Whitetail Perfection in Idaho

Day two of my Idaho whitetail hunt started with a cup of coffee brewed by my host, Monty,  at 5 AM. By 6:30 I was on the way to his tree stand. It’s a covered two-man tree stand -  very roomy for one.

I hung three scent wafers in bushes near the blind – tarsal gland scent.

From my perch, I had a good view of a stand of timber, which was somewhat cleared of brush. My host and I had walked the area the day before, bumping four does and two fawns. Buck sign was not found, no scrapes or rubs.

I enjoy stand hunting. My anticipation was high while waiting for a chance at my first ever whitetail. The wind was favorable, from my left to my right.

The morning wore on and I could hear turkeys yelping off to my right and slightly up the hill. Squirrels joined in.

“What are they squawking about,” I thought to myself, while wondering if the squirrel could smell me.

The morning became mid-morning. At about 10:15 AM I looked into the woods and a single deer appeared. It was standing down the hill in the shadows facing me about 70 yards away – about as far as I could see before the hillside dropped off into brush.

“Does it have horns?” I thought as I reached for my field glasses.

Slowly raising my glasses, I focused on the deer.  It took me a minute to find him in the shadows.

A heavy antler beam stood out above his head. “He’s a shooter.”

I carefully placed the glasses back on top of my pack and got a good grip on my muzzleloader. “Can I get him in my sights,” I thought to myself, getting excited.

Looking at the deer through the open sight, I considered a shot. When I drew the hammer back it produced a slight click.

The buck’s eyes were riveted on my location – had he heard the click?

Or, maybe he got a whiff of me. That would be worse.

I sat and watched the buck and looked at him through the open sight.

Another deer appeared in the shadows to my left of the buck. I reached for the glasses again. Doe.

This was good. The buck was with a doe. I felt like my chances were improving. I fought off nervousness and told myself to stay calm.

Then the doe turned and walked back down the hill. The buck turned, lowered his head and quickly followed the doe.

“Is it over?” I thought to myself. “Did I squander my opportunity?”

I remained optimistic that they would return and after a few minutes, the buck appeared again, in almost the same spot as before. The doe and another deer also appeared in about the same spot they had stood previously.

I looked at the buck through my sight again. I could shoot, but it wouldn’t be a perfect opportunity. I decided to wait for a better shot.

The buck began to scratch his back – good. And then he reached down for a bite of something. He was comfortable.

The doe took a couple steps and laid down. My excitement was rising. Again I reminded myself to stay calm, which somehow helped.

The buck turned towards the doe and walked broadside towards her. I cocked the hammer again and followed the buck’s vital as he passed from tree to tree, never stopping in a spot where I had an open shot.

Then he turned and walked back to nearly where he had stood previously. Once he stopped directly behind a tree. No shot. Then he turned again and circled before lying down.

He was laying with his right front shoulder exposed to me.

“Should I shoot him lying down,” I asked myself looking at his shoulder from about 60 yards.

It was a very good opportunity. I couldn’t pass it up. I rested the “Bonecollector”muzzleloader on the cross-bar around the stand. Through the fiber-optic sight, I felt confidant.

The rifle was steady. The buck was calm. I squeezed the trigger.

BOOM. Smoke filled the air. In a moment it cleared enough to see he was down. No he was up and running, but he held his right leg high an indication of a good shot.

Then it was over.

Monty took this photo with his iphone. The buck is a fine whitetail -8 point Eastern count, heavy horns, very symmetrical antlers and long tines.

My friend Monty joined me and we walked to the buck. The long wait for a whitetail buck was over and I was very pleased.

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Planning an Idaho Whitetail Deer Hunt

Never killed a white-tailed deer in my life. I’ve hunted them at least three times and missed one in BC.

This will be an out-of-state hunt and I’m flying. The drive to Lewiston ID is nearly two full days for a slow poke like me. And, with gas at $4 or more, the cost of driving  – including two nights of hotel fees – is about the same as the cost of flying. I have a high school buddy who lives near Lewiston, so when he offered to put me up, I couldn’t say no.

So here’s some info that may be helpful if you are faced with a plane flight to your next hunting destination. Luggage is a big consideration. Of course you will need a locking case for your firearm. Sometimes borrowing a firearm is a preferred option, especially if you’re going out of the county.

On this hunt I will take a deer rifle, muzzleloader and maybe my bow. The airlines will not allow the ammunition to travel in the same case as the rifle and the ammunition will need to be in an original box which provides protection to the cartridges. They can be stowed in regular luggage.

Even though archery equipment, muzzleloaders and high powered rifles are in different categories, the airline will require that they all be in a locked case. I’ll be flying Alaska Airlines and I read over the fine print regarding firearms and luggage. In my case the 7×57, compound bow and muzzleloading rifle can all be carried in the same locking case.

You’ll want to look closely at your luggage and the cost of overweight or oversized luggage. Your rifle case, bow case and possibly a cooler will be candidates for an extra fee. Alaska Airlines has three categories, normal(<50 lbs – $20 fee), overweight ( 51 - 100 lbs, $50) and oversize (63 to 80 inches total of outside measurements – $50, 81-115 inches – $75). If you fall into two oversize categories, you are charged only once, for the greater of the two.

As the number of bags increases, so may the price of each bag. In my situation the cost of the fourth bag will increase from $20 each to $50. As you can see, the cost of your air travel can rise considerably for luggage cost. If I were to travel with four check bags with two of them oversize, my fee could be as high as $380 for luggage alone.

Here’s what I’ll probably do. I’ll carry rifle, muzzleloader and bow in one case that will be oversize by length ($50), I’ll carry one item of luggage that will cost $20. If I bag a deer, I’ll purchase a cooler in Idaho. It will be overweight and over length, but it will remain in the $50 category. Therefore, in addition to my ticket cost of $420, I’ll end up with $70 luggage fee on the way there and $120 on the way home. Making the total cost of air fare $610. (Plus the cost of the cooler.)

My friend lives in country with plenty of whitetails, so I’m hoping that this hunt will be an ice-breaker.

On a 2010 hunt in BC, my hunting partner bagged this nice whitetail from a treestand during the rut. On the left is Jeff and on the right his guide Corey.

The timing of the trip is intended to coincide with the start of the whitetail rut. The middle of November should be the time when the mature whitetail bucks come out to look for does and I’m hoping to run into one. We’ll hunt from tree stands, ground blinds and also still hunt. When I still hunt, it’s almost another form of blind hunting. I may even ship my guillie suit out ahead of time.

The hunting will be close range in thick cover. Just how close remains to be seen. I’ll bring my grunt tube and rattling antlers. I’d like nothing better than to call one in and pop him at 25 yards. I’m feeling the tension already.

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Featured Mule Deer Hunt for 2011 Livermore-Pleasanton Banquet

The 2011 MDF banquet scheduled for March 10 at the Palm Event Center on Vineyard Avenue in Pleasanton will feature a mule deer hunt with Kiff Covert of Dome Creek Outfitters in British Columbia. Kiff has donated a combo mule deer and moose hunt in BC Game Management Unit 7-5 located in the Fraser River drainage on the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains.

This photo was taken during late November looking from the river bottom land looking towards the mountains.

An interesting twist to this hunt is that it takes place where you’re almost as likely to run into Canada moose as mule deer and some of them are trophy class. Moose can be taken on this hunt for a trophy fee of $1,000.

East Bay resident Jeff Kerry killed this 26 inch muley on November 16, 2010.

This trophy Canada moose was killed by George DeBell in 2008.

If you’re into whitetail, you can go that route, but you’ll need a whitetail and a mule deer tag to do that.

Here's the whitetail taken by Jeff Kerry in 2010.

The hunt is for seven full days and includes pickup from and return to St. George (about sixty miles) on the day before and after the hunt. All meals, lodging and travel during the hunt are included as well as field care of game. If time permits, they will assist in delivery of meat to a local butcher or taxidermist.

I can personally vouch for the hospitality and trophy potential. I’ve already plunked down a deposit for a 2011 archery hunt.

Kiff Covert will be on hand the night of the banquet to answer questions about this or other hunts he offers. Tickets, which sell for $80, can be purchased by contacting Bob Holm (925)447-2044 or by emailing me at richfletcher@sbcglobal.net.

Check out the Dome Creek Outfitter web site at: http://www.domecreekoutfitters.com

This hunt normally retails for $4,900.

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The Rut

During the BC hunt, I was able to video bucks chasing does on two occasions. Watch these videos and you’ll see for your own eyes that whitetail bucks are more aggressive breeders.

The first clip is a good-sized muley buck and the second clip a smaller whitetail buck. These deer were filmed within a mile of each other.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOh8hv9pTUg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMFgIa9lRb8

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After a Great Week in CA, Leaving for a BC Trophy Deer Hunt Tomorrow

The middle of November is both frustrating and exhilarating. Duck season is always ebbing as pheasant season begins. Yesterday morning was classic. After three hours of working at bagging  a mallard, a stiff late-morning wind brought a flock of mallards within range and I managed to bring one down. The final approach duck boat is working well and I’m getting comfortable with it. Hauling the boat is sometimes a lot of work, but when you finally get into position, it’s deadly.

Final Approach duck boat

Expectations of  bagging a rooster were very low. I was surprised when we corralled one right off the bat. Cousin Wes brought him down easily and any one of the four of us would have killed him if Wes had missed. Same thing with the second bird, which brother Rob dropped.

Later in the afternoon, we split up. Wes and Rob finished off their limits and Lola followed a rooster for nearly ten minutes before putting him up at my feet. I too had a bird.

Here's Lola with a rooster from last year.

This was a good wrap to a week that included a very nice grasslands duck hunt at a friend’s club on Wednesday. This morning the birds went into the freezer and now it’s time to conclude my packing for BC which is nearly done.

What does a trophy hunt mean to me? It means the best of everything. Best guide, best food, best equipment and most excitement. I’m prepared to bring home the venison in large U.S. Army duffel bags and insulated soft coolers.

However, trophy hunting often means coming home with the least game, as trophy hunting means selectivity. I won’t shoot a deer this week unless it’s the bigger than any deer I’ve killed of that species.

A mule buck will have to be bigger than my 2008 Nevada buck

For whitetail that doesn’t say much because I’ve never killed one. For mule deer that means a mature, heavy-horned,  four-point buck with very good outside dimensions.

I’ll be hunting  with Kiff Covert of Dome Creek Outfitters. I met Kiff at the Mule Deer Foundation Convention last February.

For me, trophy hunting is just like any other hunting, except it’s usually just a little bit better.

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Montana, Land of Plenty for the Outdoorsman

Just back from a week in Montana. What a place. Here’s a snippit of what we saw.

We viewed Merriam turkeys and whitetail deer constantly from the porch.

 

Whitetails were present along the river while we fished and in town when we passed through.

 

These four bucks were watering at the river as we fished.

 

Left to right, Jerry (guide), myself, brother-law-Bill and Monte (guide)

 

We caught lots of smallmouth and some pike. The smally in the photo is three pounds, our largest. Fishing at Thompson Falls, we caught two others about that size and a zillion small bass. Largest fish caught was a five pound pike.

We spent the week with Flat Iron Outfitting, owned and operated by Ross Fratzke. He runs a hunting operation on about 3,000 acres of private ground for white-tails and elk. He also guides on the Lolo National Forrest for deer, bear and elk.

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