[David Becker]

in reply to: What ya got goin'? 2 #146333

Thanks Ray!

[David Becker]

in reply to: What ya got goin'? 2 #146128

I’ve managed to shoot my bow for three days in a row without excruciating pain, and was thus inspired to renew my subscription.

So there’s that.

[David Becker]

in reply to: What ya got goin'? 2 #125608

Col Mike,

Good to “see” you here. That’s some good work you are doing over there on the other side of the country. Give my regards to Capt. Linda, and DP when you see him.

David

[David Becker]

in reply to: What ya got goin'? 2 #125287

The only upside to “mandatory overtime” is that in addition to our new kitchen, I gave myself permission to buy a hand made longbow. Up till now I’ve been shooting a Samick Trailblazer, and while glad to have it, I was curious if I was shooting to the limits of the equipment.

RMS Gear had a Dwyer Original Longbow (68″ 53@28) which I ordered Friday. It got here Monday and I have to say, it’s a dream. Since I work from home, it’s easy to take a break and fling a few arrows. Over the course of this week, a “few” has turned into a couple hundred in the odd moment here in there. Some moments have been a little more odd than others, but I think I made a good choice with the bow. There’s an ineffable something about  this bow that is letting me shoot better. I still have to do my part, but it makes it much easier to do my part, if that makes sense.

The only downside is where my arrows used to be more, shall we say, “evenly distributed” on my Rineheart 18-1, I’m starting to chew the centers out. They already sent me a free one, so I guess the next one is on me.

[David Becker]

in reply to: TBM Bicycling for Rosies #125286

I liked that article an awful lot too. I think technically the elk out back my yard are Rocky Mountain Elk, as I’m east of the I5, but they sure act like Rosies.

 

I bought a Montana Scabbard last year. It isn’t going to work with a 68″ long bow without some modifications, but I have a while to do it.

[David Becker]

in reply to: re back quivers #124734

You might want to watch Ebay. I just picked up a nice 22″ Hill style quiver for $80 shipped. It’s in great shape, except for the fact that it smells like musty basement. I’ve gotten quite a bit of the odor out by wiping it down with vinegar and sitting it in the sun today, and if a couple more days of that don’t do it, I’ll try some saddle soap.

I probably watched for six months before one came up I really wanted.

[David Becker]

in reply to: Pigs and Poison #123994

That right there was taken about 75 yards from the house. I’ve got a couple dozen more like it. Generally we cut cougar sign or get a picture two or three times a year. They pass through and then move on. It’s sort of exciting and we like it, with an appropriate amount of caution.
This year the heavy snow drove the deer down out of the mountains and the kitty followed and moved in. My first clue was that my German Shepherd was on high alert every time we went outside. We got sign every day or two days and even found an et up deer about a 100 yards from the house.

Eventually things melted a little and we stopped seeing sign, but it was an interesting month or so.

I was going to suggest some of the cats move to Texas, since we’ve got plenty here. I’ll try to get the word out…

[David Becker]

in reply to: Pigs and Poison #123931

That’s awful.

Sounds like Texas really needs some cougars. They love bacon.

 

[David Becker]

in reply to: Western States Traditional Archery Rendezvous… #115991

Probably would have helped if I had included that…

 

May 26 to 29, 2017 at Pomeroy Farm and Winery in Yacolt Washington.

 

For the 99.9% of you who haven’t heard of Yacolt, it is about 40 miles from Portland Oregon. There is a town called Battle Ground Washington about 15 minutes from the venue that has lodging, resturants and a Starbucks.

 

If anyone is considering going and needs info on the local area, I’m your huckleberry.

[David Becker]

in reply to: Big Boy! #58495

handirifle wrote: I shot one many years back in Ohio, that was 190 dressed. That thing makes him look small. Here in CA it would take 2 to come close to that size. 🙂

It would take two or three here in Washington too! When I first moved to the Northwest, and started seeing blacktails I wondered why all I ever saw were yearlings…

That’s a handsome buck. He ought to be a freezer filler.

[David Becker]

in reply to: Hunting 2016 #10964

It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost a month since elk season ended. Didn’t kill one, but saw lots of animals and learned a bunch. It was my first archery elk season, and I didn’t feel like I was wasting my time like I do when I walk around in November getting my rifle wet and trying to avoid hypothermia.

Sometime, I’ll have to tell the story about how I completely missed the elk cow at 5 yards, but it’s “too soon.”

Over on the “what you got going” thread, somebody commented that some people consider a parked pickup truck to be “elk sign.” That turned out to be true. We knew elk hunting could get kind of boring for some folks, so we obliged them by using a shed we were carrying to make a nice rub line for them to look at.

Early deer season runs concurrently with elk, so it didn’t get much attention. I did manage to get up in my stand one evening. I heard the slightest noise behind me in the tree. I turned around to find a Western Screech Owl perched about two feet from my face. I suspect it had intended to sit on my tree stand to over watch the little clearing I hunt. We sat there and regarded each other for a few minutes before it flew off.

Seeing elk at close range, and hanging out with an owl was enough to make my season a success.

[David Becker]

in reply to: T Downing's bull #19650

Congrats!

[David Becker]

in reply to: What ya got goin? #35039

eidsvolling wrote: [quote=Wose]Another thing we have going for us is that the conventional wisdom is, “there aren’t any elk up here.”

My partner in our upcoming NH moose hunt and I adopted a similar assertion as our motto for the hunt: “There are no moose in this area.”

We did this after hearing it from a local on our first scouting trip. And after seeing fresh cow and calf tracks about a half hour later. And after seeing said cow and calf, plus an unattached bull, the next morning at dawn. 🙂

Yeah bud. Hunting Buddy and I just came down the mountain with over 1000 pictures of elk. We need to change the camera delay so it doesn’t kill the batteries.

We’ve been here four years and I’m starting to learn the local dialect. “There aren’t any elk up there” translates to “there aren’t any clear cuts up there where I can see elk from my truck.”

It’s amazing what you see if you are willing to walk half a mile. The place we are hunting feels like a cathedral.

[David Becker]

in reply to: What ya got goin? #35019

eidsvolling wrote: [quote=Wose]Another thing we have going for us is that the conventional wisdom is, “there aren’t any elk up here.”

My partner in our upcoming NH moose hunt and I adopted a similar assertion as our motto for the hunt: “There are no moose in this area.”

We did this after hearing it from a local on our first scouting trip. And after seeing fresh cow and calf tracks about a half hour later. And after seeing said cow and calf, plus an unattached bull, the next morning at dawn. 🙂

Yeah bud. Hunting Buddy and I just came down the mountain with over 1000 pictures of elk. We need to change the camera delay so it doesn’t kill the batteries.

We’ve been here four years and I’m starting to learn the local dialect. “There aren’t any elk up there” translates to “there aren’t any clear cuts up there where I can see elk from my truck.”

It’s amazing what you see if you are willing to walk half a mile. The place we are hunting feels like a cathedral.

[David Becker]

in reply to: On The Wild Edge #9429

We are starting to get connected to a group of people in their 30’s and 40’s who previously lived in urban or suburban environments, who have now moved out here in rural southwest Washington to live a more connected “homesteady” type of life.

Most of them aren’t hunters, but are “hunting curious,” so I wind up being the ambassador for hunting. There are very few resources I have to point them towards. The Outdoor LowLife channel is the opposite of what I’d like to represent, and the hook and bullet publications aren’t much better.

This, and Clay Haye’s videos are what I want to show them. It touched me, as it shows the kind of life I want to live, but I think it also does a great job of showing this kind of life to people who don’t hunt, or don’t hunt yet.

Thanks!

[Author]

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