2000 Central Barren Ground Caribou Hunt
Courageous Lake Outfitters
Yellowknife, Northwest Territory
Mike Hale, Donald Workman and I had been planning a caribou hunt up north most of the summer. What to carry, which airline to fly, items that need to be checked out, all the things you do to prepare for the hunt. We had booked with John Andre of Shoshone Wilderness Outfitters for caribou, but planning and preparing is part of the fun. We flew out of RDU at 7:00am on Air Canada with stops in Ottawa, Winnipeg, Rankin Inlet and finally arrived in Yellowknife sixteen hours later. Ottawa proved to be an adventure when it was discovered that my sling had four rifle bullets attached to it. I had stuffed it in my carry-on bag not thinking and it was picked up on the
    
2001 Mule Deer and Antelope Hunt
Rocky Outfitters
Newcastle, Wyoming
Mike, Donald and I headed out this season to Wyoming for mule deer and antelope. Our hunt was only five weeks after the events that happened 09/11/01. We left RDU and flew to MSP only to find out the war had started while we were in the air. We wondered if the airports would close down and air travel would be canceled as it did during the attacks. But we soon boarded the Northwest flight
and landed in Rapid City, SD just after 2:00pm. There we were met by Mike Niles and John Anderson who, along with Rocky Niles, would be our guides this trip. The ride through the Black Hills to camp took about two hours
and Rocky was waiting for us with targets ready on the shooting range. We only took the time to throw our bags in the house and grab our orange vests before we headed out that evening in hopes of seeing some mule deer. Rocky and I started across a pasture when he spotted the first one. According to him, it was a small one that needed another year of two. Looked big to me; it was the only one I had ever seen!
We started up the mountainside and spotted a second 4x4 but Rocky again called me off, and I had taken the safety off this time. After making it to the top, we started back down and ran up with the some 4x4 with a new mule deer now with him. This
time Rocky said, “This one is a shooter”. My mule deer hunt lasted only one hour. Day Two Mike took an antelope about noon and a mule deer before nightfall. With only two shots from his 7mm STW his hunt had ended. Donald also shot his mule deer the same day. His guide John spotted it and after a short stalk, he
made a nice offhand shoot to seal the deal. Donald was able to spot and harvest his antelope on Day Three at about 270 yards with his 7mm Ultra Mag. It took until Day Four for me to tag out; I missed two the day before. With guide Mike, rangefinder Mike, and spotter Donald helping, I now had my speed goat in the scope, the end of a great hunt.
Once again, we have no problem recommending this hunt – good food, guides and lodging. We still had a few days before our return flight so we did the tourist thing. We rented a van and visited Devil’s Tower, Deadwood, Crazy Horse and Mount Rushmore. We even drove five hours one way to Sidney, NE to do some shopping at Cabelas.
2002 Black Bear Hunt
Korell Outfitters
Emmett, Idaho
A bear hunt-something I had never done. This season, Donald Workman, Kent Johnson and I flew American Airlines to Boise, ID to meet up with Chris Korell to give it a try. Once on the ground and away from the big city, things looked like the old west. These guys wore a six-shooter on their side. Of course, being we were hunting bear, not a bad idea. Chris took us out to a ranch about an hour outside Emmett where we see sixteen different bears that
afternoon. Kent was put on a bait station overlooking some of the most beautiful mountains you can find. Donald and I were with Trent riding and looking for bears. Chris took off to the high ground to get a better view of the surrounding landscape. Once we had spotted the first one, we move down the road, parked the truck then stalked up to within 150 yards. It was a cinnamon
color, one like I
was hoping for. After a short discussion, Donald said if I wanted it, he would take the next one. For the second year in a row, I harvested an animal the first day. Bad thing this time was that I only had the one tag. But we had two more bears to find. We were about to head down and load mine when we spotted another two more. Donald eased into position but decided it was not what he wanted. The black one was a good size bear but the blonde he liked was too small. A little later, they saw a big blonde on the next mountain and took off after it. During the stalk they decided to take the Jack Russell dog with them. The little guy got to poking his head in the bushes and out came a bear. Glad it was as scared as they were. After the ordeal was over, I asked Donald what he thought about when it
happened. He answered me by saying “I did not have time to think about it, happened too fast." Once they were back on track, they never could get into rifle range of the one they had first gone after; maybe tomorrow. Chris left to go and check on Kent.
We loaded my bear and started back to the staging area. It was now starting to get dark when we heard the four-wheeler coming. Those things are tough; it was carrying Chris, Kent and a big chocolate colored bear! With only one afternoon under our belt, we had two of the three bears loaded in the truck. It had been a long day so Kent and I slept in the next morning, but Donald headed out early. New plan-we were going out to spike camp and hunt with the dogs. If you have never tried this, this is work! Coming from the flatlands, I could not handle those hills. They did get on a good track and the chase was on. But after about three hours of up and down, they were never able to get on the bear. The next few days followed much the same
pattern. Take the dogs out mid morning then go sit at a bait station late in the day. Spike camp was made up of a camper trailer, one sleeping trailer and a wall tent; Donald, Kent and I had the tent. A lot of the cooking was done over an open fire in a dutch oven. For a shower, you had to hike down to the creek, fill the washtub and then heat it up with a gas burner. Then we had a pump spray bottle that we used as a shower. The shower was a
blue tarp stretched around three trees. This was roughing-it city style; at least we had a shower! A few of the dog handlers decided to just use the creek one day and not have to carry the water-big mistake! It might have been June, but the water in the streams was from the winter snow just now melting. First time I have ever worn shorts while walking in snow. The last day we headed back to where we had taken the first two. Before nightfall, Donald had filled his tag with a big black bear. We had a super trip and saw some of the greatest scenery anyone could ask for.
2003 Combo Hunt
Do It Yourself
Great Falls, Montana
Something new this year, a do it yourself (DIY) hunt. New crew this year also, David Carroll, Don Powell and Mark Kensy were making the trip. David and I have been hunting together since we were in high school at home. He had run into Tony Byrd also from NC but now living in Montana. He told David we could hunt at his place if we could draw a tag. We decided to put in for an elk-deer combo
tag because the odds were better on getting drawn. David and I flew out while Don drove and picked up Mark on the way; he lives in South Dakota. By flying, David and I got in a couple more days to look around. Tony picked us up at the airport and carried us to the farm house we would be staying in this week. The only heat was a wood burning stove but that did not appear to be a problem. It was the
middle of September and the temperature was 65 degrees; wait until you hear the rest of the story. Don and Mark brought two four wheelers with them so we could cover a lot of ground. During the day we would ride and glass or put on a “push”. A push is when you place standers (hunters) along the edge of a track of woods. Then one person would walk down the middle pushing everything out. This works very well with small tracts. The first day we did it, David got a nice 4x4 mule deer. The next day, Don and Mark went over to a different section to do
some spot and stalk. Don also took a nice mule deer. But then the weather took a big, big turn. The next morning we had a high of 17 degrees with 16-18” of snow; talk about a change! We had met up with one of the local hunters who ask us to join him on an elk hunt in the national forest. He knew his way around and needed the help should someone get lucky. This turned out to be an adventure! Step One – just getting there. Have to leave before light. It would have been a 30 minutes drive if the snow had not been on the road but it took
two hours. Step Two – we had to track through the knee deep snow all day. We carried can drinks inside our coat but they still froze. Step Three – The first part of the trail was easy, all down hill. GOOD NEWS – we did run up on one nice bull but did not get a good chance at him. BAD NEWS – we have to climb back up that hill on the way back. But as they said “even a bad day hunting is a good day”. I was sure glad to get back to the house that night. The last day Mark took a mulie he saw crossing a cut line. Me, I brought home an unfilled tag. Must admit, you can not cook it and make it taste good! All in all we had a great trip. Had we known the terrain better we would have done some things different. Just the same, nobody got hurt and we had more can drinks back at the house.
2004 Combo Hunt
McKay Brother Outfitters
Prince George, British Columbia
Another first - Don Powell flying. I had tried to get Don to fly out to Montana the year before but he would have no part of it. I ask why and he said he was not too fond of going up in a plane. I tried to explain to him if it was his time to go, it did not matter if he was in a plane or on the ground. But he answered by saying he knew that but what if was the pilot’s time! Guess he had a point. But I booked our tickets to BC anywhere. Another first, we get there but our bags did not. The rifle case did make it so we headed out with only the gear in our carry on
backpack. Stopped at the hardware store and bought some ammo, it was in the check through bags. Our guides, Mark and Troy had picked up our tags, an elk, a bear, a wolf and deer tag each. We set out in hopes of running across a bear being it was late in the day. The main lodge was about 20 miles from the airport so we hunted the back roads leading back to camp. Camp was a real life log cabin. We had running water and a
toilet in the house and a hot shower at the bunkhouse. The next morning we got a call that our bags came in and they were bringing them to us; all is well again. The next few days we looked for bears early and late with elk and deer in the middle of the day. We took a zodiac river float trip with hopes of hearing some bugling but mainly spot and stalk. The weather did not help; it rained 6 of the 8 days we were there. Our main item of interest was elk. With that in mind we moved to spike camp to be closer to the action. Spike camp was a wall tent consisting of three
cots, a gas lamp and stove. It was located 22 km down a one lane logging path. It took a four-wheel drive truck just to get around. At night we could hear wolf’s howling but never saw one. British Columbia is a great place for hunting. With moose, whitetail, mule deer, bear (both black and grizzly), elk, mountain goat, wolf and a few more, it is a hunter’s paradise. We ran to town almost every day, (gas, food, etc) and it would include a
stop at Tim Horton’s, the Starbucks of the north. Troy our guide loved a 1 ½ / 1 ½ coffee. At night,
one of the guides Bernie would have a “sundowner”. It was his own special recipe of orange juice and Canadian liquor; one was his limit. Don and I both took a bear, Don’s cinnamon and mine black. But we had no luck with the elk. Saw a number of deer but they were not high on our list. Three other hunters in camp that week, they did well. Two bear, one moose and one deer between them. Would love to try it again some day, it was a great place.
2005 Quebec – Labrador Caribou Hunt
Mirage Outfitters
Nastapoka River, Quebec
John Smith, Don Powell and I head north for caribou. First day we made it to Montreal and spent the night. The next morning we heard we just missed meeting Michael Waddell and Marc Womack from Realtree Road Trips plus Ralph and Vicki Cianciarulo from
The Archer’s Choice. My luck, they are at the same hotel and I sleep late that morning. We hop a King Air for two hours to the main lodge. There we bought our tags then a Beaver (float plane) for two more hours to get to caribou camp. John leaned
over to me and said he had never flown in a float plane. I told him the only bad part was the landing then strapped myself in; didn’t tell him any different. After we sit down at camp, he had some choice words for me; the landing was as smooth as glass. But the surprises were just starting; the whole TV crew was in camp. This was shaping up to be a great week! Day One – John and I hike all morning with our guide looking
caribou. At lunch we take the boat across the lake and did the same thing. I took my first one that afternoon. Don came back to camp and had filled both of his tags. He still had a bear tag so his trip was not over yet. Day Two – I team with Norm and another guide for a day of hunting.
We located a herd and set up ahead of them to get a better look. Norm decided to take one but after three shots, the caribou was still walking. The next group had him trying again but his gun jammed. I handed him my Remington and he placed two shot 6” apart at 276 yards. His scope must have been off because he
had no problem with mine. While the guide was caping Norm’s “bou" we saw another herd moving our way. The guide was glassing telling me which one I should take. He pulled me off of
two before I took the third one. Man, was he a great one, 404 2/8” B&C, my only book animal! John came back and had taken two in the 375 to 400 range himself. It was a great time in caribou camp that night. Don and Marc got some great pictures of the Northern Lights and Michael and I played a trick on my wife. I had him call her from the
satellite phone but she did not believe it was he. Only after I got on the line was I able to convince her it was for real, she had met him with me at the fall deer classic that year. Ralph and Vicki are great people and a lot of fun to be around. Ralph has to be the
best hearted person I have ever met, everybody picked on him; he just smiled and laughed back. Day Three John and I fly back to the main lodge with a plane load of antlers. That was the last week of the season so the staff was moving everything they
could out of caribou camp. I have to rate this as the best hunting trip I have been on to date. Great hunting, great guides and great accommodations – one super week! And the special guests in camp was just icing on the cake. Flying out at LG-4 we met Jim Shockey flying in. NOTE – one of John’s caribou made the Realtree Road Trip TV show – lucky dog!
2006 Elk Hunt
Elk Creek Outfitters
Heron, Montana
Don Powell and I have pulled out the old stick and string, we booked an elk bow hunt. I have never been on a bow only hunt, a first for me this year. We flew into Missoula and were picked up at the airport. The ride to camp went through some small towns and beautiful country. Saw a
number of deer on the trip, looked promising. Arriving in camp, we stored our gear and then headed to the shooting range. Sometimes with all the travel, the sights get knocked around, best to check it and not find it out the hard way. Don and I really felt good after meeting our guide Barney; great guy.
Sunrise comes early in the mountains and it is now time to go. You need to be a mountain goat for this to come easy. We started up the slope with great expectations. Barney would stop and call, listen; then go again. We stopped about noon to enjoy our PBJ sandwich and caught a little nap. Soon we were back at it. Twice we did run into a good chance to score a bull. Barney have me to go high and Don to go low. He would hang back and call hoping to pull the bull in. The
first elk got spooked when a twig broke. The other had two cows with him and was not about to leave them. We went hard all day before starting down to the truck. The walking and sliding on the trip back turned out to be very bad for my knee. I has dislocated it a number of times in my basketball days and it was now telling on me. By the time we got back to camp, it was about the size of a watermelon. My climbing days were over for this week. Plan B – the outfitters had a number of stands placed around watering holes, this would be where I would hunt the remainder of this trip. The third day I had a small 5x5 and two cows broadside at 32 yards but it was not what I was hoping for. Had it been the last day, I would have taken one of the cows. Day Four I had five cows start in the water hole only for them to be called away
 by a bull on a ridge. The next day, Don arrowed a great 6x7 from that same stand. Barney and I spotted a nice bull in a meadow and put together a plan. I got in as close as I could (80 yards) and he tried to call him to me. But he had a number of cows and paid the calling no mind. Amazing how those female elk can really screw things up. The last day Don and Barney found a closed road that proofed to be easier walking so I tagged along. We did hear some bugling but it never moved closer to the road. We did come around a corner to find the place where the clouds touched the mountains. It appeared one could walk out on them and cross over to the next ridge. And this was the one day I had left my camera in the truck.
2007 Moose Hunt
Serpentine Valley Outfitters
Corner Brook, Newfoundland
OK, this time it is a first for me. Don Powell and I drove from North Carolina all the way to Newfoundland; 2 ½ days! I know, I know, man it was a long ways! We pulled out from Dunn, NC at 4:00am and hit I-95 North. The traffic all the way through New York was not bad but just north, boy did that change. We did make it to the Maine state line and spent the night at Kennebunk. We left at 6:00am the next morning headed north for the ferry in Sydney, Nova Scotia. We stop in Houlton, Maine to pick up a few things at
Wal-Mart. When we returned to the Dodge, we could smell anti-freeze. We moved the truck to check for leaks, none found. Next stop is the US-Canada border crossing. We parked and went inside to check in our rifles. Then a dude came in and asks who is driving the blue Dodge because it was pouring fluids; the water pump had gone out. We completed the paperwork, refilled with water and headed north looking for someone to fix the problem. In Woodstock, New Brunswick we found a small service station
who agreed to help. The owner picked up the part and asks his mechanic to work overtime to get us back on the road. Three hours later when he finished, I ask if we still had time to make the ferry. He looked at his watch and said, “ you better hurry”. Don paid him, I gave him a big tip and we bolted. We had reservations for a berth on the ferry and knew we would lose it if you were not checked in by 10:30pm; pulled in at 10:10pm. The ferry is an all night (8 hours) trip. Had we missed it we could not catch another one until the next morning; if it still had openings. We got off the ferry and still had 3-4 hours to Corner Brook. There we met one of the owners Wayne who would be guiding also. After a trip
down a logging path, 22 miles and 3 hour later, we came to the lake. Then it was 2 miles across to the lodge. We met the other hunters in camp and settled in for the night. Day One, the guide took Don and I down the lake and docked the boat. Here we go again, climbing those hills. On top, what do we find, a huge moose bog. Never seen a swamp on top of a mountain. We would walk, call and then glass. Wait about 30 minutes and repeat. We already had heard two different rounds of gunfire and knew someone from group had spotted moose. Mid day the guide pointed out a bull on the other hillside across the river. But he was not about to move; he had a cow he was keeping his eye on near by.
Then one was spotted and the guide started calling; he came in like he was on string. Down one hill, across the valley and river, then up to top where we were. Two shots at 276 yards and my hunt was over. Don hunted hard the remainder of the trip but never saw one he wanted to mount but those things happen. Six out of seven hunters tagged a moose that week, three the first morning. It was now time to head south – 2 ½ days worth.
2008 Whitetail Hunt
Do It Yourself
West Union, Ohio
Don Powell, David Carroll, Brandon Johnson and I planned a bow hunting trip to Ohio for whitetail this year. The area we would be hunting was just outside West Union, about a nine hour drive. The property had some stills all ready in place or you could use you own. During the week, we did both. The bad part was the weather, it was hot! After the first day in the stand, we all heading to Wal-Mart for buy a camo t-shirt or two. It was the first of November and we had hoped and prepared for normal Ohio fall weather. But Mother Nature did not want to cooperate. Most years the season would be cool, even cold temperatures by then. Some years, frost and snow had already visited the area. But you have to play the hand you are dealt. After a quick breakfast each morning, we would all head out to a different section of the farm. We all took a sandwich or two, candy bar and a bottle of water to last until dark. After the first day, I made a change. With it being so warm in the middle of the day, Don and I would hike back to the truck. Town as only five miles away and the diners lunch was better than
ours. The third day, everybody was doing the same thing. Yes, we did do some hunting, but the weather did not help the deer movement. Day Three Don texted me that he had taken a shot at a 150 class buck but did not have a good feeling about it. He had watched the deer run off like it was scared, not hit. He waited about an hour then climbed down to look around. He found where his arrow had hit a small limb and there no blood on it; only dirt. He felt better now knowing it was a clean miss and only hoped the buck would show back up. That night when Don was telling the story, I noticed that David was being very quiet. I finally ask him if he saw anything. “Yes, and it was bigger than the ones you see on TV”, this started the questions flowing. Where did you see it at, did you get a shoot at it, could you get a
shot at it, which way did it come from and go to, you get the picture. He said he had seen two nice ones that day but one was most larger than the other one. Per David, both would have gone book! This put a new spring in our step and climbing back in the stand the next morning was easier. But the weather still did not help and the week turned out the same. We had a great time but we came home empty handed. But I am sure a lot of people did that week.
2009 Mule Deer Hunt
Hebert Outfitters
Valleyview, Alberta
John Smith called and said he wanted to try for a mule deer in Alberta this year. I said “OK”, it is not hard to talk me in to going hunting. Our flight was scheduled to leave RDU at 7:00am – rescheduled to 8:00am – rescheduled to 9:30am – rescheduled to 10:15 – took off at 11:30am. No, we did not get there about 3:00pm like we had planned. In fact we just did get there the same day, we got on the last flight from Edmonton to Grand Prairie arriving just before midnight. Mike our guide picked us up at the
airport with a smile on his face. To tell the truth, he was laughing at all the “fun” we had with the flight up. We had hunted with Mike before so we let him slide this time. We still had an hour and a half to go then and he was driving. The next morning we got up, had a great breakfast and hit the road. The plan was to ride around in hopes of seeing some bucks still in bachelor groups and pattern them. Mike had scouted the areas and have two or three spots he had seen some good mulies. Best times of course were early mornings and late evenings. The middle of the day we rode the back roads and fields hoping Lady Luck would be on our side.
Alberta is another great place to hunt, tons of options. We were there the first week of the season (middle of September) and only had a mule deer tag. That week we saw moose, elk, bear, whitetail and mule deer. One day mid morning we had a nice cow elk walk out that got Mike’s attention. His wife had draw a cow tag and he was looking for one so she could fill it. We told him to bring her along but he said they would have plenty of time before the season went out. Come to find out, she enjoyed hunting just like us. Mike had a bear tag but was not going to take
away from our hunt to fill it. The third day, we had two different groups we had scoped out and were now trying to caught the right one in the right position. Day Four we had two good mule deer laying just inside the canola field. It was decided that I would put a stalk on and try to close the distance. Crossing a wide open field in the middle of the day is not an easy thing to do, in fact I can say it is almost impossible. The two bucks spotted me, got up, took about two steps and were gone. They were not spooked, just that close to the woods. Spent the rest of the week every afternoon laying in a ditch in that general
area hoping they would reappear. They did not. To pour a little salt in the wound, I had a very wide (20”+) 10 or 12 point whitetail come out. 170 yards broadside and hung away for 15 or 20 minutes. And me with a mule deer tag in my pocket. No, in Alberta it is good only for the species written in the tag; this was not Montana. If it was, I would have come home with a real trophy. But it was not to be, for John or me. The finally night I passed on three that hung around in the field for about an hour. At dark, on the way back to truck, my cell goes to ringing. Mike had picked John up and they were waiting for me. John said “watch out for the moose, he is standing right in front of the truck”. They cut the headlights on and there his was. Now I had "Bullwinkle" to look out for and deal with!
2010 Whitetail Hunt
Tomahawk Lodge
Sioux Narrows, Ontario
OK – I know I told myself that I would never drive to an out of country hunt again but I did; who better to lie to than yourself. Don Powell, Todd Crenshaw and I took off to Sioux Narrows, Ontario for whitetail. We were hunting out of Tomahawk Lodge with a group that had been making this trip for a number of years. We pulled out from Reidsville on Thursday at 11:00 pm and drove until 09:00 pm Friday. It had been a long time since I had driven all
night to get somewhere. Our trip carried us by Cincinnati, Chicago, Rockford and a number of large cities, really got to hate that traffic. We made it to Duluth, Minnesota then checked in to a hotel for the night. The next day we crossed the Canadian line at the Rainy River Border Station and then on to Nestor Falls.
After buying our licenses, we then traveled on to the lodge at Sioux Narrows around 03:00 pm. At the lodge we met up with Pete, John and Gary, this would be our
hunting group for the week. Supper that night was great and we soon sat back to watch some football. The first day our guide Jim Fadden dropped me off and took me to a stand deep in the woods. I had a number of does around all day and one nice 8 pointer. The buck had great brow tines but was not very wide. The second day I was in a stand over looking a thicket and a nice lake. Saw one HUGE 6 point but again I let
it walk. But one of our hunters Pete came home with a dandy chocolate eight pointer with a lot of mass. On Day Three Jim took me to the beach. The weather may have agreed with the term but that was just the name of the location; water was still 46 degrees. On the way to the
stand, we passed a number of scrapes and rubs. It was very clear that one or more bucks were working the area. Did see another 8 pointer but not big enough to put on the wall so I let number three walk.
Not Todd, he came back with a nice nine. Due to a bum knee, I decide to sit out day four. I did help Todd get his deer skinned out before we took a photo tour of the area. Right after lunch Don called in and had one on the ground. Todd joined up with Jim and they helped him get his deer back to
the
lodge. After a call home that night, I find I would need to cut this hunt short; time to head back to North Carolina. The weather the next morning was also making a change. By the time we pulled out about noon, it was starting to snow. This
proved to be a help to Gary who was on stand that morning. We learned after we were on the way back that he took a good eight point just after noon. That means our group was 4 out of 6; not a bad average for a week of hunting at "The Lake of the Woods". And even though I did not get a deer, it was still a great hunt. The bad part was that we still had about 1,400 miles to drive and I had an unfilled tag in my pocket.
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