2016 Idaho Whitetail

2016 has been a great year, with plenty of pigs, deer and even a moose filling our freezers. However all year I was looking forward to returning to Idaho to chase some whitetails with some good company. This part of Idaho is absolutely breathtaking, tall mountains, dense old growth forest and crystal clear rivers. Hunting deer is the primary objective; however the scenery really makes the trip for us.

 

This year we returned to a place where we had hunted in 2013. The last time we were there we were greeted with lots of snow and some really nice bucks. This trip was a lot warmer and snow was non-existent, however we were still able to find some great deer.

 

Emily’s dad, John was the first to pull the trigger. He took a heavy bodied 2x2 that was an easy drag back to the truck. We were all smiles.

 

My good friend, J.P. made a great 200 yard shot on a nice heavy racked 3x3. The buck of course died down in a deep canyon but the three of us were able to get him broken down and packed out in a just a few hours.

 

I was the next to take a buck. He was a compact 4x3 that we had seen the day prior and were able to snap some pics of.

 

Emily passed on numerous bucks the entire trip. She wasn’t holding out for a big one so much as she didn’t want the hunt to end. She ended up taking a doe on the last day we had to hunt. She was still excited and the meat is phenomenal!

 

Two other folks in our hunting camp were able to take deer making this the most successful trip yet. We again are so blessed to have experiences like this and are able to share them with the folks we love. Till next year!

 

 

2016 California Big Game Wrap up

2016 was a great year for us in our home state. We were able to get out at least once a month from July through October, experience some great places and put some awesome animals in the freezers.

July brought A zone archery deer and pigs. We were able to hunt two different ranches and put numerous stalks on some nice bucks and even get some shots. The deer didn't work out but Emily was able to connect on a nice 70 lb boar. She was all smiles.

August and September brought another A zone and a B zone deer hunt with our bows. We saw some nice bucks in both zones but were again not able to connect. The pigs however cooperated great! Emily was able to put down another great meat hog and I was able to take two great tuskers. All three pigs with our bows! That's 4 great hogs for 2016!!!

 

October brought cooler weather and a B zone and X zone hunt. The B zone hunt was in the eye of the storm, we hunted for 3 days in the rain and wind and saw over 30 deer before finding a decent fork. One shot at 150 yards did the trick.

Emily's X zone hunt was a blast! It was warmer weather than we wanted but we were able to get on some great bucks and by day 7 Emily connected with a nice 4x3.

 

Emily's Buck before the shot.

That wraps up California Big Game season for us. I still have a bear tag however with an Idaho deer hunt still on schedule I think I will pass on the bear hunting. 4 pigs and 2 bucks made 2016 California another blessed year for stories and the freezers.

Gear Review- Alpen Teton 10X50 Binocular Review

After purchasing the Alpen Super Compact spotting scope I decided to look into what other products the ALPEN company had to offer. After much debate and research I acquired a new pair of 10x50 Teton binoculars. The 2015 season was a dream to put these optics to the test. I had open season mule deer hunts, Africa Safaris, and numerous deer and pigs hunts in CA. Having used many economical pairs of optics in the past I have to say that I am thoroughly impressed with the Tetons!!!

I usually go with a 10x42 base model for optics but decided to take the plunge and go with the 10x50 since I wanted to see what added visibility in low light conditions they might offer. When testing them side by side with my Vortex 10x42, the 10x50’s really stood out when it came to counting antler points at dawn and dusk.

The Specs
I always focus on four things when looking at the specs on binos. Weight, magnification, clarity and Warranty. These four things can are my decision makers when I am opening my wallet to for a pair of glass.

Specifications for the Alpen Teton 10X50:
Magnification: 10X
Objective Lens: 50mm
FOV: 262ft @ 1000 yrds
Weight: 28oz

Weight
The 10x50’s are a bit on the heavy side coming in at 28 ounces (1.75 lbs). This weight is added due to the larger objective lens. Compared to most 10x42’s (22-24 ounce) this really isn’t a major jump. They fit perfect in my bono harness so the added weight isn’t a factor.

Magnification
So this all depends and comes down to what your hunting conditions are. I chose my magnification based on what is the most versatile. I want a binocular powerful enough to see detail at distance, however I want a good wide field of view (FOV) so I can see more when hunting thicker areas like the coast for blacktail deer. This narrowed it down for me to a 10X binocular. Powerful enough for open country Mule Deer yet a decent FOV for those close quarters areas. So again this is all personal preference and what you like to hunt.

Clarity
Wow, now this is subjective. So the only way to do this is to look through the binos, a lot of binos, not just in the store but take them out to the parking lot and really look through them (make sure the sales associate knows you’re doing this). Also look through the expensive stuff! I cannot afford a $2500 pair of binos but you bet I’ve looked through plenty of them. It is a good way to get a baseline for clarity and sharpness.   I don’t like to admit this but I have even bought a pair of binoculars to give them a test. If I didn’t like them, they got returned. I am not advocating this but it is really the only way to check the clarity. Also you can read at past reviews. If the bino have an established name and you see them around a lot of hunters necks then they probably are a decent brand. Go out and test drive them, you won’t be sorry.
The Alpen Tetons were in my price range and were by far the best glass I looked through when comparing to others in that same category. They were very sharp and crystal clear when viewing objects at distance (1000+ yards) and even clearer when picking out details at 150 yards. During a pig hunt earlier in the year I spotted a nice large pig at about 200 yards. I didn’t really want to take a pig unless it had nice tusk. When I put my binoculars up, I could immediately see the vivid white tusk protruding from the hogs jaws and my decision was made.

Warranty
This is a big selling point for those of us that may be hard on our gear. Will it last? Will the company back it up? Alpen has it right. The back there product with a full “No Blame….No Fault…No Problem” Warranty. They have full confidence in the durability of their product and back it up with this warranty.

There it is folks, the vast majority of us cannot afford the big boxes however that shouldn’t preclude you from getting a great pair of optics. Alpen has achieved this and will continue to be around my neck for the next hunt season. Let me know if you have any questions. Or feel free to contact Alpen directly as I did. When I called them, I was in touch with a person who helped me though the whole process and answered my questions. They can even point you to dealers so you can go try them out.

ALPEN OUTDOOR CORPORATION
10329 Dorset Street
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730
909-978-8370 or 877-987-8370
http://www.alpenoptics.com/

Final Tag of the 2015 Season

 

In June I was lucky enough to read my name on the successful list for drawing a premium tag for California Mule Deer. I drew this same tag in 2012 so to draw it again in the random pool was extremely lucky!

The season started in late October, after the archery and general season, so the deer had been hunted quite a bit making them difficult to pin-point and pattern. I spent nearly 10 days, pre-season scouting and really focused the entire week prior to the opener, finding the deer concentrations. I found some great areas which held good deer numbers. With bad drought conditions, the deer were really concentrating still on feeding areas near reliable water sources. The deer were hammering the bitterbrush flats.

 

The first 4 days of the season found myself with a whole entourage of followers. I had my wife, her dad, my best friend J.P., as well as a master student conducting research for his thesis on hunting. Those 4 days were amazing. We were seeing 20-30+ does and bucks everyday as well as 1-2 mature bucks including one 4x4 that was around 22” wide with deep forks. It was a great buck but I decided to pass.

 It was one of the hardest hunts to be on since I felt the constant stress to take one of these great bucks. Not from anyone on the hunt but from my internal self, since I was used to just taking the first legal or nice buck I could find. I am a meat hunter! The main thing keeping me from pulling the trigger was that I wanted to keep hunting. This isn't a tag I can draw every year, this is my last deer hunt for the year, and I wanted to see what each day would bring. I knew that with every day the season grew older, the bucks got closer to rutting. I personally don’t care about score or width but I was looking for a buck that when I looked through the binoculars I had no hesitations about going after. I was looking for a buck that turned me on!

 

After Day 4, the masters student and J.P. had to go home, however my father came up to join the party. Day 5 was uneventful, seeing the same bucks from previous days. Day 6 brought us to an area where we had been seeing a large group of does and younger bucks. At first light we spotted a great 5x2 that had great mass, I mean lots of MASS! His points were rounded they were so heavy. He was the first buck of the season that there was no question whether I was making a stalk. I made the stalk however he gave me the slip when I was within 75 yards. I was only able to see his massive rounded antler tips as he trotted off. After the failed stalk, I did some more glassing and turned up two other great bucks. A 24” 3x3 with a 5-6” cheater on one side and a wide 28-30” 3x3 with great eye guards. Both bucks were in impossible areas so they had to be passed until the next morning. Three shooter bucks in one day, this is what I was waiting for!

 

 

Day 7 took us to the same spot. We started to pick apart the basin with our optics and turned up a group of does and a couple young bucks that were really going at it. We watched them spar for about 15 minutes until my dad said, “Big Buck”. The big wide 3x3 stepped out behind a pine tree and started to push one of the does. After watching him for 15 minutes, I started my stalk. Long story short I was able to get within 110 yards of the giant, rested my sights right behind the shoulder and squeezed the trigger, after the smoke cleared the buck was bounding off, unscathed and healthy to live another day. After checking his tracks for blood, it all sank in that I just missed my opportunity at a big one.

Sad and a little depressed we regrouped and made our plan for the evening hunt. We decided we would hunt the same area however, split up and go in three different directions to cover more ground. I sat down at my glassing post for the next few hours and immediately saw some does munching on a small oak tree about 90 yards away. I continued to glass until I heard some more rustling near the does. I peeked over to catch sight of a heavy 4x3 joining the does evening meal. I did a quick 2 second look through my binos to confirm that I wanted to take that buck and got set up. It was about 2-3 minutes before the buck presented a quartering away shot and I squeezed the trigger. The air filled with smoke and I could barely catch a glimpse of the buck scrambling downhill into a deep drainage. After reloading I ran down the hill to see him piled up at the bottom.

The buck was one of my best yet. A beautiful heavy 3x4 with eye guards. I sat down next to the buck, had a moment of silence, soaking it all in and thanking nature for its bounty. I had taken a great 4x4 three years earlier only a half mile away from where this buck fell. I felt so lucky and privileged to be able to hunt this mountain again and to have a group of family and friends that were willing to take time off to help me with this hunt. A great hunt to go in the books and a great way to end the 2015 Big Game season!