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.
So Emily
and I just got back from a very successful California A-zone hunt on Wilderness
Unlimited Leased Lands and a old deer club Emily's family belongs to. The trip was amazing since we not only “Tagged Out” but
we were able to spend quality time with family in the outdoors.
We hunted Wednesday
through a Sunday and were able to take two nice respectable bucks and a pig.
Emily harvested hers on the first evening we were there. The rain poured all
day and the deer were all over. Her buck was a nice little fork which weighed
around 130 lbs. The buck was in the exact same spot she took a nice fork two
years earlier. She made a great 60 yard shot with her Savage 243 with 100 grain
hand loads.This marks year number four she
has been able to tag out on the first day of the hunt. She is too dang lucky.
On Thursday
we decided to head to a Wilderness Unlimited Ranch nearby. We made some great
hunts including one where I got within 50 yards of one of the largest
Blacktails I have seen while hunting. Unfortunately while at full draw a small
2x2 stood right in front of the buck’s vitals. They finally got spooky and both
bolted at the same time leaving me with the image of his rack burnt into my
imagination. On my way back to the truck
I spotted a nice 3x3 about 250 yards away. After about 10 minutes, I closed the
distance to 48 yards and slipped an arrow into the buck. He was a dandy archery
buck with a great cape and meat. The deer this year have all been in great body
condition due to the extraordinary acorn crop.
Getting ready to shoot.
The Limbsaver Proton, Victory Arrows and Ulmer Edge Broadheads did the trick again. I love this setup!
Friday
brought us on the hunt for Pigs at a ranch near Hopland, CA. We were able to
get on some pigs but were never able to get within bow range. That evening we
all split up to cover some likely areas where pigs were crossing that morning.
I picked a fence line that had some good rooting earlier. Toward the very end
of my hike I heard pigs rooting under an Oak tree about 100 yards ahead of me.
I closed the distance and put an arrow in the boiler room of a nice 80lb boar
at 26 yards. Pigs are sometimes so oblivious (when they are feeding) that with
the right wind you can literally walk right up to them! Pork Chops for Dinner!
The rest of the trip was filled with hikes and
laughs around camp. We felt so fortunate to go home with happy hearts and heavy
coolers. Another A zone season is in the bag and we cannot wait for our next
hunts in October for Mule Deer. Now the Butcher work begins!
Well the boys and I had a great "man" week last week archery hunting deer and pigs. It is truly a blessing to have hunting buddies that you can spend 5 days with laughing, hunting and truly enjoying each others company.
We took some great game and had some great experiences. I took a nice Boar, J.P. took a meat boar (of which we got no good pictures of) and Dalyn was able to take his first Archery buck, a nice 19" fork. His Buck wasn’t easy since it died and fell off a 60ft cliff making the haul out damn near impossible. The antlers were a little chipped but nothing that J.P. can’t fix!
Thanks J.P. and Dalyn for taking the time off to make this hunt happen. It made my year.
My 200+ boar. The Limbsaver Proton, Victory Arrows and Ulmer Edge Broadheads did the trick!
Dalyn with his first Archery Buck. A 19" Fork. He got beat up a bit from the fall off of a 60 ft cliff.
Ill start this post by saying that I am not a Taxidermist or expert nor do I guarantee results. I am just sharing what I do when I take buck in velvet. I am sure there are better methods out there but this is what's worked for me in the past.
Early season
archery hunting in the west takes place early enough to give most
archers the chance to take a buck in full velvet. If your lucky,
you are faced with the decision, to strip or not to strip the velvet.
The first velvet
rack I placed my hands on was back in the 2003. It was later in
August and the velvet was already starting to peel. I really wanted
to keep the trophy the way it was so I immediately took it to a
taxidermist and paid to have the velvet preserved. I really enjoy
viewing that trophy on my wall today but have learned that you don't
need to rush to a taxidermist to preserve velvet.
Not to Strip- Preserving
Velvet Antlers
Velvet antlers
provide a great trophy and if preserved correctly can look identical
to the day you took the animal. You have a couple options that I
recommend for preserving your antlers. The Do-it-yourself chemical
option and the freeze and wait option.
Freeze and Wait
option: So I have used this option the most. Its simple and fool
proof. Velvet antlers are just like meat, you must cool them down
and freeze them in order to stop them from spoiling. With that being
said, if you have room in the freezer put the entire rack and kill
plate in. If you don't have much room but still want to freeze them
another option is to cut the skull plate directly down the middle.
This is very tough to do since they are your trophy but its very
simple to reattach and mask the cut behind a plaque or shoulder mount.
*FYI - if your
trying to enter your trophy into a book like SCI, Pope and Young etc
splitting the skull plate will void the score.
Once they are in
the freezer you should leave them in place for 8-12 months and they
will come out dried and perfect. All the antlers I have done using this method look the same as the day I took the animal. If you don't want
to wait then you can go ahead and get the chemicals and DIY or take
them to a taxidermist but at least the antlers are frozen and
preserved till they can be treated.
To preserve the
antlers the DIY chemical way you will first need to purchase some
formaldehyde or comparable preservative. I purchased some online and
most are available through taxidermy websites. Next with protective
clothing on (gloves, goggles, etc) make small cuts/slits around the
tines of the antlers and on the antler tips then hang them upside
down. This will allow the blood to drain. Next you will need to
inject the bases with the preserving solution until the solutions
start to drip out the cuts. You can purchase syringes at any feed
store that will work great. Let them hang overnight and then take the remainder of the
watered down solution and spray it on using a spray bottle. Remember
to wear gloves and eye protection especially when spraying.
To Strip!
Stripping the Antlers
This past season I
was asked how and why I stripped the velvet from some of the bucks
had taken during the early season.
Why to strip your
antlers:
Well this is
something that depends on the antlers. I have taken numerous velvet
bucks and I would have loved to save all the velvet but sometimes the
velvet was at a stage was too far gone to save. One buck I took a few
years back, his antlers completely stripped in my hand when I started
to drag him.
Another reason
I'll strip the velvet is if I cannot get the antlers cooled down in
time. I was on a week long trip last year in July and killed a buck
on day two. I had no way of cooling the antlers let alone freezing
them. Instead of dealing with a rotten mess at the end of the trip I
opted to strip them in camp.
How to:
If
you want to strip the velvet from your antlers the process is very
simple. Use a sharp knife and make long cuts
up and down the antlers tines leaving you with 1/2" strips. I like to use my Havalon razor knife.
Use your fingers to peel away the velvet at the antler tips until you
have a ½ inch exposed. Then use a set of pliers and start to strip
down toward the base. The velvet strips come off in the large
sections and follow the lines you cut along the tines. Once you’re
done set them out to dry in the sun. After 2-4 hours you will be able
to get all the small pieces and veins off with ease. Once this is done you will be left with a pearly white set of antlers ready to be sanded and stained or taken to a taxidermist to be flocked with faux velvet. I will post another segment on finishing your antlers later this summer. Kerwin at Mounts Unlimited http://mountsunlimited.com/museum-quality/ is currently finishing the faux velvet on Emily's Sitka Blacktail and will keep you all posted when we get them back. Click below for a short video of me stripping a set of early season antlers.
Well that's it! I hope you all have a successful early season and send me photos of your early season velvet racks! Dan
Here is a short video from our Turkey/Pig hunt. We are about as novice as it gets when it comes to filming hunts but we got some good shots. The first couple pigs in the video were taken with our Nikon Coolpix with a 40X zoom. The third hog was filmed with my GoPro Hero 3 white mounted to my bow. The film is a bit grainy since it was low light conditions. Make sure to turn on the HD under settings. Enjoy
Recently Emily and I made our annual trip to go Turkey hunting on a ranch near Ukiah, CA. The trip usually yields numerous birds and great camping. Upon arriving at the ranch we set up camp and set out to locate a bird for the next mornings hunt. Since you cannot hunt turkeys past 4pm in California we hiked around without a firearm or bow. We were pleasantly surprise to see a lot of pig sign on the property, this in turn made Emily decide to carry a gun and pig tag for the late evening hike.
We decided to walk a skid road that leads above a traditional spot where birds have roosted in the past. With no birds talking and about 30 minutes of light left, we heard something rustling in the Madrone leaves....Pigs! There were two pigs feeding right along the road about 100 yards ahead of us. Emily snuck up and was able to get within 25 yards of the two. The wind was perfect and she was able to make a great shot right behind the ear, sending the pig down immediately and saving all the meat. The sow was around 100 lbs and was covered in a layer of nice fat like most pigs during the spring. Our lab Kona got to be there the entire time, although he was unsure of the pigs he loved it when the gun went off!
Day 2
That morning we heard a few gobbles but most were off the property and not wanting to leave their hens. Later that day after searching the ranch extensively with no luck we decided to switch gears for that evening. We decided we would get into the same area we saw the pigs the night before and see if we could catch them again. We sat for about 30 minutes in the same spot before we could hear the faint rustle of leaves. I set up with my Limbsaver Proton and waited. Within minutes a nice 100lb boar stepped out at 43 yards. I drew back and sent the 100 grain Swacker broadhead on its way. The arrow did a complete pass through behind the shoulder and stuck into the tree behind the pig. Impressed with this mechanical broadhead! The whole forest erupted with hogs and then calmed down. The group of pigs ran initially but then went back to feeding. The shot from the bow was very quiet and the hogs had no idea what happened. I quickly knocked an arrow and decided to follow the pigs to see how close I could get. I followed the group of pigs for a good 300 yards getting within 25 yards on numerous occasions. I however wanted to get closer, not sure why but I wanted to see how close I could actually get! After a few close calls the pigs increased the distance and were too far ahead of me.
Image from the GoPro mounted on my bow. The hogs were only 26 yards!
I decided to head back down the hill toward Emily to retrieve the first hog. On my way I spotted a large boar feeding under a manzanita bush. The wind was perfect and I was able to get within 10 yards of the old boy. I waited for him to be quartered away and let the arrow fly. A perfect hit and the hog disappeared down the hill. I met back up with Emily and shared the excitement. That evening we were able to retrieve the 1st hog and waited till the next morning to get the big boy. The big boar had a huge shoulder shield and there would have been limited penetration if I hadn't shot the pig quartering away.
Even though this hunt was meant for turkeys we were able to capitalize on the pig tags we always carry. It was an amazing experience to get so close to hog and be able to take them with archery tackle. After much butchering back home the hog is now filled the freezer. We both love natures bounty and being able to "Grocery shop" together. Now its time to edit the video!
