2017 Spike Elk Hunt

As I this year's hunting season approached I caught myself daydreaming about my hopes and dreams as to how I would like this year to pan out.   I envisioned bugling bull elk screaming in the dark ask I patiently inched myself into his element waiting for the lighting to bring a vision to images I had painted in my mind.  While I dreamed about this moment I put in work in attempts to do all I could to make this dream become a reality.  I have been around and involved in many successful hunts and have seen some amazing bull elk hit the ground, yet when was it going to be my turn?  When would I be the one behind the bow or grabbing the horns of a recent harvest?

Numerous trail cameras, hikes, scouting trips, and research all before season opener caused myself more anxiety than I feel it had prepared me for the season.  The area I had planned on hunting had far less sign of elk than previous years.  I often saw more boot tracks than I did elk tracks.  I saw coyotes and found winter kill almost every time I went out.   Through the despair I was feeling I endured my doubt and still sought out after the opportunity I had thought of all year long.  I had hunts which were full of disappointment as well as hunts which kept my drive a focus at an ultimate high while still never filling my tag.  While my dreams were big, my exceptions were quite low.  I had committed to shooting the first elk, no matter what size, as I had my family and their needs at my focus

As archery season came and gone I had seen a few elk but had never gotten close enough for to seize the opportunity.  I had one brief false sense of hope one day as I was driving off the mountain as I spotted a calf elk feeding on a small bush about 40 yards off the road.  I doubted my mind as I thought there was no way a elk, even a calf elk, would be feeding this close to a road.  I stopped my vehicle, found my release, grabbed my bow, stepped off the road, knocked an arrow, and let one fly.... I was baffled and confused but what happened next confused me even more.  As I watched my arrow fly true and pass through the calf elk, the elk merely flinched and took half a step forward... I literally shook my head, knocked another arrow and pulled back again.  By then the elk trotted a few steps and laid down.  As confused as I was, I decided I would place another arrow to quicken what I had hoped would already be a quick death for this calf.  Shortly after my second arrow, I could see the breathing stop, I was excited yet unsure about my experience.  It was nothing as to what I had hoped to have felt nor was it the monumental moment I had prepared for all year long.  Upon further examination, I found that this calf had two large wounds which were literally crawling with maggots.  The stench of the elk was almost more than I could handle.  My heart sunk as my already less than glamorous elk was now not even edible as to why I had committed to shooting the first elk I was able to.  I called IDFG and took care of the process of reporting and exchanging the rotten elk for a new tag.  I remember vividly, as I grabbed my new tag, the doubts filling my mind saying, "what good is a second tag... I was lucky to even get one elk let a lone get a second one this year".  I am not one of those hunters who shoot a big bull every year and then go out and purchase a non-resident tag to go out and harvest a second "wall hanger" during the same season.  I was full of doubt yet committed myself to seeing this season through.  I was raised to never give up and to never quit, and that was exactly what I was going to do.

As the General Any Weapon Season rolled around I did the unthinkable... yes I took a day off work... I selfishly sought out to fulfill my own desires rather than being an adult and taking care of the daily responsibility list.  I rarely take a day off work to go hunting, not because I don't want to, but because my days off usually get used for other adult/parent responsibilities which I am not complaining about, they are just part of life.

Early that morning as I loaded up my vehicle I decided I was in now way coming home empty handed.  I loaded my shot gun, a few duck decoys, my waders, my fishing poles, as well as all of my hunting gear.  I planned out my hunt in my mind, I would chase elk until around 11 and then head back to my vehicle.  At that point I planned on driving to the river and either shooting ducks or catching fish so that I could at least provide dinner on my day off work.  Needless to say, my hopes for tagging an elk were almost non-existent. 

As I pulled into the area I wanted to hunt, I slowly got out of my vehicle and grabbed my gear.  As I was strapping on my backpack I heard bugling in the distance.   My level of excitement always rises when I hear elk bugle while my level of expectation as been able to subside to prevent disappointment.  With the sounds of bugling all around me while I hiked in the dark, my expectations were growing in anticipation of watching some big bulls battling it out as the sun came up.  I hiked for a few miles in the dark and got to the spot I wanted to be right when the sun came up.  I could hear elk above me, below me, and on the ridges all around me.  I began to hear the loud cracking and grunting of two bull elk fighting.  The sounds were as loud as thunder and I could tell I was within only 100 yards or so of what sounded like an epic battle.  The sun was just peaking over the ridge line as I slowly moved toward the loud and escalating confrontation.   I could see glimpses of the two bulls aggressively spinning around while their antlers rattled together.  I crept up to a vantage point where I was able to sit back and watch the two bulls continue their battle.  As I sat back and enjoyed the show I saw cow elk wandering through the trees and other small bull elk gaze on much like I was as the two large bull elk established which of the two were the herd bull. 

At this point I was so engrossed in the show that I nearly forgot why I was there in the fist place.  I looked across the opening to my left and saw two spike elk walk out of the trees in curiosity of all the commotion.  I turned and raised my rifle to get a better look and the two spike elk both caught my movement and stared in my direction.  With absolutely no cover between us, I knew that the distance would not be negotiable.  I ranged the two elk at 370 yards and my nerves jumped to an all time high.  I had practiced out to 400 yards, but my furthest shot I had ever taken on an animal was just under 300 yards.  I felt confident in my preparation and decided to take advantage of the moment I had been given.  I set my cross-hairs on the front shoulder of one of the spike elk and slowly squeezed the trigger.  I watched the elk flinch as my shot hit him in the lungs.  The elk bolted down hill toward a shallow canyon and then disappear.  I gathered my composure and took of in his direction.  As I got closer to the spot where I had last seen him, I started seeing blood and plenty of it.  I moved in the direction I saw him go and quickly came upon him bedded down.  He jumped up and took off as I fired another round in his direction. 

As I saw his body fall lifeless to the ground, the realization that I had finally filled my elk tag started to creep into view.  I walked up to my elk and placed my hands on him, I was filled with a mix of emotions.  As much as I wanted to shoot an elk for myself and fulfill my own desires as a hunter, the only thing that was running through my mind was how humbled and grateful I was that my family now had the meat we so badly needed.  Our freezer was nearly empty, which may not seem like much of a tragedy to some, but my family has so many food allergies and sensitivities, we rely heavily on wild game for our food.  I reached for my phone to let my loved ones and friends know I had harvested an elk.  Phone calls and text messages sent which were all received with the same humility and gratefulness that I myself was feeling.  I said a prayer of gratitude as I grasped the skinny horns of the young spike elk and realized that my dreams and hopes of tagging a big bull elk were merely an illusion of what my heart truly wanted.  What I wanted was to harvest the elk God wanted me to harvest.  As I still would love to shot a big bull elk, I now see that my experience of harvesting that young calf elk which was full of maggots earlier in the season, as well as my previous years of unfilled tags were all preparing me in one way or another to set my goal on harvesting the elk God gave me rather than the elk I see in magazines.  My time will come for a big bull, and until then I will harvest the elk God gives me in the moments he provides me.  With that as my focus, I will always be grateful for the experience regardless of where my tag is at the end of the season. 

Why I hunt 

Game Gear Camouflage Review: Function and Durability

One of the main reasons I attend the Hunting and Outdoor expos are to find some outdoor gear that I haven't heard about yet through main stream media.  This past year I attended the Western Hunting and Conservation Expo in Salt Lake City and was introduced to some great new gear.  One of the new companies/gear I was introduced to was Game Gear's hunting clothes.  My first impression was that I liked the pattern that seemed close to a few other brands I was familiar with, yet different enough to give it a unique break up.  I sat and chatted with the people in the booth for quite some time and then moved on my way.  After the expo, it didn't take me long to decide I wanted to know more about Game Gear and their hunting clothes.  I checked into their company and decided I would do some research and share what I found with my followers!  One of the first things I will point out is that Game Gear has been making athletic clothing for over 72 years (Since 1943) so even though they may be new to the hunting/camo industry, they are well seasoned in making clothing built for active life styles!

I ordered me their Tala Mid Season System which currently runs at $230.00 for the following items:

Tala Shirt (BT3002LH50)
Tala Pant (SL3003H50) 
Tala Vest (WS3004H50) 
Heat Tech Shirt (H603S)
Heat Tech Brief (HT113)

Considering that some of the camouflage companies these days are selling their pants alone for prices between $150 - $650, the package deal from Game Gear is a great purchase considering what you get! The pants are polyester with a mesh liner and the vest is polyester with a fleece liner.  Both are stitched with 100 weight heavy duty thread to hold up to the elements while hunting.  The shirt is extremely soft and comfortable made out of a polyseter/lycra blend.

I received the Tala System around the first of May and have been hitting the mountains pretty hard testing out the gear.  I could have easily written a quick post in June stating that the camo was great and that I would recommend it to anyone looking for new camo, but I wanted to make sure to give the gear, and my readers, an in-depth review to make sure I wasn't just writing out of excitement of owning a new set of camo.

The pattern: 
At first I will admit I thought the pattern was kind of a knock off of the Kuiu pattern, but when I set them side by side to Kuiu, Sitka, and other brands of camo, I realized how all of them have similarities and distinct features which set them apart from one another.  As far as how it works in multiple settings, I will let the pictures do most of the talking while I just say that I'm glad that I finally own camo that I can wear in all of my hunting elements! I love how well the patter performs in everything from desert sage brush, cattails in the duck blind, and high mountain pines or aspens.  I would say the best performance out of the Game Gear pattern would be in the desert/sage brush, the aspens, and in the cottonwoods.   Be sure to click on the pictures to make them bigger. I also have lots of other pictures if you would like to see them in other settings please let me know in the comments and I can email you a few pics.

Aspen trees

Aspen trees with shadows

Rocky high country pines

Crawling in the desert

Kneeling shooting my bow in the sage

Sitting then standing in a tree stand

Standing in the cattails

Here is my 411 on the Tala Pants:
The pants were comfortable, durable, and as with the rest of the camo, I like the pattern.  The pant waist band is built structured in the front and elastic in the back to give them a comfortable snug fit.  With the the way the waist is constructed, I could wear these pants without a belt and they would sit right all day long while hunting.  The length of the pants seemed a bit long when I first tried them on but when I put on my hunting boots I loved how they stayed low while hunting and walking through thick brush.  On the Game Gear website, the state how the length of the pants is "generous" to keep ankles covered while squatting or kneeling.  I would say that their design and purpose behind the longer pants was one thing I wouldn't have thought about when looking for a good fit of pants.  Another feature I like about these pants is how the knees are sewn differently than any other camo pants I have ever owned.  They are sewn angled which is a lot more aligned with the stance and movement involved with hunting.  It didn't matter if I was walking, running, standing, kneeling, climbing into my tree stand, or crawling the pants never bunched up, crawled up, or became uncomfortable.

The pants also have a mesh liner to "optimize air flow and breathability" as stated on their website. They also have two back pockets, two deep hand pockets, as well as two convenient zipper pockets on the thigh.  I will say though, that if you plan on hunting in cooler weather, it would be wise to wear thermals, or a warmer base layer, rather than what comes with the Tala System.  I ended up getting caught in a snowstorm while looking for bear mid May and needless to say my legs were pretty cold.  The pants are also water repellent and wind resistant.  Don't confuse that with water proof... Hiking in wet cold conditions, my legs still got wet when wearing these pants after hiking for a while.  If you are hunting in such conditions it would be wise to wear gators (Just like with most other camo/hunting pants).  I myself would like to see Game Gear make some water proof gators that they would offer as accessories for hunting in such conditions. 
 
Now onto the Heat Tech Shirt:
The shirt is very comfortable and extremely soft.  I won't go on an on about the shirt; I will just state that the cut is very supportive of the movement of both bow hunting and rifle hunting.  The material was a great match for hunting due to how fast it dries when aired out.  As I would hike around either hunting or scouting I would work up a sweat, stop for a rest and let me gear air out, and within just a couple minutes the shirt was dry and ready for me to comfortably continue on my way.  When in the cooler conditions the zipper zips high enough to cover the base of my neck securely to help keep the heat in and keep my neck warm.

Next up is the Tala Vest:
The vest is a great piece of gear which I really enjoy hunting in.  The vest has two chest zipper pockets as well as two hand pockets down by the waist.  The zipper is a high quality quiet zipper with a sturdy rubber zipper pull.  The vest keeps your warm and protects you from moisture without restricting the movement needed when hunting.  I enjoyed wearing the vest on all of my outings even if they weren't always outdoorsy just because of how comfortable it was.

Now to be fair, I will post the one concern I have/had...

I wore this system for quite some time and put it through some pretty good tests.  I feel the products are all built great and should hold up for any of the hunters out there.  I do wish the pants were a bit thicker/warmer... The polyester is a pretty thin material and it didn't seem to take much before my lower half started to feel the chill when the temperature dropped.   I'm not one to get cold while hunting so this was not a comfortable feeling for me while in the mountains.  The shirt and vest kept my upper body warm, while my lower half was a bit cold.  This could easily be fixed by wearing the warmer base layer offered by Game Gear so, I wouldn't say this would be much of a deal breaker when considering purchasing this gear, just something that is good to be aware of.  I want you all to know that I worked very hard to give the Game Gear as unbiased of a review as I could. If it wasn't for the the cold weather I wouldn't have anything to say in this section.

Sooo... to wrap this all up:
 To me,  the Game Gear camouflage is a great purchase for what you get.  For a company who has been building athletic clothing for over 72 years, it shows in their new line of camo! This is not a company who looked around and tried to copy what someone else was doing.  These people are hunters, athletes, and outdoors men/women who know what works, and who have decided to start marketing their line to hunters!  If you see me in the mountains this year you can bet I'll be wearing my Game Gear camo... but then again that's if you see me...

 

Western Hunting & Conservation Expo 2015

Last weekend I attended the Western Hunting and Conservation Expo in Salt Lake City which was, like always, a great time.  Part of the fun this year was walking around and meeting up with a few of the people I talk with on social media to actually put a face to a user name!  Along with that, I was able to meet a lot of new friends and spend time seeing the in's and out's of some amazing products.  This post is going to be a synopsis of how I would gear up based solely on what I saw and experienced at the Expo this year!

Lets start at the bottom:
Boots -
Kentrek Boots: Give it there were not a lot of different boot companies at the expo but I took a moment to sit down and try on a pair of Kentrek Boots which really took me by surprise.  I was immediately impressed with how comfortable they were right out of the box and felt like they were already broken in.  These boots gave a lot of support in the ankle and seemed to be very study construction... When I saw the price of the boot I was a bit shocked but I would suppose they would live up to the price... ($400+)

Clothing -
This section will be split into two different categories Daily Wear and Hunting Clothes.

Daily Wear: I really liked a lot of the different clothing companies and it seemed like there were a lot of them this year.  Some of the companies I saw and liked were Sweat n' Bulletz, Scout Outdoors, Tines Up, and ZIIS.  As many people would agree, clothes are just clothes and in all reality what is on your shirt does not always reflect who you are.  With that said, the people in the ZIIS booth, Scout Outdoors Booth, and Sweat n' Bulletz booth went out of their way to say hi, get to know me, and make me feel like a friend.  They didn't care if I bought a shirt or hat at all, but they just wanted to know who I was and cared more about friendships than merchandise.  Because of that, I would strongly recommend supporting either one of those three companies if you want to pick yourself up some cool looking clothing.

Me at the Sweat n' Bulletz Booth

Scout Outdoors Booth

 Hunting Clothes: This area was by far my favorite discovery this year at the Expo.  While walking around I literally almost walked right past this booth thinking it was some high end camo company that I had already seen.  When I saw the Game Gear logo in the booth I quickly realized that I didn't recognize the brand so I stopped in and had a look.  About 15-20 minutes later I had talked to a few of the people in the booth including Ron from Boned Out Productions who was able to fill me in on some of the great qualities of this product.  Not only was I impressed with the product but the people were great and easy to talk to.  Once I started looking at the prices of the gear I was blown away at how affordable it was compared to many of the other companies/brands out there.  Knowing that this gear was made out here in the West for those who hunt out here, I was becoming more are more of a believer.  Game Gear makes everything from base layers to cold weather gear, and even make a snow camo line that they had on display at the show.  Game Gear is new to the camo business but not new to the clothing/athletic gear business.  Their products are built to be used to the extreme and withhold the elements you put them through.... Plus they look pretty freakin cool!


Pack:
Exo Mountain Gear: I first read about this pack from Sole Adventure's blog and really liked the idea of it so when I saw their booth I had to stop in and see the in's and out's of it for myself!  This pack was made specifically for hunters by hunters! As I sat there and listened/watched Lenny go through all of the different features I had read about previously I was blown away.  The versatility of this pack combined with all of the different options/accessories impressed me tremendously.  One of the concepts I liked about this pack was its design to allow you to pack for a back country trip while also being able to have all of your hunting gear easily accessible at a moments notice.

Optics: 
This one was an easy choice for me having used Hawke Optics as well as a hand full of the other optics brands who were at the show.  Hawke Optics still impresses me with the quality of glass they are able to provide while also being priced far less than their competitors.  Some of the products I liked from them this year is their line of compact binos.  I have used their Sapphire ED binoculars which I am writing up a review on which I will post next month, but at the show I was really excited about their compact binos.  These binos were light weight, small, and powerful which is exactly what you want for back country hunts or even just to have to shave off some weight and size of your normal binos while hunting.

Accessories:
There were a hand full of products this year which were interesting and seemed to be useful.  Some of them that caught my eye were Inergy Home (solar power panals), Tribe One Outdoors (PackNet), and OnXMaps.  I myself feel that you can never have to many accessories and little gadgets that make your life/hunt more convenient.  I would honestly say that all three of these companies/products are worth looking into.  I already use OnXMaps to scout out my hunting areas and plan out my hunts.  One think I like about their product is that you can scout while at work (just don't tell your boss), at home, or any other location where you have your phone on you.  With OnXMaps you are able to store maps of your hunting area so that you are still able to use the app when you are out of cell phone service.  Using this on your hunts and scouting can be very beneficial.


The Inergy Home solar panel is one product I am interested in due to the fact that if I use my phone or GPS with OnXMaps I want to make sure I have enough battery to use it during my whole entire hunt. The Inergy Home charger works differently than other solar panels in that they have an internal battery pack that is charged by the solar panel which then charges your device.  This allows you to use your device during the day and then charge it when the sun has gone down.  Also one benefit of this device is that it is 100% water proof! I was able to visit with some of the workers at the booth and see pictures of their testing on their product which was very impressive about how water proof their device really is!

Tribe One Outdoors makes a "PackNet" which is a web like contraption of bungee cord that is easily attached to the outside of any pack which allows you to additional gear to your pack if needed.  I really liked this product at the Expo and was quite impressed how their PackThach system allowed this product to be used on any pack that you already have.  In their booth they had displayed all of their different products showing how they can be used to hold your bow or rifle onto your pack as well as used to make a simple pack capable of carrying much more gear than it would without the Tribe One PackNet or their smaller version Tribe One MiniNet.  This is product allows you to increase your carrying capacity without having to add additional weight with some other form of carrying case or pack.  I strongly feel that this product is simple yet innovative enough to be around for a long time.

I really had a blast this year and enjoyed talking with all of the people I met.  Once again this list is based off what was at the Expo this year.  I feel that these products are at least worth checking out like I did then if it meets your needs I would recommend considering adding them to to your gear! I hope this helps for those of you who couldn't make it to the Expo.