buck ran hard and fast up and over the top, a clean miss as attested by video from Bones camera.

Why didn’t you shoot Weasel?  I was about to, when you shot, but then, I realized I hadn’t cocked my rifle.   Another HMMMMMM….buck feaver?

At the close of the day we found ourselves at Hamburger Hill and Bones made us up a very good roast beef sandwich for the ride home.  Total count of deer seen today….91!  With only 2 bucks in the bunch!

Maybe tomorrow gang.

Bears Butt

Oct. 3, 2012

Once again we have just completed what is coined “The Shortest Week”, the week of the muzzleloader deer hunt.  On other posts I coined “The Longest Week”, and “The Longest Day”.  The shortest week follows both of those and it includes the ride to camp.

Camp Setup

The standing of the beaver sharns

And all the other things that go into establishing the camp.  So very much to do to get ready for a week of hunting deer and having fun.  And that we did.

I guess that is what makes the time go by so very fast.  We waited a whole year for the day to come and then it passes quickly and we have to wait again until next year.  All the while, as the time is fleeting by, we are making memories of our time together.

And if that was not enough we even found time to head off and do some deer hunting!  Some like to walk among the hills and forests, while others like to just sit back and let the vehicle do all the walking, but no matter how it’s done there is fun to be had.

Karma for everyone.  And some like to toss in some of their own good luck charms!

Day after day we try our best to put it all together and bring home some venison, but for most of us it just doesn’t seem to be working in our favor.  And next year we will be back to do it again.  On the flip side however, some seem to have everything working for them in one way or another.

This year it was Sackless who bagged his first ever buck with a muzz.

And even though it won’t make it into the Boone and Crockett book, it is still a very big trophy to this man!  And following up on that as a first buck, Blackfoot also put his tag on his first deer.

And from this picture you can see he really got into the cleaning of the deer up on the mountain side.  Congratulations to both of you first time buck slayers.

And of course there are the seasoned veteran buck getters.  I did not manage a picture of Mobile’s buck but it was a fine 2X2 much bigger than this one taken by the famous Dry Dog.

And so, by the count, the 2012 muzz deer hunt as accomplished by the Willow Creek Free Trappers and friends was four.  But wait!  There is more to the story behind the scenes!

The Boobin Baby Board tells another tale indeed.  What is this?  For every time you shoot at a deer and you don’t bring it back to camp, you put your name on the board and another dollar in the biggest buck contest!  Hash marks behind the name mean only one thing…another missed shot by that person…oh my.

As I counted it, 22 missed shots!  A new record for us fellas and gals!  Some of the missed shots were at the same deer that were killed, but most of them were not.  Some were at shots of very BIG bucks and one can only say it was buck fever that got in the way…or to hear their side of the story…”my sights must have been knocked out of adjustment”.  OR BETTER YET….’DAMN GERMAN CAPS’…..Whatever the reason, I can see your name on there.  On closer look, I see MY name on there!

And the winner of the biggest buck contest and the taker of all the money in the pot goes to…..BLACKFOOT!  Good job buddy!

While looking for the illusive buck, we also had other interesting times while away from camp life.

And we found some interesting things while we were out and about.

I suppose these small chairs made the ground blind a better place to wait out the bucks coming to the water hole.  I know my face would be grinning as big as Sponge Bobs on that chair if I was in that blind and a big old buck was coming my way.

And as we progressed from day to day along our hunt, the evenings fun coupled with the heat of the sun and perhaps just plainly not enough sleep, the bobble headed suds suckers gave in to the tired eye syndrome.

But for those who were able to keep a watchful eye out, they were rewarded with views of other types of wildlife that abound in the forests and the sage covered hills.

And last but not least the fabled story around the campfire the night before about a pelican that had flown its last and we all thought there was a punchline in the tale that none of us were about to fall for.

So, there is the story as I saw it and why the week was so short.  Thanks to everyone who helped make this a wonderful memory and put the 2012 muzz hunt into the books.

Until next year!  Proust!

Bears Butt

Oct. 1, 2012

Well folks, this is what we have been waiting for for a whole year!  Less than 2 hours until we pull out of town and head for the hills!  This also begins “the shortest week” of the year.

We just finished the longest week and the longest day but now everything except the frozen things and the last minute packing is done and then unhook the electrical cord from the trailer and hit the road!

It’s gonna be a wonderful week according to the weatherman and I sure hope the rain from yesterday and last night hit the ground up where we are camping otherwise it will be a dusty bugger.  Much similar to the year the old Dry Dog came dragging the Old Muskrat back into camp with a broken toy….DUSTY!

Wish us luck!  And to all of you heading out for a similar hunt, GOOD LUCK to you!

Bears Butt

Sept. 25, 2012

We leave for our muzz hunt tomorrow morning and today has been coined “The Longest Day”, will it be?  It appears to be quite a busy day with lots of last minute stuff that needs to be done.  And so, let me start your day with the report from our Forward Observers.

Tracker and Bones headed off and placed their camp in the area where the rest of us will be crowding around them.  They spent Friday and Saturday nights.  Some of you have heard the report from Bones about the number of yellow jackets in the area.  We are used to them and they are gathering for their annual attack on the Pasole.

Her report was very encouraging as was the one I posted about yesterday via the text message I received the night before (Thanks Slicker and the Misses for that text!).

Some of you received her email with the pictures attached, but for those of you who didn’t that is why I am posting her report up here.

She and Tracker saw a “very good buck” according to Tracker when they were on one of their treks.  No pictures were taken, but for Tracker to say it was a good buck, then you know it was at least a 4 point.

The rest of them were a bit smaller as you will see in the following pictures.

A buck for Dry Dog

A buck for a meat hunter

My kind of buck

My kind of buck with my kind of shot presented…posed picture.

And so, there you have the report from the Forward Observers.  These three bucks escaped the bow hunters and are now waiting for the Willow Creek Free Trappers to descend down upon their turf and package them up for the ride back to home!  RUN BAMBI RUN!

Bears Butt

Sept. 24, 2012

Today marks probably the last day to get all out things in order for the muzz deer hunt.  But then it’s Sunday and some have other callings in life.  As for me, all my stuff is still sitting in various piles here and there and only need to be hauled out and piled into the truck for the ride up to camp.

I got a text last night and the ID did not say who it was from but the message read something like this:

We only had an hour or so to check things out, but we did see 10 head, all does and fawns, but we know that somewhere close by are the bucks.  See you Tuesday.

WOW!  A good report even though no bucks were seen.  I know that behind every tree just out of sight were the bucks snickering with one cloven hoof held tightly against their lips…”I can see you, but you can’t see me”….a quote from Gattlin I might add.

And then this very morning my cell phone rings and it is the voice of the famous Magpie on the other end….”Hey Butt, the quakie leaves up on Baldy have all turned yellow…just thought you would like to know.  I’m heading into work to do some last minute jobs so I can take the week off.  See you Tuesday!”

With the very smoky situation to the atmosphere around here lately there would not have been any way to see the quakie leaves slowly turning their autumn yellow color and so with todays clear morning sky, of course the sudden view of a stand of quakies up on Baldy would stand out contrasted against the surrounding oak in red.  Great observation Magpie and thanks for that report.  Everything is two weeks ahead of normal and we can expect to have falling aspen leaves before next weekend.

Do I sense more excitement this year than in the past?  I think not.  It’s been a very long week for us all and pretty soon we will find ourselves faced with Tuesday morning and the trip up and over the crest of the famous Wasatch Front, to our camp destination!  Who is excited is ME!  63 years old and as giddy as a school kid.

If it wasn’t Sunday, I’d mow the lawn today.

Bears Butt

Sept. 23, 2012