Wildlife & Snowshoes!

Putting this in the hunting section, 'cause we were in one of my favorite local hunting areas, and we were "hunting" with a camera.

Snowed much of last night. This morning the temps were in the teens, but the sun was strong. My hiking buddy and I hopped in the Jeep along with Clark my dog and headed about 18 miles out of town. Ran across another buddy of mine out there, photographing wildlife too.

We hiked several miles on our snowshoes, nothing too demanding, but a good hike through wonderful country. I have hunted upland birds, coyotes, mule deer, elk and bear in this area.

Ten year old German Wirehair Pointer running wild and loving life:


And investigating some fascinating scent:


Mule deer on alert:


Five bighorn rams!




Some old hiker/hunter fellow:




Winter doesn't mean we have to quit being outdoors.

Guy

Excellent post, Guy. That looks to be a perfect day to be out. Great shots of the animals.

DrMike":39g1ud5b said:

Excellent post, Guy. That looks to be a perfect day to be out. Great shots of the animals.

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Thanks. My friend Jaana gets the credit for the wildlife photos, she actually brought a camera! I only had my cell phone camera.


Jaana is interesting. In her mid 50's she knew almost nothing about hunting, other than that her father & grandfather hunted a bit in Finland when she was a youngster. She met me, and had a big hurdle to get past, learning that an American "gun guy" and hunter could be a good man.

She has asked that I not shoot anything in her presence, unless it's trying to eat us! :mrgreen:

Guy

Beautiful pictures Guy.

Guy Miner":26592yf1 said:

DrMike":26592yf1 said:

Excellent post, Guy. That looks to be a perfect day to be out. Great shots of the animals.

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Thanks. My friend Jaana gets the credit for the wildlife photos, she actually brought a camera! I only had my cell phone camera.

Jaana is interesting. In her mid 50's she knew almost nothing about hunting, other than that her father & grandfather hunted a bit in Finland when she was a youngster. She met me, and had a big hurdle to get past, learning that an American "gun guy" and hunter could be a good man.

She has asked that I not shoot anything in her presence, unless it's trying to eat us! :mrgreen:

Guy

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Well, those man-eating bunnies sometimes need to be taken out! And mulies can get pretty vicious on occasion. :mrgreen:

You've made significant progress if she is able to accept that a "gun guy" and a "hunter" can actually be decent. Many anti-hunters seem incapable of moving beyond this point of view. You're doing your part, my man.

Beautiful pictures Guy. Fantastic, thanks for posting.

Guy, very curious as to what your altitude is.

that is great Guy !

love the bighorns, what is the current regs on hunting them, ??

I loved hunting sheep and goats, but those days are now a distance memory

Thank you for posting a great story Guy.. I was out in the snowy woods today with my chainsaw cutting on an old Hickory tree that fell in our woods. When done and dried it will be mighty nice fuel for ther fireplace.

Nice day Guy!

diverdown":kw5lxjwt said:

Guy, very curious as to what your altitude is.

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During that hike we were below 1,000'

Europe":3gw39d1b said:

that is great Guy !

love the bighorns, what is the current regs on hunting them, ??

I loved hunting sheep and goats, but those days are now a distance memory

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Well, here in Washington its a "once in a lifetime" tag for bighorn sheep. The odds of drawing the tag are steep, but it is possible. Three of my local friends have drawn over the past 20 years or so and each of them took a ram.

One took what turned out to be the world record for the "California" sub species of bighorn. Quite the critter.

I haven't looked in a while, but if drawn the season is pretty generous. I've been applying for the ram tag, and the ewe tag for quite a few years. Doubt I'm ever drawn, so I've contented myself by hunting them with a camera. These photos are from earlier attempts:







Guy

Guy- in the company of friends (yours and theirs...), good company, beautiful country and critters. Pretty darn good. Thanks to your friend for the photo's. CL

Guy, you’ve got some great country right in your backyard and a nice variety of wildlife too boot.

lefty315":12vi62m8 said:

Guy, you’ve got some great country right in your backyard and a nice variety of wildlife too boot.

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I can only take credit for finding the place and having the good sense to stay here and enjoy it.

Thousands of feet higher today after yet another storm. Six of us went out for four miles, gained & lost about 1,000' elevation. Saw some snowshoe hare tracks, not much else. Good hike.


Had the trusty 45 1911 Kimber along of course!

Guy