But Momma. More Baby Bears Gettin' In Trouble

Nice save for this Alaska fisherman, that's some delicate work with momma bear close by. The brother bear looks like he's saying, "I'm glad it's not my azz in trouble this time". Momma grabs junior by the scruff of the neck and drags him off for some scolding. Reminds me of myself at the store with my mom one time.

 

 

Somebody's Gonna Get A Butt Whoopin'

I can just imagine the conversation in this video.

Momma bear: Git your sorry azz back down here before you get hurt.

Lil baby bear: I won't get hurt momma.

Momma bear: Don't make me come up there and get you!!

Lil baby bear: I'll come down when I ready.

Father's Day Hog Hunt at Cedar Canyon Ranch

Here's the video from our Father's Day hog hunt at Cedar Canyon Ranch near Tehachapi CA. Chris is the son and the dad is Eric (caninelaw on the forums).

On the first shot Friday night it appears to be high. I didn't see the pig Chris was shooting at leave the frame on the camera and thought he had been hit but you see the pig veers high in the frame and runs off. The shot was lasered at 221 yards and Chris had a little of an angle, 8 degrees maybe, uphill. 7mm Mag with Barnes GMX 139 grain I think they said.

On the 2nd shots Chris and Eric took Saturday night I was setting up the camera when that hog popped out and never got any video of that Chinese fire drill. It was an oh crap moment. It was almost the same setup as Ron's shot from last year, same hill except this pig was closer where Ron ended up shooting his 3rd and 4rth shots. This hog turned after being shot at and his back end seemed to buckle but no blood was ever found. Without video to review all I can think of is with the high sage he just made a clean get away without us seeing him go up the ridge.

The weather was almost perfect, staying in the low 70s and kind of cold sometimes in the shade. No snakes but the bugs were the usual pests.

Thanks to Eric and Chris, it was fun to see them work hard to get two hogs. This was Chris' first big game animal. Also huge thanks to Bill, Paul, Ryan and the rest of the crew at Cedar Canyon Ranch for taking care of us and searching for blood on those two shots.

P.S. Cedar Canyon is losing their lease at the end of 2010 so if you'd like to hunt this beautiful area call them now as they are booking for the fall hunts

One Lucky Cat & One Unlucky Cat

Some of us were just discussing bowhunters not being able to carry a pistola (CCW) while bowhunting in CA per DFG Code. One of the reasons many of us want to be able to carry a pistol is the chance of an attack by a bear or cougar. While the chances of one being jumped by these critters is remote you're much better off with a gun than a bow. The dude in the story below is lucky to be alive, he broke and tried to out run the cat. Major no no, running just triggers a cat's predatory response. It's one reason some call mountains bikers "Meals on wheels".

http://www.dcourier.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=81991&TM=10497.15

What really made me a believer in letting bowhunters be armed was my buddy Pete getting stalked and almost et by a cougar at Fort Hunter Liggett (FHL) a couple years back. He was able to knock an arrow but who knows if he would have even got that shot off had the cat not broke off the attack. The other problem Pete had was his jacket was stuffed in his quiver when he encountered the cat and reloading would have been tough. I'll take my chances with a pistol over a bow any day.

Pete near FHL the day before the cat encounter.

Another close encounter I've had with a big cat was 3 of us bumped into a cougar near Lake Henshaw CA a year ago while turkey hunting. That cat started to stalk the father I was with and finally broke off that attack when the father broke off a large tree limb and threw it at the cat. The father was also unarmed and regretted that decision later.



DFG should amend that reg to let bowhunters carry pistols for self protection.

We can't all have a miracle bumper slide up our sleeves.

Raahauges's Shooting Sport Fair

The Raahuage's Shooting Sports Fair,  held June 4-6 2010 in Corona CA, is a 3 days hands on event where you can handle and shoot rifles, pistols, shotguns, Gatling guns and more. There are plenty of vendor booths to check out new hunting and gun gear along with great gun groups like CRPA, NRA, Cal-Guns and more. FN and Sig-Sauer were no shows this year and hopefully they will be at the Shooting  Sports Fair next year. There are also hunting and gun seminars by seasoned pros plus great food.

JHO dropped by Friday to films some of the action.

More info at http://www.raahauges.com/

Video part 1




Video part 2

We Will Remember Them...

"Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them."

I've always liked this line from the "Ode of Remembrance". The "Ode of Remembrance" is an ode taken from Laurence Binyon's "For the Fallen", which was first published in The Times in September 1914. The poet wrote "For the Fallen" while sitting on the cliffs between Pentire Point and The Rumps in north Cornwall, UK.

On Memorial Day this year I would like to remember my friends and roomie Emilio (Marty) who died on 28 February 1984. Steve Ray, Eddy Clark, Larry Rainey, Jonathon Goerling, Roderick Gress, Emilio Martinez, and Victor Valle were killed during a parachute training mission when a U.S. Air Force C-130 transport plane, while attempting an emergency landing, crashed into a snow swept mountain in Spain about two miles northwest of the village of Borja.

Blue skies Steve, Eddy, Larry, Victor, Marty, Roderick and Jonathon. Pic is Steve Ray, we were so young then. Steve was one of our greyhounds, he could run forever at a pace you wouldn't believe.




FYI about Memorial Day: There seems to be some confusion out there about Memorial Day and it's meaning. Memorial Day IS NOT another Veteran's Day. Memorial Day commemorates the men and women who died while in the military service. We honor those who are currently serving or have served on Veteran's Day in November. This Memorial Day issue was brought up on several veteran boards this week. Some vets mentioned cringing when folks wish them a "Happy Memorial Day". We know they mean well but Memorial Day is a somber day when we remember friends and buddies who died while serving. It's a day of retrospection and mourning for us. Many vets head to the cemeteries to pay their respects to the fallen, that's where you'll find me on Memorial Day.

JHO At Fort Hunter Liggett Tule Elk Hunt 31 Dec 2009

This video is of our trip to Fort Hunter Liggett last New Year's Eve. I went to hog hunt but the hogs had other plans that didn't include me. This also was the weekend the lucky CA Tule elk tag holders were chasing the elk around the fort.

At the end of this video is an amazing find in one elk, a complete, almost perfect copper slug lodged up against the spine. The skinners found the Federal Premium Barnes Expander Tipped copper slug as they were sawing the the main elk body in half. The slug was complete with even the little blue plastic tip still on the nose of the slug.



If you'd like more info on elk hunting: http://www.rmef.org/

For elk hunting books please click on the books below.