Average Joe Hunting Adventures with Dan and CJ

[sn.outdoors]

I had a fun weekend with the family up in my moose area. Aside from the extra long drive, the kiddos seemed to love every minute of it. I don't think I've seen my son so happy. He laughed, giggled, or was in awe of everything he saw. Despite the stress of getting there and back, it was well worth the effort. We didn't see any people while at our camp, and we had deer and elk around camp almost constantly.

It didn't take long for my son to figure out we were looking for strawberries.

My daughter was not convinced trillium would taste good, but she changed her mind pretty quick.

There's nothing like fresh wildberries and Haagen-Dazs.

 

[sn.outdoors]

We ended up camping not far away from a spring, so we had no shortage of critters passing through camp. These mule deer would come down to the spring to get water several times each day and didn't seemed bothered by us being there. It was amazing to see all these animals go to a specific water source, especially considering how clean the creeks and rivers are in the area. It just goes to show how important high quality hydration is.

My dog was not sure what to think about all the animals milling around camp, but he did behave himself very well. With how many wolves are supposedly in the area, I was very surprised when the deer didn't mind my dog running around chasing butterflies like a fairy.

 

[plumber1969]

Guys I truly wish you both the best of luck. As a Navy veteran who put in 10 years 2 months and 15 days (but who is counting) and being deployed over 8 of those years, it is great to see how the two of you are making the most of your duty stations. Myself and the wife are Colorado bound in 68 days to our Limited Entry elk hunt.

 

[Lostinthewoods]

Guys I truly wish you both the best of luck. As a Navy veteran who put in 10 years 2 months and 15 days (but who is counting) and being deployed over 8 of those years, it is great to see how the two of you are making the most of your duty stations. Myself and the wife are Colorado bound in 68 days to our Limited Entry elk hunt.

Thank you, plumber1969!
I can't even imagine having been deployed for that much..... that's honestly a whole new level.
I've been my fair share, but over 8 of your 10 years, 2 months, and 15 days... WOW!

Good luck to you and your wife in Colorado!!!!! I hope you guys have a ball and put down some big ol bulls!

 

[Lostinthewoods]

My mind is absolutely blown right now..... today Oklahoma released their controlled hunts and......
I DREW AN ANTELOPE TAG! The best part is it bumps right up to my elk hunt!!!!
It's almost like I plan these things to minimize leave time used


It's a doe only rifle tag and it's good for two doe antelope!!! SO EXCITED FOR SOME ANTELOPE MEAT!!!!

 

[sn.outdoors]

Yesterday, I completed the first major stepping-stone in something that isn't normally my forte. 6 months ago an individual approached me with an idea to start a gun club which would use the base's off site range... The only thing required was someone to get it started. So I said sure, why not? How hard could it be?

Well, it certainly wasn't easy, and I needed the help of a lot of people who are smarter than me. I know it won't be simple from here on, but yesterday afternoon we officially fired the first rounds down range as a club. It was quite the learning experience, and if you ask Dan he'll tell you just how frustrating it was at times. But I'm glad to say we're over the first big hurdles, and will soon be able to host a safe shooting location for the local area. I'm not sure where this thing will go from here, but I have high hopes for the club's future.

Thanks to my wife for actually getting a few photos of the occasion. I was too busy "kissing hands and shaking babies" as one of my good friends says.


**disclaimer** The club is a private organization. It is not part of the Department of Defense or any of its components and it has no governmental status. Also, I swear, I'm not shooting the 2 liters 5yds away from me.

 

[sn.outdoors]

I've finally made up my mind, and decided to sneak a week of leave into late September to chase after elk in the rut. I've been doing a solid amount of e-scouting scouting and have narrowed it down to 2 large areas that aught to give me more than enough room to explore, and maybe some opportunity.

Finding things like this help reassure me that there are most likely elk around...


When I was deployed prior to my first ever elk hunt, I spent almost every extra minute of my time scouring around Google Earth looking for ideal spots. I ended up finding a meadow with 7 elk in it. I went there less than a week after returning from the deployment, and killed an elk a day and a half later 500m from the meadow. It ended up being a very productive spot. I'm hopeful finding these few critters in Idaho is also a good omen.

I'm heading up there early tomorrow morning and I'll spend all day scouting tomorrow and a little bit of Sunday morning. I'm gonna try a to document a few ideas I've had floating around, so make sure to check for updates Sunday or Monday night. It'll depend on how tired I am when I get back.

 

[Lostinthewoods]

Have fun up there, CJ!
It's definitely a bad sign when you see them from google earth... better go somewhere else

 

[sn.outdoors]

I do not have enough lifetimes to explore each nook and cranny Idaho has. I think this spot had some serious potential. I'm amazed I saw moose, whitetail, mule deer, antelope, and elk all in the same valley. Such a diverse place.

I didn't get too far into the woods before I found this little guy...

These bulls were parked on a bench about a million miles away. I guess there's no such thing as too high for these guys.

This trail aught to be a good place to remember. I'm not much of a trail camera guy, but I had to put one on this to see what's going on.

I wonder where they got the inspiration to call these things the Sawtooths?

The area does not lack steep terrain. More lunges, stair steppers, and squats are in my future.

It's a little weird seeing antelope walking around at the 9000' range. I would be extremely happy to have an opportunity for a buck like this come September. I need to get back down in the desert and start scouting.

 

[Crossbowguy]

Those are some awesome pics and experiences with your families! Just spent a week in Maine vacationing with the family in a small cabin in the middle of no where in South Addison on the coast watching crab boat pick up lobsters in their pots everyday as well as some time in Acadia National Park. Got to see my first moose on the way to ME near the border with NH. You guys must have some serious optics on your camera because I couldn't zoom in that close on that moose....

Keep you adventures coming because they are awesome guys!

 

[sn.outdoors]

Those are some awesome pics and experiences with your families! Just spent a week in Maine vacationing with the family in a small cabin in the middle of no where in South Addison on the coast watching crab boat pick up lobsters in their pots everyday as well as some time in Acadia National Park. Got to see my first moose on the way to ME near the border with NH. You guys must have some serious optics on your camera because I couldn't zoom in that close on that moose....

Keep you adventures coming because they are awesome guys!

Thanks for following along, and it sounds like you had quite the adventure yourself.

The camera I'm using is an Olympus EM5-mkii. I have the 12-100 f/4 lens and the Panasonic 100-300mm lens. Since it's a micro four-thirds camera it has a 2x crop factor, which makes the lenses 24-200mm and 200-600mm. The best part is they both fit in my cargo pockets. Most of my animals pics are with the 100-300 lens, but I can get a pretty good image with either lens.

I am by no means a camera expert or even an amateur. I just chose this setup based on size and the fact I can get 600mm equivalent lens that fits in my pocket.

My next adventure will be a trip back home to WI. There's a lot of fish that need to be caught. I'll be going back to the cabin I spent much of my childhood, and I can't wait to take my daughter fishing in the same place I caught my first fish. I can't wait.

 

[Crossbowguy]

wait till you see what I post with my food plot work from week before last....cant wait to see your pics from home with your daughter fishing your childhood spots.

 

[Lostinthewoods]

Those are some awesome pics and experiences with your families! Just spent a week in Maine vacationing with the family in a small cabin in the middle of no where in South Addison on the coast watching crab boat pick up lobsters in their pots everyday as well as some time in Acadia National Park. Got to see my first moose on the way to ME near the border with NH. You guys must have some serious optics on your camera because I couldn't zoom in that close on that moose....

Keep you adventures coming because they are awesome guys!

I use to hunt way up in the North Maine woods, pretty close to your area.
If you're familiar with the golden road, we'd camp up around there near Mt. Katardin!
It's so beautiful up there!!!!

 

[Lostinthewoods]

wait till you see what I post with my food plot work from week before last....cant wait to see your pics from home with your daughter fishing your childhood spots.

Very excited to see your food plot work!!!!

 

[Lostinthewoods]

Today I shot in my first ever 3D shoot!
It was tons of fun and I was able to meet my goal!
Going into it for the first time I told myself I didn't want to miss any targets!

Well, I was successful. I shot well, everything felt good, and I missed out on 3rd by 1 point!

I'll have to start doing more of those for sure.

With elk season approaching quickly, it's good to know that my bow and I are one!

 

[Lostinthewoods]

My good friend was able to check one of my cameras for me in Kentucky.
It was a spot that I was really excited to see the results in and so far so good!!!!!

Going into it I had a feeling I'd be seeing a lot of does and that it would be an awesome spot for Nov.
In less than 3 weeks I had over 200 pictures and they were all of deer! (85% does and 15% bucks)
There are few resident bucks that are looking great for the area and one very nice buck.
There are also two separate does with fawns (one has one and one has two!)



Here are some of the does and smaller bucks.....

 

[Lostinthewoods]

Here is one very nice buck that showed up. I'm not going to fall off my rocker yet because he only showed up twice, but all I need is for him to show up once in November

 

[Lostinthewoods]

One thing I love about trail camera is the random and neat pictures you get.

If you zoom in on this doe it looks like she got hit by a car, but she seems to be doing well.

 

[sn.outdoors]

I'll post more of the stories and better pictures after I get home, but I wanted to share my daughter's first fish.

I don't remember exactly where I was when I caught my first fish, but I'm pretty sure it was only a few yards away from where my daughter caught hers. She was not as excited as my son was, but that's ok. She enjoyed it.

 

[vanish]

Still love that creek crossing spot. Looks like a winner.