This wolf had been terrorizing campers near Salmon, Idaho for months.

An Idaho hunter shot this wolf just outside her home near Salmon, Idaho. While waiting for the pack to make their rounds and come near their home again, they looked in the woods below them and there was this wolf. He weighed 127 lbs. He was a collared wolf and by the time they checked it in (1.5 hours later), Fish & Game already knew about the wolf and said they had been hunting for him as this wolf pack had been terrorizing campers lately. They had a couple of guys “treed” in the cab of their pickup all night at a campground a few days earlier. He is now skinned and hanging at their place.

Check out our wolf hunts.

See the original article at GotHunts.com

Tags: another-wolf, hunting, idaho, idaho-while, time, upon-something

I know, that title doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but somehow after what happened yesterday and how I feel today, and what I feel like I should do tomorrow it all makes perfect sense.  In short, yesterday I got talked into going chukar hunting with two of my sons, Todd and Tom.  Today I feel like I got hit by a bus and tomorrow I got this hankering to go see a psycho to find out why I let myself get talked into this excursion.  Worst of all I have only to look in the mirror to find the guy who introduced these two to the joys of chasing these feathered fiends all over the hills.  When the three boys were small and woke up on Saturday mornings between September and January, wondering where dad was, if he wasn’t elk or deer hunting, they more than likely heard that he was chukar hunting.  So I’m sure there was a certain amount of curiosity as to what this chukar hunting was all about, especially since there was very little meat that came out of these hunts.

In this barren country there is some real beauties such as this water fall which we found a short distance from the road.

Now I’m reaping my reward for getting them cranked up about such a hopeless cause.  My mind is still saying yes but the body is calling me some awful names.   Deep inside I knew better, but it wasn’t until we stopped at the base of the hill and looked up that I had to face the fact that my smarts had stayed at home.  Roaming the hills for elk is one thing, but chasing these berating little birds is another.

Looking down river on the Snake. This is looking at the south slopes where the snow line is higher.

The boys were kind enough to give me the south slope of the hill to hike up on as the north slope became snow covered shortly after leaving the pickup.  We had hiked for an hour, seeing no birds and hearing no shots, before I started getting those familiar feelings of being snookered by my own mind into thinking this would be fun.  Shortly after I was reasoning with myself and coming up with the sane idea that there was no birds around and I might as well head back down.  Just then I heard my first bird calling and as close as I could tell it was coming from way up in the head of the canyon.  To those that haven’t heard the chukars’ call, it sounds like their name ‘chukar’, but to those that have hunted them it sounds more like ’sucker’.  I don’t know what there is in that call that makes us do stupid things, but all thoughts of reason and the pickup disappeared and I headed back up the canyon.  Looking across the canyon I could see the boys struggling in the snow but they had evidently heard them too and were heading up the hill.

Lunch break, Todd and Tom. Thank goodness for the ridges which gave some relief from the deep snow.

Within thirty minutes I too had reached snow line even on the south slope, and shortly thereafter found out what the boys had been dealing with.  I had kind of thought they were over doing it that morning when they put on there heavy boots as I chose my 6″ hikers.  Sons are now smarter than dad.  It was the kind of snow where you could walk on the crust four or five steps then you’d fall though.  First it was up to the knee, then it became up to the high center mark.  I was exhausted, but those birds sounded just around the corner.  The next time I fell though the crusted snow I lost one of my 6″ hikers and it’s just as well as I had to take the other one off too as it also was needing to be emptied of snow.  I hadn’t gone 20 feet when the bottom went out again.  I was just standing awkwardly in this hole wondering if it would work to call AAA to get me a tow truck to pull me out when less then 10 yards ahead of me two chuckers took off.  I should have saved my lead but I didn’t come this far or work this hard just to watch chukars fly off without a fight.  They were far enough out there by the time I got situated good enough to shoot that I’m sure all those #6 shot were responding to gravity long before they got to the birds.   I was thoroughly disgusted with myself and was having a little talk with self when a third bird barrelled out from the same bush.  Bird going down hill, pull below it and fire.  This bird was going down hill, but was still on the rise.   Self, your brain has got to react faster then that.  I had reached my limit so I sat there and waited for the boys to come around to where I was.  As they came I saw at least 4 covies leave the area ahead of them.  These birds had evidently been well educated and were leaving early.

Getting below snow level we spread out for one more shot. Nice thought but not very productive.

When Todd and Tom reached me, they dined on their cold pizza and I on my chicken sandwich as we discussed our disgust for these birds.  These were some of the most uncooperative birds we had ever seen.  One thing we acknowledged was defeat and we might as well start our 1600′ vertical decent to the pickup.   When we cleared snow line we spread out along the hillside to give it one last try.  Hope springs forever, you know, for hunters.   Tom got caught blowing his nose when a bunch of 15 got up and he gave them a ‘fair thee well’ send off.  About twenty minutes later I had a long shot at the same bunch I think.   So as Todd put it, I was 0 for 4, Tom was 0 for 1 and he hadn’t missed all day so he did the best.  I couldn’t argue with that.  It still doesn’t give us much to eat though.

The snow storm hit us about half way down and kept us moving till we hit the road at the bottom.

The thing that scares me the most about myself after that day is, if the season were still open next Saturday, I’d probably be fool enough again to have another go at them.

This article by: BaseCampLegends.com

Tags: article, chucker hunting, hill, hills, hunting, monday-morning, north, pickup, road, time

When I was a small girl, I remember going to my uncle’s property to hunt deer, turkey, dove, quail, etc with my family. I loved being out in the woods, running free, watching the wildlife. My dad would take me to hunting camp, despite the comments from the older members; dad would put me in the woods with my grandfather’s Smith & Wesson model 1000 shotgun and say, “sit still and good luck”! I only ever shot one doe, and we never found her…I was heart broken.

As the years went by, the family grew apart. I found myself driving my very old Grandfather to hunting camp, just so I could get another chance at another deer.  No Luck, I grew older as did the relatives, and there was no one to take me hunting, but you could always find me outdoors either at the horse shows or at the mud hole, which is where I met my husband of 19 years.

Bryan has been a hunter all his life and we kicked it off immediately.  We married, had a son and moved to North Carolina and had our second son. Bryan joined a Hunting club in Georgia, that we are still apart of to this day. It was at this club with my husband, that I really learned how to hunt. I was taught how to watch and “let the deer get closer” and where to put a stand, etc. I harvested my first doe on that club, weighing in at 120 lbs, while my husband sat in the truck with the boys watching a clear cut. That was it, I was really hooked! No, I wasn’t the first woman in camp to hunt, but I was the first to hunt as hard as the men do.  Sure, I have heard the same questions over the years; “How do you do it”? My only answer to that was “How can you not”? The woods are my sanctuary. Things always seem clear when I’m in the woods. And I have seen some wonderful things in the woods!

Over the years, I have harvested some nice deer and I’m always proud of whatever I do harvest. I hunt Alligator, Turkey, Deer, Ducks, Coyotes, Fox and Bobcat. I am open to try anything once. I fly fish in the spring and summer months but hunting is always on my mind.

I have been married for 19 years to my “hunting mentor” lol, Bryan. We have two sons, Bryan Jr. and Boone. Bryan Jr. is currently in the Navy and fishes and duck hunts with us when he takes leave. Boone is in the woods and water with us all the time and has become quite the hunter.  I know a lot of other ladies that hunt hard like me and I love meeting other lady hunters.

Jennifer L. Metzker

See the original article at CampWildGirls.com

Tags: boys, deer, from-the-older, georgia, over-the-years, spring, time, turkey, woods, years

I get asked all the time what type of .22 parents should get their kids, so I did a little research and here you go. For my kids’ first gun, we went with a cheap bb gun. Nothing fancy, just something so they could learn the mechanics of loading, cocking, aiming and firing. It didn’t take my son long and he wanted to “graduate”, so we looked at air rifles first, but then decided on a .22 rifle (I almost went with a .17, but that was more for me, so I restrained myself).

I already have 3 or 4 .22’s around the house, but they were all too long for my son and not the right gun for him. So here are some good choices for your kids.

Basically, there are a few different kinds of rifle available for the new shooter: the single-shot bolt action, the bolt action repeater, the lever action repeater, the pump-action repeater, and the the semi-auto repeater.

I’m a fan of single-shot bolt action rifles for first-time shooters, because shooting them requires several steps for loading, time to think about each shot, and the whole process is suitable for teaching. For smaller-statured kids, there’s probably no better than Keystone Arms’ Crickett, which comes in several kid-pleasing colors:

Keystone Arms’ Crickett comes in several kid-pleasing colors

The little Cricketts are just over two feet in total length, weigh pretty much nothing, and are excellent “starter” rifles.

If you’d like something a little more classy, then the Savage Cub is a pretty little thing:

The Savage Cub is a pretty little thing

…the Marlin 915Y isn’t a bad choice either:

The Marlin915 aint bad either.

If your kids are older, and close to adult size, you may want to look at the Stevens Favorite:

Try the Stevens Favorite for older kids

If the budget’s an issue, which it is for me, then a cheaper option is the H&R Sportster:

The H&R’s 5lb weight makes it a natural for kids.

When it comes to affordable bolt-action repeating rifles, my pick is the Marlin 981T. It holds 14 rounds, the action is smooth, and the trigger is good.

A very accurate rifle

For about the same money, you could look at the Savage Mk II series (the only budget .22 rifle available left-hand):

The Savage also has the excellent “Accu-Trigger”, and has a removable 10-round magazine

Lever-action repeating rifles, are more expensive than both the above types. Probably the most common is the Marlin 39A:

the action of the “39” has had the longest uninterrupted production run (since 1891) of any rifle type in existence

Speaking of old-timers, one of the oldest names in rifles is “Henry”, and the Henry Repeating Arms Company makes a very pretty (but quite spendy) lever-action .22 rifle, the Golden Boy:

A good lookin’ gun, but I’m not sure it’s a great choice for kids.

When I was a kid, I had a pump-action repeater, but sadly, the market for them is not big—and I can’t understand why because pump-action .22 rifles are a blast (pardon the pun) to shoot. Winchester no longer makes their ancient Model 62, and even Taurus’s faithful copy, also called Model 62, seems to be getting hard to find. Here’s the Taurus 62R:

Pump action .22s are my favorites

Henry also makes a pump-action rifle, and it has a cool looking octagonal barrel, but it’s more expensive.

If you want to know, I’d get a Henry Octagon in a heartbeat.

And finally, there’s the Remington Mod 572 Fieldmaster.

This is what I had as a kid. I loved this gun.

Now, the only category left is the semi-auto repeater. In my humble opinion, these aren’t the right choice for a kids first gun, so I’m not going to list my picks here. I hope this helps, and I know I’m probably going to get some argument from you. Let me know what you think.

See the original article at GotHunts.com

Tags: 22 rifle, action, facebook, gear/apparel, henry, henry-repeating, keystone-arms, kids, marlin, product promotions, remington, time

Stacey Huston says ‘look out your window’

We all enjoy venturing out into nature, if for nothing more than to recharge our souls. Nature has a way, if you are willing to put aside the pettiness of life, of putting life into perspective. She shows us the simple little things in life and lays them all out for each to discover.

If you are willing to look and listen, nature has the answer to most any problem. I hear people tell me all the time that if they had my camera, or my lens, or if they lived where I do, then they would be able to take good photos too. However, it honestly isn’t the equipment you use; cameras and lenses are only tools, even though I am pretty proud and protective of my camera. It is all in how you choose to look at life. You do not have to have the most expensive camera, and I can tell you from experience, if you enjoy wildlife photography, you will NEVER have a camera with a good enough zoom. Nature still exists, and will always do the coolest things just outside of your “zoom” range – that is part of the beauty of nature and my draw to photography. There are so many cool and wonderful things, and the ones that I am allowed to capture and share with the world are each a special gift to me. As for where I live, well it is a pretty amazing place, but there is beauty everywhere – if you choose to look for it, you will find it.

People, for the most part, tend to get stuck in the rut of life and with the state of our economy, it may only get tougher for those who have forgotten how to look and see the beauty that is all around them.

Look out your window; look in your own back yard. I would say that nature is there with all her glory and wonder, just waiting for you to discover the little treasures that she has placed there. Just for you, to remind you of what is truly important. Don’t overlook or take for granted what nature has to offer. In fact, my most valued gifts are the ones I almost took for granted, because I look out my window, or walk by them every day.

The mule deer cross through my yard everyday, morning and night. I know they are coming and will often find myself watching for them, but I very seldom stop to truly appreciate the beauty that they bring to my world each time they do. But on this evening, when I looked out my window, I saw things in a different light, as the sun’s light drained from the world that surrounded me, and the cool evening turned the air blue and cast dark shadows over the landscape. I was reminded once again that beauty isn’t only found by searching, going miles into the woods, or by spending thousands of dollars on expensive equipment and gas. Beauty is and has always been right in front of you … all you have to do is look.

To take a photo in low light it is important to eliminate camera shake as much as possible, and most photographers suggest using a tripod and remote shutter release to accomplish this task. With this shot, though, I did not have much time to think the shot through before the buck disappeared over the rise, or the light left completely, so I quickly grabbed my camera, slipped out on the deck and braced the camera in the corner, where our railing and porch post come together. I waited until the deer sky-lined, and took the photo, leaving the flash on for a faster shutter speed. Since he was walking away from me there was no eye shine. A little contrast adjustment and saturation removed more of the detail, leaving this silhouette photo. (Exposure 1/100 F6.3 at 400mm ISO400)

~Stacey Huston

Stacey Huston is an outdoorswoman to the core, and would much rather spend time in the high country than in the local shopping mall, and feels more at home in heavy timber than in a salon. She is an accomplished photographer and is the staff photographer for Journey With Red Hawk T.V. series. Stacey is also a licensed falconer and raptor rehabilitation volunteer, helping injured raptors to once again soar on open skies. She      resides with her husband of 18 years and their two boys in the mountains of western Wyoming. To see her photography, go to http://afocusinthewild.blogspot.com/

© 2010, womensoutdoornews.com. All rights reserved. January 10, 2010 by Women’s Outdoor News

See the original article at TeamHuntress.com

Tags: adventure, beauty, camera, landscape, mountains, photo, photography, stacey-huston, time

My very own – could be a lifetime movie – true story …

I had just sold my townhouse and moved in with my hunter.  The house belonged to my husband’s Grandfather and we decided we would stay there until we found a house together. Grandpa’s house was an older home surrounded by very old large evergreen trees and bushes.  The house sat on a corner on a very busy street just down from the local high school.  I never felt unsafe there until one very dark cold fall morning.

Mark and I just got a new puppy.  Having a new puppy requires lots of training at all hours of the night and early morning hours in a very dark and scary backyard.  Mark had just left for work at about 4:00 a.m. and of course the dog wanted out.  I threw on a sweatshirt, turned the back porch light on and we headed out the back stairs. Mark and I stayed on the third floor that exited out 1 set of stairs to a landing and then as you turned left to another set of stairs that lead to the backyard.  After the first set of stairs, I turned on the landing to the second set of stairs and there he was.  Someone in the bushes about 20 feet ahead.  I stood frozen with my dog in my arms.  It felt like a lifetime before my brain caught up with what I saw and what I was suppose to do.

Finally, I quickly stomped up the stairs, slammed the door and called 911.

Except isn’t wasn’t 911.

Operator:  City and State please.

Panicked maniac:  Hammond, Indiana.

Operator:  Listing please.

Oh dear god.  I called 411.

By this time I was shaking and in a panic.  What if he ran up the stairs after me?  I finally reached 911 and then I called Mark at work.  There was an off duty police officer in the area that knew Mark and knew we were living there.  From the window, I watched the police officer search the grounds as Mark pulled up.  They both searched the neighborhood and saw nothing.

I was hysterical.  I kept replaying it in my mind.  How long I just stood there.  Frozen in time. Staring at him.  He was tall, wearing a dark sweatshirt and sweatpants.  His hood was up and his head was down hiding between two of the evergreens.  I will forever have that image etched in my brain.

Police officer:  Maybe it was just the paperboy.  Try to calm down.

Me:  It wasn’t the paperboy.  He stood there with his head down. Hiding.  Right there.

Mark:  Maybe he was pissing in the bushes.

Me:  No words were necessary.  The look on my face said it all.

They were there for a good hour before Mark headed back to work and I headed to my mother-in-law’s house just a few doors down.  My mother-in-law and brother-in-law tried convincing me of the same.  Or maybe it was a jogger. Everyone was making me crazy and they needed to stop talking.  I needed to call my Mom.  She will understand.  But it was the same sympathy.  No one wanted to scare me and agree there was someone in our bushes.

When I told my story to others;

A friend:  I’d agree it was probably the paperboy.

The friends state trooper friend:  I’d agree, it was probably the paperboy pissing in the bushes.

Me:  Or … Ummm …  Maybe it was the Tooth Fairy or Santa.

There was no paperboy in the neighborhood that morning.  There was no jogger.  The person in the bushes would have seen the light go on and heard me come down the first set of stairs.  Yet they never moved.

No one will ever convince me otherwise.  I know what I saw.  I know how I felt and I know what could have happened.

I also know this – you never know how you will react in situations until those situations happen.  I never thought I’d just stand there frozen as long as I did before it hit me what I needed to do.

And for the love of working in an office for over 20 years – 411 can I help you? Oh dear god.

Have a good day all … I need to practice my 911 dialing skills like a 2 year old.  Even a dog has dialed 911.

See the original article at TheHuntersWife.net

Tags: humor, light, mind, neighborhood, paperboy, stairs, time

My husband Mark and I did something yesterday we haven’t done in awhile together – visit our parents.  Our first stop was his Moms.  She just had surgery on her knee a couple of weeks ago and can’t get around much.  She mentioned she hadn’t had a haircut in a couple of months so my husband volunteered to trim her hair.

Jody:  What?

Mark:  I trim my hair all the time.

Mother-in-law:  You sure you can cut my hair Markie?

(Jody thinking:  OMG. PLEASE. NO.)

Jody:  Maybe we can call her hairdresser to come to the house.

Mark:  I can cut it.

(Jody thinking:  Oh Mother-in-law, you don’t let your son cut your hair. I’m trying to save you.  I know it’s your pain pills.)

Jody:  I’m sure her hair girl will come to the house. MARKIE.

Mark:  I can handle it.

Mother-in-law:  Just a little around the ears Markie.

Jody:  But…

(Jody thinking: Oh heavens. Wonder if there’s a bottle of vodka hid down stairs?)

My husband cut her hair and then I gave her a good shampooing.  It actually turned out alright.  Well, until her real hair dresser asks, “Who cut your hair last Marilyn?”

On to my parents house.  My Dad was diagnosed with throat cancer 8 months ago and is still having a few issues.  Because of some swelling he needs to write what he wants to say. After a few notes back and forth with my husband Mark, I took the notepad to see what my Dad had to say earlier in the day.  Maybe he was having a good day and wrote love notes to my Mom.

But … well … is this what happens after being married 50 years?

Umm yea.  The meatloaf was good but the squirrels are as fat as her.  And the birds.

WT?

I need a cupcake.

I’m going to blame it on the pain pills.

P.S. – The spelling?  My Dad use to do the newspaper crossword puzzles daily until he got sick.  Instead, he has found his entertainment walking around the house with his gun holster on and his Colt in it.

P.S.S. – For those of you that don’t own a gun … his Colt is NOT a horse, it’s a gun.  I thought he finally bought that lil pony I always wanted.

Have a good day all … my Mom and I are off to the gym right after I eat a few checkers.

See the original article at TheHuntersWife.net

Tags: actually-turned, around-the-ears, colt, entertainment, hair, hairdresser, house, newspaper, pain, parents, the hunters wife, time

I’ve heard about Project Healing Waters which takes disabled veterans fly fishing to help with healing of the mind and soul.   I’ve found that my time on and in the water casting a line does wash away my cares and problems, if even for the short term.  It is very restorative.   I found some of their stories as well as others on the Real American Stories website.  Read and watch these inpirational stories at Real American Stories – Project Healing Waters.

See the original article at SilverSageRealty.com

Tags: cares, fishing, idaho, inspiration, mind, project, project-healing, short, stories, stories-as-well, the-original, their-stories, time, veterans, waters