It was a year that will be tough to beat! It started in May of 2018 when I was able to get a spot to hunt Alaskan brown bear on a cancellation 10-day hunt with Pacific Mountain Guides. We cruised the shoreline in Prince William Sound to spot a good bear from the boat and then put together a plan for going ashore and getting a shot. We saw bears all but one day and made a few attempts that didn’t work, but on the evening of the fifth day, we spotted a good bear walking the shoreline. We were able to get in front of him by going around a bend in the shoreline. We hunkered down behind a berm, and with light fading at 10:30 p.m., he came over the berm about 20 yards away. The hunt was over, at least the easy part. My guide, Brian Rhodes, and his apprentice, David West, skinned him as the tide pushed into us on the beach.
The rest of the summer was fairly uneventful other than a couple of fishing trips and application time. Since I have Huntin’ Fool do my license applications, I don’t have to worry about missing deadlines. However, I always have several conversations with Huntin’ Fool Advisors Garth Jenson and Robert Hanneman for advice on where to go and who would be a good guide to hook up with.
After four years, I was able to draw a South Dakota antelope tag, so I called a rancher friend. He said he didn’t have very many this time of year but to come out and give it a go. The first afternoon, we saw four bucks that looked respectable. The next morning, we made a play on a couple of them with no luck. Just before sunset on a Badlands cliff, we spotted one buck below at 350 yards, so I lay down prone and hit him low. He ran out to 501 yards and stopped. My guide said, “You better shoot again,” so I let another one go and down he went. I didn’t have my long-range gun with me, so I don’t know who was more surprised, the antelope or me.
At 70 years old, I’m still farming with my son, Brock, and can’t be gone in October due to harvest. We are normally done by early November, so the rest of the month is usually mule deer hunting. Last fall, I was able to get three mule deer tags. In South Dakota, I had a state tag and a reservation tag. In Montana, I had a buck tag, which enabled me to get a youth deer tag for my grandson, Eric. My first deer hunt was in the Badlands of South Dakota, which is a seven-hour drive from my home in western Minnesota. I was able to kill a 197" mule deer on the fourth day of hunting. From there, I went directly to my reservation hunt in wide-open, treeless country with rolling hills and deep cuts. I turned down many bucks in the first three days, but on day four, we found a 187" buck in a deep canyon and ended the hunt.
I went home to get clean clothes and my grandson, Eric, and headed for Montana. On the first day, I was able to get him lined up on his first mule deer. Later that day as the sun was setting, I was able to harvest a decent 5x5. I especially enjoy hunting when I can have a son or grandchild along on a hunt and get to share in their excitement.
Thanks to all of my guides for making it possible for me to shoot my best mule deer yet, an antelope, and an Alaskan brown bear. Of course, thanks to my wife, Carol, who puts up with my passion for hunting.