The Black Canyon Elk Ranch is located on the banks of the beautiful Payette River in Emmett, Idaho. Boy that steak looks delicious! They raise a pure strain of health-certified Rocky Mountain Elk. Boy I can’t stop looking at how juicy that steak looks. Who here likes elk?

Here is a tidbit I pulled from their website:

Our Rocky Mountain Elk herd is continually tested for TB, Brucellosis and CWD. Our elk are raised naturally without the use of growth hormones or antibiotics. The elk are never feed-lotted, and are provided with a natural environment where they graze upon Idaho’s native grasses.

All of our meat specialties are processed at a USDA inspected facility right here in Idaho. This process helps ensure that we are providing our customers with the finest quality of meats around.

Steve Remington

Quite some time ago now, I wrote two stories leading up to the opening of the fall hunting seasons. The first one titled, “Fall Senses” I will post here today. The second I will do in two parts, the first part beginning on Thursday followed by Part II on Monday November 6th.

Here is Fall Senses.

Fall Senses
By Thomas Remington

Aaahhhhh! The smell of autumn is in the air. Is there really anything like that familiar smell of fall in Maine? I’ve traveled around some and lived in other parts of the United States enough to know that every region has four seasons to some degree – some so subtle that it takes a while living in a region to notice season changes. I’ve been living in Florida now year round for about 5 years. Now I can tell when fall is in the air here. When I first came down here, it was laughable when people talked of there being fall in the air. Living most of ones life in Maine and experiencing the extreme season changes makes it that much more difficult to sense the changes in places where the transition is not that noticeable.

There is something magical about walking outside in mid-October on a frosty morning and smelling rotting foliage that has fallen from the trees only a couple of weeks prior. The stubborn leaves such as winter beech and scrub oak cling tightly to their host trees. The already fallen leaves begin to curl and become dry and crunchy sounding when you walk on them. The brilliant colors of what seems only a few days ago are now turning brown and the pine trees are also shedding some of its summer clothing in preparation of the harsh winds and snows about to dominate the landscape. What once seemed only a thick and sometimes non-penetrable forest, now opens to reveal itself in a way that drives many away because of its starkness and lack of color. For those who know what is actually in there, it is a magnate and a world of discovery and beauty.

So what is so magical about that familiar smell? It really isn’t a pleasant smell. It is strong and pungent and often makes the inside of your nostril sting. I don’t think it is the actual odor that tingles the senses as much as it is association. After all, isn’t that what helps us to remember odors. Most times we connect a specific smell with an event. Perhaps it is something that we are doing at the time that we thoroughly enjoy that helps us to recall. To me the odor that comes from an outboard motor triggers memories in my brain that take me back to hours and hours of fun times at the lake water skiing, swimming and playing with boats. So too is the smell of fall related to the memories of hunting and being in the woods for long stretches of time.

Fall is a time that means different things to different people. For me it signals hunting season. Ducks are migrating, geese are honking overhead, and the partridge have ceased their incessant drumming and are now seen sunning themselves in the bright sunshine on a cold day. The apples have fallen and the deer can begin their evening treks to the old orchards in search of a delicious Macintosh or a Golden Delicious. The oak trees are also shedding their crops of big acorns and if it is a good year, the beech trees will offer up some hearty feasts for the squirrels, partridge and deer. All of these events seem to culminate around the same time of year to usher in an event that’s cherished by many Maine natives.

The days grow shorter and the nights get colder and most hunters believe the combination of these two prompts the whitetail deer to start moving around more in search of food supplies to get fattened up for the long winter ahead. Mating season begins in the fall as well and in many instances, affords spectators a glimpse under a car light or a flash of tail in the woods as they are roaming about seemingly out of control by the urges that Mother Nature bestows upon them.

Our senses are keen, if we pay attention to them. Our eyes take in more photographic impressions to the brain but too many times we are too busy to click the shutter and embed that moment into our thought file. Fall can be a dismal time of year for many because they refuse to see what is hidden in the natural beauty around them. The forest is open and the moments to capture are endless but you have to go into the woods, deep in the woods many times and remain quite and watch.

The years I have spent hunting in the Maine woods for me has etched what seems an endless supply of moments – moments that sometimes cannot be described. There have been times when the silence was overpowering, the scenic vistas unending, the recollection of the monster buck quartering away in the morning sunlight with steam spraying in two directions as he breathed surreal and they are mine – mine to share if I choose. Do you have yours?

All of this adds up to one thing. Fall is here and what is magical about it comes from within. A world that becomes stirred-up beginning in September and reaches a rolling boil by about November first each year. One little smell on a cold and frosty morning can trigger a chain of events that can become uncontrollable.

Tom Remington

Whether sitting in the coffee shop, at home around the kitchen table or gathered around a campfire, there is nothing more entertaining and educational, in more ways than one can imagine, than the exchanging of hunting tales.

Of course we all know that every story that was ever told, especially of the one that got away, is nothing but the truth, the whole truth.

At our hunting camp in Albany, I have seen the weather treat us to pretty much the extremes. It has been so hot we actually had to remove the windows from camp and be so cold it was nearly impossible to stay warm. I’ve hunted in rain, snow, sun, wind, sleet and mixture all happening on the same day.

A typical day though in a Maine hunting camp for the opening week of deer season, would present daytime high temperatures in the 40s and overnight lows in the 20s.

The year this photo was taken was an unusual evening weatherwise. We were experiencing some daytime and nightime temperatures far above the average. This evening we moved outside to the fireplace and built a fire. This of course set the stage for some serious storytelling.

My very good friend Gary enjoys the relaxation of his pipe, while I attempt to convince him the deer was seriously big. Smoking his pipe is something Gary only indulges in a couple of times while at camp. His grandfather smoked a corncob pipe and I think Gary just wants to continue on a camp tradition. Afterall, every square foot of woods and every board in the old hunting camp reeks of tradition.

If only we could extract the stories……if only!

Tom Remington

In a perfect world, the hunter would walk out his back door on opening day of the season with rifle in hand and just walk to his or her favorite stand. Whether hunting whitetail or mule deer, elk or moose, bear or mountain lion, quail or grouse, the back yard would be free and accessible to hunt on.

But maybe that’s not your idea of the perfect world. Perhaps you would prefer hunting with a bow and arrow and not just any bow. It would have to be a long bow with no sites – more primitive. Or are you such a purist you want to hunt with an atlatl or your bare hands and a knife made from shale.

On the other end of this hunting spectrum is the hunter who might just prefer a new high-powered rifle with scope that draws on available light, perched in a tree in a tree stand that comes equipped with color TV and beer on tap. They need the latest in electronic calls to call in their favorite game. They wear hi-tech scent-blocking camouflage clothing and they drove to their stand with an ATV equipped with everything but a driver.

Where are you on that continuum? To some, that event has no beginning and has no end. The purist would morph into an animal rights activist. The ultimate hunter would become a killing machine.

We all have friends and acquaintances who hunt and they all have their ideas of how their hunt should be. If I disagree with someone else’s version of the perfect hunt are they wrong? Am I?

Add to this mix, ethics. Now we have a serious problem. To me arguing about hunting ethics is about the same as trying to prove the existence of God to an atheist.

I have read in many places that hunting or fishing ethics is what you do when nobody is watching. This is quite true but there’s really more to it than that. Psychologists can tell you that there are personality types who believe that rules and regulations are for everyone else and that it is their job to enforce them. I know a lot of people like that. You?

Some believe hunting with a rifle is unethical. Some say not having a weapon powerful enough to make a clean, instant kill is inhumane therefore unethical. Some want to believe that shooting an animal chained to a stake is unethical or enclosed in a fenced-in area as well.

Are you one who thinks that “canned hunts” or the “high-fence hunts” is unethical? It’s okay if you do. You have your reasons to feel that way and those reasons should be respected. On the same token hunting on a game ranch does not have to be unethical.

I’m not in a position to sit here and tell you how big a ranch has to be and how many animals can be housed on a predetermined amount of space because there are too many variables. There are of course obvious situations that we all would agree aren’t good.

I hate the term “canned” or “high-fence” simply because now those two terms carry a very negative connotation. Media and those who choose to believe that hunting on a game ranch is unethical, use these terms to convince the unknowing that ALL hunting preserves is like shooting Bambi in a barrel.

The educated know there are differences but more importantly hunting preserves serve a purpose. No, they are not for everybody. As a matter of fact they aren’t for the majority but they are for some and for those some we shouldn’t be working so hard to take away an opportunity.

I visited the Idaho Elk Breeders Association website and read what they had to say about elk hunting preserves. I think it is safe to say that the majority of elk ranches in Idaho are set up for raising elk meat. It’s livestock. Instead of beef critters they raise elk critters. Some of those elk ranchers excercise their right to offer some a chance to come on their land and hunt elk.

Right off the bat some of you are going to say it isn’t hunting. That’s fine. To you it isn’t but what about to someone else. Let’s take a look at what the IEBA has to say about the minority of elk ranchers who offer hunting.

ELK HUNTING PRESERVES
Providing Equal Hunting Opportunities for ALL

Some of our Elk Ranchers operate elk hunting preserves which are also located throughout the state. Some mis-conceptions lately in the local news media have given people the impression that these ranches are only for the rich, and that their operations are unethical and should be outright banned. Once again, we are here to provide the accurate view on these sort of operations.

Clientele: Our Elk Hunting preserves offer their services to ALL Idahoans. These hunting preserves are visited by many different hunters…

The Elderly Hunter who can no longer walk for miles in order to find an elk in the wild
The Disabled Hunter whose only opportunity to hunt is within one of our preserves
or the Out-Of-State Hunter who due to the strict limitation and lack of native wildlife in their state, opt to come hunt on one of Idaho’s private preserves in order to assure a successful hunt
even the fellow Idahoan who either is unable to find an elk in the wild, or is just too overwhelmed by the overpopulation of hunters in a specific region.
Size: Our Elk Hunting Preseves are operated in accordance with Safari Club International’s requirements for the “fair chase rule”. These ranches range anywhere from 200 acres to 2,000 acres in size. Most of our hunting preserves resemble an elk’s natural habitat, and are strongly regulated by the Idaho Department of Agriculture.

Health Testing: ALL animals which are harvested on these particular ranches are tested for CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease).

Fencing Requirements: ALL domesticated elk ranches are required to have 8 foot fencing in order to properly secure their animals from interaction with the wild. (This incident in Eastern Idaho is not a common occurence, and is believed to have been caused by another species of animal.)

You are entitled to have your beliefs in what is hunting and not hunting and what is ethical and not ethical. So is that somebody who can’t do things the way you do or chooses not too.

We don’t live in a perfect world and there will always be those who abuse things and appear as bad apples but just because someone does something a bit different than you doesn’t give you the right to snatch their right away from them. It’s call respect.

Get informed and then tell the truth. Not all hunting preserves consist of hundreds of poorly neglected animals crammed into a tiny muddied up pig sty while some blood thirsty killer has his way. There are good legitimate hunting preserves and remember this. The longer people keep insisting that lands be closed and hunting as we know it stopped, we are paving the way for more “canned hunts” as the media so determinedly call it.

You can no more insist that all preserve hunting be stopped when you don’t agree that all forms of hunting be stopped. Think about it.

Tom Remington

A longtime hunting friend who has been a regular at hunting camp since the first year hunting camp opened nearly 55 years ago, Vance Bacon, in 1982 wrote a poem. It’s a great piece of work, so much so that I had to find a place to publish it in my son’s and my book we wrote, “The Legend of Grey Ghost and Other Tales From the Maine Woods”. Here’s his introduction to the poem followed by the poem.

As you may remember, the opening day of deer hunting in 1982 dawned cool and clear.

I decided to hunt in an area where I hadn’t hunted for many years. I went up on Curtis hill, just beyond Gordon Emery’s camp, left the car and headed towards Berry’s Ledge. I moved slowly along and by the time I reached a small ledge overlooking the valley below, the sun was just coming up over the mountain. As I stood there, soaking up the first few warm rays, the sound of the town waking up, came drifting up to me through the morning fog-a dog barking, the sound of a logging truck starting up and heading towards Trap Corner, the sound of three shots being fired in the direction of Stearn’s Hill.

As I moved along I stopped for a few minutes at the remains of a huge oak tree, that I remember seeing, when I used to roam these hills as a kid. I held my rifle up against the trunk and it lacked several inches of reaching across. I thought to myself that maybe this tree was here when the Indians hunted this land and wondered what this area might have looked like when this tree was small.

As I reached the old road that winds around the base of Berry’s Ledge, a poem started to form in my mind. As I hunted along, the words slowly came to me and by the time I got back to the car at noontime, I had it pretty much together. It goes like this:

YOU CAN TAKE IT FROM HERE

With the sun on my back and the breeze in my face

And a whole week of hunting ahead

I lift my eyes to the sky and thank the good Lord

That I’m not confined to my bed

My eyes and my ears still function and the cold air tickles my nose

And even now when a buck snorts just over the ridge

The old adrenalin flows

With fifty two years behind me and with many good hunts in the past

And the friendships I’ve made at the old hunting camp

That I hope forever will last

When the Great Guide up above calls my number

And I know that my last hunt is near

I’ll hand my gun to my son

And with pride in my voice I’ll say

You can take it from here!

By Vance Bacon

Tom Remington

Maine and New Hampshire just had their youth deer hunting day, and a couple of kids seem to have enjoyed it. Chris Cobbett and Nate Fenderson of Northwoods Adventures took their two kids hunting. They submitted their story with a couple pictures…

Chris Cobbett tells the story:

Last weekend Nate and I took the boys over to NH. We got down around noon and Nate had a great spot picked out for us. After a quick bit of scouting Dylan and I set up the pop up blind on a deer trail out in the hard woods. With about 15 minutes left on the game clock and it getting dark in the woods. I asked him if he wanted to stick it out where we were or go check the field. He wanted a change of scenery and so we headed for the field.

When we got there I looked over the field and saw nothing. I told Dylan we could just walk out to the road. He then grabbed me an said “deer!!!” I looked around and saw nothing. I thought he must have seen a shadow and be confused. However he was on a mission. He set up the shooting stix and I again I said there was no deer. Just about then the deer popped out in the field about 120 yards away. I still don’t know how he saw it coming through the woods.

Well it was game on from there. I handed him the rifle and he cocked the hammer. Then buck fever set in. He was doing some serious shaking. He doesn’t really understand adrenaline. He said ” Dad I am cold and shaking.” I just tried to calm him down and said just think of all the practicing we had done. Knowing the furthest we had ever shot was 70 yards and this deer was out there about 100. After some struggling to find the deer in the scope, Dylan said “I got him in the scope.” I said “Well go for it.” BANG…. FLOP!!!

At the ripe old age of 6, Dylan had his first deer on the ground, a 85lb button buck. When Nate and Tyler got there we were high fiveing and hugs were were exchanged all around . It was a very special moment for all of us. Not because of the dead deer. But because it represented all the time we had spent together preparing and the challenge he had overcome to be successful. Needless to say I am one proud pappy.

By the time many of you read this, I will be well on my way to Maine where I plan on spending about 2 weeks. Most of that time I will be hiding out in the woods at hunting camp far from electricity, phones and yes computers.

This is my annual trek to hunting camp where I spend the opening week of the deer hunting season with some of the greatest friends any human could ever ask for. This will be my 30th season.

While I am away, I will have some posts but for the most part posting will be light. Steven will keep you updated should anything of extreme interest come our way that we think you should need to know.

I have also scheduled some postings that will be published daily thanks to a timestamp software function that allows me to set the time a post will go up. I have a variety of items that I think you will find interesting and entertaining.

Wish me luck and I’ll check in when I can a give you current information and any pictures I might be able to send you of my trip.

Good luck to all of you in your qwest for the big buck!

Tom Remington

Elk Area 95 isn’t quite like Area 54, the secret region in the desert cordoned off by the U.S. Government, but it might hold just as many problems for elk hunters who can’t refuse an easy shot at a standing elk.

Call it entrapment or call it what you wish, either way shooting at an elk decoy can get a bit expensive. Wildlife officials in Wyoming set up a decoy elk in a closed hunting area off Union Pass Road.

Of 29 people who slowed down their vehicles to look at the decoy, nine, or 31 percent, fired weapons at it, resulting in 19 citations and four warnings from officers.

All nine hunters fired either from their vehicles or from the road itself. A total of 30 bullets hit the decoy. “Three people shot it so many times they knocked it over,” said Scott Werbelow, game warden supervisor for the Jackson/Pinedale region.

All total, the fines amounted to $7,700.00.

Tom Remington

Read the story of an Idaho elk hunter lost in the woods for nine days and walks out.

Tom Remington

According to the Salt Lake Tribune in Utah, an idiot hunter took a shot at members of another hunting party because he was angry they were hunting nearby.

A 23-year-old deer hunter, apparently upset over the proximity of two other hunters, took a shot toward them Monday morning, Wasatch County authorities reported.
No one was injured in the 9:20 a.m. incident, but a bullet from Jesse Buckley’s rifle came within 10 yards of a member of a hunting party, said sheriff’s Capt. John Rogers.
A witness told authorities that at least one shot was fired from a pair of hunters standing about 200 yards from two other hunters. It was unclear if the second group fired back, but Rogers said gunfire may have been exchanged.
The men who say they were fired at were standing near a felled deer when the bullet whizzed past them, Rogers said.

Evidently, Buckley isn’t a model citizen.

Buckley has been investigated by DWR in the past
for weapons violations, Wood said. But, “this is the first time, to our knowledge, that an altercation has risen to where shots were fired.”
Court records show that Buckley was convicted in February 2005 for carrying a concealed dangerous weapon, a Class A misdemeanor.
He was sentenced to 100 hours of community service, 12 months probation and ordered to complete a concealed weapons class and pay a $500 fine.
If charged and convicted of a felony in the new case, Buckley could be restricted from possessing guns in the future, Wood said.
DWR is also investigating the case to see if a charge of interfering with a lawful hunt, which wouldn’t result in a license suspension, can be filed against the man.

Throw the book at him!

Tom Remington