Remember this guy? I was fortunate enough to meet him last March when he was a brand new black bear. I knew that our awesome bear biologist were out checking dens and sent a message to one of them asking if they had gone to King's den yet and if the cubs were there with her. My timing could not have been more perfect; they were heading to her den the next day! Using the same technology as they did the year before, they found King under a network of cedar blowdowns. She weighed in at 156lbs - four pounds heavier than she was the year before, and looked totally healthy. Last year, King had given birth to a male and female cub. Only the male cub was in the den with her this year. While the female cub could have...
Dan Johnson from The Nine Finger Chronicles started doing listener reviews of bows. It was an unbiased way to hear from everyday people about what was working for them and what bows they liked or didnt like and why. As a beginner and newbie to the world of archery, I offered to review a couple of bows. It also helped that I was in the market to buy one. Dan posted what he was hoping to get for information on each bow and left it up to us. I was the first woman on the podcast and the first woman to review bows. You can listen to the podcast of Dan and me talking about the PSE Stringer and the Mission: Craze...
I was going to get the first shot in. I put the pin on the target and released. Hubby spun around, "where did it go?" I shook my head, "I have no idea" And just like that, I was down to five arrows. We put the kiddo down for his nap and lugged our gear outside. This was the first time that we were shooting at our house and not in the archery shop. I lined up again to shoot and realized that I hadn't lined up my peep with my sight for that first shot. I tried to determine how far off my first shot had been but it was pointless. I still haven't found that arrow. I had Hubby take photos and video so that I could look at my form and posture and attempt to fix some of the early issues that I was noticing; like...
One of the few good things about social media is connecting with folks who are like you in order to compare notes, get tips and tricks and share in successes. One of the coolest women that I have met is Skye Goode who is a rock-star trapper. Learning from the book "Hoofbeats of a Wolfer" by O'Gorman, Skye watched her family members as they trapped mink, raccoons and muskrats. Her uncles got into beaver and fox trapping which helped to give Skye a more complete picture of how to learn each animal’s behavior and habitat and the types of traps, lures and set ups that worked best for each. The tipping point for Skye’s own trapping career happened when she shot a buck, “I shot a buck with my bow in the evening...
On January 22nd of 2015, I semi-conquered my fear of coyotes. I went with Steve to his bait pile and we called in my beautiful 37lb male coyote. My coyote from 2015 A few weeks ago, we went back to the same spot. The coyotes had been staying close to the bait pile and their well worn trail ran just behind the shack. When we got there, the wind was blowing and the temperatures were dropping. It was a lot colder than it had been last year and for some reason, I had forgotten by good hunting boots and had to wear my 'normal' winter boots which were not big enough to get two layers of socks in. Getting ready to head to the shack There were fresh tracks when we got to the shack, which was promising. Steve set out the...
When I said that I was interested in trying out some bows, the first thing out of the guy's mouth was, "these are the only ones we have in pink or purple." He hadn't even finish the sentence when I noticed Hubby take a step back. "Good, then those are the only ones I don't want to shoot." I replied. The guy had no idea what to do or how to respond but after an awkward pause, he said that he should measure is to see what our drawn length will be. As he fumbled with the measuring tape, I wondered if it was even worth staying there. I did not feel like I was being taken seriously and it was clear that the employee was hoping he would be helping Hubby and not me. I knew nothing about bow hunting going into this. I was...
** The following is an article that I wrote for The Liberty Project. It was originally published on November 16, 2015 here. I was never paid by The Liberty Project so they don't own the copyright. Why trusting yourself is key for success in the outdoors It is critical to know and feel comfortable with any situation you put yourself in. This is especially true if your goal is to bring home meat for the freezer. You need to have a level of knowledge and understanding about why you are there and what you want to accomplish. Everything about being successful in the outdoors comes from a sense of trust: in yourself, your tool and your training. My training came from my Dad. I started to...
There was running water on almost every trail but sometimes, you just have to get on the snowmobile and ride. Last weekend Dad, Hubby and I decided to ride around and see if we could find our deer. I secretly wished to find a shed but that didn't happen. An eagle flew from a tall spruce tree as we crossed a field and headed into the woods. There were wet spots, muddy spots and running streams but we pushed on. The amount of deer tracks were incredible. Crossing the snowmobile trails, gathered around ground hemlock... our herd was having an easy winter with lots of food available with no real effort needed to find it. We headed down a side snowmobile trail that runs parallel to the trail that we take to get to...
Mentally, I am not ready to hunt with a bow. I am confident in my rifle to know that I can drop a deer dead in its tracks. I have seen the damage that my 150 (or 180) grain bullet can do to the inside of a deer and I am comfortable with that because I know that the deer did not know what hit it when I squeeze the trigger. Maybe that sort of shot is possible with a bow but from what I have seen on tv and with other hunters posting on social media, it is more likely that the deer will run off and die, assuming that it is a good shot. I have also seen far more bow hunters talk and post about how they have lost a deer than my fellow rifle hunters. That is the last thing I want to happen! After this season and talking with...
