Here in the United States competitive archery coverage is not something many people are exposed to on mainstream media outlets.  However in Europe, Archery is broadcast with the same high quality camera work and commentary that we have come to expect from sports such as football soccer and baseball.

I stumbled upon a YouTube site from Archery TV.  It is a collection of televised archery matches.  All in all there are 340 videos including the World Cup FITA final round shoot offs.  For those of you unfamiliar that is a head to head match at 70 meters shooting at a 10 ring about the size of the top of a pop can. 

What is a bowhunter doing watching competitive FITA archery?  Well I like to practice at longer distances when I can and watching the form of greats like Dietmar Trillus I can impriove my form and accuracy as a result. 

Below is an embedded video of the Final stage of the 2008 World Cup.  I reckon if these guys can shoot that good at 63 yards with a crowd watching and cheering, wind blowing and national pride on the line, then I should be able to keep steady and centerpunch a buck at 40 yds.

I’ll be out of circulation for work the next couple of days. Enjoy this archery footage, and have a great Halloween. I’ll catch up with you next week.

There are still a few Whitetail deer tags left for nonresidents in Idaho.  As of October 24th there are 383 of the 1500 tag quota remaining.  Many Northern units( 1,2,3, 4A, 5, 6, 8, 8A, 10A, 11 and 11A ) have a whitetail season that is open until December 1st for Whitetail deer. See the Idaho Deer Seasons for other units that may still be open.

 

Gary from Base Camp Legends drew a once in a lifetime mountain goat tag in Idaho.  The rugged country near the oregon border is the setting for this unique and challenging hunt.   Read about it on his blog post on the subject.  He also has a couple of videos of the hunt in the Base Camp Legends Off Trail video series.   

Elk outlook in salmon zone similar to last year from Idaho Fish and Game

Idaho Fish and Game wildlife managers expect this year’s elk harvest in the Salmon Zone to be similar to last year.

Elk hunters over the past three years have had success rates ranging from 16 percent in Unit 21 to 25 percent in Unit 21A and the highest rates in the wilderness, with a 28 percent success rate in Unit 27.

The “B Tag” general antlered elk hunt is open from October 15 to November 8 throughout the Salmon Zone as well as Unit 36 in the Sawtooth Zone. Unit 27 in the Middle Fork Zone is open for brow-tined bulls only from November 1 through November 18.

Unit 36 in the Sawtooth Zone has had an 8 percent success rate over the last three years, lower that the rest of the region, and is expected to remain about the same.

Harvest numbers from the past three years show that 16 percent of the bulls in units 21A and 36B were six points or more. In unit 21, 25 percent of the bulls were at least six points, while 31 percent of bulls harvested in units 28 and 36 were six points or larger.

Last winter’s elk counts showed that bull ratios are stable throughout most of the Salmon Region and are at or slightly below their target numbers. Fewer cow permits were issued this year because their numbers have dropped within target range. The number of cow tags increased when the populations were too large; tag numbers have been reduced to stabilize the population.

Recent cooler weather could help hunters throughout the region. Warm days and plenty of food in September and early October meant that elk were scattered and less active. Lower temperatures may make the animals more active during the day.

Hunters with questions should go to the Hunt Planner page at http://fishandgame.idaho.gov or call the Salmon Regional Office at 208-756-2271.

In researching the auction tag column, I found that a number of Western States offer raffle opportunities to obtain premier tags outside of the states normal draws.  Usually these “SuperTags” are administered by the state wildlife department, while the auction tags are through conservation organizations. 

Arizona offers a Super tag that is species specific.  According to an article on BigGamehunt.net

“The final tally for all nine tags was $478,860, and although down from last year’s record high of $557,641, this year was a tremendous success, given the current economic conditions,” says Charlie Kelly, president of the Arizona Big Game Super Raffle

The uniqueness of the special tags is that the hunting season is year-round with very few limitations on hunting areas, allowing tag winners the time to pursue a trophy animal, many of which are only found in Arizona.  

Huntinglife.com wrote about a New Mexico Governor’s elk tag raffle put on by the Rocky mountain Elk Foundation, but I was unable to find a specific web page that dealt with the raffle.  Read about this once in a lifetime tag at http://huntinglife.blogspot.com/2007/03/new-mexico-governor-elk-tag-raffle.html

Washington has a Web page dedicated to the Conservation fund raising tags

Currently, six auction and six raffle permit opportunities exist; including one auction and one raffle permit for deer, Westside elk, Eastside elk, bighorn sheep, moose, and mountain goat. Since 1994, auctions have been conducted by conservation organizations via a contract with WDFW, whereas raffles are conducted by WDFW. Over 1 million dollars have been generated solely for the management of the respective big game species. This revenue typically funds activities that would otherwise not occur due to budget limitation, including surveys, status reviews, animal captures, transplants, habitat improvement projects, research projects, and disease monitoring.

Oregon offers both Auction tags, as well as a tag raffle for twelve different tags.  The auction tags brought in $346,000, While over 70,000 raffle tickets were sold in 2007 for between $6 and $11 per ticket depending on the tag.  At a minimum, the raffle raised over $400,000 for the 12 tags.

All funds raised by deer and elk auction and raffle tags go directly to the Access and Habitat Program. Funds raised by bighorn sheep, pronghorn, and Rocky Mountain goat auction and raffle tags go directly to the management of those species.

 Idaho has a Super Hunt tag Raffle. 

Every year, 34 lucky hunters walk into the field with special Super Hunt tags in their pockets. These tags allow a hunter to pursue an elk, deer, antelope or moose in any open hunt in Idaho. Sportsmen who have won this privilege call it a “hunt of a lifetime.” The thrill is quadrupled for two Super Hunt Combo winners who are able to hunt all four species in any open hunt. This unqualified freedom to pursue world-class big game in Idaho is an experience winners will long remember.

Colorado offers both auction tags and raffle tags.  Yopu can find out more on the Raffle and Auction page.

 Auction and raffle licenses have been existence in Colorado for bighorn sheep, mountaingoat and moose for a number of years. Legislation passed in 2001 created auction and raffle licenses for three additional big game species - deer, elk and Pronghorn.

There are differences in the number of auction and raffle licenses available for bighorn sheep, mountain goat and moose versus deer, elk and Pronghorn. The legislation and regulations that created the sheep, goat and moose licenses established two licenses per species, one to be sold at auction and one to be sold through a raffle. The legislation and regulations creating the deer, elk and Pronghorn licenses established four licenses per species, two to be sold at auction and two to be sold through a raffle.

Non-profit, conservation organizations have been authorized by the Wildlife Commission to auction and raffle various licenses.

Montana also offers a raffle for a SuperTag for each of the big game species.

Eight lucky hunters will win a SuperTag license to hunt moose, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, antelope, elk, deer, bison, and mountain lion in any hunting district in Montana—including Montana’s legendary trophy districts. Revenue from the new SuperTag sales is used to enhance hunting access and boost FWP enforcement efforts.

So if you are unable to pony up six figures for an auction tag, save up your lunch money for a raffle tags in one or more of these Western States.  Who knows?  You may win the tag of a lifetime while helping support wildlife conservation.   

With the news that Denny Austad killed what could be the pending world record non typical Elk, many hunters have become outspoken about the way Mr. Austed obtained the tag.  The contention is that the governor’s conservation tag, which was auctioned off for a reported $170,000, is eliminating opportunities for the “everyday Joe Blow blue collar hunter”. It is a vicious debate, that I felt deserved more investigation.

The following excerpt is from an Outdoorlife.com article on the subject of the “spider bull” as he is known.

“Denny Austad didn’t have to draw the super-selective Monroe Mountain tag because he bought a Utah governor’s tag for elk this season, reportedly paying $170,000 for the ability to hunt any open unit in the state. Some hunters are dismissing the achievement because Austad had the ability to hunt with a rifle during a season when other elk hunters were relegated to archery equipment. So what? That’s the appeal of the governor’s tag, and Austad’s investment in the license will go toward elk management in a state that has become the best big-bull destination in the country.”

The purpose for State Wildlife agencies to offer tags to organizations with a proven track record of wildlife conservation and habitat restoration is to raise money to go back into wildlife programs.  Usually this money is raised through auctions of the coveted tags.  Last year, in Utah, Safari Club International received $50,000 for a bighorn sheep permit, $13,000 for a mule deer permit, $13,000 for an elk tag,and $3500 each for two black bear tags.  That is $83,000 for the SCI chapter of Utah to put into habitat and conservation. 

Utah’s Conservation tags are unique in the fact that they are distributed to conservation groups for sale either by sealed bid, live or silent auction.  Organizations that offer the tags for auction include:  Ducks Unlimited, Foundation for North American Wild Sheep, Mule Deer Foundation, National Wild Turkey Foundation,  Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Safari Club International, Sportsmen for Habitat, and the Utah Bowmens Association.  For a complete list of Utah Conservation tags, CLICK HERE

The question is raised;  If someone has been applying for an opportunity like this for years, then why is it fair to let someone “Buy their way” to the front of the line?    

Disenfranchised hunters feel that they are priced out of the chance to receive these special tags.  I had the chance to ask the Utah Mule Deer Foundation’s Eric Tycksen about the Utah conservation Tag program and how the Mule Deer Foundation plays a role in the process.  He informed me that state law may preclude raffling tags.

” In Utah and abroad, the decision of where to send the tags is made by MDF headquarters with input from RD’s and Director of Field operations and some volunteers. We are limited on what tags can be raffled versus auctioned by the laws of the state. For example, it is against the rules in Utah to raffle one of the conservation tags so all of them are sold on a live, silent, or sealed bid auction. Geographic areas play a part in where the tags are sold. For example, a Manti, Utah elk tag would be sent to a Nephi banquet. Most of the people that attend that banquet live by that Manti unit.” 

 When I asked him about his feelings on whether he felt that the auction method gave undue advantage to more “well heeled” hunters, he was frank in his response:

 ”Your last question is one for the ages. No I do not think auctioning conservation tags creates an unfair advantage for rich hunters. Anyone can buy these tags. The vast majority of these tags sell for a few thousand dollars or less and some in the hundreds. Yes there are a select few that sell for astronomical amount of money. I would have a better chance of obtaining a tag by saving my money for a few years and buying one at auction than waiting to draw one through the regular state process. A very small percentage of the states tags are carved out and set aside for conservation tags. And the good that they provide through the money raised and projects completed may never be realized by the average person.”

If you ask many hunters about auction tags most will have a definite opinion either in favor of them or against them, but nearly everyone I have encountered has admitted that they are glad that the money funds conservation in an age where budgets are shrinking for the state wildlife agencies.  What many hunters propose is a raffle sale for these premium tags.  We will examine those options in another column to follow.

Most Schoolyard dust-ups are quickly squelched by adults quickly.  However, at a middle school in Loveland Colorado, folks weren’t too quick to jump in and break up this sparring match.  the combatants, two rocky mountain elk.  The video below was featured by the local station, channel 9, an NBC affiliate. 

Determination on a blood trail leads to success

When you talk about hunting hotspots, not many folks will mention San Diego County.  In fact if you look at the success rates, it would be one of your last picks for a place to hunt, much less bowhunt for mule deer.  Nate Treadwell, bucked the odds and applied for an either sex tag near his hometown where hunter success is only 6 percent.   It took his first year of hunting five years ago to figure out that traditional mule deer hunting tactics were not going to cut it.  He started employing a tree stand and whitetail tactics, and for the last 4 years he has been successful.

If you have ever met Nate you know he is a persistant and driven individual.  He put in the time to scout and find where the deer are travelling.  He even took along John,  a buddy new to the sport of bowhunting with the hope of showing him the finer points of deer hunting and blood trailing.

When the doe strolled into range Nate made the shot, and knew it was farther back than he intended.  So after waiting, he and John began the tracking job.  Nate recounted to me a lesson he imparted to John as they took up the sparse bloodtrail.

I called my buddy John Laraia over to show him an almost invisible speck of blood on a flake of red cedar bark. The only way I was able to spot it was because there were a few ants on the drop and a couple flies buzzing around on it too.

We were on the blood for about 60-70- yards when it just quit. The trail she was on split into two forks. We each took a fork and crawled on our hands and knees for a couple hundred yards, finding nothing. 2 hours later we were about to go home (65 mi each way), get more guys, come back and grid out over the hillside. I wanted to take one last look at the spot of last blood. We went back and when glancing a few feet off the game trail she had been on I spotted a 1/8” speck of blood where she went over a log. She had veered off the trail and gone downhill. Now that we were lined out we found a few more specks of blood. Then she came to a large meadow and we were stumped. No tracks, no blood. We had no idea where she went. We were standing on the edge of the meadow thinking “what now”. We grid out and look all over. We checked all the trails for several hundred yards on the far side of the meadow. Nothing.

3hrs+ later we were about to give up when John suggested we take one more sweep through some tall grass out in the meadow.   We’d already looked through it a couple times.  John went right and I went left.  He found one fresh track in a spot of bare dirt in the grass in the middle of the meadow.  He then took what he called the “path of least resistance” through the grass when he heard and then saw a swarm of flies over a dry creek bed.  He remembered what I said about insects on blood and veered over to investigate.  He took a few steps closer and found her stone dead. We had walked within yards of her several times.

So after a three and a half hour tracking job, Nate recovered his mortally hit doe.  While the hit wasn’t textbook, it was lethal and did the job.  It’s situations like this that you don’t want to wonder “is my broadhead sharp enough?” .  A sharp broadhead combined with the grit and gumption to work out the trail resulted in a doe where 94% of tags go unfilled.  The fact that he was able to give a newcomer to the sport a hands on lesson in the work after the shot, makes this more special.

On November 8th, John Martin will be one of the featured poets to perform at the Cowpoke Fall Gathering.  A celebration of Cowboy and Western heritage through poem, song and storytelling.  John will be one of the acts opening for Yvonne Hollenbeck, a popular cowgirl poet from the upper Midwest, Saturday night at the 7:00 pm show. 

This will be the 9th year that John has performed at Loomis.  This year he will perform his latest poem “Shotgun and a shovel”, along with favorites from years prior. 

The event is to benefit the South Placer Heritage foundation, a driving force in the restoration of the Blue Goose fruit shed which now houses a 400 seat auditorium where the event takes place. 

Founders of the Cowpoke Fall Gathering in Loomis, California
Bert and Carol Braun, who owned and operated the Cowpoke, a local feed store in Loomis, attended a Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada. They enjoyed the event so much, and what it stood for, that they decided to introduce Loomis to the popularity of this very unique form of art, to entertain and help bridge the communication gap between urban and rural society. As a result, the first Cowpoke Fall Gathering was held in November 1995, at the Red Brick Art Center, with an attendance of 150 over two day period.

Since then, Bert and Carol, with the help of friends, continued to entertain many people from all areas of California and beyond. Over the years the venue has changed as attendance increased, but the spirit of the West remains. Every year the Cowpoke has donated a portion of the proceeds to a charitable cause starting in 1995 with the Saddle Pals, a therapeutic riding group. In 2004, on the 10th anniversary of the Fall Gathering, the show moved to the Blue Goose Fruit Shed, with a seating capacity of 400, and Cowpoke Productions donated 100% of the proceeds to the South Placer Heritage Foundations in exchange for the tremendous help they received from a dedicated group of volunteers. The Braun’s still produce the event but with the help of the South Placer Heritage Foundation volunteers, many events have been added to make a full weekend of activities. As always, no one gets paid and all the proceeds go to the continued restoration of the Blue Goose Fruit Shed.