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in reply to: Question for Clay, et al #23899

Thanks for the input, Dave. I’m finishing up a new bow, that if I don’t break it, will be snakeskin backed. That makes more sense…..I’ve been wondering how durable skins would be if not sealed under something hard. Wonder how much draw weight the skins and poly add?

Joe

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in reply to: Solo River Trip #18809

Duncan, it’s an aluminum canoe but I just painted the camo with spray paint.

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in reply to: Speaking of bears… #11602

Ptaylor, little shy of 2.5 yo.

Dave, you mention 100 mile travels…..this bear covered 80 miles in less than a month (when he was last trapped). Not surprisingly, his Mom was also a “garbage” bear.

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in reply to: How does your Garden Grow? #9054

I like that irrigation system, including having the kids involved. It’s good for them! I remember having to pick a 5 gal bucket of butterbeans (or field peas, etc) before I could go swimming. Hated it at the time, but am awfully glad for it now.

Raised beds are great. We have some permanent raised beds…we interplant in them and just keep plant rotations going, while amending the soil with compost each planting. Really cuts down on the weed problems, and takes less water if you mulch it heavily.

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in reply to: Grizzly hunt! #9027

I don’t have any interest in hunting a Grizzly/Brown bear. Never much been interested in the dangerous game angle. I’d sure love to watch em work on the salmon runs in Alaska, though. Awesome critters.

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in reply to: "The Good Hunt" film trailer #61224

I’m really looking forward to seeing both of these films. Keep up the good work, gents.

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in reply to: Solo River Trip #59978

They’re such a cool fish. Reminiscent of a smallie.

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in reply to: Solo River Trip #59970

A few more…the bass is a Suwannee Bass, only found in a few local river systems.

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in reply to: How does your Garden Grow? #59936

If it isn’t too much trouble, could you explain your solar/gravity watering system?

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in reply to: How does your Garden Grow? #59934

Those beds look great, Steve. I hope you’ve been getting more rain than we have, it’s terribly dry. Here’s a few from around our place, including one of my favorite little chicken chaser and garden “helper”.:D

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in reply to: Close encounters and backup #54666

Cool topic. The gators and the snakes down here don’t bother me, but grizzlies get the old heart pounding. I’m a big fan of pepper spray, but have never had to use it. Wrt to firearms, there’s too many issues with firearms in other states outside of hunting season.

I remember seeing a lot of grizz tracks going both ways on a steep trail I was on in the Absaroka Wilderness. I had to get through there regardless so I started singing an old Marshall Tucker album at full volume to keep from surprising em around the bend of the trail. Not long after, I saw a sow grizzly and cub at about 80 yards…luckily they were on the other side of a steep ravine….I just sat down and watched em forage and flip around logs through binos. What a treat to be alone and on foot many miles from the nearest road watching the baddest critter in North America. Not much cooler than that! But I always cook was away from camp and bear bag food. The least little nighttime noise in Grizzly country keeps me up and wide eyed. I think keeping from surprising them is always a good tactic, though it goes against our nature as hunters to consciously make noise.

Regarding moose…..my poor wife got skint to hell and back keeping a small lodgepole between here and an angry cow moose. She was seconds before giving the cow a face full of pepper spray when the calf ran away and the cow followed suit. Oh….and my wife was pregnant at the time.:D

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in reply to: "The Untamed" – film #48883

Excellent work. Look forward to seeing the film.

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in reply to: Turkey Hunting to Bear Scouting #48761

I’ll do my best to write one up with some photos come September. It will be a good story, if I can do it justice.

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in reply to: Turkey Hunting to Bear Scouting #48558

Etter is one of my very best pals, and we disagree on this as well. And that’s ok, we don’t have to be in lockstep and it makes for good conversation.:D Whether its “easy” or not doesn’t much matter to me in this case. It’s just that personally, I have no desire to bear hunt over man made bait….it’s the artificiality that disinterests me. And we can rationalize on that all day, its just a personal feeling. But hunting them on foot in the hills with a longbow? Wow! Haven’t even drawn on one, but what a hoot it is!

I’m certainly not an “if its legal, its ok” kinda feller, but I’ve seen the way Etter respects bears and the dedication with which he works at all aspects of his hunting. And I know the approach his ethics dictate, so I can respect his efforts to hunt them that way and cheers his success….even though its not something I’d choose to do.

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in reply to: Turkey Hunting to Bear Scouting #47835

DWC,

We hunt them from the ground. In early Sep, the bears start keying on the white oak acorns, which are still in the trees and not yet dropping. So we scout white oak draws, ridges, etc. until we find a tree or group of trees that are being climbed by the bears. It’s usually apparent from a distance….shredded bark, broken limbs all over the ground, droppings, etc. If there is a good acorn crop, you can still hunt along and catch them in the trees, much like squirrel hunting. Or, post up in a ground blind near a feed tree and stand hunt them.

It’s really tons of fun….I didn’t know anything about bear hunting and didn’t have much interest in hunting them, but other than turkey season this is now probably my favorite hunts of the year.

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