This Weekend was SO action packed it is going to take three blog columns to tell it all.

And this is Leg 2….

I headed to bed and decided to sleep in my vehicle to get out of the gusty wind. Little did I know what in impact that would have on my night….(To be Continued)

Sometime after midnight I heard a few pitter-pats as raindrops began to blow against the windows. The sound of the rain faded as I fell into a deep sleep until I awakened with the Greying sky at 6:30 am with a small stream running past me in the middle of the dirt road. Despite the dismal weather, the Boy Scouts had breakfast hot, and I braved the downpour for a Breakfast burrito, coffee and a quick check of the weather on the internet. It looked like the system would pass, and the officials delayed the start until 9:00 am to give it time to clear out. Just as predicted it stopped raining at 8:00 am and we could see the snow on the tops of the ridges around us.

With DJ in the Championship Flight, it was just the 4 of us shooting together. It was as windy as the day before, 20 degrees colder with flurries of rain and sleet. Perfect hunting weather! Apparently the weather agreed with me and I put together a pretty good streak. I finished the day with 347 points, 34 points better than my previous day!

Well that was enough to make me happy with my trip. We celebrated back at Ed Fanchin’s Camp with some venison sausage and cold drinks. As soon as the Stragglers finished, we went out on the course to bring the 3D animals back. Many hands made light work and we unloaded the animals as the awards ceremony went on.

I visited with fellow measurer, bowhunter and Wac'em Pro-Staffer, Roy Grace.

As I shook hands saying good-bye, Craig Fritz tossed me a roll of $1 bills wrapped in a rubber band.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“That’s your winnings from the field judging contest.” He stated. “You were within 1 inch…Well 7/8ths…”

Well that made my day to be sure!

I headed North on I-5 from there elated that I had a chance to spend a couple of days with some great bowhunters and excellent friends. I’m kicking myself I waited this long to shoot this tournament. I won’t make that mistake again.

5 ½ hours later I pulled in to my drive with the suns rays finally fading. After putting my stuff away I checked my Facebook page and one post jumped out at me…

“Anyone want to join me tomorrow morning for a 14 or so mile run in Annadel???? Haven’t decided on route yet but I might just meander. Let me know.”

To Be Continued…..

This Weekend was SO action packed it is going to take three blog columns to tell it all.

Now as you know I am a measurer for the California Bowmen Hunters, as well as Pope and Young club. Through that organization I have developed a number of friendships. Among those are people you have seen on these pages before. Hard core, serious, successful Hunters like Cindy and Rich Krug, Ed Fanchin, Nate Treadwell and Doug Rosin. These people were the reason I left Sonoma County at 6:20 pm on a Friday night and drove until midnight to attend the 2011 California State Broadhead Championship at Tejon Ranch in Lebec California.

With Cindy’s superb written directions I found the gate to Tejon Ranch and drove back into Crane Canyon and pulled my car into an open spot to catch a few Z’s before daylight. I set up my cot and my 30 degree sleeping bag for a pretty restful sleep before a full bladder and a 30 mph wind from the North awakened me. As I wandered among the 100 or so campsites and RV’s I heard a shout from one and Cindy and Rich waved at me to come have coffee with them. We caught up since our last visit at the CBH Awards Banquet, then went to sign up for the shoot.

At the center of camp the local Boy Scout troop had a breakfast burrito, hot chocolate and doughnuts awaiting us for a very reasonable price. There 2nd VP of Hunting, Craig Fritz got us lined out, and my previously named buddies found me and let me know I would be shooting with them on Target 33. After a few practice arrows we headed to our target where I met DJ, a fingers shooter from Southern California. Nate, Ed, Doug and I were all shooting in the Release class.

Photo by Nate Treadwell

When the horn blew, we all lined up for our first shot. This tournament was different than any other I’d ever been to before. It was a 1-arrow, at an unmarked distance with an arrow tipped with any legal broadhead (over 7/8th ” diameter fixed or mechanical). In our group we all shot fixed blade broadheads, The brands represented included: Muzzy mx3, VPA Terminators, G5 Montecs, and I shot my tried and True Wac’ems.

Doug Rosin, Myself, Ed Fanchin and DJ grabbing a snack on the range.. Photo by Nate Treadwell

The targets were game animal 3D (three dimensional) targets from 12 to 60 yards away from the shooting stake.  A hit of the center imprinted circle scored 10, while a lung area hit scored 8 and any other body part (except horns or antlers) scored 5. At the end of the day a perfect score on 42 targets would be 420.

Ed Fanchin, and Doug Rosin. Photo by Nate Treadwell.

My distance estimation on this morning was “running hot” and the first 10 targets were not my best performance as I shot high repeatedly, over estimating the distance. The gusty wind didn’t help any either. (hey, I’m just getting’ all the excuses out of the way early.) By 2:00 pm we had shot 42 targets and DJ qualified for the final flight in the Fingers Division. The top score for the day was 385 and I racked up a measly 313 points. However the day was a success from the stand point of visiting with other bowhunters whose ideals aligned with mine. Not what you would expect from a financial advisor, city police officer, police detective, and feed salesman, but the love of pursuing big game with bows kept us in conversation all day.

After the shooting portion of the day, the camp activities began. Freelance cocktail hour was accompanied by a DIY barbecue with the Krug and Meadors family, along with last minute ticket sales for the $10,000 raffle that finances the annual broadhead shoot. As people bought and combined forces to purchase the $100 tickets.

Nate Treadwell held a field judging contest. On the hill side 200 yards away were a set of pronghorn horns, a fork horn buck rack and a 4 point mule deer rack. I paid my $3 and guessed the forky at 50 inches, the Mule deer at 120, and the pronghorn at 78. With so many experienced measurers and seasoned hunters in the crowd I figured I was just “donating” .

Shortly after, the raffle began. In this raffle though, the LAST ticket drawn wins the $10, 000 prize, and the second to last ticket $500. The first, and every 10th , 20th, 30th and so on ticket drawn gets their $100 back. It was interesting as names were called and hopes were dashed one by one. 210 tickets were drawn, and at the end of the night, there were some happy people who I won’t name with some extra cash in their pocket, and next year’s broadhead tournament was financed.

I headed to bed and decided to sleep in my vehicle to get out of the gusty wind. Little did I know what in impact that would have on my night….(To be Continued)

I spent the week trying to figure out what my wife wanted to do for her birthday today. I figured the best thing she could have was a day without her constant companion, Sydney, my 4 year old Daughter. Natalie said that was fine, and to take her with me to the Sonoma County Bowman’s Ultimate Bowhunt Archery shoot. So I got to kill 2 birds with one arrow so to speak.

Now my kids are no strangers to archery. Each spring and early summer we hit the Wednesday night 3d league. My older daughters at 13 and 10 have their fair share of year end awards from the archery club. Today however they had to attend a 4-H function  all morning and the early afternoon. Little Sis had me all to herself.

Anyone with a 4-5 year old child knows that patience and attention span are not the hallmark of children this age. I had no delusions that I was going to have a easy time dragging a pre schooler over an archery course with 28 targets spread over a 200 acre ranch. I fully expected to have to call it a day after half or less of the targets.

We left home for the shoot and Sydney had her little green bow and a quiver of bright yellow arrows ready to go. At the shoot , she enjoyed the French toast and sausage breakfast as I had a cup of coffee. We were grouped with Hans and Adrienne Olufs, club officers, Archery Pro-Shop owners, and parents of a toddler. They were childless today though and I was grateful that I was with some folks who understood and liked children. Also in our shooting group was Wes Coffin, who I had shot with once before at a 3D night. I found out he had a young child at home as well. So I breathed a sigh of relief that these folks would probably tolerate my daughter as she moved up to shoot closer at the targets and the inevitable arrow search behind the 3d targets.

On the first target Sydney and I kind of fumbled getting her lined up and an arrow nocked, but she shot 3 arrows and we scored and pulled and moved on to the next target without too much fuss and without the group behind us breathing down our neck. With 85 shooters on 28 targets rotating around the potential was there for traffic jams but the day seemed very smooth. Us adults would shoot and then Syd would run up to her spot 5-10 yards from the target and fling her arrows and then look for the wayward ones while we scored. By the fifth target she knew the routine and was nocking her own arrows. While us adults shot from the farther stakes, she hung back and didn’t distract, but was ready to go when it was her time to shoot.

I waited for her to tire of the walking in the ever warming sun, but she seemed to remain jolly. Adrienne is an elementary teacher, and Sydney really took to her friendly and encouraging words. They joked back and forth with one-another the whole day.

After 14 targets I refueled the youngster with a Gatorade and half of a Twix. That was as many targets as a normal Wednesday night, and we were entering new territory. We cautiously started on the back 14. The kid surprised me…She seemed to get stronger and more confident. She said matter-of-factly to me : “Dad you can carry my arrows, but just put them down in front of me and I’ll nock them myself, ‘K?”
So the day continued, with the four of us adults shooting, then Sydney running up close to shoot, usually hitting with one or two arrows, a short arrow search while we scored, and then on to the next target. Hans, Wes and I were pretty evenly matched throughout the day. Wes established a lead and never weakened enough for me to move up on him in the score, and by the end of the shoot he had a score of 864 while I had an 849. A  924 (28 targets x 3 arrows x 11 points.) was a perfect score with a bullseye worth 11 points per arrow, a kill-zone hit was 10 points and anywhere else on the foam critter was 8 points. The highest score of the day was Freestyle Pro Dave Bengston with 906 points.

Sydney finished the day with a smile and 266 hard earned points. As the sole Pee Wee Female Barebow shooter, she was awarded a Blue ribbon and SCB Pin for her accomplishment. You would have thought it was the Vince Lombardi trophy.

I finished the day with second in Men’s Freestyle A class, behind Wes Coffin, Hans took 3rd in Bowhunter freestyle A class, and Adrienne took second in Women’s Bowhunter Freestyle A class. We all agreed it was a good outing. Sonoma County Bowmen put on a first-class shoot, and there were smiles all around, especially for one 4 year old barebow shooter.

It is with sadness that the Pope and Young Club shares the news that our founder, Glenn St. Charles, has passed away.

Glenn St. Charles, passed away September 19th at his home in Seattle, Washington, after a short illness. He was 98.

“The Pope & Young Club wishes to extend our deepest sympathy to the St. Charles family. This is also a tremendous loss for the entire bowhunting community. The Pope & Young Club lost a father figure. The bowhunting community, shaped by more than five decades of Glenn’s influence, lost a guiding force,” said Pope & Young Club President Roger Atwood.

A bowyer from the 1940s when modern-day hunting with the bow and arrow was still in its infancy, St. Charles became a staunch and driven advocate for the sport. His vision for bettering the image of bowhunting and proving the effectiveness of the bow and arrow…the very creation of the Pope and Young Club…was integral in the establishment of bowhunting seasons and the acceptance and popularity that bowhunting has since garnered. His work as Hunting Activities Chairman of the National Field Archery Association in the 1950s led to the development of the bowhunting records program, the subsequent founding of the Pope and Young Club in 1961, and the creation of a bowhunting ethical code and Rules of Fair Chase. His efforts and devotion to the cause of bowhunting spanned over eight decades. A legitimate iconic figure, St. Charles was one of the last true bowhunting pioneers.

M. R. James, President of the Archery Hall of Fame, and Past President of the Pope and Young Club, added “Glenn St. Charles will be remembered by many as a talented bowyer and founder of the Pope and Young Club. Rightfully so. But for his close friends and family, he will be fondly recalled a man who accomplished much more during a long and active lifetime. Father and father figure; fierce advocate and tireless defender of the sport he loved; pioneer bowhunter and visionary leader; outspoken conservationist; promoter of fair chase hunting; loyal friend and wise mentor; without question, Glenn St. Charles left his indelible mark on archery and bowhunting. He will be missed, but his place in our sport’s rich history is secure.”

At this moment, arrangements are pending. Additional information will be provided by the Club as it becomes available. In the meantime, those wishing to express condolences can do so by sending them to admin@pope-young.org, which will then be forwarded to the family.

Beginning archery hunters wanting to pursue game in Idaho next year are encouraged to register for a bow hunter education course scheduled in Lewiston.

The course will from 6 to 9 p.m. December 11, and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. December 12 at the Lewiston Fish and Game Office, 3316 16th Street.

Students can register online by visiting the hunter education page on the department’s website at: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov, or visit the Clearwater Region Office at 3316 16th Street in Lewiston.

The course is a mix of classroom instruction and hands-on experiences. Subjects include equipment, hunting techniques, shot placement, recovery techniques, ethics, tree stand safety, outdoor preparedness and a written final exam

I’ve made some good friends through archery, running and online forums.  Rich is one of those.  We have hunted together, he has beat me in trail races, we have shot together, and we banter back and forth on Sage Creek Forums.   

Below is his epic saga.  A tale of overcoming obstacles to succeed, that even a motivational speaker would have a hard time topping. 

I set off for my 5 day adventure to the place I killed a bear a few years ago. I headed up the trail intending to reach my destination of 7 miles in time to hunt that evening. I don’t recall it being that tough, maybe I’m getting old, but it was a rough haul. I found the whole area burned, even where the stands of timber were still viable, the understory was taken out. That could bode well for the next few years, but I noticed there was no sign the whole way. Previously the trail was littered with bear tracks and scat, now the only track I came across was a big cat (I think).

I set up for the evening but spotted absolutely nothing, nor the next morning. I was pretty discouraged (and tired), but decided it was time to come out and relocate. When I made it out, I made camp at the trailhead and made a new friend. I left my UA heatgear shirt out and hunted out from camp. When I returned, I found the doe trying to make a meal of my shirt — yum, salty.

I got up the next morning and drove another couple of hours to another spot I wanted to check out. I’d not been in there before, but it looked promising, at least on paper. By the time I reached the trail head, I found to my dismay, the trail was closed that morning due to fire. I was starting to feel that I was the victim of a nasty conspiracy. Even so, I decided to take off in the other direction. No map, no idea of the kind of territory, nada. Up the trail, a bunch of weekend hikers were coming out, great, I thought, just what I need are tons of people around. Eventually I made it up to a ridgetop overlooking a small basin. I glassed it until late in the evening and it was not looking positive, no deer, no bears.

 

I decided to move my vantage point way around the other side and my mind starting wondering if I should just call it a trip. I hadn’t seen didly and it was frustrating me to no end. But I finally persuaded myself to stick it out and see if my luck might change.

I awoke to a gorgeous sunrise and set up to glass. After about an hour and a half, after spotting nothing but a small herd of cattle, I did a double take when a decent sized black bear appeared at the bottom of the basin. It was nearly shear faced at my location and it was going to take me a good 90 minutes to go back around and down to get in position, but the game was on. Packing up my gear, I slowly made my way around to a finger ridge that would take me down to where I thought the bear may be hanging out.

Once I reached the timber, I slowed myself down to still hunt mode and tried to keep the wind in my favor. Before long, I heard a buzzard fly up out of the forest floor. I thought there may be something dead in the area and went to check it out. As soon as I spotted the deer carcass, the bear that was guarding it spotted me and busted out. I stood there silently cussing, but I took out my camera and headed down to take a few snaps. I got 10 steps and the bear busted out again; it had come back and apparently wasn’t ready to give up its meal.

I worked my way back up the hill about 100 yards and sat down to wait for him to return again. I thought it would be an hour or two, but no more than 15 minutes passed before I heard the bear starting to drag the carcass through the brush. I removed my boots and sneaked down the hill. I side-hilled my way above the bear and suddenly heard the unmistakable sound of a bear woofing. I peered into the brush below me and saw the bear looking in my direction and woofed again. I couldn’t see its body clearly, but the head seemed big given the tiny ears. I was thinking this was the bear I spotted that morning. It didn’t appear that it would abandon the deer easily, and although it was only 25 yards away, I could not get a clear lane. After about 10 minutes the bear worked its way back to my left and started feeding again. I maneuvered my way left about 10 yards. There was a bright sun and the shadows were deep and, finally, the bear moved into a spot where there was a gap in the brush about the size of a pie plate with his vitals exposed – 20 yards. I decided to take the shot and settled my top pin in the middle of the gap where I thought was the sweet spot. I let off a smooth release and my arrow zipped through the gap to put the smack down on him.

He roared, did a few spins and took off. He crashed off through the brush and I kept a mark of the last location. After I went back up the hill to collect my things, I went back down to the shot location. Half of my arrow was laying on the ground. I tried to follow the trail, but it was torn up by him dragging the deer around. I searched and searched and found not a single drop of blood. Not good. So, I set out on a grid search to cover the whole basin if I had to, but it only took me an hour to find it.

The bear had definitely lost weight since I last saw it, ground shrinkage was severe. Turns out it was a sow, and not the bear I spotted earlier, about 175 – 180 lbs. The shot was not ideal, I put the FMJ400 with a Hellrazor broadhead right through its shoulder blade. The broken end of the arrow was sticking out and the broadhead ended up just at the edge of it’s chest and was still in perfect condition. Did the job, but it left nary a blood trail.

I was a little surprised at how small she was, but the best thing was I was only 50 yards from the trail. Suhweet.

If any trip convinced me of the value of not to giving up, this was it.

Lucas Spence is a fellow California hunter who put the work in to apply for some of California’s Draw Archery hunts. Not many folks think of California as a Mule Deer state, but there are opportunities for respectable bucks and even an occasional magnum muley along the Sierras from Oregon to Nevada. It just takes some work to find them .

Lucas sent me a picture of a nice velvet muley from the Northeastern region of California. After my Nevada hunt, I can really appreciate his well deserved success.

I shot a very nice 4X3 Muley which was 24 wide 17 tall and had actually 2 nubs starting on his right which makes him a 5×4. He weighed somewhere in the 250 to 300 lb weight. He was a huge bodied buck. Shot him at 40 yards one shot put him down within 40 yards. Was a great hunt and got to share it with my dad

Great clean archery kill Lucas. I look forward to seeing more from you in the future.

My huntin’ buddy Kirk Edgerton is pretty well known for going into some remote country with a backpack and killing some magnum blacktails and black bears in the Northern California mountains. You have seen him here with some nice hogs and he has witnessed me missing a nice black bear on a late season bear hunt.

On the opening weekend of the 2009 season Kirk was fortunate enough to team up with Brent Miller, for a backpack hunt in a game rich area. Watch as the duo spot blacktails and bears from a high vantage point and try to stalk into bow range.

This is Western Hunting at it’s best. Keep an Eye out for more from the Relentless365 team in the future.

PUEBLO, Colo. – Youngsters interested in the sport of archery are invited to attend a one-day archery event at the Bighorn Archery Range in Pueblo from 9-3 on Sat., June 27. The Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) and Johnson Sport and Ski will co-sponsor the event.

Activities include target practice, a fun shoot, a 3-D shoot, and instruction. Boys and girls age 7-16 are invited to attend, but must be accompanied by a parent.

Instructors from the DOW and local archery experts will provide instruction on the finer points of archery safety and shooting a bow. The DOW will furnish the equipment.

“This event is a great opportunity for youngsters to learn more about this rapidly growing type of outdoor recreation and try their hand and using a bow,” said Steve Lucero, an education coordinator with the DOW. “Archery is one of the world’s oldest sports. It is safe and fun when done properly.”

The Bighorn Archery Range is located just east of the DOW office at 600 Reservoir Road. The range features ten shooting stations with covered platforms.

For more information, call Johnson’s Sport and Ski (719) 542-6012 or Division of Wildlife (719) 227-5207.

When I had the opportunity to join eight other bowhunters  for a wild pig management hunt on the historic Tejon Ranch I counted my vacation days and decided I could fit a couple more in..

“COUGH COUGH…Gotta be the swine flu boss….Probably won’t make it in Friday.”

The Tejon ranch is California’s premiere diversified agriculture entity including enterprises in Wildlife, Ranching, Farming , oil and gas development and even real estate development.   If you have ever driven over the Grapevine pass to or from Los Angeles on Highway 5 you have seen the steep and rugged hills of Lebec.

At nearly 270,000 acres, Tejon Ranch is the largest contiguous expanse of private land in California. Its 422 square miles make it larger than the City of Los Angeles and about 40% the size of Rhode Island. The Ranch is located along Interstate 5, approximately 60 miles north of Los Angeles and 30 miles south of Bakersfield.

Tejon Ranch was founded in 1843 as a Mexican land grant. In the decades that followed, the Ranch grew in size as additional land grants were purchased by Tejon’s founder, General Edward Fitzgerald Beale, a historic figure in early California. The 270,000–acre Ranch is now the principal asset of the Tejon Ranch Company, which was incorporated in 1936. The Company’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “TRC.”

I was going to be taking part in one of the ranches wild pig management hunts for 2 1/2 days in May.  The ranch offers a variety of options for the hunter from  season access passes for nearby residents, guided hunts, or even  a package deal for groups.  Check out the Website www.hunttejon.com for details.

On this trip  I was in the company of some experienced porcine pursuitists.  Most were from the southern half of the state.  I already knew Zeke Bass.  The Triathlete / Realtor / commercial diver from the Santa Barbara Area.  The fellow Pope & Young Measurer was on his third trip to the ranch.

Nate Treadwell is another Pope and Young measurer along on the trip.  He had been successful in previous years. You may have read his adventures over at Phillip’s Hog Blog

So I felt confident that I was in the company of eagles even if I was just a turkey.

The Archery Wild Pig Management hunt is similar to the public and private hunts except that it is designed to offer additional help to archers to help raise the rate of success. This is a 2½ day unguided hunt. The hunt includes meals, lodging and one of our guides working with your group. The guide will work with you by directing and assisting all the hunters in getting to areas that have active pig populations and informing them on how to successfully hunt these areas. As with all of our hunts, each hunter will be required to have hunting liability insurance, purchased from Bob Boggs Insurance. There must be a minimum of 8 hunters and can be up to 11 hunters.