There are a few animals wandering around the area....Had a great day. Drug the dogs along. Hike may have been a little far for Ty but, he kept up with us and never complained or quit even when we were getting into some ugly spots. They had plenty of water and we were taking our time walking slowly watching for animals and trying to get some photos of a bear or two. This area has no hiking trails and the undergrowth grows over most game trails. There are plateaus of fir and ferns then steep bowls and ridges leveling off at the river at the valley floor. When decending the last steep section you end up walking into a dark rainforest. It was an amazing day in the woods.

Darn Paul, that must be some steep mountain. That one pic looked like it was growing sideways..... lol

Beautiful area, but the hiking does look a little challenging. Elk rubs?

Beautiful country.

(Our Summers are such that I probably winced at the first photo, just thinking of all the deer flies swarming such cover. Take a mighty good cause to get me back in the woods before November.)

The smallest tree looked more like a deer rub. The elk like something which is a little more sturdy for pushing against. The big trees have been debarked by bears seeking some nutrients before much is available. The ground here is interesting for the area. Some nice flats then really steep then nice flats. It was steep and my legs are really sore today.

Here was part of the mission. Get a new card in the camera. Too bad someone took the card out then, instead of putting a new clear card in, put the same card back into the camera. Didn't figure it out until we got home to check the pictures....




Ice cold river was the reward at the bottom of the hill. Kaie got in and didn't get out until we left the little beach.

quote:

Originally posted by Crossfire Hurricane:
Awwww so that's what bigfoot scatt looks like ehhhhhh......

yeessss siirrr.....does a bear sh*t in the woods?

quote:

Awwww so that's what bigfoot scatt looks like ehhhhhh......

Doesn't look like big foot scatt to me, unless he was eating pizza and drinking Bud. You can only be sure by taking a very big snort and if it smells like daisies that would be bigfoot scatt. You go first....

Nice! I haven't stuck one with the Mathews yet. Hopefully something will happen this year. Buying some cheapo tree stands to leave up next month. Putting a dummy in it too. Get them used to the object up in a tree.

My hunting partner shot a nice cinnamon bear from my tree stand last year. The rug turned out nice. I was ticked off because I went out on a date instead of going hunting....

Looks like a nice old Winchester there. I have a model 1897 that was my great uncle's. He was an avid duck hunter. He gave it to my Dad before he went off to war. Dad gave it to me the day after I passed my hunter safety class. Kaie bears the name of the ship he went down on. USS Maddox.

quote:

Originally posted by Crossfire Hurricane:
Kevin......those are berry seeds in that there Scatt....LOL

Yes Paul....This is from my Winchester collection .....a "Model 1912 Nickel" it was purchased from Sears Roe Buck for $4.00. I have the documentation.

Does anyone know why Nickel was used ?

Test your history a bit .....

Cinnamon is a phase Blacks go through sometimes .......

Hey next time you place a chip ...do what I do ....put a color coded sticker on it.....I do a lot of recon....In fact more recon than actual hunting ....At night it's hard to hang on with one hand and load a camera in the dark and after mixing up a chip after a 10 mile walk ....I don't get them screwed up any more ...but that is a common mistake ......

Nickle was used because it makes the gun look much cooler than your friends guns. And, because the old 1897 was the original cowboy gun they had to match the silver tack on the horses and the spurs on their boots.

Thats' my story and I'm sticking to it!

What was the benefit of nickel? Good steel resources used elsewhere and nickel was more available?

My 1897 is a nickel finish. WWI would have been the steel shortage culprit. Seems nickel was the choice material at that time period?

BTW, I still take it Quail hunting at least once a year. It has a very nice "broken in" action. Shoots true and the action is smooth as silk when oiled lightly. I have a slight crack in the stock which worries me a little. I've seen the same crack on other 1897's in Cabelas gun library. If I remember correctly, the stamp date on my gun is 1918. I'll have to double check. Picking it up at Mom's this weekend and putting the 1897 and my Browning BAR .243 in my brothers' new gun safe.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Paul Gilmore,

Safari standard calibers include the .22-250 Remington, .243 Winchester, .25-06 Remington, .270 Winchester, .308 Winchester, and .30-06 Springfield. Magnum calibers include the .270 WSM, 7mm WSM, 7mm Remington Magnum, .300 WSM, .300 Winchester Magnum, and .338 Winchester Magnum. Average weight for standard caliber Safari rifles is 7 pounds 6 ounces. Safari magnum rifles weigh 8 pounds 6 ounces (8 pounds 4 ounces for WSM calibers). Overall length is 43 inches for standard calibers, 44 inches for WSM calibers, and 45 inches for belted magnum calibers.

My friends' Dad has a Browning Safari .308 BAR(BSAR if you must) that I shot my first deer with when I was 16. I believe it was one of the first Safari models but, I am not positive. I love these guns! My .243 is by far my favorite caliber for deer, varmint and other unwelcomed guests when I was running the ranch. I got the .243 because I have never shot a deer at over 75 yards even when I hunted the Palouse and Snake River Gorge. (wheat country) I like the light weight, low recoil and ease of follow up shots if needed. I've converted to archery anyways. I figured if I keep taking deer that close with a rifle in wheat country, why not just archery? I've archery hunted in the wheat twice, couldn't close that last 10 yards two times on a couple reallly nice muley's. Late whitetail in the mountains near Canada is definately a lot easier.

Finally got my buddy to send me a couple of the trail cam pictures. Over the last 5 days he had 85 pictures of 5 different bears. Camera was set at 5 minute intervals and many of the bears hung around the cam for some reason?? PG

Paul, Some nice looking bear. Didn't you say this was quite a hike back to the cams..

If you shoot a bear, do you use horses or would you pack it out? I've had some long drags with 150lb deer, I can't imagine getting a 400+ bear out of that terrain...

It's all downhill from here There is an old logging grade which adds about 3 miles to the trip back but, it is all down hill and we can use wheeled carts on the grade.

My buddy,(also Paul) shot a 5x5 elk up there two years ago. Took him 4 trips to get it out with two people helping. But, it really is all down hill which makes it easier.

quote:

Originally posted by Kent Stokesberry:

quote:

many of the bears hung around the cam for some reason??

uhh, it's a popular watering hole? tree bark tastes better here, lots of termites, wild strawberries, huckleberries, salmon berries, under a eagle nest who drops little pieces of fish? Not sure why this spot so popular.......
That sow should be pretty hefty come fall....still not alot of food up there....dang! I've never hunted bear from a tree stand in heavy timber with a bow. I'm a little nervous about it right now. My buddies bear rug is starting to over-ride my better judgement...PG

Paul i get plenty of bears where i am at! If you want a bear Just bring the previous nites garbage out with you!! Last one my buddy killed had a babies diaper in its stomach!! true story!

BTW i'll be up in your neck of the woods soon!

Can't bait or use hounds in WA. since our wonderful PETA types took over power. Now, all their multi-million dollar estates are terrorized by bears and cougars. I'm happy to see it. Last year, not far from where I live now a motorcycle rider was jumped on by a cougar while he was doing about 40MPH on a back road at dusk.

Just a matter of time. All the law makers and lobbyists are the ones paying the price for the bear and cougar population explosion due to the hunting law changes they pushed.

We can now carry sidearms as bow hunters. New this year. Makes me feel a little better. I have a .44 on my Christmas list.

Send me a PM when you're heading up. We'll get together and train or at least grab a bite to eat. Paul