THE CALL OF THE WILD BOAR…GIGGLING By: Tracey Splechter

Some hunters would say you can’t “call” in wild boar, however my sister and I would disagree.

Our first boar hunting adventure to Oklahoma had been planned for many months.  This would be the first time my twin sister, Stacey would venture into the great outdoors on a hunting trip.  It took many hours of convincing her she would love it if she only gave it a shot!  She took her hunter’s safety course earlier this summer so she was ready and prepared to handle her rifle.  We also spent a few weekends practicing at our homemade rifle range at my home.

The weekend in September finally arrived for us to make the 4.5 hour drive to Oklahoma.  We planned to arrive at the lodge by 4:30 so we could get settled and ready for the next day’s hunt.  Little did we know that once we arrived, we would be in our hunting stand within 30 minutes of unpacking our bags.  We were stoked!  So, it was now 5:15 and we were settled in our stand with our gear and were getting familiar with our new surroundings.  As we sat there, trying to be quiet and watch for game, we couldn’t help the urge to giggle about everything.  Every small noise we made, her breaking her visor, my chair creaking, her cell phone ringing (because she forgot to put it to vibrate) and even the thought of who was going to shoot first, had us rolling.  Well it seemed to work because within 30 minutes of being in our stand, the first pig walks out.  We judged his size and determined he was a shooter but I told her “No way am I shooting the very first thing that walks by us, the very first day and in the first few minutes of hunting.”  She agreed and we watched the boar as he made his way around the feeder and then off into the woods.  Again more giggling and again another boar.  The second pig was quite a bit smaller than the first so we decided we would let this one go as well.  About 30 more minutes passed, several more bouts of laughter and one more hog!  It never failed just as we were at the peak of our giggles, a hog would appear out of the woods.  Was this coincidence or was our giggling working?  We decided we were not letting this one get away, so I readied myself for the shot and she grabbed the video camera.  He made a few passes behind the feeder and then came around to the right and left himself wide open!  KABOOM went my rifle and off ran the pig.  Stacey said, “You missed him, he ran off!”

I told her, “I didn’t miss him, I had a good shot and he is probably just a few yards off in the trees.”  We tried calling the guides to let them know we had a pig down but, in southern Oklahoma our cell phones did not want to cooperate.  However, we did get a text message out to them to let them know to head our direction.  I had made the shot just about 7pm so we had about one hour before dark.  It took the guides a while to arrive and by the time they did it was pitch black outside.  Stacey, being a city girl and all, didn’t want to get out of the truck to help the guides track the pig, but I talked her into it.  We showed the guides the location of where the pig was when I shot and told them the direction in which it ran.  Aaron, a newbie to the outfit, instantly found a trace of blood and was hot on the trail.  It didn’t take him long to find it; my first wild boar!  I was shaking hands and there were high five’s all around.  We loaded the pig in the back of a truck to get him back to the lodge for pictures and processing.  The outfitter has a great set up where you can have the guides processing your animal or you can choose to do so yourself.  While the guides were hard at work, Stacey and I went in to get cleaned up for dinner.  The meals ranged from hamburgers and steaks in the evenings to biscuits and gravy for brunch.  Don, the cook, was amazing!  I would definitely recommend to all hunters to pay the little extra to have your meals prepared for you while hunting.

The next day and a half of hunting proved to be uneventful as the weather was either extremely hot or raining.  It turns out that we shouldn’t have passed up those first two pigs as Stacey never had her chance at taking her first boar.  We still had a great time enjoying nature while relaxing in the comfort of our custom built, elevated stands.  We are planning a trip to go back in late winter of 2011!  This time frame should give her the opportunity for her first kill as well as additional opportunities for myself.

The camp is located near Mill Creek, Oklahoma.  It is a rustic, but very comfortable cabin that can accommodate up to six hunters.  Enjoy satellite TV in the living room or hanging out in the outdoor pavilion, discussing the day’s hunt.  There is a large, fully equipped kitchen for those who choose to cook their own meals.  Hunters can choose from many stand locations dispersed on 8,500 acres of a working cattle ranch.  In the afternoon, you can choose to fish in Pennington Creek for smallmouth bass or jump in the trucks with the guides for a tour of the ranch.  Processing facilities as well as a walk-in cooler are available to store your animal until your hunt is over.  The guides will process your animal for you for a small fee and help pack it for the drive home.  The guides are all very knowledgeable about the land and the game as well as very friendly.  I would recommend this destination to anyone looking for a quality hog, deer or turkey hunt!

Just remember the next time you are sitting in your stand and not having any luck, try it…giggle.

PRÓIS HUNTING AND FIELD APPAREL ADDS SIX ACCOMPLISHED WOMEN TO ITS IMPRESSIVE ROSTER OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE PRO AND FIELD STAFF

Over the past few years, Próis Hunting and Field Apparel has become the clothing brand of choice for some of themost high-profile, successful female hunters and shooters in the industry based largely on the gearʼs incredible fit,technologically advanced fabrics and superior performance. This year, Próis is showing no signs of slowing down, asthe company has announced the addition of four new impressive female hunters/shooters to its roster of ʻhard coreʼPro Staffers: Julie Golob, Rebecca Francis and twin sisters Tracy and Lanny Barnes. Plus, the company has alsoadded two amazing women to its team of Field Staff: Stacey Huston and Terri Lee Pocernich.“Whether in the field or on the range, each of these ladies are successful because they demand the most fromthemselves and their equipment,” said Próis Hunting and Field Apparel President and CEO, Kirstie Pike. “Weʼreproud to be associated with each of these incredible female hunters/shooters and are honored that they depend onour gear even in the most extreme conditions.”As the winner of 14 World, 18 U.S. National, and over 80 Championship titles in state, regional and internationalcompetitions, Julie Golob has brought new meaning to ʻshooting like a girlʼ. And she doesnʼt trust her success to justany gear when on the range, with a US Army Female Athlete of the Year (1999) title under her belt, she can only relyon the best from Próis. To further add to her long list of accolades, Golob is captain of team Smith and Wesson, thefirst and only Five Division USPSA Ladies National Champion and the first woman to ever earn a USPSA NationalsTriple Crown.Mother of eight children, and winner of the 2009 “Extreme Huntress” nationwide contest, Rebecca Francis laughs atany challenge that crosses her path. Her long list of ʻextremeʼ trophies includes two Alaskan brown bears, an Africanlion, many plains game, dall sheep, bighorn sheep, moose, black bear, antelope, New Zealand red stag, and severaltrophy mule deer and elk. Since becoming the “Extreme Huntress” she has begun freelance writing for severaloutdoor magazines and is currently working on a TV show based on womenʼs extreme hunting.A love for fishing, hunting, shooting and just plain being in the great outdoors scored twin sisters Tracy andLanny Barnes spots on the U.S. Biathlon team (an Olympic sport that combines cross-country skiing with riflemarksmanship). And after a few years of perfecting their skills, they made their first World Jr. Championship team atthe young age of 18 and became the first women in the US to have medaled in the World Jr. Championships the nextyear at the age of 19. Since their junior career, theyʼve competed in World Cups and several World ChampionshipsContact: Jonina Costello / jcostello@full-throttlecom.comJason Bear / jbear@full-throttlecom.comPhone: (805) 529-3700as well as the 2006 Olympic games. Plus, Lanny represented the U.S. at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic games, whereshe posted the best U.S. finish in 16 years. They both are pushing to become the first women in the U.S. to medal inthe Olympics in 2014 held in Sochi, Russia.Stacey Huston has shared a passion for ʻall things outdoorsʼ since growing up in the mountains of north westMontana. That same passion has led her to a career as a wildlife photographer, with photos published in severalhigh-profile magazines, and catalog cover shots. She is also a licensed falconer and a Sub Permitee for IronsideBird Rescue — rehabilitating birds of prey to ensure they are strong enough to once again soar the open skies.Entrepreneur and writer Terri Lee Pocernich has chased whitetails since the early age of 10, having grown up in thequiet town of Hayward, Wisconsin. Aside from being an avid hunter, sheʼs a wife, a mother of four and owner of thepopular Camp Wild Girls website, and now the new Home Hunting Parties concept which has recently hit the groundrunning receiving tremendous interest within the industry. An experienced writer, she has her own blog atSkinnyMoose.com and writes regularly for the Womenʼs Outdoor News and the Womenʼs Outdoor Media Association.Plus, sheʼs also in the process of co-producing an online show in conjunction with AM:PM Outdoors and Sharp HillOutdoor Production to be called “Battle Scraps.”These accomplished ladies join an already impressive list of Pro and Field Staff that include the likes of Linda Powell,Senior Press Relations Manager and Conservation Sales Manager for Remington Firearms; freelance writer andpublic relations firm owner, Stephanie Mallory; and award-winning freelance writer Barbara Baird…to name a few.Próis was created for women, by women who refuse to settle for downsized menʼs gear or upsized childrenʼs gear.Each garment is created with the most technologically advanced fabrics available and a host of advanced features toprovide comfort, silence and durability. Their out-of-the-box thinking has resulted in amazing designs for serioushunters that have taken the industry by storm and raised the bar for womenʼs outdoor apparel.

August’s Woman of the Wild-Darla Kaarre

I grew up a native Montanan…fourth generation in a family line of outdoor people…forest service packers, ranchers, homesteaders, outfitters etc.  My mom and dad are outfitters and I spent alot of time growing up in that business.  The family all hunted…I took hunter’s safety as a kid and back in those days you could take a pocket knife to school in your pocket.

I had mine in my pocket so could take it to hunter’s safety class at night (I was in sixth grade) and show it off and let everyone know that since I owned a knife I could survive in the woods.  Well I lost it that day somewhere on the playground and never had another pocket knife till I was well into my thirties.  So even though I grew up with hunters all around me and worked in the outfitting business cooking for hunting camps and even helping drag game out of the field, I never hunted.

I went off to college, got a bachelor’s and masters degree in education, found this wonderful man to marry, had children and when the only boy got his first hunting license in Wisconsin (lived in the mid west for about 20 years) then my husband Marty really got into hunting.  So Randy (son) and Marty would hunt every year and get deer for me. I love venison!  I loved ‘cutting up meat’ and putting it in the freezer…but still never hunted.

About nine years ago my family and I moved back out to Montana…the northwest corner…back to my home stomping grounds.  I finally decided after the first year back that I would like to try my hand at this hunting business!  So I borrowed a gun that was given to my mom by my great uncle ( a nice wood stock pretty looking 308).  I didn’t know one gun from another at that point and still don’t know much, but am learning as I get more into hunting.  So eight falls ago I borrowed that gun and haven’t yet returned it and have now carried it many many miles up and down mountains and through woods.  The first year that I picked up the gun from my mom and dad’s house, I asked dad if I could hunt along the creek on his property back down to my house.  He said sure.  About 15 minutes later, down off the hill came a nice doe…it was early doe season so I took my first shot.

I hit her and watched where she ran and waited the allotted time and then went to find her. Followed the tracks and blood trails.  Retraced and started over and turned over every scenario in my mind.  Never did find her…went up to dad’s since it was dark. He said he would go with me first thing in the morning.  He did and we found her a few hours later…about a mile and a half away on a circuitous route.  I learned so much from my dad that day.  I had such a valuable resource around me, all those years of growing up and no interest back then.

That day turned out to be an education about being in the woods.  The doe was great food for scavengers that year but not so good for my freezer.  Dad encouraged me and told me similar stories from his lifetime hunting experiences.  I hunted the rest of the season and got nothing.  So I kept trying through the years and learning more each year.

I missed a nice buck at about 40 yards…even after a smart hunting strategy and waiting patiently for him to get close enough and not see or smell me.  Sat in the snow and cried about that one and was never going to hunt again.  My husband, son and Dad kept encouraging me.  Spent more seasons loving the ‘hunt’ and the whole being in the woods and observing animals and their behavior scene.

Each year I would learn some valuable lesson to apply the next year.  I could sit still enough that a coyote sniffing out something got within seven feet of me and finally I said ‘well hello there’ as that close was beginning to feel just a bit close. There was the time my son took me hunting in the early years of my new passion and we had a buck standing looking at us for ‘hours’ and any one other than the inexperienced mom would have gotten off a good clean shot.  I couldn’t find the deer in the rifle scope so couldn’t shoot.  The deer got tired of waiting for me to shoot it so finally it wandered away much to the incredulity of my son.  “Mom you could have just pointed and shot and not missed that one it was so close.”

I’ve provided many funny mom hunting stories.  I have my favorite ‘angel deer’ that flew through the thick woods miraculously because it was so thick and dark and his rack was so huge there was no way he could leap as far and as long as he did through the woods and find a path out without getting entangled…but he did of course!   There was the doe I shot and stunned and who laid on the ground for most of the waiting time and just before I was to approach to make sure she was meat for the freezer jumped up and ran off like nothing had ever happened.  My dad and I again spent a day looking for her.  Never found her nor any blood trail expect two spots right where she dropped when I stunned her.

My ‘failures’ to put meat in my freezer were disappointing but kept me motivated also to keep learning and trying.  So finally after six or so ‘unsuccessful’ seasons of hunting I shot my first deer last fall…a nice muley that I hiked miles and miles up in the mountains to get.  He was so big  we couldn’t drag him off the mountain. We had to field dress him and back pack him out of the woods.  Good thing we did…a grizzly was eating his rib cage when we went back the next day to check out if the rest of the deer were still in the same area.

We had more tags to fill!  My husband was with me the day of my first hunting success….he did all the cutting up for packing out and all that.  I helped where needed.  It was all a spiritual experience for me…the hunt, the shooting, the waiting, the butchering, the gratitude for it all.  But even more exciting for me was that four days later while hunting completely on my own, I successfully filled my doe tag after doing things ‘right’ and figured out how to gut her out and all that.  I had to get my dad to come with his truck to haul her home and he said to me in his quiet voice…”You’re getting to be quite the huntress!’  For my 76 year old dad, my getting deer and carrying on his life joys was one of the coolest things for him.  So, having spent years learning some about hunting, I finally had a ‘successful’ season last fall.  I was able to put my first package of meat in the freezer that was identified as “Darla’s muley backstraps–nov ’09″.  We mark all our meat by who gets it, where and when.  It makes for great meal time stories and we are reminded of where our food comes from and for what cost.  One of the funnest moments of last year’s hunt was taking a picture of the first package of meat to go in the freezer with my name on it!

I’m looking forward to this fall and hunting season and have been checking out the deer habits in the area and have my licenses all ready…my son in law got me a new scope…my son got me a real hunting knife after learning that I gutted my doe with a Finnish fillet knife.  I will still use the same family rifle but I may need to get my own hunting clothes…I’ve been borrowing my son’s while he has been four years in the Marines.  He returns this September 13…in time for early season wilderness hunting!  So Camp Wild Girl’s show me your stuff for women’s wear!!

So that is my hunting story…my youngest daughter Elly (10 in a few days) enjoys joining me in the hungt and will be able to start hunting in two years if she so chooses.  She is a great outdoors girl.  She lead a hike of 18 people to the top of a mountain lookout yesterday here in our corner of God’s country.  In addition to hunting, I love being involved in passing on the wonders of the outdoor world by running an outdoor ministry.  So yesterday we finished off an outdoor retreat by hiking to the lookout and viewing the wonders of the mountains with a 360 degree view.  We are a non profit ministry that believes that we can live out and pass on spiritual principles in the outdoors.  We believe that challenge, growth and renewal happen through adventure in the world God provided for us to enjoy.  We do children, youth, family, women, and men’s adventure retreats.  We do hunting and fishing retreats.  We go hiking, rafting, horseback riding, rock climbing, study, site seeing, camping, backpacking, and other outdoor activities.  Each experience is used to teach spiritual principles.  Each retreat is custom designed to meet the needs of the group that joins us. Growing up in the outfitting business, getting into education and marrying a pastor, have all come together to create a ministry that brings growth and renewal to lots of people…whether they are participants or whether they find a job in which they come out to help at a retreat.  If you’d like to find out about our ministry go to athelasoutdoor.org.  You can also find us on facebook at Athelas Outdoor Ministry, Inc.

PROIS COMPETITOR SHOOTER’S SHIRTS NOW AVAILABLE!

Now Available in our Camp Store, Prois Competitor shooter’s shirt!

Hybrid flagship of the new Prois Competitor Line brings on the heat for competitve shooters and archers alike.  Today’s female handgun, shotgun and archery enthusiasts have given a whole new meaning to ‘shooting like a girl’- and they’re looking for serious tools to give them an edge on the range.  So Prois Hunting Apparel has answered the call of these focused women athletes and have introduced the Prois Competitor Line of shooter shirts.

If you are competing in any style or type of shooting, you need a tightly integrated set of advantages- technical skill, control and practice- to consistently hit the mark.  The Prois Competitor line is tailored with the same kind of precision with which shooters train for competition. This line is crafted from sturdy 100% polyester wicking fabric and is carefully engineered with an athletic design for complete ease of comfort and movement.  All three styles include bilateral shoulder padding tailored to protect both sides- whichever is dominant for shotgunning.

The Competitor Sleeveless is perfect for the balmy days on the range.  It is comfortable, athletic and allows the shooter to move about unhindered.

The Competitor Short Sleeve provides an athletic and attractive cut.  Perfect for indoor or outdoor ranges!

The Competitor Longlseeve is the ultimate shirt for the female shooter who does it all!  It is complete with bilateral forearm slap pads and thumbholes in the cuffline for the archer- and bilateral shoulder protection for the shotgunner.

June’s Woman of the Wild-Christine Appleberg

By Christine Appleberg

How does someone who grew up in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago become an avid outdoorswoman, president of a bowfishing club and editor of a hunting website?

I credit my parents, particularly, my most understanding mom.   She started a lot of my interest by teaching me to fish and then how to fillet the fish that we caught.  This lit the fire in me that nature was not only wondrous and fun, but often downright tasty.  And despite her desire to see me wear cute frilly dresses and act like a proper little girl, she never attempted to quash my fascination with the outdoors and nature, even when I kept a live red bellied snake in my dancing ballerina jewelry box.

Gaining permission to hunt where I lived was difficult but finding a place to trap was far easier.  Even in the waning days of the fur boom there were plenty of raccoons, ‘possums and skunks on the edges of suburbia for a kid to catch.

When I checked my traps I often carried my Browning Nomad recurve bow and a mismatched assortment of arrows with me.

The bow was a gift from my older brother and the arrows were whatever Kmart had on sale.  I knew nothing of arrow spine, or bow ‘tuning’ concepts.  At 45lbs @ 28″ the bow was far too heavy for me. Yet, a surprising number of rabbits, squirrels and the occasional woodchuck became dinner and tanned hides due to my bow.   Deer were scarce in the area back then, so while I did buy a mail in permit a few times, I never actually went hunting for them.

After high school I went to college in Bottineau, North Dakota.  Going from the Chicago suburbs to ND was quite a culture shock.  If I remember correctly, there were about 7 million people within a 40 mile radius of where I grew up.  There was only a little over a half million people in the whole state of North Dakota at that time.  While this meant I had to accept that there were no real pizza places or sushi bars for couple hundred miles of my college, the upside was outstanding.

There were miles and miles of State Wildlife areas teaming with critters and hardly any people.  Creatures quite exotic to someone from Illinois, like moose, elk, pronghorn, mulies, snowshoe rabbits, jack rabbits, ruffed grouse and porcupines.  There was an unbelievable amount of waterfowl around too.  The college even had a bird cleaning area for the students. However, my only attempt at waterfowl hunting resulted in me shooting a single blue winged teal, which dropped into the middle of a slough.  I had to wade into the cold water and mud to retrieve it and this experience chilled me on water fowling. My other hunting adventures were more productive, and I kept myself busy with rabbits, ruffed grouse, furbearers and even took my first turkey in ND.

It was also in North Dakota that I started to get serious about archery.  A very entertaining and patient sporting goods shop owner and his wife helped me get set up with JVA Astro Stinger bow.  Even back then this was not a very high tech bow but I became enamored with it.  I shot it every day.  At my first outdoor tournament I won the women’s division but what really made me proud was that I would have been in fourth place had I been competing in the men’s division.  I also managed to win a moving target competition. I was officially hooked.

It was still a couple of years later, when I moved back to Illinois, that I finally started to make a real attempt at hunting deer.  Like most of my other outdoor pursuits, I am a self-taught deer hunter which means that I made a whole lot of dumb mistakes.  One of my first deer bowhunting  experiences I made the mistake of sitting down right in the deer trail and waited for a deer to show up. This was thinking like a trapper rather than a hunter.

Sure enough, a nice buck comes ambling down the trail and just about runs into me.  I was desperately trying to pull my bow back but was unable to because I was overcome with a serious bout of buck fever.  When the buck finally noticed the weird blob waving a bow around in front of him, his eyes bugged out and he simply bounced off the trail snorting (and I swear laughing) at me.

It only took once to learn that lesson but I plenty of learning to do after that.  Thankfully, I was fast learner (and lucky) and did tag my first deer that same year.  Like most hunters today, deer hunting makes up the majority of my hunting time afield.  However, these days I find myself referring to deer season as the ‘off-season’.   Don’t get me wrong, I love deer hunting. However, my latest outdoor obsession lets me pursue my quarry day or night, warm or cold weather, and I can do it, literally, with a boatload of friends.

Bowfishing.

Bowfishing combines the ‘thrill of the hunt’ with fast paced archery action and it’s only as serious as you want to make it.  I am blessed with a great circle of friends and truly some of my fondest memories are times we’ve had together bowfishing.  It’s a sport where on a good day or night you will shoot so many times you may simply become too tired to shoot anymore. Laughing, yelling, high fiving and plenty of ribbing is all part of the sport. After a good bowfishing outing, a new appreciation of the simple things like a hot shower and good soap are realized.

I have been bowfishing almost year round for several years now.  I’ve bowfished from Lake Guntersville in Georgia to Saginaw Bay in Michigan and many places in between.   My boyfriend Kendall has a tricked out pontoon boat that has a raised shooting deck, lights, generator and uses a pusher fan instead of a trolling motor to get into very shallow water.   It gets us some weird looks when we pull it down the road but it is an absolutely sweet bowfishing rig.  [If you're reading this Kendall, I do love you for more than your boat!]

I am currently President of the Illinois Bowfishers Club.  It’s a not for profit club that promotes bowfishing in Illinois through education events, outdoor shows and also host several tournaments and fun shoots.   We also work with state and federal fisheries biologists who study both native and invasive non-native species.  This makes the sport not only fun and entertaining but downright interesting too.

If you are someone who is interested in cutting back on your ‘down time’ between deer seasons, I urge you to look into bowfishing.  You might be surprised at just how much it will change your opinion of the ‘off season’.   I will be teaching a bowfishing class for women at an upcoming Women in the Outdoors class in July at Clinton Lake in Illinois.

For information about bowfishing, check out www.illinoisbowfishers.com

I am an editor and administrator on www.HuntingNet.com There’s a wealth of hunting information there that will help a new hunter avoid learning so many lessons by trial and error like I did.

Learning to Call-By Mia Anstine

I love so much learning new things when it comes to hunting.  This spring, one of our clients suggested that I try a specific mouth reed for turkey calling.  He recommended the “Lost Poult” from Cane Creek calls.  I got on-line and found the reed.  I also viewed a video which they have on their site about how to use it, as well as what it should sound like.  I placed my order and awaited the arrival of my new call!

I practiced with my glass call, slate and box call in anticipation of the arrival of “The Reed”.

Finally the day arrived.  I received “Lost Poult” in the mail.  My husband watched as I held it up with a big smile and popped it in my mouth.  He being experienced at calling with a reed, immediately began to laugh.  I smiled and tried to blow….  kchhhhhlllllllccccchchhchhhhh.  Nothing but static!  I sounded like the suction tube at the dentist office.  We laughed, and he warned me not to choke on it.  I tried to catch my breath from laughing, and nearly did swallow the reed.  Hmmm.  I tried again.  “ssschhhheeek”  Oh no!  I was definitely going to need practice at this thing!  A few more squawks, out of me, and then my husband broke out his reed and showed me how it was done.

Now I had competition.  Now I had to figure out that call!

Picture this.  I drive an hour to and from work every day.  That means I have plenty of spare time on my hands.  I try not to text and drive.  I try not to take photos while I drive.  I also try to stay awake while I drive.  I drive and I drive and I drive.  I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to practice my “Lost Poult” call!   I loaded the YouTube video onto my black berry, and played the “Lost Poult” for inspiration.  Then I proceeded to practice.

Well, I must tell you that I also had already been playing around with a reed for a coyote call.  I found that one fairly easy to use.  It wasn’t so technical to make a sound with the way that the turkey call was.  One day while driving, I was admiring the gigantic prairie dogs that were popping up out of the snow.  I gazed across the field and spotted a coyote sleeping in the field off to the right.  I pulled over and decided to try out my skills.  I popped my reed in and yelped a couple of times.  The coyote raised its head.  I then yelped like a pup, and the coyote got to its feet.  It started to come to me.  Knowing that my husband would NEVER belive me, I pulled out my trusty camera which I never leave at home.  I took photos of it and I yelped and called as the traffic drove by until it finally was scared off by a big semi.

When I arrived at my destination, I called my husband and told him my story of calling in a coyote.  I knew it.  He didn’t belive me.  That evening, I showed him my proof, and he smiled.

I see plenty of wild life on my daily trips to and from work.  I see prairie dogs, coyotes, foxes, bobcats, deer, elk, and I also see none other than wild turkeys!  Well, now that I had barked at a coyote, I needed to try my “Lost Poult” on a real live turkey.

One sunshiny spring afternoon, I was cruising along, driving and driving and driving.  I saw out of the corner of my eye two turkeys.  I quickly grabbed my reed, veered, pulled off the road, rolled down the window and grabbed my camera.  I clucked at the hens and they ignored me.  Hmm.  I thought.  I better try a shock.  I bocked a loud call to them and got their attention.  Then I purred.  They purred back and headed toward me.  Toward the highway with the passing vehicles.  Woah.  I decided that I was satisfied with that!  I turned off my camera and put my reed away.  I headed for home with a big grin on my face.

Upon arrival at the house, I pulled out my camera and showed my husband the pics of the hens.  He said “no way”.  I told him that I now know how to use my call.  He asked me to show him.  I grabbed my reed, bocked, purred and cackled as he watched with his eyes wide open!

The best way to learn a call….  Many hours of driving!  

Thank you to Cane Creek for their YouTube video and instruction.  I couldn’t have done it with out you!  Season starts Saturday.  Let’s see how I do!

Mia has a blog at http://outfitterlife.wordpress.com/ . You can find several more of her exciting stories and adventures there.

April’s Woman of the Wild-McKinzie Ledbeter

By~McKinzie Ledbeter

Ever since I can remember, I have been out hunting with my family.  If my dad was not taking me with him it was my grandpa.  My mom always was stuck taking my sisters.  I have three sisters, I am the oldest and we all big game hunt. Every time I was able to go, I was already in the truck ready and waiting.

I finally got my first buck with a rifle when I was eleven. My dad patted me on the back told me great job, smiled really big and told me I probably just got the biggest deer I’ll ever get.  It was a dandy 4 x4 with eye guards!  He was tall and wide and me standing next to it made that deer look that much bigger.  The following year my dad and I made the longest, hardest stock on this nice buck, didn’t really know how big he was at the time but he beat my buck from the year before. My dad just shook his head and laughed.  That same year I got a nice 4×5 elk.  That was a good year for me!

I think I’ve done pretty good over the years, I’ve put in my time and I’ve gotten some nice shots and nice animals. I still remember every year when I was just starting out my dad would always remind my sisters and I why we hunted. Hunting wasn’t about the size of the horns, it’s for putting meat on the table.  We’ve never hunted for horns and I never have passed up a nice shot opportunity whether it was a two by three or a four by four.

I just started bow hunting three years ago.  My first year I had my opportunities but just couldn’t get that shot I was looking for.  My second year I shot a doe right through the pumper, I thought bow hunting was awesome. Getting my first deer with a bow made rifle-hunting feel as if I just won a basket of fruit or something.  There is no comparison bow hunting for me is like winning a sweet pair of Swarovski binos!  I love hunting!  The only reason why my dad wasn’t with me for my first buck with my bow was because he told me he didn’t want to have to deliver my baby in the mountains.

I got my buck 3×2 in early archery season Sept. 5, 2009. I was a week over due. On the way down off the hill I told Walter he needed to get me off this hill RIGHT NOW!  About 5 minutes later as we were headed down off the hill to the hospital I saw my buck and told him to stop.  He thought I was having a really bad contraction and asked how I was feeling.

I told him before we started on our way again I wanted to shoot this buck I had spotted!  He couldn’t see it because it was on my side, down the hill about 40 yards. He looked at me with confusion.  We got out, I grab my bow, asked him how far it was. He wasn’t taking me serious at all. He thought I was playing a joke on him. Finally he realized I wasn’t messing around, and really did want to shoot this buck, he ranged it at 44 yards.

When I shot at the buck, it went just under him. As I headed off of the road, I asked if there was a road below us.  He told me yes.

Without even thinking about how far the road could be below me away, I went to go find my arrow and look for blood just in case. I thought maybe I could find that buck one last time.  One thing I did know, before jumped off the beaten trail was, there is no way in hell I was hiking back up.

As I took off, I told Walt, I was not leaving without this deer. When I had made it to where the deer was standing I found his tracks and followed them down to the next road.  The deer had crossed the road but I stayed there to wait for the truck to come down to meet me. As I waited for my partner to meet me I scoped it out hoping to see my buck.  Low and behold, there he was about two hundred yards away eating his way back up to the road that I was on and two other bucks had joined him.  A three point and a little two point.  After Walter finally got to me I told him that there were three bucks and I wanted to try and get one still.

Walter asked about my contractions and I looked at him puzzled and said, “What contractions?  We’re hunting!”  With all the adrenaline I had forgotten about them. He did not argue with me, he knew there’s no point arguing with a pregnant woman.

We walked the road to get closer to the deer.  They were feeding right up to the road, so we just waited and watched them for about half an hour.  After about half hour, they were within 50 yards still a little far for my little bow.  Then all of a sudden, the little two point that we could not shoot bolted straight up at us. After he did that, we got nervous that he would wind us and take off taking the other two with him.  We both looked at each, we could read each other’s minds we knew then take our one clear shot or don’t get any.  By that time, the two bucks were 40 yards.

Walter told me to hold a little high because I shot low the last time and when I did I got him in the spine and he fell right in his tracks.  Walter took off after the second one and got him a half hour later while I waited with my deer.  We packed them out as fast as we could to try to beat the dark, but it got dark anyway.

I got home that night happy as could be. I had hunted that whole season every minute I could.  Finally, I got my deer!  That next morning I was really on my way to the hospital this time! I had my baby almost exactly two days after shooting the buck.  I love hunting so much my son’s middle name is Hunter!

PRÓIS HUNTING AND FIELD APPAREL PARTNERS WITH CAMP WILD GIRLS TO LAUNCH EXCITING NEW HOME HUNTING PARTY PROGRAM

Our March “Woman of the Wild”-Stacey Huston from “A Focus in the Wild”

By Stacey Huston from “A Focus in the Wild”

I grew up in the mountains of North West Montana. I was raised immersed in the outdoors.. So I spent a lot of time as a young girl watching and learning about wildlife. My parents raised me with a deep respect for the natural world.
I married young, a man who shares that passion for the outdoors, and together we have tried to foster in our children that same love for all things natural.
I was raised on wild game. My mother as well as my father was a hunter, . She enjoyed spending time in the outdoors and I am very grateful that they never hesitated to take us kids along.

When I was asked to be this months “Woman of the Wild” I thought back and tried to remember, when was the first time my parents took me hunting? I honestly can’t recall. For us, it was a different time, my parents hunted out of necessity to feed their family, not for sport, It was a way of life, like gathering the eggs and making sure the chickens were fed each morning. We were taught at a young age how to clean, and butcher anything that was harvested, rabbits, grouse, deer or elk.
I don’t remember the first fish I ever caught. I recall learning were to search for earth worms, how to bait my own hooks and how to clean and cook a fish. I remember learning to track animals, and tell by the bark and needles what trees were in the area.. How to tell what way is north, and how to find your way home if you ever got lost in the woods..
My family still eats primarily wild game. We hunt for meat, in a time when most people care more about the size of the antlers that they can hang on their wall, we still hunt for food.

I can’t really remember a time in my life when I was not learning something about nature, weather it was sitting on the shore line with my parents watching a family of beaver interact on a high mountain lake, or fully camouflaged, on an alpine ridge in September archery season, talking to the magnificent bull elk, flying a hawk after bunnies along the Absaroka Range or just taking photos of our children while we hunt for rabbits with self bows and home made arrows.

I am a licensed falconer and volunteer as a sub-permittee for a local bird rehab center. I have been flying birds of prey and hunting small game with them, off and on for over 10 years now and am in the process of applying for an education permit so that I can take birds of prey to schools and groups for educational seminars.

We live a simple life, and in this world of technology it is the simple, natural things that are the most important..