We cover some of the crazy attack stories that Brian has been a part of and we the details surrounding what happened. Brian then walks us through certain scenarios and ways to help mitigate or prepare for an attack while in grizzly country.

For more information on Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, please visit http://fwp.mt.gov/

By Joe Wilson

Yesterday I watched the biggest buck I have ever seen in Michigan hit the dirt. The only problem was I wasn’t the one who fired the shot. A neighboring hunter sitting 20 yards from the corner post of his property line shot him as he was headed towards our property. He piled up 100 yards in front of me in a swamp, although I didn’t know it was him at the time. As I sat waiting for word from the property owner on who shot the deer and when they were coming to track, I see blaze orange moving through the swamp. As I confront the trespassing hunters (it is illegal in Michigan to track a deer on neighboring properties without permission), I take a look down to see the monarch laying in a sled. Needless to say, it was a tough way for my story with this buck to end.

I have watched this buck through three years of trail camera pictures. This year he sported a 12 point typical frame that will likely score in the mid 150’s. In my area of Michigan where it’s a small miracle for a buck to live to be 2 ½ years old, he was a once-in-lifetime kind of buck. To me he might as well had been a unicorn.  He showed up on trail cameras consistently (at night) and was seen on multiple occasions by the property owner at night. It was obvious I was hunting near his core area but could not catch up with him in daylight. I spent most of my vacation days dogged by hot weather in search of his whereabouts with no sightings. The only glimmer of hope being a daylight trail camera photo on the same morning I was hunting the other side of the property. As gun season started, I knew the chances of him being killed were considerable but I hoped he would stick to his core area that had kept him alive. The rut combined with a strong cold front the night before the morning he was shot proved to be this deer’s undoing.

One of the many trail camera pictures of the big 12.

I know this wasn’t “my buck” and everyone had as much of a right/chance to shoot him as me. The point I want to make is that I believe in this age of trail cameras, it’s becoming an almost universal feeling to have your target buck killed, most of the time not by you. There are many serious hunters that can relate to the disappointing feeling of putting (literally) hundreds of hours into food plots, habitat work, shooting, scouting, and sitting on stand only to come up short. I believe most of us don’t have a “hit list” of bucks with weird names. For me, he was it. Suddenly the woods seems empty. You don’t feel like hunting. I didn’t feel like doing anything. So what do you do now?

The natural beauty of a November sunset that any hunter can appreciate.

I did the only thing I know to make myself feel better; I went hunting. Sure, it wasn’t quite the same knowing I didn’t have any real chance of shooting a mature buck but sometimes it takes a disappointment to remind yourself why you hunt in the first place (Cliché, I know, but true). For me it’s being a part of the world many have forgotten about; the natural world. Where the only clock is the rise and fall of the sun. Where the brutal north wind stings your face but does nothing to vanquish the smile that covers it. One where the sounds of the wind in the trees is all you hear as another day comes to an end punctuated by the multitude of colors from a fall sunset. I was reminded again of all of this tonight and as the sun set, I looked up at silhouetted trees on a ridge swaying back and forth in the fading light and thought to myself, “what a beautiful evening.” I may not have accomplished my goal for the year but I had found my passion again. I also came to the conclusion that there are a couple absolutes in life:

1. Things aren’t always going to work out in your favor, no matter how hard you work but this shouldn’t stop you from trying.
2. It will end. Both your hunting season and life itself.

So instead of sitting around my house moping and waiting for next year, I am choosing to push on. This season is not yet lost. The thing I have found about hunting that keeps us coming back, even when we’re down, is that you never know what your next sit will bring.

Make sure to read up on PART 1 and PART 2 and PART 3 to complete the entire season. Here’s the final chapter.

By Adam Parr

Day 5

Shortly after first light on Friday morning, Thad and I gather our gear and depart the cabin on foot with our morning plan following a similar loop and strategy as day one. We think it will be good to work up the mountain in the morning and then pop over the other ridge to the next drainage, grab my trail camera and circle back towards the cabin by 2pm. If we had yet to get into elk after five miles of travel, the evening plan was to head back to the same meadow where I’d shot the bull two days prior.

While working through the dark timber, we come across good elk sign in an area with shooting lanes so we set up 40 yards apart and start cow calling. We continue to do this for the next few hours but to no avail and by the time my clock reads 11am, we hike up and over the next ridge and work through the opposite drainage.

By noon, we are at the same creek bottom we know all too well and make our way along the same route towards the trail camera overlooking the waterhole. By 1pm, we grab my camera and jump back to the creek and follow it down a mile back to camp. Not a single elk was seen or heard so we make the climb out of the creek drainage back to the cabin.

Thad carves our initials into an aspen tree before we depart for our final evening sit. I can barely see him, can you?

After a quick lunch and some much-needed target practice to increase my shooting confidence, we rest our feet for a few minutes before loading up the truck for our final evening sit. The plan for tonight is to create an ambush setup in the top corner of the field where the bulls from two days prior initially entered the field. Thad and I set up about 75 yards apart directly across each other with the anticipation that if something walks out into the meadow during shooting light, one of us would have a shot. Thad tucks underneath a spruce tree for some cover, I do the same and we wait anxiously for the night to unfold.

Game Time

After a few hours of enjoying the sunset and overlooking the mountain backdrop, I can’t help but think how lucky I am to be in elk country. It’s an amazing sight and something I have dreamt about doing for years and now it has become a reality. As we enter into the final hour before heading home, I grab my cow call and let out a few minutes of cow chatter in hopes to pull a bull or some wandering cows from the thick timber above us. The thermals have now switched and the wind is funneling perfectly away from me, down the meadow and in the opposite direction of where I believe the elk would come from.

My view overlooking “Magic Meadow” on my final evening sit.

With 30 minutes of light left in the day, I am alerted by sticks breaking off to my right and to my disbelief, two cows emerge from the timber less than 100 yards away heading directly towards my position; my heart rate increases ten fold. I have an either sex tag in my pocket and I anticipate shooting one of the cows if they offer a good shot. Seconds go by and now they are standing just three yards away on the other side of the tree, trying to decipher what’s going on. In a matter of seconds, they catch my scent on the ground and run 25 yards in front of me and stop. As I’m about to draw, I hear more crashing and catch movement to my right of a huge bull entering the meadow from the dark timber and because of his dominant rutting behavior, he is clueless the cows are spooked. At this point, I can’t believe my eyes and with each step he takes, he releases a guttural grunt to show his dominance to the cows. He is king of the forest. If this isn’t the most picturesque colorado elk hunting moment in the world, I don’t know what is. Although he is moving at a steady walk and is quickly closing the distance, it’s as if time is standing still. I am absolutely caught up in the beauty of this bull and the position I’m in to watch one of greatest shows an elk hunter can ask for.

He keeps walking, he keeps walking, and he keeps walking until he’s standing in the exact same spot as the cows a few minutes prior. I have a 700lb, Colorado 6×7 bull elk standing next to me at three yards on the ground and I don’t have a clear shot. I’m waiting for my chance to draw. In an instant, he bolts but slows up at 25 yards and I’m already at full draw. I settle the pin, let the arrow fly and once again, time stands still as I watch my lighted knock bury into the bull’s rib cage behind the shoulder. It’s the most amazing moment I’ve ever experienced in my entire, short pathetic life!

The bull takes off on a death run through the meadow and I see the arrow fall out shortly after. I watch him disappear into a small draw with the cows and within seconds, the sound of running hoof prints come to a screeching halt and the Colorado high country is quiet once again. After the chaos calms down, Thad emerges from the trees with his hands in the air and I signal back confirming I hit him good! Oddly enough, I’m rather calm given the circumstances and the events that just unfolded. It all happened so fast I didn’t have a chance to get worked up or nervous.

The Recovery

I meet Thad in the center of meadow and we walk over to recover my arrow where it fell out of the bull before he ran out of sight. Unfortunately, the arrow only stayed in the bull for a few seconds before falling out, which is concerning but I know the shot placement was good. Upon inspecting the arrow itself, it appears to be a solid hit with bubbly red blood all the way up to the fletchings! With light starting to fade, we start to follow the blood trail in order to further assess the damage and we find good blood. I tell Thad that we will follow the blood to the small creek drainage and stop there, give him about 30 minutes and then take up the trail after dark.

As we continue down the hill, the grass gets thicker, taller and the blood trail gets better and better to the point of where it’s covering bushes and small trees. I mention to Thad in excitement the crazy amount of blood and all of sudden, Thad grabs me by the shoulder and says “THERE HE IS – Big Bull Down!!” We nearly tripped over him due to how thick the cover was and because our eyes were glued to the ground. Thad and I high-five, hug, scream, kick, and just go crazy when we find my bull dead. I’m in utter disbelief it all came together on the final evening of my hunt with a mature, 6×7 bull elk on the ground!

6×7 Colorado Bull Down!

The OTC archery bull gross scored 312 2/8″

I call Sam and Gareth to help us get the bull out and they meet us at the truck after Thad and I finished gutting the elk. Instead of skinning and quartering in the field, Thad thinks we can pull the elk out to the truck whole, so we hook up ropes and drag him out like quarter horses. It was amazing. It takes us over an hour to drag him but in no time, he’s in the back of my Tundra and we make the 30-minute drive back to camp. By midnight, the majestic bull is hanging in a tree outside our door and the celebration begins.

Have you ever seen a big bull in the back of a pickup truck?

I was very fortunate to harvest such a magnificent bull during my first archery season of elk hunting and I may never shoot a bigger bull ever again. There are people who call me lucky, and I have to agree but to only to a certain extent. Persistence is what killed this bull, not luck. There were many times I wanted to throw in the towel, between my bow breaking, rolling an ankle, losing my quiver, shooting a different bull and not recovering it, along with many other mental battles along the way but I stayed in the game. Elk hunting is tough, especially with a stick and string. It’s a wild ride to say the least but if you keep at it, success will follow.

I want to say thanks to everyone who helped out and supported me along this crazy journey of my first elk season but all I can think about right now is, “Is It September Yet?”

To view additional pictures from my elk hunting adventures, make sure to check out my facebook page album: 2016 Archery Elk Season

A wild hog hunt has been on the “to-do” list for the last couple years so when I found out I was heading to Texas for three trade shows during the month of August, I started thinking about lining something up during my stay. The original plan was to hunt with a friend but with my busy show schedule and his late work hours, the stars didn’t align like I had originally planned.

Fast forward to the first show and I was bummed that my original plans didn’t work out so I was looking for a new opportunity to hunt pigs somewhere else. As luck would have it, my booth was located across the aisle from Sniper Hog Lights , who are experts at hunting wild boars. Joe Ruiz and Rob Pecht are the owners and they are some of the nicest, most accommodating people you will ever meet. They are a great group of guys who live, eat, and breathe hog hunting in South Texas. Needless to say, I hit the hog hunting lottery when they offered to have me come down to hunt pigs for a few days at their headquarters in Victoria, Texas.

Getting Set Up

I arrived Monday evening with the hopes of getting to hunt pigs the first night but work obligations held me up longer than expected so I was not able to get out in time before the sun went down. Joe and Rob set me up with a 38LRX Bow Light and had me flinging arrows into a target when darkness set in on the first night. They also set up an Exterminator II Feeder Light , which is solar battery powered, so we could mimic real hunting conditions over a feeder. After a few minutes of practice, I was ready for my first hunt the following evening.

The Exterminator II Feeder Light makes for an awesome night-hunting setup.

The First Hunt

For the first evening, I found myself perched above a feeder next to a swamp with sweaty skin, flying bugs, and high hopes for getting a pig in range. Rob checked the cameras earlier that day to see the activity at each feeder so that we could determine the best spot for me to sit. Lucky for me, they put me in a stand that had really good boar activity so I was excited for the hunt to begin.

As I was settling in before sunset, I heard a few twigs snap and jerked my head up to see a nice boar at the feeder. My heart started to race but he didn’t stick around long enough for a good shot.

At 9pm, I hear a few loud snorts and I see two hogs emerge from the thick Texas brush and begin feeding in front of me.  I let the hogs settle down and eat for a few minutes before attempting to get a shot off but they never seemed to stop moving and I drew back my bow four different times but to no avail. I didn’t feel 100% comfortable with a shot so I let them feed and they moved off without me letting one fly.

The Last Night

For the second night, Joe and I made the drive to the lease and we arrived at the farm around 7pm. Joe was not able to hunt with me tonight so he dropped me off and I told him I would let him know when to come back and pick me up, hopefully with a pig on the ground! He set me up in a stand that had consistent activity according to the trail cameras and this spot also had a 200-pound trophy boar using the feeder one-hour after dark. My hopes were high for an eventful evening!

Ready for the evening hunt in South Texas.

Shortly after dark, I had a group of sows come into the feeder and I readied myself for a shot but after two minutes of the pigs feeding in front of me, the wind swirled and the pigs ran off. Needless to say, I was bummed.

With the clock striking 10:30pm, I texted Joe to come pick me up at 11pm because it was getting late and I had to set up for a show the next day in Houston. At 10:45, a group of younger hogs enter the area of the feeder light and my heart begins to race so I pick the biggest one of the group and let the arrow fly! In an instant, the pig runs off and the South Texas woods are silent again.

Joe arrived shortly after and we tracked the hog to a dense thicket and recovered him after a short track job through heavy cover. I was extremely excited to have my first wild pig on the ground and I cannot thank Joe and Rob enough for the great hospitality and for letting me hunt hogs on their property in South Texas.

Sniper Hog Lights

Whether you are serious hog hunter, whitetail hunter, or outdoor enthusiast, Sniper Hog Lights make some of the best lighting accessories in the world. Myself, as an avid big game hunter of elk and deer, I absolutely love their 40KAP Head Lamp Light and it is the best light you will ever find. In fact, I recently put it to work on tracking my big 6×7 bull elk in Colorado this past archery season.

The 40KAP Headlamp was used to track down my 6×7 archery bull in Colorado!

I won’t ever use another light to track game and the brightness of this light is unreal. Do yourself a favor and check out all of their products at www.sniperhawglights.com. Thanks again to Joe and Rob for the wonderful accommodations and I look forward to getting back to hunt again soon.

So here I am, sitting at the library on a rainy Saturday afternoon pondering the question I ask myself on a weekly basis: “Why do I hunt?” There are many reasons as to why hunting has become an integral part of my life but I opted to do a quick Google search to see why others also partake in the lifestyle I love.

The original intent of this article was aimed at highlighting the reasons why I hunt but after discovering an article on the first search page, my angle quickly went the other way. The article I am referring to is a blog post slamming hunting related activities and positioning us hunters, and the activity we love in a negative light. I would truly be upset if young boy or girl, or anyone on the fence who is looking for information related to hunting, to find that article and have it push them the other way due to false portrayal. It makes me sick to think about so I am choosing to offer an answer.

I’m not writing this article to bash PETA; we all need to have a cause. What I don’t like is people who are associated with PETA, spread slander to portray hunting as something that is a horrible activity to do. What makes this article even worse is that it was written by someone, who I can guarantee, has never hunted in their entire life, meaning they have absolutely no clue what they are writing. This is where the problem lies; spreading negativity and making assumptions on a topic you clearly know nothing about. Again, this article is not intended to start a war. The purpose of this article is to protect our hunting heritage, to help combat the negativity surrounding our community, and to help someone with their own rebuttal should they be confronted with misconceptions about hunting.

I am not posting the link due to it helping drive search traffic, which in turn helps the article gain more popularity. Fair warning…this post is a bit long winded but none the less, here is my rebuttal.

“Hunting Causes Pain & Suffering”

The article states “Hunting causes pain & suffering.” as well as “Quick, ethical kills are rare.” In my opinion, 99% of hunters in this world make it a number one priority to be as ethical as possible when taking an animals life. Taking a life is not something to be taken lightly and we, as ethical sportsmen and women strive for a quick and humane kill every time we fire our weapon. We practice year round to become better marksman and to hone our skills at getting closer to game to increase our odds of a quick kill.

This deer was ethically taken with a compound bow which resulted in a humane kill by a properly placed arrow. The deer was dead within 30 seconds after the shot.

On a different note, an example I like to portray is this: We’ve all seen videos of lions taking down a gazelle, or a pack of wolves running down a young bison, or a crocodile latching onto a wildebeest at a watering hole. Whether you like it or not, this is the reality of the wild. Some animals get away with minor scratches, some are mauled and forever scarred. Some animals die slowly and some die quickly, but what’s important to realize is that nature doesn’t care. Let me repeat; Nature DOES NOT CARE. Nature is cruel. Nature is survival of the fittest and the furthest thing from a fairy tale. Nature is death and nature is new life. It doesn’t mean this is a bad thing but it’s most important to understand that this is a normal part of the circle, and hunters, as mammals, are part of that chain.

“It’s Not About Conservation Or Population Control”

This statement could not be further from the truth. Hunting is conservation for many reasons and a perfect example is sustainability. Let’s take a step back and think about this for a second: Why would I as a hunter NOT want to sustain the animals, as well as the habitat they need to survive? Why would I not care about something I truly love? Anyone with an IQ higher than 20 recognizes that every resource, whether it’s a plant or an animal, is a LIMITED resource and without proper conservation practices, all would become extinct, polluted or useless. Hunters recognize and think about this often because animal population and habitat preservation affects our way of life more directly than the anyone else.

Hunters are in touch with population control because we are the ones who are out in the field actually monitoring this resource. Above and beyond state game agencies, land managers establish their own regulations which can be far more conservative in times of lower population and more liberal in years of abundance, yet still adhering to the laws set forth by game agencies. Why do they do this? Because they are in tune with what healthy population levels of animals should be in order to CONSERVE and MAINTAIN the resource for their specific property.

If you need more reasons why hunting is conservation, be sure to check out this article from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

“Hunting Is Not A Sport”

I no longer refer to hunting as a sport and I don’t think anyone else should as well. I think classifying hunting as a competitive sport portrays hunting not necessarily in a negative light but in a way that paints a limited picture for people who don’t understand hunting. Hunting considered a sport illustrates it as a life or death, cutthroat competition between man and animal, which is simply not true. Hunting is much more than that in many ways.

One of the many benefits of hunting is providing lean, organic, free-range meat to enjoy year round.

Hunting to me is enjoying nature and having reverence for the animals we pursue. Hunting is time spent with friends and family and creating memories that last forever. Hunting is the opportunity to experience epic sunrises and sunsets, and to get off the beaten path to push ourselves further than we’ve ever been. Hunting is providing lean, organic food for friends and family, and knowing where our meat comes from. Hunting is telling stories about the successes and the ones that got away. Bottom line, when I think of the word “hunting”, it is an activity that simply cannot be entirely explained, only experienced.

“There Are Few Regulations”

The above statement is false and in fact, its the exact opposite. There are so many rules and regulations for hunting that it can almost be almost comparable to reading a dictionary. There are 50 page thick handbooks for each state and species that list all regulations and laws for the current season which usually change from year to year, with new laws being implemented on a regular basis.

In addition to all of this, each state has limited seasons and bag limits where there are regulations on what equipment you can use, what areas of land you can hunt, and how you can access it. To ensure people are abiding by the laws set forth by state game agencies, wildlife officers patrol and enforce these regulations, which is majority paid for by hunting.

“It’s Profit Driven”

Long before hunting became commercialized, it was a past time for people to provide for their families and enjoy nature. Although some of us make a living in the hunting industry, we do it for the passion and it generates a profit as a by-product because the animals have value and therefore, people care. It’s important to understand that if there is no value, whether it’s an animal, plant or any other natural resource, there is no protection or regulations. Let me rephrase that; If something is worth nothing, nobody gives a shit!

Hunting related activities generate more money for wildlife conservation than any other activities combined. That’s right, you heard it and let me rephrase that too; Hunters generate more money for wildlife and conservation than all other anti-hunting organizations and PETA combined. In fact, the dollar amounts aren’t even close. All of the wetland restoration and habitat improvements set aside for wildlife, the majority of that is paid for by hunters and anglers. All of the public land trail systems, camping areas and national parks are majority funded through hunting and fishing related activities.

According to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, “All together, hunters pay more than $1.6 billion a year for conservation programs. No one gives more!”

“It Claims Other Non-Target Victims”

The article states that “Hunting activities cause injury or death to horses, cows, dogs, cats, hikers, and other hunters” and that “Thousands of human injuries are attributed to hunting related activities in the U.S each year.”

I just have to laugh at the above statements because they portray hunting as a dangerous activity, when in fact, it’s just the opposite. Hunting has become one of the safest activities through improved technology and mandatory hunters safety classes. In my home state of Michigan, which has more deer hunters than any other state in the country, just recorded a second consecutive season without a hunting-related fatality! Read the full article HERE.

Archery hunting is extremely safe and fun to do!

Over 32,000 die each year in the U.S from car accidents. Should we ban driving cars? Over 9,000 people are injured from fireworks each year in the U.S. I don’t see the 4th of the July going away anytime soon! Hunting is safe and the numbers don’t lie.

“Violence Against Animals Can Lead To Violence Against Humans”

This is a very bold statement for this author to make by attempting to group all hunters as violent killers but it does not surprise me. Antis will use any tactic they can think of to promote anti-hunting. Furthermore, this section then crosses over to state that “Hunting activities cause violence against other animals and humans; which result in injury or death.” This is another blatant lie.

The bottom line is this; there are bad people in the world and you can’t stop crazy. There are people out there who want to hurt one another for the sole sake of doing harm. This hatred was caused due to bad parenting or a predisposition of some sort and I can guarantee was not created through hunting related activities.

“It’s Unnecessary”

We humans are mammals, and although we are at the top of the food chain, we are indeed PART of the food chain. A very large portion of the world as of current day rely on hunting as a means for survival and to feed their families. People need to wake up and realize that not everyone lives in middle-class suburbia wonderland where we have 5 grocery stores within a 10-mile radius. If you haven’t listened to the Wired To Hunt Podcast with Shane Mahoney, I strongly urge you to do so. It will open your eyes to hunting and how that plays into the bigger picture on a global scale.

Furthermore, for anti-hunters to think that they have zero footprint on this Earth is dead wrong. The pasta dish they scarfed down last night originated from a farm field of grain, which was harvested with a combine that killed many animals in its path of destruction. The house or the apartment that they live in did not magically grow from the Earth; it used to be an animals home, which has now been destroyed. The car they drove to work today is polluting our air and water. And god forbid, I hope they have never killed a mosquito because they too are living, beautiful creatures! Another great podcast episode to listen to is Joe Rogan Experience #759 – Cameron Hanes.

What some people fail to realize is that they too are responsible for animal deaths, whether they know it or not. Hunters, in my opinion, recognize this more than anyone because we have reverence for the animals. In the circle of life, it’s all about balance and hunting is a necessary part of that balance of keeping population levels in check and controlling the spread of disease.

Be Prepared to Defend Yourself

If you are an avid hunter, there’s a good chance at some point during your life that you will be trolled or attacked for being a hunter. Social media plays a huge role in bringing out the keyboard junkies who like to attack hunters for their way of life, so you must be prepared to hit them with the facts. If you need a quick rundown of good talking points, make sure to read this article from Wide Open Spaces.

Another powerful video I came across was the story of Tovar Cerulli and how he went from a vegan to an omnivore diet which included hunting for wild game. This video may strike a chord with a vegan who does not support hunting and get them to understand hunting from a different perspective.

Once again, I am not trying to stir the pot of anti-hunters with this article. This is meant as a rebuttal for the people who have no clue what hunting is, who are spewing slander across the Internet, which in turn affects our image in a negative light to the general public.

Hunting is something I am extremely passionate about and if you are as well, I urge you to share this article. Doing so could help someone to better understand our way of life and see it as the positive activity it truly is!