Posted in Big game hunting, blacktail deer, Deer hunting, Hunting, mule deer, The Mule Deer Foundation, tagged Youth Blacktail Deer Hunt on March 12, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
The Holm Ranch has graciously donated a, 16 and under, youth deer hunt for 2013. Every youth hunter to date has taken a buck on this hunt, which takes place about ten mile east of Livermore.
This 2000+ acre ranch is loaded with deer and occasionally a pig as well, so the hunter should make sure he or she has a tag for both.
The hunt generally
Emilee Selna and her dad, Greg Selna with a Holm Ranch buck taken in 2010.
takes place in late August or early September.
Posted in blacktail deer, Deer hunting, tagged blacktail bucks on August 6, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Came across a couple nice bucks on the way home this weekend.
This buck is pretty big. How wide?
Won’t ever know for sure. He’s not even close to our property.
Another nice buck. Better than the other?
If I see one like either of these on our ranch, I may be measuring.
Posted in birds, blacktail deer, photography, tagged bandtail pigeons on July 15, 2012 | 1 Comment »
This buck watched as I drove by. He was about 50 yards off the road and was one of five encountered.
On the way to my deer stand, I passed this buck bedded beside the road. This was the closest I came to a buck on Saturday, but I did get some good bird photos, so here they are.
Approaching my tree stand, I pair of bandtail pigeons lifted off from an elderberry tree. I hoped that they would return and present a photo opportunity.
Later I was granted my wish and the two birds landed not more than twelve feet from me and sat there for an hour.
But first a Stellar jay dropped in on me and began to squawk. (You can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.)
Stellar jay in flight
The femail pigeon showed off the band for which they are named.
Posted in Big game hunting, blacktail deer, Hunting, Mountain lions, mule deer, mule deer, wildlife conservation, tagged Mountain lions on February 22, 2012 | 2 Comments »
Mountain lions are an essential element of California ecosystems. Unfortunately they are not currently managed in any form. Although the most important cougar prey species, blacktail and mule deer, are managed, a failure to manage the main species that eats deer makes deer management less predictable.
This California lion was photographed with a trail camera near Livermore. A lion like this can take a heavy toll on a local deer population, especially if she has juvenile cubs.
Other states have progressive, scientific methods of managing wildlife and consider mountain lions a game animal that is hunted with quotas to make sure numbers of deer, deer hunters and lions is balanced. California is out of touch.
Congratulations to Dan Richards, pictured above with his Idaho mountain lion – which appears to be a huge tom.
Posted in Big game hunting, blacktail deer, Deer hunting, Muzzleloader hunting, tagged Blacktail deer hunt, Muzzleloader hunting for deer on August 17, 2011 | 1 Comment »
My first buck came by bow and arrow in 1971. My first rifle-killed buck came in about 1997 or so. Last weekend I bagged my first muzzleloader buck.
I decided early on that in order to improve my competency with the muzzleloader, I needed to go all the way and kill a buck. With two A-zone tags available for me this year, I figured the first buck would be just that, the first legal buck that came within muzzleloader range.
Saturday morning was a bust, but Saturday afternoon I took stand at a pond where I’d seen a couple small bucks. In full camo with face mask, I sat against a good-sized boulder and waited. After about two hours, a couple young bucks laid down in the shade about 13o yards up-hill from the pond.
I waited them out. At 5 PM, the forked-horn buck stood, fed for a couple minutes and then trotted towards the pond. I raised the muzzleloader and steadied it on my monopod.
He came straight to the pond, turned broadside at 25 yards and walked into the six-inch deep pond. It was an easy shot and the muzzleloader did not let me down. Now I have some very tender venison in my frig. I’m proud of this buck, but he was just a baby.
This will be the smallest buck I kill for a while, but I'm pleased to have completed the first muzzleloader test. Next comes the search for a big one.
Posted in blacktail deer, Hunting, Muzzleloader hunting, tagged muzzle loader hunting on August 11, 2011 | 1 Comment »
I’ll be hunting with the Remmington muzzleloader on opening day of A-Zone season. I’m still a little shakey with the rifle, but I can probably kill a buck if I can get to 50 yards. We’ll see what happens.
Posted in Archery hunting, Big game hunting, blacktail deer, Deer hunting, elk, fundraising, Hunting, landowner tag, mule deer, sheep, tule elk, wildlife conservation, tagged Big Game tag lottery on May 27, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
For this year, at least, I’m back to hoping for a tag. Hoping is not as good as just flat-out buying in terms of ease of planning and satisfaction with the result. I’m not really into gambling, so the process of gaming for a tag is a real drag. I do it every year anyway.
Of course there are still some over-the-counter options and we’ll be using that one this fall by purchasing archery elk and general deer tags in Idaho. We’ll be hunting in a group of four during September. I’ve also purchased an A-Zone tag and preference point with my first CA deer tag. Next year we should have enough preference to hunt a California X zone. These things are good.
This is a typical A-zone blacktail. I'll try to arrow one of these on our ranch.
However, gaming for a high value tag is not looking good in California this year. I have eight preference points for Antelope, Elk and Sheep this year. Eight is one less than the maximum, so I’m in the 20% that have to get extra lucky and the odds are very poor. In most cases, even the holders of nine points will need luck – especially in the sheep category and they have a chance for 100% of the available tags.
California has three species of elk, but it takes a lot of luck or money to hunt them. I photographed these Roosevelt elk while on a blacktail hunt near the Marble Mountain Wilderness.
I’ve never had much luck in draws, but I drew an archery antelope tag one year and an Anderson Flat archery deer tag another year. Didn’t bring home any venison, but I did have the opportunity.
A quick look at my California odds shows that I have a less than 1 in 450 chance of drawing an antelope, elk or sheep tag combined. That’s a chance, but not much of a chance. That’s at a cost of $24.39 for 1/450th which comes out to $10,975.50 for a 100% chance. If I hunt until the age of 81 (unlikely), my remaining lifetime chance is 20/450 or 1 in 22.5. Doesn’t look good for hunting elk, antelope or sheep in CA unless I spend the money to purchase a tag.
My personal choice for the elk lottery was the Cache Creek bull elk hunt. Somebody will get it.
In Nevada, I’ve been buying bonus points for several years. I currently have three points, which means I may get lucky on a deer, elk, antelope, sheep or goat tag. My chance of drawing an archery mule deer tag alone is almost 50% and when that is combined with the other four choices I selected, two rifle and two muzzleloader hunts, the mathematical odds are that I’ll get some kind of tag, but it’s not for sure.
For antelope, I put in for an archery tag that has a high percentage chance of drawing, so I may get that one. I didn’t calculate the odds for elk, sheep and goat, but they are very low.
I paid $4,500 for a Nevada landowner tag the year I shot this buck. I think the prices are down slightly now.
In Colorado, I opted to purchase only preference points for deer, antelope and elk. One of these days I’ll have to get serious and put in for an actual hunt. The cost of the preference points for three species came out to $25. I have seven points for elk and antelope – about five for deer. That comes to about $200 over the past seven years. I hunted twice for deer with my bow.
For the third year in a row I entered the Utah lottery for tags at the Wildlife Conservation and Hunting Expo in Salt Lake City. The hunts offered looked good, but by the time I purchased a Utah hunting license and paid for the chances, it added up to about $250. It would be worth it if I got drawn once, but so far I haven’t had a sniff. That’s $750 invested over the last three years.
Finally I purchased five chances for the California Open Zone tag for $27 and two chances for a Owens Valley tule elk tag at $10.80. All together I spent about $558 for these draws. That’s a lot cheaper than $10,000 for a Nevada landowner elk tag, or maybe it’s not?
Posted in blacktail deer, Mountain lions, tracking, tagged Cougar Track on May 10, 2011 | 1 Comment »
This is not a large lion or a small one either. The ground is soft, which is why the track shows at all. On hard ground one seldom spots lion tracks. This lion track was found on a road that also held many deer tracks. Where there are deer, lions will follow.
Bucks are growing their antlers.
Posted in Big game hunting, blacktail deer, fundraising, The Mule Deer Foundation, wildlife conservation, tagged Blacktail deer hunt, Golden Ram Sportman's Club on February 28, 2011 | 1 Comment »
The Golden Ram Sportsman’s club has generously donated a four-day blacktail deer hunt for auction at the Livermore-Pleasanton MDF Chapter banquet, March 10, 2011.
The hunt is for two people and the hunt will take place on the Golden Ram Sportsmen Club’s Bar Z Ranch property near Covelo, which is leased by Golden Ram Sportsmen.
This hunt is an unguided, weekday only hunt. Designated camping area is included. Hunter must provide own tent or trailer. Call Golden Ram Sportsmen’s Club to make reservations in advance.
This hunt as been generously donated by Golden Ram Sportsmen. For more information about the Golden Ram Sportsman’s Club go to http://www.goldenramhunting.com/
For tickets contact Bob Holm, (925)447-2044.
Posted in animal tracks, blacktail deer, tagged animal tracks, Tracking deer on February 24, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Rob and I were checking one of our ponds last Monday. As we prepared to leave, Rob stopped to look down at four tracks in the mud. The tracks were large, looking to be a buck, and that’s what caught his eye.
Because of the large track size, my guess would be that it was a buck that made the track. However, the actual size of the deer’s hoof can be distorted by mud. The soft medium allows more of the bottom of the hoof to make contact, enlarging the print.
We stood staring at the tracks and I couldn’t resist taking a photo.
This set of tracks had learning potential.
These four prints were made by the same deer and show a pattern.
(Click on the photo for a closer look.)
Standing over the tracks, we had the advantage of knowing that the deer was heading towards a six-foot wide drainage from the pond. As the deer approached the drainage, it decided to leap over it. On the other side of the drainage was a steep hill – adding to the buck’s need for power. His jump would provide momentum to help him climb the slippery slope in front of him.
Try to imagine the buck stopping at the gap and then leaning forward as he shifted his weight to his front feet. As he dipped his front end down it accepted his body weight. Quickly his hind feet leave the ground and pass his front feet.
As the rear feet hit the ground, the pattern you see in the photo is complete. The four hooves simultaniously hit the ground for a split second.
He’s now coiled to spring forward – his back arched and his hind legs tensed. Quickly loading his hindquarters and uncoiling, his entire body weight shifted onto his hind feet, pressing down deeply in the mud as his front hooves leave the ground and stretch forward.
In the track of his rear right hind foot print, you can see where the dew paws made a slight impression (dew paws don’t show in a walking track) - his hooves splayed out as they carried his body weight.
We studied the slope where the deer climbed the slope. Heavy rain had eliminated his trail, but the deep impressions left by the initiation of the leap remained.
There are also clues here about when the tracks were made. The edges of the track are rounded and at one time they held water. The indication is that the track had been made during the latest rains, but before the end of the rains. By checking the recent weather patterns, one can make a fairly educated guess that the deer had passed by about last Friday, in rain and significantly before the skies cleared on Saturday.
