November 28, 2011……

Yesterday, Nov. 27, culminated Dry Dogs Dream Hunt in the Crawford mountains.  His goal was to take a very nice buck out of the Crawfords and that he did with much excitement!  My side of the story goes like this:

Ever since his announcement about successfully drawing the coveted Crawford Mountain tag, back in the Spring of the year, preparations for this hunt have been being done.  You see, a hunt like this is more than just another hunt.  It is an “event”.  Events take much preparation, planning, organization and staffing.  This one was no different in any regard.

When you really think about it every player has a task they must do.  Whether called to do it, or do it on their own, they migrate to that task and get it done.  There are vehicles that must be made ready to operate without incidents in the inclement conditions that the Crawfords can dish out.  Trailers need to be gotten ready and stocked with everything imaginable.  Backup materials need to be brought in case of problems or just plain old running down of battery power due to use.  And then there are the luxury items and memorabilia things.

Months of preparation are brought to bear as the hunter and the support staff begin the last leg of the journey into the mountains.  We say that is when the fun begins, but as for me, the fun began at the first announcement of successfully drawing the tag!  As I proceeded to make the dream catchers and the many steps involved with each of them.  I had lots of time to ponder the upcoming hunt and the fun involved with it all.  Remembrances of past dream hunts continually came to mind.  And lots of “what ifs” also played a big part.  But the bottom line is, it was a fun and trouble free time while I made those tokens up and to each of you who have one in your possession, believe me when I say, they come from my heart and I am very glad you were there to receive one.

At the camp site came the work of setting up everything to make ourselves a home away from home.  The dining fly, the trailers, the cooking area and least of all the “standing of the sharns”.

And even though it is a lot of work to accomplish all of this in the shortest amount of time we still find lots of time to have fun.  Like “pole dancing”!

Watch out for the slivers Wapiti!

And when it is all up and ready!  We can now head out to see if there is a big old buck waiting for Dry Dog.

Even with camp set up, we can not head out in search of the big buck until we have made sure all of the vehicles are ready for the task ahead.  We anticipate some deep snow and slippery footing and so we must put chains on our rigs.

When that is all done, we are ready!  Load up the coolers boys, it’s time to go see if we can find Dry Dog a big buck!

We are off about 2 p.m. or so in pursuit of the big buck.  And it does not take long to begin seeing animals.  Of course most of the animals are doe and fawns, but we also see some small bucks.  Well, what constitutes a small buck to you?  On this hunt, Dry Dog has the call as to what is going to match his dream.  Our support job is to make sure he sees all his choices.

During a hunt like this one, usually when you see does, there will be a buck close by.  The larger bucks like to hide out of site and so, if you look really close behind that cedar tree, a very large buck is standing.

Sometimes they are standing right out in the open.

And sometimes they are laying down.

On this hunt there seems to be bucks almost everywhere.  It does not take us long to realize that Dry Dog is going to have a very tough choice to make.

At the end of the first day our accomplishments have been to safely drive into the mountains, set up the camp, reconnoiter the area and assess the fact that there are a LOT of bucks on the mountain.  We also see that blowing and drifting snow could be an issue if it keeps up.

Luckly for us this year, the wind stops and the clouds roll on toward Wyoming just about dark.  As we drive back into camp, we quickly see that the high winds have taken it’s toll on our camp.  The dining fly has a large tear on one corner and the opposite corner has lost it’s metal grommet.  Also, the EZ-up style canopy over the cooking area has been totally destroyed, even though it was being held down with stakes and rope.   Does this destroy our fun?  Not at all.  It is just a part of the ride.

We have some very good meals planned in the schedule and the first night finds us enjoying a fine steak, hash browns with extra onions, garlic bread toast and cold drinks of choice.

Our busy day has now taken it’s toll on our bodies and by 9:30 almost everyone is fast asleep.  At 5 a.m. the alarm goes off, signaling the beginning of our day two.  What is in store for us this fine day?  The temperature has dipped to 10 degrees, which we consider rather warm for this area and this time of year.  The sky is clear and filled with 10’s of millions of bright stars.  The air is calm and ones nostrils tend to freeze together when you breath deeply through your nose.  As the morning light begins to brighten, more support crew participants arrive.  This is all good and all a part of what makes this hunt so very special.

Morning snacks of fortune cookies are handed out and the fortunes are read one at a time.  Every one lending itself to assisting Dry Dog on his journey.  When the light of the morning allowed Dry Dog to be able to see the sights on his rifle, off we traveled in caravan style, up to the top toward the Big Windy Ridge!  The wind had drifted snow in most of the low places in the roads, but only one had to be shoveled in order that we could pass.  As it turned out, that was the only drift that caused us any concern at all on the hunt.

We had been seeing lots of does and fawns and smaller bucks along the way, when suddenly the radio barked out “Any Willow Creek Free Trappers have a copy on No Grimace?”.  Yes, it was No Grimace, Baby Boy, Fat Duck and Hunter in Ducks rig, Zeek that had made it to the mountain to join the Chosen one and his staff of supporters.

As it turned out, Zeek and crew were climbing up the backbone of the ridge we call “Tipi”  and at the same time we were descending a hollow  we call “Jones”.  Both roads join at the bottom of the hill.  We were soon parking along side of Zeek and crew.  Greetings were had and Hunter showed a picture he had taken no too far down the hill of a buck with 5 points on one side and 6 on the other.  Not a wide buck, but it sure was a tall buck.

Dry Dog suddenly changed his countenance…he transformed from a calm and collected Dry Dog on a dream hunt, into a Dry  Dog determined to kill a big buck!  We had to descend Tipi Ridge toward the bottom of the valley.  This is the place the crew in Zeek had seen the 5X6 buck.  Hunter was walking around among the cedars between Tipi Ridge and Jones hollow.  As we again found ourselves ascending Jones Hollow, we saw the movement of a big buck!  It was the buck hunter had the picture of and Dry Dog was even more determined to take this buck home with him.  We passed the point we last saw the buck standing in the cedars, as Dry Dog and Tracker would come down to the buck from above.  Part of the support crew had stayed down low where they could see the buck.

The radio signaled to Dry Dog where the buck was, but the thick cedars kept him from seeing the buck even though it was only about 70 yards from him.  The buck made its escape with Dry Dog in hot pursuit.  Big bucks don’t get big by being dumb and this one should live to be quite large.

When we all met back up Dry Dog had a cold foot and needed to rest up from his long trek.

Perhaps you should look into the purchase of another pair of boots Mr. Dry Dog!

When Dry Dog was ready, we headed back to camp for some lunch and to decide what to do next.  Dry Dog was still very much in “kill mode”, but it would have to be the “right buck” at the “right time”.  He had already seen the caliber of buck he wanted.  Dry Dog is into tall antlers not necessarily wide antlers like most folks are.  Make mine tall to fit the wall!  Show Clyde the hide!

During our lunch break we were visited by the local game warden.  He was most interested in seeing that Mr. Dry Dog had his license and was in good standing with the law.  Dry Dog passed the screening and was given the go ahead with the rest of his dream hunt.  At the same time, the warden showed us a buck that he had picked up off the side of the road near Logan and asked if any of us wanted the meat.  Crock took him up on the offer and off he went to clean it out.

As with most things “Free”, this bad boy came with a very ugly surprise for Crock.  Frozen and very stinky innards!   YUK!  Later (two days) Crock found out the meat from this supposedly one day dead buck, was most likely a two week dead buck.  Nothing could be salvaged.  Sorry about that Crock.

Well it was now time for the afternoon/evening hunt.  We refreshed the coolers and headed for Hidden Valley.

As we proceeded along the way, I was always asking for the direction of travel from Mr. Dry Dog.  Any time there was a junction in the road the question was asked.  As we came off the rocky pass, again I asked “Straight or Right”?  Straight would take us toward Hidden Valley, Right takes us up passed the Buck Cliffs.  Right was the answer!

We started seeing deer immediately after making the turn.  Smallish bucks seemed to be everywhere.  It was quite a neat experience as we continued up the narrow valley.  We were just about to another decision point when Dry Dog came on Point!  We stopped to glass another group of deer that included three fairly large bucks, Dry  Dog took one look through his binoculars and said “It’s a Shooter!  I’m goin after that one!”  And he bailed out of the vehicle, gun in tow!

The buck knew it was in trouble as Dry Dog slowly walked forward to get the best angle for his shot.  The does that had been surrounding the big buck slowly dispersed, leaving the big boy out in the open for the shot!

I won’t go into all the particulars of the shot as I don’t think it is my place to tell everything about Dry Dogs story.  But in the end, Dry Dog came off the mountain with one fine animal.  One anyone would be proud to have taken!   Congratulations Mr. Dry Dog!  Fine animal!

As tradition goes in our hunting camp, Dry Dog had been presented with a personal bottle of liquid refreshments, normally called “Grimace”.  After a successful hunt, the hunter is asked to take a horn off the Grimace jug in celebration.

And after the horn off the bottle, sometimes a guy just has to yell out….

YYYYEEEEEHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!

And the night goes on and on.  Until we find ourselves faced with the morning.

This particular morning was going to find us once again getting up at the usual hunting time, but it was a morning hunt to “re-enact” the episode that unfolded in real life the day before.  This day is for the camera-man, Tracker, and his good friend “The Director” (The Editor plays a later part, don’t piss him off).

So, back we go to the place where Dry Dog got his buck.  Lots and lots of audio was being recorded as folks reminisced the events that lead up to the taking of the big buck the day before.  For sure the director and cameraman were in their element.

It was a very cold morning for this activity, but well worth every moment spent in and around the area where Dry Dog made his kill.  The temperature when we left camp was 6 degrees.  Plenty cold to get the dew on the sage nice and frozen.

And when all of the re-enactment had been recorded and the Director and Camera man were indeed happy, the crew broke out in a fine feast of kipper snacks, vienna sausages, crackers, chips, pickled pigs feet and summer sausage!  MMMMM.  Can it get any better than that?

Well Dry Dog, look over your right shoulder.  That is where your big buck met his demise.  A fine hunt!  Fine friends!  Good weather and the best of all, the mighty Crawford Mountains!

Oh, I guess this story just wouldn’t be ending right if I didn’t post up a picture of two of my friends in similar poses.  Of course the one hanging on the door was a much younger version of Muskrat.

And of course, since we had to travel through Wyoming to get back home, the law says you need to secure a permit to transport game animals through Wyoming.  In order to by pass this law, Dry Dog did a very good job of hiding his animal.

It was a most enjoyable hunt and we sure do hope others get the luck of the draw in 2012!  There is just something special about the Crawfords that gets into the blood!  Thanks for the dreams everyone!

Bears Butt

Nov. 2011

I talked with a man last night on the phone, who drew the same tag that Dry Dog has.  He has been hunting since the opener, last Saturday and has come off the mountain for Thanksgiving with his family.  His boy also drew the tag this year and has been with him some, but not all the time.  Here is his report.

The mountain had some snow and it made for some slippery conditions.  The depth was not an issue, more of an ice issue.  He and his brother chained up the truck and have been getting around pretty good.  Other hunters are not chained up and can get around to most places just fine.  He says there could be a bit more snow dropped and it would help the situation out.

The forecast for tonight and tomorrow (Friday, Nov. 25) is calling for 1 inch of snow in the Bear River Valley (Randolph) and up to 4 inches in the mountains.  Now this does not sound too bad.  The bad part is they are also calling for winds to 25 mph!  YUK!  It was the winds combined with about 10 inches of snow that got us last year.  Let’s hope it does not work out the same this year.

Paul went on to say there are loads of bucks on the mountain.  And with them are a bunch of nice 4X4 typical bucks in the 22 to 24 inch class.

3X3 (Thanks Bo from Mo for the picture)

Not something a hunter with a limited entry tag wants to put his tag on.  But they are nice to view and get pictures of.  He has seen some “shooter” bucks but only dropped the hammer on one of them.  His story:

He located this buck “down in the bottom” (where ever that is) and put a great sneak on it.  (He did not say how long the shot was)  When he touched the trigger only the cap went off…POP!  Unknown to him and the other hunter, before Paul could get another cap on his nipple, the other hunter shot the big buck!

Paul and the other hunter know each other and I am sure they both would have honored the others presence at sneaking up on this buck, had they known the other guy was sneaking up on it.  But, they were approaching from different directions and neither of them knew the other guy was anywhere close.

The other hunter tagged the 32 inch wide buck!  I’m sure we will see pictures of it when we get up there.

Now then.  Will Dry Dog get a chance at a 32 inch buck?  Maybe.  There aren’t a lot of 32 inch bucks around.  Will Dry Dog “see” a 30 inch or bigger buck?  Maybe.  30 inch bucks are not that prevalent either.  At any rate, Dry Dog has never shot a buck that was 24 inches wide and so our job is to make sure he is settled down enough to rationalize the prospects of something bigger than that.  We all know that even though he is trusting us with his tin of caps, that he will have some reserve caps on his person that we do not know he has.  I’m telling you this now, if the 24 inch buck does not have some “kicker” points sticking out and about, Dry Dog will forever kick himself in the rear if he shoots it.

24 inch bucks look really big, and by all rights they are big.

But, the antler shrinkage begins in earnest once the buck is on the ground.  A view of a 24 inch wide buck going straight away from you is an awesome site and it makes the buck look like a 30 plus inch wide buck, even to a trained hunter who has seen them all.  But, when one sees a truely big buck, there is NO QUESTION as to if it is a “shooter” or not.

These pictures were all taken by my friend Bo Wendleton from Boonesville, Missouri a few years back while he was hunting this same limited entry unit.  As you can see there are some very respectable bucks up there.  Take a look at his downed buck from sort of a back view.

Boy what a nice trophy buck!  How wide do you think it actually is?  Looks like a solid 30 incher to me from here!  Beautiful buck, there is no mistaking that.  Typical 4X4 with eye guards, deep forks, mass…it has it all.

Well this buck measured just short of 27 inches.  It sure looked bigger on the hoof.  Over 200 pounds of animal laying right there!  Would a round ball have killed it?  Probably, but I believe Bo used a bullet that weighed over 300 grains to bring this bad boy to the ground and it took a couple of shots to do it.  Just saying.

So, here we have a decision to make.  I do not know how big this buck truely is, but it sure looks like it could be a shooter.  Certainly a shooter to someone out there.

Magnificent animal!

Tomorrow my friend!  It could be yours!

Bears Butt

Nov. 2011

Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 44. Southeast wind at 7 mph becoming southwest.

Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 22. South wind between 6 and 8 mph.

Thanksgiving Day: A slight chance of rain. Snow level 7300 feet. Partly sunny, with a high near 43. Southwest wind between 6 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Thursday Night: A slight chance of rain and snow before 11pm, then a chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 22. West southwest wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Friday: Snow. High near 36. Breezy, with a west wind 11 to 14 mph increasing to between 19 and 22 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.

Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of snow before 11pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 3.

Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 36.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 6.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 40.

Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 17.

Monday: A slight chance of rain and snow showers. Snow level 6600 feet. Partly sunny, with a high near 43.

Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 16.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 39.

Who is excited?  ME!  I’m all packed except for my tool box, which might be needed between now and Friday morning!

The very large muley buck is standing on the hill below you.  The very cold morning moutain air is frozen and small crystaline flakes are falling like snow.  There are no clouds in the sky.  It’s like a magic show with pixie dust as the main player.  Your nostrils freeze as you take a deep nasel breath and prepare to calm yourself before the shot.

Your week long stubbly beard is covered with ice from your frozen breath.  You are locked in on the big buck and how your shot must be made.  This is no time for failure.  Everything must work perfectly.  The buck does not know you are there.  It is calmly feeding on a sage branch tip.

You analyze the antlers.  Counting every tine…one, two, three, four, five, six and long eyeguards.  How wide is it?  You cannot tell from this angle, but the mass of the antlers at the base indicates a very heavy set and so width is not in the equation.  You have made up your mind.  This is the buck of my dreams.  My dreams and no body elses.

Slowly you slide to your left and find a clear lane through the cedar trees through which you can shoot.  Your eyes are glued to the bucks vitals as you must concentrate on the point of impact and not on the trophy size rack on the bucks head.  Concentrate.  Concentrate.  You take your eyes off the buck long enough to find a good stable rest for your rifle.  A rest that will steady the sights from your ever increasing pounding heart.

Back on the target your eyes settle as you slowly and deliberately draw the hammer of your cap lock rifle back to full cock.  Click!  Click!  Goes the sound of the hammer cocking.  To you it was very loud in the still morning air.  The buck raises it’s head and looks in your direction!  You think to yourself, “Have I been busted?  Does the buck see me behind this dead cedar?”  You don’t move a muscle.  The longest minute goes by as the buck is searching the hill for whatever made that sound.  A sound it has never heard before.

Your heart is pounding so fiercely now even with the rest of the dead tree to steady the sights they are still moving off target.  You find yourself breathing harder and harder.  Again, you tell yourself to calm down.  The buck drops it’s head back to its feeding and takes a small step forward.  You can not see the bucks head, only the full shoulder and back to its rump.  You breath another deep nostril breath and this time you do not notice the freezing inside your nose.  It’s now or never for your shot.

You pick up the front sight and slowly settle it into the rear slot, like you have done so many, many times before at the range.  This time your target is a large mottled brown and gray side of the largest mule deer buck you have ever been this close to in your life.  The sight picture is placed perfectly, slightly low from center to account for the rise of the bullet as it travels down hill toward the animal.

You are locked into this moment.  Nothing else is on your mind.  Your dream is about to become reality.

____________________________-

So, how does this story end?  Will the cap go off?  Did he even put a cap on?  Will the powder charge go off?  Afterall, the powder was loaded the day before this hunt began and he has been carrying his rifle through rain, snow, dry times, the heat of the vehicle and the cold of the vehicle at night.  HMMM.  Can you finish this story?

Just click on “leave a comment” below and tells us how this story ends.  Thanks!

Bears Butt

Nov. 2011

Today: A 20 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 33. East wind around 5 mph becoming west southwest.

Tonight: A 20 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 15. Southwest wind 5 to 7 mph becoming southeast.

Monday: A 20 percent chance of snow. Partly sunny, with a high near 37. South wind at 7 mph becoming west.

Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 15. West wind between 5 and 7 mph.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 38. Southwest wind between 3 and 6 mph.

Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 20.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 44.

Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 21.

Thanksgiving Day: A chance of rain and snow. Snow level 6800 feet lowering to 6300 feet in the afternoon . Mostly cloudy, with a high near 42.

Thursday Night: Snow likely. Cloudy, with a low around 19.

Friday: A chance of snow. Cloudy, with a high near 29.

Friday Night: A slight chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 15.

Saturday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 33.

Winter Weather Advisory

Tonight: A 30 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 21. West southwest wind between 16 and 21 mph. Total nighttime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Friday: Snow, mainly after 11am. High near 37. West southwest wind between 10 and 17 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of around an inch possible.

Friday Night: Snow. Low around 15. Northwest wind around 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.

Saturday: Snow likely, mainly before 11am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 28. West northwest wind around 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.

Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 8. South southwest wind around 8 mph.

Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 34.

Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 9.

Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 36.

Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 12.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 42.

Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 18.

Wednesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 47.

Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 22.

Thanksgiving Day: A chance of snow showers. Cloudy, with a high near 47.

Thanks NOAA!

Bears Butt

Nov. 2011