Spring Hunting 2015

This blog has fell behind due to being very busy so I apologize in advance.  But with a little free time I'll try and catch everyone up.

2015 has started pretty slow at this point.  I have been gathering my gear and getting ready.  This year I purchased a new bow and am going with a little different set up.  I upgraded to last years Hoyt Faktor 30.  I went patriotic and picked up the American Heritage red white and blue.  I usually don't go crazy with accessories on my bows, but this year I decided to differ and added some extra color! 

My family also purchased a camper.  Although not new and not very big it will now not only work great for family outings, but my base hunting camp as well.  It is a gigantic 1972 12' bumper pull.  I have had a blast putting it all together and remodeling the inside.  It has turned out great and should last us a very long time until we need something bigger.  It will be put to the test this year during spring bear and all of the fall seasons.

As I come into a new season yet again I am filled with high expectations and excitement.  there is nothing like starting off fresh and setting some goals.  Most of my goals are set to where I feel I can accomplish them and not so high that I ever let myself never meet those goals.  Ultimately I would say my unreachable goals for the year will be filling all of my tags with P&Y animals, but I always keep in the back of my mind.  I will be happy with any outcome as long as I'm in the mountains doing what I love.

On April 20th my friend and co-worker Matt ventured into an area I hunted last year and located a bear.  With work lately it has been extra tough to get out.  As always the first hunt of the year is mainly locating random gear in random spots after last fall.  I found most of everything I was looking minus a few smaller items.  I figure as long as I have some food, water, a weapon, and tags I can at least get out there and hunt.

We went into an area I hunted last season and located a bear.  I figured I might as well start where I left off at.  We hiked in a few miles and glassed as we hiked.  We eventually made it back to a glassing spot I located and sat for the day.  After glassing for several hours no bear was located.  The year has started out very dry.  Still being a novice bear hunting I figure these next few years will be mainly learning the country with some aspiration at getting the chance to kill a bear.  I will continue to be stubborn and only take my bow.  Matt was smart and packed a rifle. 

Well with no bears spotted we headed back to town.  I had some scheduled time off coming up and was looking forward to trying out some new country as well as a new base camp.

I went out the previous morning and located some potential spots to camp and tried to do some scouting.  It was some big country and fortunate for me I found my camp.  I set out the following day and got everything set up.  After getting camp set up I tried to find some good glassing areas.  Those were plentiful and now it was just time to sit and wait.

Again no bears.  The weather was hot and there was little snow left in the elevations.  I continue to learn everyday that I'm out in the field.  I basically spent three days finding glassing points, going through maps on google earth, comparing my GPS chip, and putting my boots on the ground.  I know the bears are there, but it's such big country that finding one is very difficult.  I must say it was nice to be able to set up my lap top in the camper and use the products provided by onXmaps.  I was able to look at the area I was in and rule out some things without ever stepping foot on the ground.

I put some miles on my pickup the second day looking for additional areas to hunt.  I found lots of great spots, but most were so thick with timber that trying to glass was near impossible.  This led me to believe the bears were there, it was just going to be a tall task of locating one.  The weather remained nice and made it pleasurable to be out and about.  I must admit that this trip was mainly for exploring new ground, putting the new camper and base camp to use, as well as just general relaxation.  I by no means went over the top and killed myself on the mountain. 

It was great to be able to come back, cook some food, and make some camp coffee at the end of the day.  I stayed very warm and comfortable.  I always kept thinking back to last years elk camp and how nice it would have been to have this set up previously.  Let's just say this year will be nice having the ability to stay out of the weather when I need and not having to worry about anything.

One thing that made me feel like I was in the right spot was the amount of cow elk I was seeing.  I knew the calving season was upon us and there would be a decent chance the bears would be roaming in expectation of an easy meal.  This also had me excited for the upcoming seasons in the fall.  As much as I enjoy bear hunting in the spring it is hard to get elk in September off of the brain.

The spring seasons came and went faster than I expected.  This is ok in a sense that I know fall will be upon us before we know it.  I am partially through the summer and time is flying.  I believe I will be ready for August and September when seasons begin to kick off, but as usual I'm sure I will be lacking in one area or another and I'm ok with that.  I just know that I will make more memories this fall as in the past with as much or as little time that I have. 

Although this spring bear season didn't reveal much assistance in finding or killing a bear I was able to get out and explore some new area previously unknown to me.  I just recently purchased a new rifle and am bound and determined to kill a bear next spring.  I will abandon my bow for a little bit if need be as I will never leave home without it, but at the same time I'm ready for a harvest.

I hope to see you on the road as I will be doing my usual sporting goods store events and possibly a couple of seminars.  Stop by and say hi if you get the chance if not maybe I'll see you on the trail.