So Albert at The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles and Rick at Whitetail Woods came up with the idea of an outdoors bucket list. I’ve spent a surprising amount of time in the last couple of days thinking about my own goals. I used to make outdoor goals when I was younger, but most of them ultimately turned out to be luck and/or time related. For instance, it was only a matter of time before I killed a banded drake or a P&Y buck. As long as I stuck with it they would come. With that in mind, I tried to avoid similar “goals” on this list (in no particular order):

1) Kill a Big Bear – 5 Years ago this would say, “Kill a polar bear” but then the CITES treaty made that difficult if not impossible. Now it may have to suffice to chase brown or grizzly bears. Because of the financial and personal logistics involved this may be the most difficult item on the list to cross off. Nonetheless I fully expect a full body mount of a big bear in my trophy room for my grandkids to be in awe of.

2) Kill a Bull Elk DIY – I’ve killed a few bulls over the past 10 years, but the thinking and planning part of each hunt has been done by someone else. I enjoyed each hunt immensely, but I think a DIY kill would be even more satisfying. I’m saving my points in Wyoming for a good opportunity at this goal if I don’t draw in Kentucky or New Mexico first.

3) Kill a Boone and Crockett Buck – This one probably fits into the “time/luck” category, but I can’t ignore the hold a 170″ net buck has on me. I used to believe that any idiot could kill a big buck; that it was more a matter of luck than any other factor. To an extent I still believe that, but now I realize the skill required to consistently get into good bucks. I figure if I keep my standards high and consistently get into good bucks, eventually it will come together. I wouldn’t be surprised if this turns out to be the easiest item on the list to accomplish.

4) Hunt Asia – This one has been a long time member of the list as well. Probably 10 years ago I hunted with a guy who lived to hunt Russian brown bears. The idea of very different country, game, and culture has intrigued me since. Ultimately I’d love to hunt Asian sheep or ibex but there other quality options including bears and moose.

5) Kill a Sheep – And not one of those pathetic tame Texas sheep! I’m not sure what the manifestation of this may be. I’m collecting points for Rocky Mountain sheep, but I would love to chase Dall’s as well. If I won the lottery I might even add Stone and Desert sheep to this list.

6) Kill a Bull Elk with a Bow – It is not impossible for this to coincide with #2. I missed what would have been my second chance at this one this past September when my daughter was born. Now it may be a few years before this goal gets back up to the top of the list.

7) Kill a Mule Deer DIY – I am fascinated by the idea of an early season archery alpine hunt for mule deer. I’ve got enough points in Colorado and Wyoming to be assured of quality tags but this hunt lacks a partner with sufficient points (and skills) and is still down on the list a bit.

8 ) Bird Hunt Argentina – Having only one wingshooting adventure on the list shows how dramatically my focus has changed in the last 15 years. Still I can’t deny that I love the idea of 20 duck limits and all the doves your shoulder can take. This hunt may be climbing closer to the top of the list, particularly because it can be done during the North American off season.

9) Kill a Pope and Young Animal other than Whitetail – This may also be a matter of time and luck. I’ll be chasing black bears next spring with a good shot at this. I also could take a shot at this in September 2011 with a DIY Wyoming Antelope hunt. Once again, I’ve got the points to provide a quality opportunity.

10) Finish a Turkey Slam – Alright, I’m reaching here. I set a goal of ten and I was really struggling on the last two. Still, I’d love to chase Merriam’s anyway. I love the idea of those white tipped fans in wild, rugged, big, country. If I could get a Merriam I would only need to grab an Osceola to finish up. Honestly, that’s the least attractive prospect on this list. Not that I wouldn’t like it, I’ve never found a hunt I didn’t like. But Osceola’s are only found in part of Florida, and can be both very pricey and very managed. I’d rather someone hand me a map and turn me lose than be told where to sit, when to call, and what to shoot. Still, with two in the bag and the addition of a Merriam, it would be difficult not to try and finish it out.

So there you have it. It’s been fun and honestly challenging to put this together. Three or four of these have been my stated dreams for many years. A few have been things I’ve thought about but never formalized. And I came up with a couple more over the last couple of days of thinking. I would encourage you to think about your own list. As Rick said, “Life is too short…”

This afternoon I headed south to the Marais Des Cygnes River knowing that it was out of it’s banks and expecting to find some good bowfishing. It’s not an exact science but I use the National Weather Service website and my own past experience to guess when I think the fish will be swimming over one of a few different roads and/or dams. Ideally the water would be 12-18″ deep running across a specific road with a good current.

I spent a couple of hours wading up and down the road finding almost constant action but difficult shooting. For the most part it was too shallow to find good fish crossing but a nice mix of fish were in the much deeper water off the shoulders of the road. I targeted big buffalo and mostly ignored small gar, which were everywhere.

I finished with 9 buffalo, the biggest being right at 20 lbs. I also had 6 carp and 5 gar, the biggest being 17 lbs. That was a personal best for me and the only nice gar I saw. I had the only grass carp I saw pull off, which would have been a personal first.

Bowfishing in a flood is really not a very complex activity. Old tennis shoes, a bow, and lots of rain, are the only things you need. There’s no planning, no practicing, no scouting, no being quiet, and no pressure. It’s just a fun way to get outside and enjoy yourself. If you’ve never tried it, I highly recommend you give it a shot. A rigged up bow can be had for less than $50 if you use the spool type reels. For a few dollars more you can add an AMS reel and an IPOD, then you’re really rolling. Sun, water, fish, music, and shooting: what else do you need?

Obviously be careful going into a flood plain, particularly if you are unfamiliar with an area and it’s water.

So this past weekend was going to be a make-or-break period for our Kansas turkey season. Four guys were in from Colorado and one from Texas. The challenge for me was that my wife had to go out of town and I was in charge of my charming, beautiful, seven month old daughter. She hasn’t yet mastered her turkey calling, or even standing.

But we couldn’t just sit at home, so I loaded up the exer-saucer, the blocks, Mr. Diraffe, and a big ol’ pile of baby food and headed to the cabin. Sunday morning The Old Man was guiding The Guest Texan in a field that is partially visible from the cabin. The Daughter and I were up around fly down time and I could hear gobbling where they should have been. We sat on the porch waiting for the sound of a shot. But nothing happened for two hours… The Daughter took a nap and I set up my video camera to catch a third tom that was now working its way towards them.

Now it seemed like they must be surrounded by toms. I slipped back out to the porch to listen… then nothing. The third tom left going back the way he came. I went back in and had some coffee. Then this group of jakes showed up:

They were maybe 10 yards away. Then 30 minutes later two toms showed up out the same window:

And as soon as they were clear of the window I ran to the living room to try and video them coming around the front, but I found that even more toms were coming:

They met up behind the fireplace and had a brief fight. In a few minutes they were all gone. In a couple of hours the hunters returned, skunked, again. I could have killed 8 toms, 4 jakes, a bobcat, and 2 coyotes from my bedroom window and they got up early, sat in the cold, and come home empty handed!

This actually isn’t the first time we’ve noticed that the turkeys must not be able to see in the window. Perhaps glass reflects enough to confuse them?

My alarm went off this morning at 3:45 am. That’s early even by a hunter’s standard. Really early. The good news is that I was set up on a hot tom by 6:00 am. The bad news is that I was still set up on him at 8:30. By that point his 3 jakes and 2 of his three hens had come into my decoys and it was clear he wasn’t interested in a fight. He gobbled every 90 seconds for 3 hours and spent most of that time 100-150 yards from me. As things were starting to come to a close I got a text from The Old Man, “Two toms hung up at 100 yards for an hour. I give up.”

He was maybe 80 miles from me, on a completely different style of hunt, with very different territory, but some things are universal to turkey hunting.

We each had closer calls later in the morning on secondary setups. The guy he was guiding couldn’t get turned on a tom at 20 feet straight behind him. I couldn’t bring a pair of toms across a creek. Time to go back to the drawing board.

Check back tomorrow for some wild video I shot Sunday.

Late this afternoon I went to scout some creeks and ditches that will have fish in them as the spawn comes on. There were a few fish starting to move up into the current but not many, and they were deep. I did find a few nicer carp in the grass around the edge of the big water. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to attack them properly but I did manage wade around and stick a few before I had to home for dinner with the wife. Hopefully I can do some real damage this weekend.

This story ran in the Kansas City Star yesterday and I thought some of you might find it interesting:

ELMO, Mo. | When Charlie Wilks went turkey hunting Saturday, he didn’t get to see the big gobbler that strutted across a field and put on a show in front of him.

Wilks, 14, has been blind since age 6, when a brain tumor took away his sight.

Read the rest here.

I was cruising fellow Skinny Mooser Desert Rat today when I stumbled across a nice piece guest posted by Michael Waddell on elk calling. It’s good reading and worth a look. Check it out here.

After my hunt last weekend I still had a couple of days of guiding to do. Friend and Missouri resident CA Chucky doesn’t really need much help so I made sure he got set up in a decent spot for his recurve and then I headed out with nothing but my camera and tripod.

Note the bearded hen:

A fight broke out:

So I’ve replaced my burned up video card and I’m ready to give you some action. I didn’t get down in time on Friday to roost or scout any turkeys so I was flying blind when the alarm went off at 5:30 Saturday morning. Or at least I thought I was. I got dressed, grabbed my camera, tripod, and bow and headed outside. My two labs barked when they saw motion coming out of the garage in the dark… and the whole hillside shock gobbled! I had plenty of time to pack all the aforementioned stuff plus my bow around and down into the field where I knew the turkeys would fly down. The bad part was that I wouldn’t be able to position myself in their likely travel pattern without risking bumping them off the roost. I was 150-200 yards away from the group when if flew down:

(more…)