Alex’s main target on the hunt to Sheep Creek Outfitters in British Columbia was elk, but he also had a bear, mule deer and whitetail tag also.

The weather started out warm. The day we had to ride the horses 11 miles into the camp we wore short sleeve shirts. Once we got to camp we got settled in and put our hunting clothes on and went out for an afternoon hunt. We saw some beautiful terrain, but didn’t hear any elk.

The first morning of our hunt, Joe, our guide wanted to take a 3 hour ride to a place that had seen a lot of elk sign. We left camp before light.  An hour into our ride, as light was beginning to break, we were riding past a clear cut and Joe spotted an elk standing about 280 yards up the side of the hill. We quickly dismounted the horses and I got the camera out of the backpack and started getting footage. Joe bugled at the bull and he returned a few bugles, thrashed a tree and put on a show. The problem was he was only a 5×5. In the area we were hunting a legal bull must have 6 points on one side. Since the bull was legal, we watched him put on a show and I kept the camera running. Once he went back into the tree line, we mounted our horses and headed to the valley high in the mountains. The 5×5 would be the only elk we would lay our eyes on that day.

The following day we left camp just before light and as the sun started to rise, we struck a bull about 20 minutes outside of camp. Once again we played with this bull. We caught a couple of glimpses at him through the trees, but we never got a good look at his rack so we had to pass on him.

Day 3 was a gloomy cloud covered day. The weather had gotten cooler, but the elk seemed to be laying low. We hunted hard, but could not get any elks to bugle. Late in the afternoon we were walking an old logging road trying to entice and elk when Joe spotted some mule deer grazing on an old slide on the side of the mountain. After glassing Joe spotted a legal buck with 6 does. We quickly rushed down a ravine and popped up on the other side of the tree line 220 yards from the buck. The fog was thick and we waited a few minutes for the fog to clear a little and make sure it was a legal buck. Once Joe gave Alex the green light, he put his sites on the shoulder and made a lethal 217 yard shot on his first mule deer. 

The rest of the week we had plenty of encounters, but unfortunately we could not get a good look at their racks or if we could get a clear view they were just 5×5s. 

It was truely awesome to hear those bulls screaming their heads off. I wish we had elk here in eastern North Carolina so I could chase some elk in my down time.

Here is a picture of Alex’s Mule Deer

Getting some scenics from the top of the mountain

One final picture before we head to camp and then to the airport

This was my first time working with Alex and I hope we have many more trips together. He was great to work with and it felt like I had been working with him for years. Thanks for the great hunt Alex!

Please read the following Press Release from Jim Shockey and help spread the word! The following realease was taken from his web site www.jimshockey.com.

Please be advised … to all who have heard a recent United States political ad on the radio, the person speaking is NOT Jim Shockey. We have received many e-mails from fans who have mis-heard the person’s name.

This radio ad is approved by the Obama campaign, and the speaker is Ray Schoenke, the president of the American Hunters and Shooters Association (AHSA). He pronounces his name such that it sounds like “Shockey.” Jim, obviously, has no affiliation with this group.

We would GREATLY appreciate it if all of you who read this would help to clear Jim’s good name. As you can imagine, Jim has taken some unfair criticism as a result of this mistaken identity.

The fact that people don’t take the time to investigate the facts before they lash out has caused substantial confusion. Many of Jim’s TV sponsors, licensees and business partners have received e-mails and phone calls from angry consumers saying that they will never again buy their products. As you can see, this kind of error on the part of folks who rush to judgment can turn into more than just a rumor. It can begin to impact on a person’s livelihood and reputation.

Here is a statement from Jim: “I am 100 percent for gun ownership by law-abiding citizens. As a Canadian I cannot vote in U.S. elections, of course, but I would never ever support any candidate who is anti-gun.”

Thank you for your support and helping to spread the word. Please consider forwarding this important statement of fact to any and all persons on your e-mail list so that they can help us to clear Jim’s good name.

For more information and updates, or to subscribe to Jim’s e-newsletter go to: www.jimshockey.com.

While on this Elk hunt in BC, we had great facilities. I was anticipating having to sleep in a 2 man tent, but to my surprise we had cabins to sleep and eat in. 

Our sleeping quarters had double bunk beds in them and a wood stove. The wood stove come in handy on the days that it snowed or rained. It was nice to be able to hang your clothes and boots up and let them dry out for the following days hunt.

We also had a cook cabin where we ate our meals. The cook kept a rifle around because there is a resident Grizzly that has been trying to get in the cabin to get the food. If he is successful, I sure hope nobody is in the cabin when he comes in. That could get UGLY!!!!!

The great thing about this hunt was that we roughed it, but the camp had a great cook and there was an outdoor shower with running water! That shower and food was worth a Million Bucks!!!

Well here I go again! Just got back from a trip where horses were the main mode of transportation. I was not raised around horses, but over the past 4 years I have done several hunting trips where we have used horses. 

On this trip to British Columbia the horse I rode was named Zippo. He was a beautiful trail horse and he took very good care of me and my equipment.

I rode Zippo 11 miles to base camp and then each day we would ride 8-16 miles a day in the mountains on this hunt. The terrain was rough and thank God for the horses because it was way too much land to walk on foot and be successful on this hunt.

SIDE NOTE: The only problem I had was that I forgot that boxers weren’t a smart choice when riding horses! When I would go to saddle up or when the horse started trotting this caused some extreme discomfort on my part! NOTE TO SELF, NEVER WEAR BOXERS TO A RODEO!!!!!

I will be in British Columbia until September 27th. We will be hunting Elk, Mule Deer, Whitetail and bear from horseback!!!

I hope I don’t have any rodeos this trip and I’m sure there will be plenty of photo opportunities while I’m gone!

Will post pics as soon as I get back!

September 11, 2001 is a day I will never forget.  I remember standing in a Books-A-Million store in New Bern, NC and watching the second plane as it flew into the south tower of the World Trade Center. As a former Marine, it angered me to watch what was happening to our country that day! I could not believe my eyes as I watched the events unfold.

Many firefighters, police officers and service men have sacrificed their lives over the past seven years to fight terrorism. Please take time this week to remember these people and their families and may we never forget that sunny morning that turned so deadly back in September of 2001. 

September 11, 2001: Basic Facts

Chronology
  8:46 AM    Plane crashes into the north tower of the World Trade Center.  
  9:03 AM    Plane crashes into the south tower of the World Trade Center.  
  9:17 AM    The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) shuts down all New York City area airports.
  9:21 AM    The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) halts all flights at U.S. airports.  It is the first  
                   time in history that air traffic has been halted nationwide.
  9:38 AM    Plane crashes into the Pentagon.  Evacuation begins immediately.
  9:45 AM    The White House evacuates.
10:05 AM    The south tower of the World Trade Center collapses.
10:10 AM    A portion of the Pentagon collapses.
10:10 AM    Plane crashes in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
10:22 AM    The State and Justice Departments, as well as the World Bank are evacuated.
10:28 AM    The World Trade Center’s north tower collapses.
10:45 AM     All federal office buildings in Washington, D.C. are evacuated.
  1:44 PM    Five warships and two aircraft carriers are ordered to leave the U.S. Naval Station
                   in Norfolk, Virginia to protect the East Coast.
  4:10 PM    Building 7 of the World Trade Center collapses.

The Flights
American Airlines Flight 11
From:  Boston, Massachusetts (Logan Airport)
To:       Los Angeles, California
Lives:  92 people on board
Crashed into North Tower of World Trade Center at 8:46 AM

United Airlines Flight 175
From:  Boston, Massachusetts (Logan Airport)
To:      Los Angeles, California
Lives:  65 people on board
Crashed into South Tower of World Trade Center at 9:03 AM

American Airlines Flight 77
From:  Washington, D.C. (Dulles Airport)
To:      Los Angeles, CA
Lives:  64 people on board
Crashed into the Pentagon at 9:38 AM

United Airlines Flight 93
From:   Newark, New Jersey
To:       San Francisco, California
Lives:   44 people on board
Crashed into rural Pennsylvania (southeast of Pittsburgh)

Victims
Victims came from more than 90 countries around the world. 
The following are the number of people who died at each site:

World Trade Center        2,823 (includes airline passengers)
Pentagon                         125 (not including plane victims)
Flight 11                            92 people on board
Flight 175                          64 people on board
Flight 77                            64 people on board
Flight 93                            44 people on board

The basic facts timeline was provided by www.state.gov

We started the day out with 60 mile an hour winds and rain from Tropical Storm Hanna that came ashore overnight. My neighbor had a tree down on his house and our power was out, but the East Carolina/West Virginia football game was still going to be played @ 4:30. Even though my neighbor had a tree on his house he said he was still going with me to the game!

The weather cleared out around lunch so we left at 1:30 to head to Greenville, NC for the football game. 

After a little tailgating with some friends we made our way into the stadium. At kickoff the rain was gone and the sun was bearing down on the sold out stadium!

East Carolina scored first and never looked back! We ended up beating #8 West Virginia 24-3!!!!!  I’m very proud of the Pirates and this seems to be a special season that is unfolding!

It has been nice being able to go to the past 2 games. Thank You Pirates for the past two Saturdays, they have been mighty special! 

Here is the tree that fell on Kevin’s house!

ECU’s Quarterback passing off to the running back

A Sell Out Crowd today to watch the Pirates against the Mountaineers! The way the morning started, I never would have guessed we would have had blue skies and no rain for the game! Pirates love stormy weather!

EAST CAROLINA 27

VIRGINIA TECH 22

What a game! I took the wife and kids with me to the first East Carolina football game of the season. It was smoking hot and once we got settled into our seats in the upper deck, I felt guilty about dragging them out in that brutal heat!

The Pirates started off a little slow, but the Offense and Defense quickly rebounded and were out-playing the Hokies in every aspect except special teams! Their special teams were putting points on the boards and our special teams were digging a deep hole that I didn’t know if we could get out of.

The Pirate faithful stuck by their team in the brutal heat and by the 4th quarter all that dawned the Purple and Gold were on their feet, screaming and yelling keeping our team focused. We were trailing the Hokies, but our team stayed energized and with less than 3 minutes to go in the 4th quarter, T.J. Lee blocked a punt and ran it in to put us ahead 27-22. When he scored the winning touchdown, the Pirate fans in Bank of America stadium went nuts!!!! Even my wife and kids were giving High Fives to everyone around us.

Kolby especially had fun because all the folks around us kept giving him High Fives and they were encouraging him to beat on the seats to make some noise! I wish you could have seen the look on his face when he found out he could be loud and no one would care!!!!!

Great job Pirates and I hope we can pull off another win this weekend against West Virginia! I can’t wait until kick off because I will be able to make this game also!!!

Below: My wife and kids are celebrating an ECU touchdown!

Kolby celebrating an interception by Nick Johnson

A very Hot, Tired and very Happy family after the Pirate VICTORY!!!

By talking with all my hunting friends here in North Carolina they are excited about the Republican choice to run with Senator McCain! 

She is the Governor of Alaska and although they didn’t know much about her before today, they like her credentials! She’s someone they can relate to and even a couple of them asked if she could run for President and McCain run as the Vice President!

She is a very attractive 44 year old that loves to hunt, she is a Lifetime member of the NRA, she is Pro-life, she loves to fish and she will fight for what she believes in!! Maybe this will be the shot in the arm McCain has been looking for! The next 70 days will be interesting!

Here’s a photo of the VP Nominee from Google Images:

Here is her Bio that the NRA has posted on their website:

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin   Born:  February 11, 1964 Birth State:  Idaho Party:  Republican Spouse:  Todd Palin  Family:  Married Todd Palin; five children Religion:  Christian School(s):  University of Idaho Address: State Capitol P.O. Box 110001 Juneau, AK 99811-0001 Phone: 907/465-3500 Fax: 907/465-3532  Governor’s Web Site  State Web Site     Governor Sarah Palin made history on Dec. 4, 2006, when she took office. The 11th governor of Alaska, she is the first woman to hold the office. Her top priorities are resource development, education and workforce development, public health and safety, and transportation and infrastructure development. Under her leadership, Alaska invested $5 billion in state savings, overhauled education funding, and implemented the Senior Benefits Program to provide support for low-income older Alaskans. She created Alaska’s Petroleum Systems Integrity Office to oversee maintenance of oil and gas equipment, facilities and infrastructure, and a Climate Change Subcabinet to prepare a climate change strategy for Alaska. Palin’s administration passed major legislation that began a competitive process to construct a gas pipeline and overhauled state ethics laws. Palin is chair of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, a multi-state agency that promotes conservation and efficient recovery of domestic oil and natural gas resources while protecting health, safety and environment. She also serves as chair of the National Governors Association Natural Resources Committee. Prior to her election as governor, Palin served two terms on the Wasilla City Council and two terms as the mayor/manager of Wasilla. During her tenure, she reduced property tax levels while increasing services and made Wasilla a business friendly environment, drawing in new industry. She has served as chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which regulates Alaska’s most valuable non-renewable resources. She was elected by her peers to serve as president of the Alaska Conference of Mayors. Sarah Heath Palin arrived in Alaska with her family in 1964, when her parents came to teach school in Skagway. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in communications-journalism from the University of Idaho in 1987. Palin, who graduated from Wasilla High School in 1982, has lived in Skagway, Eagle River and Wasilla. She is married to Todd Palin, a lifelong Alaskan who is a production operator on the North Slope and a four-time champion of the Iron Dog, the world’s longest snowmachine race. Todd and Sarah fish in Bristol Bay with their children – Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper and Trig. Through Todd’s Yup’ik grandmother, Alaska’s Native heritage plays an important role in their family. Track enlisted in the U.S. Army on Sept. 11, 2007. Palin is a lifetime member of the NRA and enjoys hunting, fishing, Alaska history, and all that Alaska’s great outdoors has to offer.