Trijicon’s Game Chasers continues airing this quarter on the Outdoor Channel.  And we’re in full-swing, filming/editing for Trijicon’s The Hunt, which airs 3rd and 4th quarters on the Sportsman Channel.  In fact, when we leave Florida, the family flies home, while I head to bear camp in Idaho, to film for The Hunt.
The Right Stuff is tentatively scheduled to begin airing nationwide in November, on NBC Sports.  Stay tuned for details.

These birds rarely respond to a call, never gobble, have no beard and the males are called males…not toms.  The noises they make resemble nothing most turkey hunters are familiar with; but their beauty is second to none.
Admiring my first ocellated turkey, I was enthralled with all the colors it’s many feathers cast in the sunlight.  Never before have I seen such iridescent coloration on a bird.  The golden caruncles on his head an neck were mesmerizing, and the crown that sat atop his head, unlike any turkey appendage I’d seen.

His needle-sharp 1 13/16” spurs were impressive, and his 12-pounds of mass made him the largest bodied bird taken in camp so far this year.  With all the feed these birds have, and thanks to sound management, it’s no wonder the section we hunted is touted as having the highest concentration of ocellated birds on the planet.

Working slowly along the edges of a sorghum field, bordered by dense brush, we soon saw another deer, then another.  Given the extremely dry conditions in the region, it was obvious the deer were relying on agriculture for sustenance.  Sitting in the corner of the field, wind in our face, setting sun at our back, we waited.  Minutes later a little doe emerged from the brush…followed by a nice buck.Many hunters filled tags quickly in camp, and soon some were looking to fill a second tag, myself included.  In the afternoon we went to a different area, but before reaching where the turkeys were, caught glimpse of a gray brocket deer, one of the smallest, least studied deer in the world.  With a brocket tag in my pocket, my focus changed.

They quickly made their way into the two-foot tall sorghum field and began feeding into the wind.  My local guide, Mito, suggested we try stalking within shotgun range.  I loved his aggressive thinking and soon we were slithering through sparse, 18”-high cover.  The deer quickly fed away and we had to hustle to catch up.  After more than 200 yards of slithering and crawling, we finally closed the distance, and the buck gave me the shot I was looking for.  Putting the red dot of my Trijidot sight on the deer, a payload of 0000 buckshot was on the way, quickly covering the 42 yards.

Walking up on the dainty buck, I was surprised with his diminutive size.  He weighed just over 40 pounds and was 20” tall.  His five-inch antlers and mass confirmed he was a record-class buck.  These deer only grow spike antlers.  Though one of the smallest, he’s one of the most elusive, most hard to attain game animals in the world, and though a number of hunters have pursued them, relatively few have been taken.  This may have been the first–or one of very few–gray brocket deer hunts every captured on high definition film for a hunting TV show.  The next night the whole camp had fresh brocket deer for dinner..it was delicious!

The last two days were spent trying to fill a second ocellated turkey tag.  We were on to a big bird and I wanted him, or nothing.  On the fourth attempt we caught a break.  We’d been watching him for over an hour, pecking seeds from the stalks of sorghum across the field in which we sat.  When another mature male stuck his yellow-dotted head from the brush, 20 yards from our blind, the big boy saw it and reacted.

The aggressive march was on, and soon our bird walked directly at us, focused the entire time on his challenger to the right of us.  For 95 yards Ty filmed him.  When he got inside 25 yards, I let him have it.  It was one of the most fulfilling, most magical moments I’ve ever spent in the turkey woods.

The camp, Snook Inn Hunting, owned by Jorge Sansores, was great, and the food, the best I’d had in any hunting camp, period.  Everyone in camp tagged out, and we went home with 11 gorgeous birds to mount.  The best part, every bird was skinned in camp and we enjoyed some of the best eating turkey we’d eaten.
I also had the honor of spending much time with Jon McRoberts, a man I consider to be among the world’s most knowledgable when it comes to ocellated turkeys.  He’s spent 4 years living in the jungles and surrounding habitat, studying these birds for his doctoral research.  He has unbelievable stories to share and will be speaking at the 2014 NWTF convention.

It was the most enjoyable hunting camp I’d ever been a part of, thanks to the people who ran it and the hunters in it.  We’re excited to share these hunts on upcoming episodes of Trijicon’s The Hunt, on the Sportsman Channel.  Stay tuned for air dates and details.

The family is coming off a great trip to Florida.  We were there thanks to the invitation from a gentleman I met in bear camp last spring, Rick Hollenback. Rick’s wife had taken a nice bear, and we spent some time chatting.
Come to find out, Rick had leases near Lake Okeechobee and invited our whole family along to hunt.  Once Rick showed us the property, he turned us loose to hunt it on our own.  Though the turkey hunting was tough, I managed to call in and take one mature tom.  It took three days of hard hunting but the effort paid-off with an exceptional Osceola weighing 22 pounds, sporting a 10” beard and heavy spurs over an inch long.
We tried getting a tom for Tiffany, but with the birds being stubborn,  it simply didn’t come together.  We had one tom almost close within range, but he would never leave his hens.
The boys had a blast hunting hogs.  Kazden connected first, via spot & stalk, and later got the prettiest hog I’ve ever seen.  Braxton nailed a big sow, as did Tiffany and myself.  I also managed a pretty good boar by stalking in.
The highlight of the hog hunt was covering ground in the swamp buggy.  I’d heard about these machines for years, and knew they were a popular rig for hog hunters in this area, but had no idea what impressive machines they really were!  Serious man toys!
On the hog hunt we used shotguns with 0000 buckshot, topped with Trijicon’s RMR.  On Nosler’s fancy AR (stands for ArmaLite, NOT Assault Rifle or Automatic Rifle), chambered in .223, we used a tandem scope featuring Trijicon’s 3×9 AccuPoint and an RMR, for close encounters.  A .223 isn’t enough for tough hogs, one might think?…Well, Nosler’s new Defense, Bonded Solid Base bullets in 64 grains were amazing.  Every hog they hit, they hammered.  The bullets we recovered had impressive weight retention and dropped hogs up to 200 lbs., on the spot!  We also pulled off some spot and stalk action with a .22-250, also shooting Nosler bullets.
A tool we wouldn’t be without in Florida is the ThermaCell mosquito repellent unit.  We had multiple units going at all times, and they kept mosquitos away morning and night.  We’ll be using them upon our return to Florida in early May!
One of Rick’s good friends, Doug Hamilton, was kind enough to take us on his airboat.  We went to a secluded place and ran up a little stream, often crossing expanses of dry land.  We saw over 50 crocs’, many of which exceeded the 10-foot mark, with a couple over 11-feet!  One little hole we stopped in had 31 crocs’ lurking around the boat, some within 3-feet of us!
We all had a blast and it was great for the kids to see how fellow American’s on the other side of the continent go about hunting great eating game.  We also made some new friends, which is always a bonus, and what hunting is all about.  Watch for these hunts which will air later this year on Trijicon’s The Hunt, on the Sportsman Channel.

The next couple days found me looking for blacktails in my old stomping grounds, east of Springfield.  This place had been hammered by Deer Hair Loss Syndrome in 2001, t
hen again in 2005.  The last big buck I took from this area was in 2005, and I hadn’t seen many deer since.

But this year things had changed.  Doe populations had greatly increased, many does had twins, even triplets.  Buck numbers had also bounced back; I even saw some nice bucks in velvet, during summer scouting missions.  Once I started hunting it, I saw some small bucks chasing does, and caught glimpses of two mature bucks running a horizontal ridge that extends for over a mile, east to west.  This is one of my favorite places to target big bucks, as they cover lots of ground on these ridgelines as they cruise for does.

Just as I was getting on deer, our family headed to WA for a week, where we hunted mule deer.  This took me away from my favorite blacktail time, the five days around Thanksgiving.  This is when I’ve killed most of my big bucks.

A few days after returning home, and getting caught up on business, I was at it once again, chasing blacktails.  Rubs, heavy trail use and lots of does kept me optimistic.  Warm weather had me worried, however.

I kept working the ridgeline, rattling here and there.  I rattled in a nice forky that I was tempted to shoot, but with nearly a week left in the season, I held off.  This was a place I’d had good success rattling during the early part of December.

I did get to see one of the most intense blacktail fights ever.  Two young bucks  (forky and 3-point) went at it for nearly five minutes.  They were loud, aggressive and tore up the ground.  Two other bucks came barreling in, and when the 3-point declared a win, one of the newcomers wasted no time locking antlers.  The champion won that battle, too.  Right before dark I also watched two different bucks, both mature, chasing does in the distance.  The 2nd rut had kicked-in.

The next day I saw only does.  On my ninth day of the hunt, the temperature dropped 12º.  Grabbing my bow I headed to the foothills for an evening hunt.  I rattled my way up the ridge, with no results.  As I got ready to crest the ridge and start working to the west, into the wind, an alert doe and three yearlings popped out of the timber.  They were concerned, and my first thought was “cougar.”  Ears pinned high, all four deer were dialed-in to something behind them.  Slowly they worked their way downhill, toward the feeding area, but every time they stopped they looked back up the trail with concern.

Eventually they moved out of sight, and I quickly covered ground to get closer to the trail, just in case a cougar or coyote was following them.  Then I saw the back of a buck, heading my way.  His head was down, but by the looks of his body he was mature.

At 70 yards out he finally lifted his head.  Though daylight was rapidly deteriorating, I could tell he had a heavy frame.  He worked his way right down the trail, so heavy in rut mode, I think I could have killed him with a rock!
When he paused to smell where one of the yearlings had just urinated, I came to full-draw.  The Diamond Fugitive spit out my Gold Tip Velocity arrow, which sped right through his chest.  The shot (about 25 yards) felt good, but I lost sight of the buck as he ran into the timber.

Hopping on the blood trail, I was pleased with what I saw.  I was even more elated to find the buck piled-up 80 yards from where he’d been hit.

Though we didn’t catch the action on film due to low-light, I wasn’t about to pass on this great buck.  I don’t know what excited me most, the fact big bucks had once again returned to my boyhood hunting grounds, that I tagged out on one of our country’s greatest big game animals, or that he rounded-out my single-season Columbia blacktail deer slam…with a bow.

Earlier in the year we took a nice buck in N. California (west of I-5), then a dandy from the San Juan Islands of Washington.  Both of those hunts were caught on film and will be featured next year on our Trijicon’s The Hunt TV show, on the Sportsman Channel.

Admiring my Oregon buck, I was amazed at the rutty smell he carried.  The bottoms of his hind legs were worn to the bone due to intense rub urinating, and upon skinning him, I found he had very little body fat.

In my book, Trophy Blacktails: The Science Of The Hunt, I state early on that consistently getting a trophy class Columbia blacktail (with bow, rifle or muzzleloader) is the toughest challenge in North American big game hunting.  This season epitomized that feeling, for the buck I took was the only big buck I saw.  It only takes one buck and a few precious second to turn a tough season in to one you’ll never forget.

Day one found us in search of elk, and it didn’t take long to find what we were looking for.  Along the Snake River breaks of Hell’s Canyon, a herd of over 20 head fed their way up a rugged draw.  Looking through the spotting scope, I watched a bull rake the ground then let out an impressive bugle.

Grabbing our gear, we prepared for a tough hike, chasing the herd up the canyon as they quickly fed toward their bedding area.  Matt Craig, owner of Boulder Creek Outfitters, and I cow called and bugled our way to the herd.  Every time we made a sound, the bull would bugle right back.

We’d lost sight of him early in the stalk as he moved his cows up a steep canyon, but could clearly hear his bugles–more than 30, total–echo through the treeless, towering mountains.  If it weren’t for our persistent calling, I doubt we’d have caught up to the bull.  He was absolutely loving the bugles I tossed out every few minutes on my Point Blank Knockdown triple reed diaphragm call & Rock Hard grunt tube. Though the bull didn’t come in, our calls kept him hanging at the back of the herd, and that’s the break we needed.

Rounding the last mountain, heart thumping, sweating and out of breath, I rested my .325 Nosler custom rifle into the granite rocks.  At 305 yards the bull was crystal clear in my Trijicon AccuPoint. One more call, and the bull stopped, turned and bugled right at us.  The shot found the mark, punching through both lungs.  The bull staggered 10 yards and collapsed.

 Seven hours later we had the bull boned and packed off the mount.  After a good night’s rest it was time to focus on mule deer.  Five days later we found what we were looking for, a deep forked loner feeding in a bowl just above the Snake River, less than two miles from where the elk had been taken.

The stalk was easy, downhill all the way.  At 290 yards I laid prone, rifle resting solidly on my pack.  The shot found the mark and the buck rolled into the bottom of a creek bed.  We had no options but to bone out that animal, too, and pack him back up the hill.
Ever day, as cold weather crept in, we saw an increasing number of muleys, but the truth is we were there a bit early for prime mule deer action.  The next day we dropped off the Joseph Plains, heading to White Bird in search of whitetails.

Temperatures dropped more than 30º over night, and snow began to fall.  The first deer we laid eyes on was a trio of bucks, including a 140” shooter.  But he gave us the slip after a lengthy stalk. We found another buck, this one pushing 150”, and after a long stalk sat above him, waiting for him to stand from his bed.

Nearly an hour passed, and finally he stood.  Unfortunately it was because the wind changed.  The buck was on his feet, running the opposite direction, before any of us knew what happened.
Pushing through driving rain, sleet and snow, we found more bucks, including a wide, heavy-antlered brute worth a closer look.  Given the conditions, and the fact 6” of snow was to fall (not good on camera gear), we decided to make a move.  Eventually we intercepted the buck, and at 260 yards, the Nosler/Trijicon combo’ worked their magic once again.  Soon were we admiring a wide-racked buck with some of the most impressive eye guards I’d seen.  In three hours of hunting we’d seen 16 bucks, three of which were bigger than the buck we tagged.  It was the most bucks I’d ever seen while hunting this place.

This is some of the most beautiful country we’re fortunate to hunt anywhere in the world.  The people are wonderful and the animals are plentiful.  That’s why we keep going back.

With the taking of these animals we were able to complete our latest DVD, a project two years in the making.  It’s called Field Dressing, Skinning & Caping Big Game, and will be the most comprehensive work of its kind.  We’re hoping to have it out by Christmas…stay tuned for details!

We were also happy to catch the action of all these hunts for Trijicon’s The Hunt, which will air in the 3rd and 4th quarters next year, on the Sportsman Channel.

The first morning found us on public land, following a 280” 6×6.  The bull stuck tight to his harem, and though we got to within 70 yards, there was no shot through the thick brush. Over the next two days we were on bulls and saw lots of elk.  I called in two small 5 pts., but was intent on getting something bigger, specifically a whopper bull we’d just located.

The massive 7×9 had a harem of about a dozen cows, with three raghorns hanging around.  We’d spotted the bull on private land, but not even Jody, a 5th generation resident in the area, could gain permission to hunt. The landowners told us they were declining permission for anyone to hunt.  So, we hiked in from the top, hoping to catch the bull as he moved to the herd’s bedding area on public ground.

The going was rugged and choked with brush–typical coastal Roosevelt habitat.  Eventually we found the herd as they moved through the edge of a logged unit.  Then they bedded down.  With no way of getting closer in the dry conditions, I tried calling.  A small 5 pt. came to within 25 yards, but I couldn’t bring myself to shoot, not knowing the big bull was within 100 yards of where we sat.  Then the 5 pt. winded us and the whole herd took off.
We backed out and gave the area a rest the following day.  I did manage to call in a nice five point on the second to last day of the season, and it was tough passing him up at 18 yards.  But again, knowing we had one more day, and the big bull was still out there, I held off.

On the final morning of the season we were in the woods well before first light.  Hiking down the rugged, wooded draws, we were in position nearly two hours after our journey began.  The woods were silent, so I let out a cow call.  Almost instantly a cow answered back, then another.  Soon a bugle echoed through the woods.  The herd was within 200 yards of us.
Continuing my calling, the herd kept talking, and slowly moved our direction.  After about 15 minutes, Jody tapped me on the shoulder, nodding to our left.  Out of the private land block came two hunters, stalking us, coming to our calls.

Once they hit 35 yards, they saw us for the first time.  I had an arrow nocked, a camera man behind me and Jody behind him; I motioned for them to stop, that the elk were coming.  They looked at one another then turned and walked right toward the elk, into the brush.

None of us could believe what just happened.  We called to get them to stop, but they walked faster.  We rolled tape, getting the trespassers in the act, and also showing how unethical they were as they cut right in front of us.  Just like that, five days of hard work were ruined by unethical hunters.

Though I didn’t get an elk, we were in animals every day.  I could have shot four smaller bulls, but held out, intent on getting the big bull.  It was a frustrating feeling knowing fellow hunters would not only trespass, but barge in on a herd we were calling and worked so hard to get on.  They ruined it for everyone.  Minutes after the hunters dove into the dry woods, we heard the whole herd rambling away.  We never found the elk again.

In the end, I’m not sure what was more gratifying…having called in multiple bulls or being able to see such an awesome, old Roosevelt bull.  Though the hunt ended in frustration, I still see that big bull, one you can bet I’ll return for next season.