UHRIG HUNT ZONE

I am back to my Blog finally!!!

2009-01-09T15:15:00.006-05:00

Well Well Well, I took some time off and I am back on the blog. I actually missed not keeping track via my blog my hunting adventure.

Ok, i want to update you on the Colorado 2008 hunt and recap.

Day 1 - Thur
Larry and I flew out to Denver Thursday night rented a car and drove to Marble where we meet up with my good friend David Long. We stayed in a cabin setting right there in Marble. Drank a few cold ones and got our gear ready for the morning's hike into the trail head.
Day 2 - Friday
We got up a day break drove to the trail head, and we where the only vehicle there, which is a goof sign . Loaded the packs on our backs and Hi O silver away. Well six hours later, 5 miles in we made it up to approx 10.5 k elevation and found a good camp site with some boulders barricading us in from the wind and elements. We where tired and exhausted and made some chow got camp setup and relaxed. We started glassing and hour or so before dark and some some deer, elk and yes mountain goats. All I will say is this was some beautiful but rugged area in the Raggeds wilderness. Our game plan was to glass and get a feel for the land, animal capacity and stalking possibilities the first 3 days. Then move and go into attack mode!!!
Day 3 Opening Day - Sat Up early after a good nights sleep and got to the spotting scopes which were set up 10 yds from Bivy camp. Starting to see some does and then some buck, some elk and of course the mountain goats where moving and feeding up in the nose bleed sections. We spent the whole day glassing as planned some to nice bucks at 2 miles away up around 11k. They where bedding by them selves in a hard to stalk spot. These where two bucks we differently would try to stalk in the next day or so. We where seeing other bucks as well. All does where 10.5k and down and all bucks where 10.5k in elevation and up. Bottom Line you had to go high to stalk those grey ghost of the High Country or bust! We continued to glass all day and we where starting to devise some stalking possibilities for Sunday and Monday. Weather was good to date and there was plenty of water above 10K which was nice.
DAY 4 Sunday - We will starting to get a good feel for the area and which basins that where holding the most game and picking out campsites and stalking possibilities. Took an afternoon nap and got ready for the evening glassing and possibly a stalk or to get ready for a morning stalk at those two nice bucks. Well I split up from Larry for the evening glassing and went up around 11.2k and found another vantage point to see if I could pick out some different bucks. I blew a deer out of a rock bed area as I was climbing but all I saw was a tail. Well as we where communicating via two way while glassing a couple of hunters game out of the other unit thru a top bowl and the two bucks we where watching for two days where down wind of the three guys and they blew them out of the area.....Just Great. Plan B was kicked in and we where seeing a big group of buck across back up in two of the high back bowls. The game was we would spot one more time in the morning and move camp across the Drainage which would be a 2-3 mile hike and set camp and start our stalks from there.
DAY 5 Monday morning we watched 15 bucks in that back basin all traveling in a line what a site. We waited for them to go out of site and then packed up camp and made plans to camp at a selected spot up at 11k on the other side of the Drainage. Tally Ho and away we go straight done to the trail to Yule creek trail then down stream and stopped to fill our water supplies. Dam I lost my Sleeping pad on the way down. I backed tracked and found it on the trail a 1/2 mile back. Filled up the water and took a visual on the route we would take to where we would camp which would be about a 2 hour climb about 1,800 ft gain in elevation. Yeah man we where off and moving. Well I made some bad decisions in my direction during the climb and got side tracked in some real heavy thick cover to say the least. Then here comes the rain and no we where not having fun. Keep going I said to Larry we will hit an opening soon!! His response you are crazy you are going to Kill me in this stuff. Well another couple of hours and we got to the snow slide we had planned to be two hours earlier. We both looked at each other and nodded as to say lets camp here we are beat. We set of camp and decided to climb at day break in the morning. We camped right aside of a water fall. Well it rained hard all night and by morning it stopped.
DAY 5 Monday - Time to Rock to the top. I took a picture or two of Larry coming out of camp and then we took the snow slide to the top and an hour or so later we got to 11.2k and stopped and dropped our packs to get our spotting scopes out. I bent over to get my spotting scope out of my pack and WHAMMMM the pain set in and dropped me to my feet in pain. My back was in pain!!!! Stay tuned for more of the story

Packed and Ready to Rock

2008-08-16T22:10:00.003-04:00

OK,
Two weeks to the opener and 12 days till flight out. The new Badlands Case/bag fit by bow and everything real nicely. I am impressed with this bag with the wheels and handle to boot. The remainder is in my Badlands 2200. Two items to take for eight days yes. I will shoot my bow a couple more times this coming weeks then I will pack back up. Double check my gear list and food list. Just got my 10day wilderness athlete supply in with the Altitude Advantage pills as well. I will check back in one more time before I go. I hiked with my pack on 7.5 miles today. Drank a Hydromax when I got back and felt real good. Legs are feeling about the same as last year/pretty good. I am ten lbs heavier that last year, so I want to see if that makes a difference or not in the High Country this year. That due mainly to limited time training due to my New Business start up this year . Stay tuned

Chow

High Country Awaits

2008-08-09T10:22:00.003-04:00

Finally back to update my blog. Been busy the last couple of months with my new business.

Larry and I are ready to Fly out 8-28 to head into the Raggeds Wilderness in CO for some High Country adventure. We are going in for 8 days. We are both ready to rock and down some mule deer with our bows. I am not in as good as shape as last year due to starting a new business and excessive hours in two months to get it started, but my desire is high and my legs are still strong, so I will give it all I got. I have been practicing and my accuracy and confidence is there. My main focus on the first three days of the hunt is to get Larry my best friend on some stalks and get him chances on downing his first mule deer. This is his first Western hunt and I want him to want to do it again and reap some rewards.

Stayed tuned for more info on our hunt.

Colorado Draw update 2008

2008-06-14T19:33:00.004-04:00

Yeahhhhhhh, My best friend and I drew Archery Mule Deer tags in Unit 43. We are ready to rock in the High Country at 12,000ft. Now the bad news!!! I have not been training at all due to work overload and the new business venture I am about to start. My priorities had changed for the the time being due to the business start up. But, I am here to tell you my daily five mile hikes with start up this week, which will give me 2 1/2 months to get the lungs and legs in descent shape. Stay tuned for more updates.

D

Turkey Season Wrap Up

2008-06-14T19:28:00.003-04:00

Hey Friends, Long time no updates! Been busy with work and starting a new business venture. Well I had fun this turkey season, I had plenty of gobblers working to the calls. Missed a few and had fun this spring with my turkey hunting friends. Explored new hunting areas up in Slate Run, PA. Overall the turkey population in our neck of the woods is flourishing. There is always this fall. Stay tuned for Colorado updates coming up.

Turkey Season Update

2008-05-03T20:02:00.004-04:00

Alright the turkeys are getting the best of me right now, but I sure am having fun in the outdoors.

Opening weekend I went up the Hunt in the PA Grand Canyon area around Slate Run 2200 ft max. I wound up bunking at the Twin Peaks Camp which my Good friends Keith & Luke Kemp are members. We hiked up and down the mountains in the surrounding area covering 22 miles in three days. I hunted along side of Keith the whole time. He is the person responsible for teaching me all about turkey hunting. We tag teamed in calling in a Slate Run Gobbler on Monday and Keith Shot him! Over 20 lbs 9 1/2" beard. I blew our first hunt on Saturday morning when the gobbler caught me moving. I messed up also on our Monday morning hunt again while trying to shoot left handed... mistake I missed. After hunting turkey across this beautiful country I have drawn the conclusion that Upstate PA birds are some of the toughest birds to hunt in the nation!

I took this past Friday off and headed back to Slate Run solo to pack in and camp up high on the ridges and move camp each day based on what I was hearing. Now let me say that although these mountains are steep and big in PA terms it by know means is Colorado. My it sure challenges your conditioning to some degree! I covered 6 miles a day for two days up and down those mountains went toe to toe with three longbeards with them winning and passed on two Jakes late morning today. I carried my full load of gear as I would out west only with three days of food. I used my Sitka gear for both weekends and loved this stuff. I was able to layer and unlayer very quickly using my badlands 2200 pack. My new 22 oz Tarptent performed great. It gave me a chance to shake down all my gear and enjoy the the outdoors in a mountainous setting. I really feel in love with the Slate Run Area and mountain range. Although it is not the high mountains of CO it is the next best thing for us flatlanders of the East.

Stay tuned for more updates on my turkey season!!

D

Turkey Season 2008 Plans

2008-03-22T10:18:00.003-04:00

Ok hunting friends it coming up on that time of year to chase those gobbling fools in PA & NY. I am excited for the PA opening weekend as I plan on backpacking in a couple of miles on Friday night and setting up camp and hunting thru Monday staying in Bivy Camping out and coming home Monday afternoon. I will we hunting in the PA Grand Canyon area above Slate Run skirting the mountain tops around 2100 ft elevation. I will be using my bow this year alot and hope to take a turkey with a bow without a blind. It will be a challenge which I am looking forward to. Plus this will give me a chance to shake down all my gear for my trip to the Colorado High Country in late August for Mule Deer. I truly enjoy the solitude on my own in the backwoods and the one on one challenge of killing critters whatever they might be. I will be using my standard hunting bow setup for turkey.
I am then going to leave after work May 1 and head up near Kueka Lake in New York to the Smoker Cabin with Dave Smoker to call in some long beards for Dave and hopefully take one myself. We will hunt Friday, Saturday & Sunday. It will be a fun two weekends. I will keep you posted on my turkey scouting with the kids in April. That is always alot of fun taken each kid out to try and call gobblers in or just listen to them gobble in the morning before hunting season opens end of April. I will call in areas I will not be hunting so I don't educate the birds to much.

I consider turkey hunting a poor mans elk hunt!! It is fun..

talk to you soon

Utah ISC Show Recap

2008-03-19T13:14:00.007-04:00

Just got back from the ISC Hunting show in Salt Lake City Utah. I am really thankful I took a VAC day and flew out there for the weekend. I spent alot of my time at the show near the Eastmans' Theater which was right in front of there both. I spent time talking with Ike & Guy Eastman, David Long and of course my backcountry mentor Cameron Hanes. It was money well spent and I really enjoyed the Eastmans' Experience out there. I also visited all the booths as well and picked up a few items to upgrade my pack a little. I purchased a new pistol grip for my spotting scope and got a great deal at $60.00 (reg $120) and purchased some new lanyards for my turkey locator calls. I also hiked around town in the early mornings 4-6 miles each day to keep the training going. I wanted so badly to get up in those beautiful mountains surrounding salt lake and view the critters. I will say the Eastmans' crew are some special people that truly care about there subscribers no matter where they are from. They treated me like a friend more than a subscriber. I truly enjoyed chatting with all of them and I do consider them my Western Friends! I hope to see them again in the future!

Utah ISC Show

2008-03-06T16:00:00.004-05:00

Hey what's up! I am excited to be taking a plane out to Salt Lake City, Utah on March 13th for the International Sportsman Show. The main reason for going is that three Hunters that I read about and also follow there hunting careers with be at the show. I am looking forward to meeting them. David Long, Guy Eastman & Cameron Hanes. Cameron & Guy are speaking on different hunting topics at the show. I am excited to meet them and get Cameron & David Books signed by them. I will follow up with some pictures and a follow up from the show. I am still in training mode 6 days a week with my pack on 5 miles a day. I know, what's up with that!! I actually really enjoy getting my gear on and hiking at night with my Petzel light on my head and going five miles in the dark. It give s me alot of time to like and still keep my legs strong and my body somewhat fit. It has worked for me and I will keep doing it. I have been going strong this way since November 2006 and it is my routine after the kids go to bed at night. Weekends are hiking up and around the Pinnacle in Kempton.

Check back soon.

Pictures Taken in the Raggeds Wilderness

2008-01-28T18:12:00.000-05:00

01-28-08 I have attached pictures that where taken right in the exact mountain range and actual Creek Drainage I will be hunting in this fall. Some where taken during the winter months. These pictures where taken by the Colorado University Backcountry Ski Club as well as Mountain Cimbing Clubs and Backcountry skiers that skied this mountain area or that hiked the 12 and 13k peaks in this area. There is alot of information out there on the internet to research when looking for maps and actual pictures taken in and around a specific mountain you plan to hunt. In my case when I search on the specific mountain and Wilderness Trail I had alot of hits on the internet and found all these pictures. I hope to take a ton of pictures when I hunt this area first hand. There are about seven 12ers and two 13ers on both sides of the creek drainage I will be hunting.

Colorado 2008 Training/Scouting Updates

2007-12-21T10:41:00.000-05:00

01-22-08 I am attaching some pictures of the Raggeds Wilderness Area I will be hunting this year. I know its 218 days away until I fly out but I enjoy spending time researching the area to get a comfort level with the terrain as well as any pertinent history of this area. Marble Colorado is home to the largest Marble Quarry in the world. There are multiple mines and quarries in and around marble. The Marble Quarry supplied the marble columns for the Lincoln memorial in Washington as well as the actual tomb for the Unknown Soldier in Arlington Cemetery.

I have been shooting my new Bow every day at work. I set up a target in the warehouse which gives me the ability to shoot out to 60yds. I am continuing to hike with my pack 6 days a week 5 miles for 5 days and 7-8 miles on Saturday's. I applied for all my Western State draws today. Maybe I will get lucky and draw a goat or sheep tag!! Stay tuned for more updates.

01-07-08 Equipment & Training update. I just purchased the Hoyt Vectrix instead of the Matthews DXT. I am real happy with my choice and look forward to shooting it this weekend. I will be shooting it @ 71lbs maxed out. We chronographed it at the bow shop and it pushed 275fps. Much better than my old BowTech VFT @ 245fps. I am ready to rock with this bow. I will be spending time playing with the arrow weight and length to get the best setup and still be around 65pounds of Kinetic energy. Well I have been back on the hiking mode with my pack with all my gear @ 45lbs 6 nights a week. I usually go 5-6 miles a night and more on the weekends. I usually go out after I read to the kids and they go down for the night @ 9:00pm. I just like hiking with my pack on for some reason. It just makes me feel good when I am done. I will try running a little this year to mix it up. I have maintained 175lbs since last year. My legs feel great as this I feel is the most important piece of training for hunting the high country and humping up and down the mountains. I found that out first hand in 2007 in Colorado! When you go up and down and change elevations up to 5,000ft a day your legs need to be ready or your hunt slows down to a crawl! Even when your legs feel good you still have to push yourself to keep going! I can't wait to get back out west again just to get up above 10k and view the scenery it is awesome. Well I have all my gear ready for August and all I need is the hunting license and airfare and I am ready to roll. I know Larry is almost done buying his gear and is excited and up for the challenge. I can't wait to chase Mule Deer with my Bow. There is something about Mule Deer stalking that gets my blood boiling. We will be chasing elk as well which is just as exciting. I will check in later!

Just checking in.. First off Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to all my friends. I have selected the White River National Forest/Raggeds Wilderness Area to hunt in 2008 in Colorado west of Aspen. This area has beautiful high country mountains in it. I will be hunting an area that has one peak that it 13,548 ft tall. We will be hiking in approx 5 miles and we will be camping and spot and stalk hunting from the south face area of this mountain around 12k. I have already picked 55 waypoints on my Topo software and down loaded them to my GPS and applied the numbers to My Topo map I ordered from My Topo.com. I have been scanning Goggle Earth to get familiar with the Six Square Mile Area so I am better prepared when I get there. I have made contact and setup a packer to get the Elk meat out if we harvest one or need his services. We will pack out the Mule Deer ourselves. Jason Smoker will take any meat we don't want! I will contact the outfitter by SAT phone and give him my GPS coordinates to pick up the meat $350.00 not bad! My initial goal in Colorado was to find a high country area that I could do spot and stalk hunting. My best friend Larry and myself have planned to go out for the Archery season opener for Mule Deer and Elk which starts 8/30/2008. We will fly in to Denver on the 28th and drive 4 hours west on Route 70 then drop south into the area we will be hunting out of. We will go in with our packs loaded with 8 days worth of food and gear. We will hunt from 8/30 thru 9/6 and fly back out late 9/6. I have been told by some reliable sources that this area holds some Pope & Young & B&C Mule Deer. My goal is to go after a 160 to 170 class buck and any legal Elk. Larry has purchased most of his gear and is getting excited to go. I will start practicing with my bow starting first week in January. I just need to purchase some more FMJ arrows. All my gear is packed and ready to go. I started my 5 miles a day, 5 days a week with my pack hiking to keep my legs in shape. I really enjoy the planning part of DIY hunts and searching for new areas. I am doing research in Wyoming in Unit H to pick an area that I will start hunting in 2009. My game plan is to Hunt twice a year out west in Colorado & Wyoming unless I draw a goat tag or sheep tag in Montana which will be tough!

Stay tuned for more updates on our 2008 hunt details.

PA Rifle Season Update

2007-12-01T19:45:00.000-05:00

12-8-07 Rifle season has concluded without harvesting a buck. I hunted all day Saturday getting into the treestand at 5:30am and did get down until 4:00pm. It was a long day hanging at 25ft in the air but no buck. Saw 15 doe and a spike. Well there is still 2nd season archery that starts the day after christmas. I will also start hunting coyotes after christmas as well. Stay tuned.

12-7-07 Well I am heading back into Kempton tomorrow for the last day of PA Rifle. We will see what happens. Stay tuned for the results.

Hey Friends,
Went back out to rifle hunt today in Kempton with Larry, Tom and the Scott(The Packer). Got up @ 3:30am and met Larry for coffee and got to Kempton ready to head up the hill @ 4:45am. I went up the right side towards the pinnacle and the other three guys headed up the left side of the blue rocks. It took me about an hour to get in today as I was moving pretty fast with my rifle tied to my pack. Got to my stand and setup by 6:00. Wind was blowing approx 15 mph out of the NE which is different. Saw @ 3 pointer at first light. Saw three doe come right by me and than saw a spike and that was it. Sat 8 hours straight on the tree stand and then called it a day. Larry saw one doe, Tom saw no deer and Scott saw no deer. There was five doe taken off the hill down around the Gun Club. To many Doe taken as there are not that many to start with. I did not put in for doe tags this year. I wind up getting meat from New York doe that are taken by the smokers as I don't get doe tags up there either. I took both of Brian's deer this year that he shot in NY, I deboned both deer and had it made into burger. This is all that we use at the Uhrig house. That looks like that's it for me in PA this year. I only got out the first day and today. Overall I didn't hunt that much in PA this year. So I am not upset with the outcome because I gave it my best shot being that I sat on stand both days combined for 19 hours total. I will probably hunt in NY next weekend. If I see a legal buck I will take it next week end!! We will see. Stay tuned. First time I hunted with Tom today who is one of Larry's neighbors! He seems like a real nice guy it was ashamed he didn't at least see a Deer. We all had fun.
D

FOG OUT & Rain First Day of Buck

2007-11-26T18:29:00.000-05:00

What a long day in the stand. Got up @ 3:30am threw my gear and gun in the truck and drove 45 minutes to Kempton. Only one other truck at the Gun Club and it was already real foggy and light rain was falling. Hour later I was in stand and ready for action. Well I will make this short. Heard one shot in the valley. Was in rain & fog all day and hunted on stand until 4:00pm which came to 10 1/2 hours straight in the stand without getting down. And they say I don't have patience hunting!! I adapt to every hunting situation differently. Visibility all day was 80 yds at best. Saw two squirrels and a chipmunk!! It was a great day outdoors. I hunted by myself as Larry had to work and my dad passed due to the rain. Scott also had to work. I will head back in Saturday morning with Larry for another round of hunting the State Game Lands @ 1,300 ft! Stay Tuned.

PS... used a big golf umbrella wedged in above me between the double tree I have my lock on in! Yup stayed dry and cozy!!

First Day Buck in PA

2007-11-25T21:37:00.000-05:00

Well I am ready to go in the AM around 4:00am and head to Kempton. Hour hike up mountain to a secluded spot where I relocated my lock on today. Larry and his son Mitchell and I hiked in and relocated one of our hangers today based on some deer we were seeing. We have in perched up about 30ft in the air! I feel good about this spot for tomorrow. Believe or not we saw a herd of deer today on the way down over 10 deer moving up the hill together. Buck was the last in the group couldn't get my Bino's out in time to see what type of rack he was wearing. Well it will be just me and my Dad tomorrow. He is hunting the ladder stand near the bottom and it should only take him 20 minutes to get there. Wish us luck tomorrow

D

Scouting Trip in Kempton

2007-11-22T21:44:00.000-05:00

Checking in, Got up at 3:30am for my annual Turkey Day morning scouting trip up to Kempton to check out the deer movement in anticipation from 1st day opener of rifle in PA. Larry my best friend went along. It was warm and foggy until we got about a mile back in. It takes over an hour to hike back in 1.8 miles to my tree stand. The deer sign this year in our area is poor at best. Very little rubs are present and deer sign in general. I sat until 7:45am and saw no deer. Larry actually to my amazement saw 5 deer across the rocks going towards the pinnacle. I plan on going back in this weekend to move my tree stand back in further around the two mile mark! Stay tuned for updates next week on how we did. Happy Turkey Day to all my friends and family. We all will be fortunate to shoot a legal buck let alone a nice rack. I will shoot any thing legal and feel totally satisfied as it is my last vacation day left.

QUOTE of the day: " A trophy is in the eye of the beholder".

Chow

New York Opener Update

2007-11-19T00:01:00.000-05:00

Hey Folks,
Just got back from New York tonight and we had a great time. This weekend was filled with good times and fun hunting. I was unsuccessful but Dave Smoker shot a buck and two doe and a Turkey what a weekend for Dave congrats. Brian shot a buck and a doe. Scott missed a buck. Ed just just got there this afternoon from his DIY hunt in Maine. I hit a buck but must have only nicked him as all we could find was alot of hair on the snow. He was on the move when I shot free hand at 125yds. I saw 18 doe Saturday and 12 doe Sunday and one spike buck. Stay tuned for an updates on the upcoming PA Rifle season as well as this years Coyote Season.

D

2007 PA Bow Hunting Season Ends

2007-11-12T08:10:00.001-05:00

12-29-07 Went out today during second season archery. Headed up to Kempton and went back in 1.3 miles to my tree stand. Got set up 15 minutes after daylight. I was busted by deer 15 minutes later. They where snorting in the thick brush above me. At 8:30 I had two separate doe come by within bow range but no buck. I got down at 10:00am and hiked to the back saddle and came down the north side which was still covered by snow that was crusted over. I will try again next weekend!

Hey Folks, Well the PA 2007 Bow Season game to an end Saturday 11-10-07. I finished the season not harvesting a buck. But to me it was successful due to my best friend taking his first buck. I started off the season hunting with Larry and finished the season hunting with Larry Sat night. We had fun. Bottom line is I really didn't get out much except for three Saturdays and spent them in Kempton. I feel it is pretty hard to get a buck in those big woods with a bow. But that is the challenge I am looking for! New York Season starts this Saturday so hopefully I will get a chance at a buck this weekend!

Chat with you later!
D

Colorado Hunt 2007 Recap

2007-11-01T19:16:00.000-04:00

Just got back from the High country and was successful harvesting a Mule Deer. It was a very rewarding hunt considering all that I went thru with the weather. I arrived in CO wed night two days before my hunt was to start. The forecast for Thursday was really high winds and snow. There was already 10" plus in the high country. The forecast was also calling for a snow storm possible for Saturday night. I decided to head in anyway. Brian my friend who lives in Golden, CO about 25 minutes from the trailhead decided to come along in Thursday morning with me just for the hike. We headed in in the am and the winds where picking up! We crossed the creek/river with my Wiggy's light weight gators and headed up the mountain. What a climb from 8,700 to 10,300 until the winds got up to 50 plus mph. It was bitter cold with snow drifts upwards up 4 foot deep. When we got to 10,500 we decided it was best to get out and try again Sunday or Monday due to the fact the amount of scouting I would be able to do the next to days would probably be very little and if the snow storm hit saturday afternoon evening... yeah well. I decided it was best to head back to Brian's house to hunt Mule deer for a couple of days at 9,000 and 10k elevation and then see if the weather clears up. I hunted 7-10 miles a day up to 10,300 around Brian's house Sat & Sunday. Saw elk tracks and Mule deer tracks in the snow. No animal sightings yet. Monday winds where still 30 to 40 mph at times and the temp stayed in the teens with the wind chill in the single digits. I slow stalked all morning and as I worked the mountain behind the camp I followed tracks until I jumped a buck and doe. I trailed the tracks until I caught up to the buck and Doe. I had only one shot quartering straight at me @ approx 120 yds. I got a rest against the tree on my knee's and squeezed the shot off. Hit him right thru the front shoulder and the bullet existed in front of the opposite read leg. Dropped him instantly as the 200 grain noslar partition did it's job. Clean kill hooray!!! I deboned the Mule deer which weighed some where around 250 lbs, it had alot of fat reserves. I had two full bags of meat loaded in my kirafu game bags which weigh 3 oz per bag. They worked great. It was the most rewarding hunt to date due to no outfitter/guide and done on my own. Brian's camp helper asked for the meat as he really could use it so I gave it to him and he was extremely happy for the meat.

I Decided that night due the changed weather forecast to head into the high country the next day as the weather was scheduled to warm up. Packed my Badlands 2200 with all my gear and 4 days worth of food and headed in Tuesday morning in anticipation of chasing Elk. After a rough 2 hour hike in I set up camp at close to 11,000 ft. It was fun getting thru the big snow drifts. I was determined to get in and get camp set up an hour before dark to do some scouting. One concern I had hiking in was I saw no elk tracks in the first high country bowl. That night I traveled a mile around camp with no elk tracks found. I was now concerned the Elk had moved down in elevation. I planned on scouting the south facing slope in the am. Back to camp and ate my dehydrated meal and made coffee and headed to bed. Great night sleeping in the high country solo. This is for me.. one on one and solo. I know some people need companionship which is fine but try it solo and you will find out a little bit about yourself and your abilities.
First thing Tuesday at daybreak coffee, vitamins, cereal bars and I was ready to rock. I dropped down 800 ft to glass the south facing bowl. No elk sightings and no tracks. I then hit the two other high country bowls in the areas. Well my hunch was right the Elk most likely moved lower. I searched that day all over the area going approx 10 miles and 4500ft in elevation gains. I determined that it would be best to get out and try chasing the elk at another location that a hunter I ran into in the moring who was hunting Mule suggested I check out due to the elk he saw a couple of days before. The next day Wednesday Brian his Dad and I headed over to the Arapaho National Park to check out a new area, Brian, Dave and myself hiked 6 miles and saw a ton of elk rub and sign but no Elk. We hunted all day and headed back to Brian's house.

Thursday I decided to head back to the high country as I felt I gave up to soon on the area and maybe the Elk would head back up so I thought I would search around the 9,000 ft to 10k treeline elevation to locate some tracks/elk due to the warmer weather. Another 10.2 miles with 43 lbs on my back. All I found was one set of bull tracks and a ton of Mountain lion tracks. I hiked all day non stop I decided that I had enough and so I head back to Brian's that night. I did see one Mule deer buck at 10,700ft. Brian's dad said he was interested in spiking out with me Friday night and maybe go over that Mule deer! I said well I will try one more time as this is the area I had done my scouting in the month before and did all my planning for.

We headed in Friday afternoon and decided to camp above the south facing slope @ 10,700. We got in a setup up camp with a couple hours remaining to glass the bowl from both sides. Within half an hour heavy misty clouds blanketed the entire area. Visibility was 100 ft at best so I headed back to camp. Dave arrived at dark using his GPS to get back to camp. We got up at daybreak and hunted Saturday morning and I only spotted two cows at three miles out. We got out late in the dayas no other tracks or sighting all day. Saturday we hunted all day at Brian house going another 7 miles. We hunted early Sunday morning and then came back to the house and headed for the airport that night hunt over.

I learned a lot in terms of spending time camping and hiking in the high country solo and built up a lot of confidence in myself in knowing that I could do it. I am glad that I had the opportunity to go back to Brian's place at times and then back to the high country. It helped me to build confidence in myself! I really enjoyed the experience and I am hooked on doing this style of hunting at least twice a year solo and with Larry my Best Friend and Brian, and Jason. All my gear worked great except my boots needed to be slightly insulated as my Lowa Tibet had no insulation and my feet were cold the majority of the hunt. I plan on continuing working out year round and plan on hunting the muzzle loader season in 2008 and mule deer 2nd season as well. I will go two separate 6 day hunts instead of a 10 day hunt. This time I feel much more confident that if I don't locate the game I will stay in and keep moving camp instead of having Brian house to fall back on. Six to seven days will help me to hunt harder for a shorter period of time and to build more confidence! I attached some pictures. I am already counting down the days until next year. I have planned to fly out in the summer to hike Torrey Mountain which is a 14k mountain with Jason and Brian my Colorado friends. That will be great for my training and I always wanted to climb up at that level. The only regret is that the hunt went to fast and I didn't get an opportunity at an Elk!! I am already dreaming of going back to the high country again.

PS... The only cost for 2008 is the hunting license and flights out and back. Talk about low cost DIY (Do-It-Yourself) hunt and it goes to show you that you don't need a guide to kill an Mule Deer or Elk if you have the passion and desire to do it yourself. It is not to say I won't hunt with a guide again in the future, but DIY hunting I am in charge and can go as hard as I want when I want as long as I want!!

See Ya

Darryl

Larry Downs First PA Buck

2007-09-30T10:02:00.000-04:00

My best friend Larry shot his first buck opening day of Archery in PA. I sat him in my tree stand behind my house and two nice buck came into bow range right before dark. He connected and had a pass thru and caught one lung. We searched until 12 midnight and lost the blood trail. We searched the next morning and finally found it. 8 pointer 17" spread. I was as excited as he was when we found it. I am pround of Larry as he has hunted hard for the last couple of years and finally got one. Good job Larry. I did not hunt with him that evening as I didn't want to put too much scent in that small area.

Scouting Trip Update

2007-09-18T09:50:00.000-04:00

Hey there, Well I completed my scouting trip last weekend. I learned a lot about being in the high country just in three days. I did real well with adjusting to the altitude due to taking the Wilderness Athlete Altitude vitamins along with there hydromax powder to add to water to assist in oxygen enhancement. We were in Elk first thing Friday morning and they are in rut and bugling. I was using the Primos pack bugle and there hyper lip and hoochie mama calls. They were responding to all calls. Brian saw multiple bulls, but either they down winded us or were not close enough for a bow shot. We were in bulls for two days. We logged 9 miles the first day and camped at 11,300 ft. Boy was the view spectacular looking right at the Continental divide. I will attach a picture. It will be tough hunting as there is not as much open area to glass from that I thought. So I will have to go into the thick cover to spot and stalk with my rifle. Hopefully I will catch them moving thru open areas early in morning and late afternoon before dark. Located a bunch of water sources which are all over a mile from camp. I have picked out three different camp sites from 10,500 to 11.500ft. I also have decided to only pack in 5 days of food to keep my weight closer to 55 lbs in my pack and leave the rest down at the trail head. I will come down after the fourth day to refuel. It will be tough at times but my training has helped a lot. Time to go after them in Oct 17. I saw no mule deer but Brian has on several occasions hunting with a bow in this area. I will say hunting with Brian was a complete joy. He is probably the most trained and best fit mountain person I have ever hunted with. He was great to hunt with. We both plan on hunting again year after year in Colorado and Wyoming. We are going to put in for sheep and goat in Colorado together which should help me draw sooner due to him being a resident. I found a great hunting partner in Brian. He is an accomplished marathoner, rock climber, mountain biker, back country camper, cross country skier and camp director. This guy can get it done. He hasn't killed alot of big game besides white tail but has all the god given tools to get it done! Thanks Brian for helping me.

Colorado Update

2007-08-27T18:28:00.000-04:00

Hey Folks, Have a few pictures from Mammoth Gulch Area Brian took while hunting the opening day of Archery for Elk in Colorado! 17 days to go until I hit the high country for my scouting trip. I look forward to seeing the continental divide and the mountains I will be hunting in October. Training is complete and its time to test out my hiking skills with loaded pack at high elevation. I will attach some pictures Brian took!!

Chow

Scouting Update

2007-08-14T10:01:00.000-04:00

Checking In,

This Picture is from one of Brian's hikes on one of the 14k mountains within an hour of his house. He has seen many goats on this mountain. I will be applying for the draw in 2008 in this area!. The reports from Brian out in Colorado in the area I will be hunting have been great. He has seen plenty of Elk in the High Country as well as a few nice Mule Deer. One nice 5x5 in the area I will be hunting. I will be going out to scout Sept 14,15,16. I will be carrying my full back which is 65lbs. I know it seems alot but that is what I have trained with and hiked with in the last 6 months. I have climbed over 1000 ft elevations with this full load including my gun attached which takes the weight to 73lbs. I am confident I can carry the load no problem. My pack is holding up great and I love my Lowa boots. Best boots I have ever owned. I will have to carry 100lbs a trip when I am packing out the meat. I am real excited for my first solo scouting trip in the high country in Colorado. My camp will be at approx 10,500 ft elevation. I had to take a deep breath as I was typing that elevation. I will be trying the new altitude vitamins made by wilderness athlete. I will start taking them 6 days before I go. The only concern I have is Altitude adjustment we will find out how I do in 30days. I am still hiking 30 plus miles a week with my pack on every time. The strength increase in my leg and back muscles has been great from carrying the pack. Keep you posted

Good Training Day

2007-07-07T21:04:00.000-04:00

Hey Folks,

Decided to go up to Kempton and hike back in and up to the Pinnacle which is approx 1700ft in elevation. The Kempton Gun club elevation is 545ft. What I am now doing is working on climbing with by 60lb pack and working up hill to build climbing endurance. I also decided to go hike 5 miles this evening with my back to simulate an evening stalk which could happen out west. I climbed and hiked approx 10 miles today. Which could be an average day in the high country. I did real well today and I am getting close to where I want to be. I weighed in tonight at 170lbs and I am going to go to about 165lbs to lose the remainder of my fat. I will start to push even harder up thru to early Oct. as I have settled on 60lb bag as what I will carrying. I will leave Oct 17 at night. Won't be back until Oct 28

I have made the decision to fly out to Colorado in Sept to go on a three day scouting trip in the area I plan on hunting and get a feel for my actual conditioning. I would also be checking out the game and plan out a game plan for the areas I want to cover if I am not seeing game. I am excited to go and see it first hand.

My gun is shooting great out to 300 yds. I am using 200 grain noslar partition as this bullet shoots the best all around. I can group 1/2 shoots at 100 yds. I just need to spend a good morning at 400, 500 and 600 yds to insure my scope is set properly which I think it is already. I am zero'ed in at 200yds. After that I will only shoot off the ground with shooting sticks and my pack to imitate hunting conditions. It has been 7 months of training and preparing so far and 37 lbs lost to conditioning not starving. I will have 10 months total when I leave. I plan on doing some training year around as I feel the best mentally and physically I have felt in 10 years.

Check out the pictures today from the pinnacle rocks. The one view across to the other side where there is a patch of rocks is close to where I shoot the Boone & Crockett Black Bear 500lbs.

PS.... I ate Elk burgers tonight and they were excellant. I like it as much as beef!!

See Ya

Fishing with my Son

2007-07-02T16:36:00.000-04:00

Some of my best times in the outdoors are when I take my son with me. I like to just sit and watch him. The picture is from a local private lake we where fishing at one evening. I am teaching him how to cast!! We didn't real in anything, but sure had fun for a couple of hours.

See ya

Colorado Pictures

2007-06-26T16:08:00.000-04:00

I just received some pictures that were taken last weekend in Colorado. These pictures show several of the mountains and basins I will be hunting in October. Brian stated there is 14 Elk in one of the pictures, but you cannot pick them out! He is still seeing mule deer and elk in the Mammoth Gulch Area. I feel pretty confident that I will be able to locate game based on my conditioning and will to succeed! This hopefully will be a yearly adventure into the high country for big game. Stay tuned for more updates!!!

Colorado Update

2007-06-21T10:27:00.000-04:00

Just checking in, Well it is about 3.5 months to go before my hunt in Colorado. I just got my gun back and had a Jewell trigger and muzzle brake installed. What a difference it made. Gun is shooting great. Training is still going strong. My weight has stayed at 178 and I just need to get down approx 5 more lbs. I am currently walking 5 miles with 67lbs of pack weight which includes my gun which weighs 8.5 lbs. I feel real good. I am going to start hiking weekends up in Kempton up to the pinnacle area. It is a steep climb and goes up from the Gun club 1000ft up. That should give me some good climbing training with my pack. I started taking new vitamins this month which are called Wilderness Athlete Vitamins and I take them twice a day. They have made a difference. They also supply a Altitude Vitamin to assist with helping your body get acclimated to high elevations. I will start taking those vitamins 5 days before I leave. There is a possibility I will be making a scouting weekend in Colorado labor day weekend for three days. Need to talk the the Chief about that first(Alicia) before I make plans. I have also been going up to the Dave Smoker's cabin in New York to do clean up work on the trails. When I go up each time I take my pack and sleep out in my tent. Just getting used to the setup and break down of my gear. It takes me approx 15 minutes to setup my camp and 17 minutes to pack up my camp. One adjustment that I will be making is a new sleeping pad. The one I have keeps leaking air and doesn't have enough loft in it. Is is beautiful country up around Keuka Lake. I have been seeing plenty of whitetails and some turkey as I am clearing lanes. In the next month we plan on fixing some of the tree stands and gunning shacks.

I will also start going to the New Holland Gun Club to get some shooting practice at 400 to 600 yds.

I will keep you posted
Chow

Training & Scouting Update

2007-06-06T14:46:00.000-04:00

TRAINING:
Well alicia and I picked up some new walking and running shoes yesterday. Tried them out last night on my 5 mile jog. Worked great as I am doing 9 minute mile for 5 miles. My goal is to get to 6 minute miles and be able to go 8 miles. If I can put in 40 miles a week running and 10 miles hiking with my pack a week I think it will put me in good enough shape to climb and handle the high country. I am actually feeling the best I felt in 10 years mentally and physically.

SCOUTING: Brian Smoker called again last night and is seeing 3 nice big mule deer together at his house at 9,000ft elevation. He is going back over to Mammoth Gulch this weekend to do more scouting with some of the campers.

Scouting Update From Smoker In CO

2007-06-04T14:13:00.001-04:00

Good News, Brian Smoker who lives 20 miles from the Mammouth Gulch area in Colorado scouted the area last weekend and saw and counted 93 elk and quite a few Mule Deer north of the Mammoth Gulch Area. That is right around were there winter range is supposed to be!! That is within 3-7 miles to where they will be during hunting season or the High Country. Good News Brian will be doing alot more scouting in the coming months. 136 days to go until the Hunt!! It looks like I will be getting my ELK tag which is over the counter starting July 9.

Hello Sports Fans.....

2007-06-04T14:02:00.000-04:00

Well I had a great training weekend!!! I am now getting up early and getting my training in. I hiked 8 miles with 58lbs on my back. I actually felt pretty good and used a couple of sips of water every mile just to keep hydrated. I then came home and proceeded to install 7 yards of mulch around my house. Sunday I jogged 4.5 miles in 40 minutes. Not bad for my first jog. I am going to try to jog 4 days a week (Monday's off)and work up to 10 miles a day. That should put me where I want to be for Colorado. I will carry my pack loaded on weekends 6-8 miles a day. I have found new Vitamins to take which were developed by one of the leading Nutritionist in the Nation. They even have Vitamins for Altitude adjustment. If interested go to www.wildernessathlete.org I ordered them and will start taking them right away. I spoke to there president of the company and he told me to take the altitude vitamins one week before I go to Colorado. I am right at 178lbs and need to get to about 172lbs to feel real comfortable. Go brother Uhrig!!!!
Keep you posted
D

Colorado Deer Draw Results

2007-05-31T15:22:00.000-04:00

Yesssss, I was sucessful in drawing a colorado mule deer tag for 2nd season rifle which is Oct 20-28. I can purchase an Elk tag over the counter starting July 9th.

Turkey Season Wrap Up 2007

2007-05-30T14:05:00.000-04:00

Well Season ended on May 26. It was a fun filled season as I took a youth out for the first time during the youth hunt and he was successful. I shot a nice long beard. Call in some jakes. Worked alot of birds close after taking my first gobbler, but to no avail. If anyone thinks that local birds are tame they need to get out and hunt them the last two weeks of the season. That is when the turkey hunting gets tough and usually only the seasoned turkey hunters are successful. I know of very few people that shot turkeys the last week and a half by calling them in. I had two long beards on several occasions come in but got hung up with 70 yds. I will try some different tactics next year. Overall it was a great turkey season and there will be alot of birds for next year. I plan on getting my son Lee out some next year to get more experience in the turkey woods. In years to come PA will be known as a Turkey Hunting State not a whitetail state. I look forward to hunting in New York next year as this year I didn't due to time constraints. I have been invited to hunt in NJ and possibly Virginia in 2008. We will see if time permits. I plan on going after the Gould's Turkey in Mexico in 2009 or 2010 to complete my Royal Slam.
Well that's all for now!!

Colorado Scouting Update

2007-05-30T11:50:00.001-04:00

Talked to my friend Brian in Colorado. He is starting to see Mule deer around Camp Eden Area @ 9,000 ft. Brain will be a big help this year scouting. He plans on coming out to join me the first weekend in the same area. The Elk & Mule Deer are starting to move back up to the high country. He plans on scouting the Mammoth Gulch area in the next week or two once the snow subsides!! I am hoping in the next four months he will see plenty of elk. Training mode is back in full swing on 5-31-07. I took the month of May off to focus on turkey hunting. I still remained at 179lbs. Still feel pretty good, but if I am going to hunt the high country I will need to get to 170lbs and my cardio conditioning will need to increase a bunch. I am determined to reach my goal and be ready for the challenge of the high country. All gear is in place for the hunt. I am making two more rifle adjustments and then I will start practicing out to 600yds. I don't plan on shooting past 400 yds unless the conditions are perfect. My 300 Weatherby is shooting pretty good. It will be ready to go on Oct 18. Soon time to book my flight to Denver. Keep you posted. See ya

Turkey Down in 2007

2007-05-10T14:31:00.000-04:00

Let the celebration begin. Those two gobblers were out foxed this morning by brother Uhrig. Here's how it went down literally!! I roosted last night with my peacock call and located the two long beards again some 200 yds from there normal roosting area. I also heard two other gobblers where I normally hunt at. GAME ON for tomorrow!! Got up @ 3:30am in anticipation of harvesting one of the two long beards. Got setup up on the bench by 4:30 no flash light as usual going in in the morning as not to spook the turkeys. The birds started to gobble on there own at 5:30 and proceeded to gobble and I light mouth clucked every 10-15 minutes. I went with the light calling strategy. They finally got within 80 yds and hung up. I let out some purrs and clucks and they kept coming and the strutter was trailing behing as usual. They finally got to 40 yds and Paaa Powwwwwwwww got him. The other long beard was real nice also. He alarm putted after I shot the other one and than ran off. It was a hard fought battle for 8 days with these to birds. It was fun and eventful. Another great day outdoors. I also attached a picture of Keith Kemp with his PA Bird he shot this year. Keith and his son Luke are the ones who taught me how to Turkey hunt. I owe alot to them as they are still teaching me.

See ya

Turkey Update

2007-05-08T11:58:00.000-04:00

Well well I am still chasing the turkeys around. I have been hunting two wise old birds that I get gobbling every morning. They are henned up and have been tough to call in. I have been trying for six days usally before work. So that doesn't give me much time. I had them coming in gun range almost this morning but I accidently had my orange hat on because I was ready to head to work. I was in a ditch when I located them and when they came in they must have seen by hat and alarmed putted and took off. I didn't move so I know that's what happened!! Oh well I will try again. I will keep you posted. Another great morning outdoors!!!

chow

Turkey Hunting Update 2007

2007-05-02T15:53:00.000-04:00

Well first off the opening day did not go as planned. I wound up hunting at my old standby location due to the amount of hunters at the Kempton Farm. I had two gobblers on the roost in the morning and they flew down a took off. I hunted until 12:00 and not other gobbling. I have gone out to roste birds several times this week and they are not gobbling much at night especially in areas were there is hunting pressure. I had 5 birds gobbling this morning on the roost and three gobblers game in silent from behind me while I was calling in a long beard in front of me. I swung around a shot twice but missed the bird on the run. I should have waited for the two jakes and longbeard to pass me and then continued to call the longbeard that was coming straight on. Yeah well it was a great morning outdoors.

Good Hunting
Darryl

Youth Turkey Hunt PA 2007

2007-04-21T12:29:00.000-04:00

Good day for 14 year old Justin Sowers. His Dad asked me to take him out for the youth hunt for Turkey this year. I met his Dad and Justin @ 4:45am this morning. I roasted two birds the night before so I had a good idea where they would be at first light. We headed up the hill and and got within a 150 yds from the roosted birds. They gobbled @ 5:45 and we move down the hill some and set up. I tree yelped and call lightly. They gobbled on the roost but where not really hot to come. They flew down and shut up. I could not get them to respond. We sat for some 20 minutes, than I decided to run a gun. Up over the rocks over the top of the hill and we then paralleled where I thought they would be going. I used the box call every 100 or so yards. We cut back over to the side we were on and BAM birds gobbled. I mouth called multiple times and they got hot and started coming. We set up and the birds came right up the trail. Three Jakes and Justin made a clean kill shoot. Exciting day in the woods for the first time turkey hunter. I am real happy for Justin and his Dad. Hopefully he will turkey hunt again.

Trailhead Mammoth Gulch 2007

2007-04-18T13:22:00.000-04:00

This is the Mammoth Gulch Trailhead I will be using this Fall on a DIY(Do-it-yourself) hunt this fall in Colorado! Training is still in full swing. I have no problem walking with 56lbs for 10 miles at 1,000 ft elevation. The question is how will it be for me at 10,000 ft elevation and up?

Colorado Training Update

2007-04-07T21:41:00.000-04:00

Went critter hunting early this morning and saw the same turkey flock again. Hiked 4 miles up to the back of the saddle in Kempton. No coyote sightings today! When the kids took a nap today I hiked around home 7 miles. 11 miles today with my pack on which is currently weighed in at 56lbs. This has been the most I hiked in a day so far with my pack on and I actually feel pretty good! I have approx 6 months to go. I should be ready to handle the high mountains I hope by then. The only uncertinty with be the altitude over 8k. I will kept you updated!!

Lee assists in calling in two Gobblers in 2007

2007-04-02T10:33:00.000-04:00

Turkey Update....I took Lee out to scout for turkey last weekend in Kempton area first and then the Quarry area second. I got him up at 5:15am and we got dressed and headed 45 minutes north to Kempton. We parked and walked up the hill into the fields a couple of hundred yards We set up and did a few light tree yelps and two birds responded. Lee was getting cold right away and was moving alot. We sat there for 20 minutes and tried some more calling with no response. I knew the birds where down and either henned up or coming in silent. Lee was eating snacks and moving around alot. I looked up and there was a gobbler running away from us in the field and I think we spoked him. Lee got to see him run across the field and he laughed. We then packed up and headed home. Along the way he wanted to stop at his breakfast hang out, good old McDonalds!! We got home and he asked rightaway to go back out again so we went over to the Quarry area. We walked in 100yds and I sat him down in my turkey vest seat and placed my coat on him to keep him warm this time. We used the cody glass call and and immediately got two gobblers to resond up on the power lines. I repositioned him towards the birds and continued to purr and cluck with the cody. The gobblers took 15 minutes to work there way down the hill and all of sudden we saw two red head at 25yds. Then the came out spitting and drumming and strutting for Lee and I. He held real still and boy did we see a show. They couldn't find the hens so they started walking away. I then asked Lee if he wanted to try calling with the box call. He said yes and I slowly gave to him and he yelped slowly five times and both longbeards gobbled back to him. He looked at me and said high five daddy. Well friends that made my turkey season a success!! Even though it hasn't even started yet. Stayed tuned for more turkey action with Lee and I prior to the PA and New York seasons starting at the end of this month.

Turkey Season 2007

2007-04-01T08:37:00.000-04:00

Turkey Season is approaching and I started scouting and making mental notes on turkey sitings. There will always be two spots were I know the turkeys will most likely be, but my focus this year is on a new area were I hunt in Kempton in the Blue Mountains chain. It's time to go after some mountain birds. My focus in March and April will be scouting in that area to try to determine turkey movements. I also started making new mouth calls and organized my turkey vest. My Benelli SBEII Shotgun is getting the barrel shorten to 18 1/2 inches and I will be cutting the stock down two inches myself and installing a custom fit Limb saver pad that you cut to fit yourself. It is going to be one compact Turkey Hunting Machine. Hopefully I will harvest some birds this year. I made the decision that I am only shooting Longbeards from now on. No more jakes! Stay tuned for turkey updates.

Hunt Zone Kids Field Trip

2007-03-30T15:34:00.000-04:00

Well the Kids and I went to a local animal show hosted at the local expo center and we got a chance to hold some critters. I wanted the Kids to be able to touch and hold animals with experienced care takers standing right aside of us for protection. They really enjoyed the opportunity!! The were able to touch and pet Lamas, Goats, pigs, cows, lambs, horses, rabbits, turky's etc. at the show. It was a good experience for them.

Missed the critter

2007-03-29T20:20:00.000-04:00

Just Checking In today. I plan on going after those critters again this saturday in Kempton. I will keep you posted.
Went coyote hunting this morning in Kempton, PA. I did four sets and on the first set I called in a coyote and it came in from behind the tree I was sitting at. I missed him on the run with my Rugger 204. I was using screery calls. Well I try again next week. I did hike approx 4 miles with by 54lb pack at maximum elevation of 1,300 ft starting @ 542ft. I did see 6 sets of fresh turkey tracks. Good sign for the turkey opener. I also so many coyote tracks fresh in the snow. There were two areas where they were traveling in groups of three. Wonder why the deer population is down in this area!! I also saw alot of fox tracks as well. There is nothing like hiking in the blue mountain chain on a beautiful Saturday morning.

Coyote Hunting 2007

2007-03-29T17:30:00.000-04:00

The Picture attached is from the 2005 Bear season in which I was lucky to see this coyote and take him with my 300 win mag. Alright, I am off to chase coyote's again tomorrow. I have tried 8 times this year with no sighting. I am going to go earlier tomorrow and hunt from the top of the ridge that has a different wind pattern and try that with the electronic caller. Of course I will be carrying my loaded 54 lb back pack for training for colorado. Keep you posted.

Colorado Mule Deer Draw

2007-03-28T01:11:00.000-04:00

Well I applied for the Colorado Mule Deer Draw for 2007 Second Season Oct 20-28. I plan on backpacking in on my own for 8 days on the mountains right at the continental divide. I will keep you posted on my training for the next 5 months as I will need to get in good shape to hike the @ 10,000 ft.

2006 Hunting Update

2007-03-27T01:05:00.000-04:00

2006 was a sucessful year hunting. I achieved the Turkey double grand slam which was a great achiement. I hunted in Florida, Oklahoma, New Mexico, New York and Pennsylvania. In Montana I arrowed a nice Antelope in September. I saw plenty of good elk on this hunt but the elk and the wind did not cooperate. I stalked two mule deer. The first stalk went well and the nice 4x4 busted out over the top. I did have and opportunity at a 2x2 but passed. The second stalk went real well until I panicked and shoot three times underneath a real nice 4x4 instead of moving with 50yds I shot at 80yds. I did these two stalks without the guide and it was excillerating to say the least.
I would recommend Landwehr outfitters to any hunter who wants to experience the west at a responsible priced hunt with experience guides.

Turkey Season 2007

2007-03-26T14:55:00.000-04:00

It was a great year Turkey Hunting as I was able to take actually two birds of each species. Eastern-3, Osciolla-2, Merriams-2 and Rio Grand-3 in states of PA, New York, Florida, New Mexico and Oklahoma. I had a real bad experience in Florida but I learned some valuable lessons along the way. Overall the grand slam was fun. I don't think I will do it again any time soon. I will some day go for the two birds in Mexico (Goulds & Oscillet birds) to complete my world slam.

New York Whitetail 2005

2007-03-23T22:34:00.000-04:00

Deer Taken in New York 2005 at Dave Smokers Property

2005 Black Bear B&C All Time 21 1/16

2007-03-23T16:13:00.000-04:00

I took this black Bear in 2005 Bear Season in Pennsylvania. He was 8 years 500 lbs. I officially scored by Boone & Crocket Club and is registered at 21 1/16 B&C All Time. Thanks to Larry, Bret, Scott, Eiche, Roger and Emerson for helping to get the Bear out of the woods to the check station in one piece.

2005 Mule Deer

2007-03-23T07:40:00.000-04:00

I harvested this Mule Deer in Montana along the Missouri River Breaks. I was hunting with Landwehr outfitters.

Pennsylvania Black Bear 2004

2007-03-22T22:41:00.000-04:00

Lee with his Daddy's Bear & Larry & Darryl

Maine Picture

2007-03-22T22:38:00.000-04:00

Lee & Daddy Gone Fishing, This is one of my favorite pictures!!

Alaska Caribou Hunt 2001

2007-01-18T12:15:00.000-05:00

Drop camp in Denali National Park early September. My wife Uncle & Aunt invited me up to drop camp hunt with them as they live in Dillingham, AK. We used Pete's float plane to take us out. Linda and pete camped with me and did all the cooking and we used all there camping equipment except for my sleeping bag. I Bow hunted the first 4 days. Switched to rifle and shot this Caribou out 225yds. Saw plenty of Moose, Brown Bears & Caribou. First time hunting Alaska and for Caribou and learned a bunch on what needs to be done in order to get in close next time with a bow when I return some day to the last frontier!! Thanks to Uncle Pete & Aunt Linda for inviting me up to Alaska to hunt. Boy can Aunt Linda breakdown a caribou in the field!! It was a great drop camp hunt. I will return again in the future for sure.