Two years in a row now, and the boys outshine us oldsters!
Kory started off by taking out this lead doe speedgoat after a long stalk, then ambush at a roundbale. He got the antelope "monkey" off his back and you would have thought he'd killed a monster, he was so excited.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/woodwizard/2010%20hunt%20pics/Korysantelope4.jpg)
Sunday brought a lot of rain, but young Riley Fisher stuck it out, and arrowed his best buck to date....a dandy 5 by 5 whitey.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/woodwizard/2010%20hunt%20pics/rileysbuck6.jpg)
Us Dads did a lot of looking. Plenty of elk spotted, and it appears to be a great year for big bucks for this area.
I had a close encounter with a raghorn that came in to 50 yards or so. Then yesterday I set up along a fencline that funnels the elk and deer towards some ag fields....and had two nice 6 pt. bulls feed in as well as three fine whitetail bucks. But they all were on the wrong side of the fence where we can't hunt...oh well. Great show, especially after the skies cleared, wind died, and the new snow shined off the mountains with the crisp thermals that evening. Going back in a day or so.
Very Cool. I'm looking forward to the rest of this one.
Good Luck!
Good hunting boys! :thumbsup:
That is very cool Mark ... I enjoyed the recent TBM article about Rileys elk also!!! :thumbsup:
Happy hunters for sure, and the young men are getting bigger every time I se them with a new critter. :thumbsup:
The young guys get'n it done. :clapper:
Way too go..Nice shootin :thumbsup:
Great job guys! Our season opens Saturday! I can't wait!
Thanks for sharing Mark. It really doesn't get any better than watching your kids succeed.
Awesome Congratulations :thumbsup:
great job guys.great article in tbm.keep up the good work,steve
Simply AWESOME!
nice critters, congrats! our deer season starts Sept 18th...
Very nice! Please keep us posted.
Awesome job Kory and Riley - keep the updates coming Mark!
It's a long season...so there will be plenty of updates for sure. Fun to share them here.
Glad some of you got to read the article on Riley...a real pleasure to share in these boys maturation as bowhunters. Fish and I are both proud papas, don't you know!
Sincere congrats to the boys!!!
As for the dads...job well done. :thumbsup:
We as hunters, ALL reap the benefits of the "maturation" of young bowhunters!
That is very cool Mark. I hope you have some success soon.
Jack
Got a question why is the buck not considered a 5 by 6 it has that small point on the front of the far horn. God Bless Ty
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Yeah, Tyler, I forgot about that point...we were joking about counting that! Basically we just say what he is...with extras, I guess. It all adds character...but a guy could "count" it he wants.
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
congratulations Kory and Riley!! Mark i look forward to the updates on your season every year. Great stories and pictures.
Dick
:clapper:
:bigsmyl: :clapper:
Way to start a season ! Nice !
I see the makings of another Traditional Bowhunter article!!
What kind of bow is Riley pictured with?
Always look forward to this thread about this time...congrats guys!
Look forward to more bud :pray:
:thumbsup: :archer:
Congrats :thumbsup:
Riley is shooting his Dad's old Rocky Mtn. Recurve, by John Morris...vintage 1980's. I am actually using one for antelope myself this year. They sure are great bows. I still like to use a selfbow for deer and elk.
Kory is shooting a Bridger Mtn. Longbow, by Rocky Miller, also an 80's vintage.
Well, I'm off this afternoon for another few days...hope to have an update, I'll keep my fingers crossed.
Time for an update here. The "Dads" strike back! I'll upset the timeline by a day or so, for better dramatic effect.
Last Friday, the 17th, I arrived in camp to rain wind and fog. We've had a lot of that this year, with a bunch of lightning and thunder thrown in. The whole state is just plain soggy. The effect has been waist high grass, as green as June, and water everywhere...needless to say, elk hunting has been tough. Up to this point, I had yet to even hear a bugle, thought I've been close to a few great bulls, the elk are scattered and cows, a key ingredient to good rut hunting, are scarce.
At any rate, I arrived, unloaded, dressed up for the evening hunt....and spotted this young boar along one of the many spring creeks in the area, helping himself to chokecherry salad. A stalk in the windy, rainy conditions was easy to 15 yards, and I decided that he was "big enough" and put a three-blade through his ribs with my selfbow. He only went 20 or so yards and died quick. My first bear with a selfbow. He is your average sized Montana blackbear...pushing 200 lbs. Nice chocolate color and around a 5 footer nose to tail.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/woodwizard/2010%20hunt%20pics/Marksbear1.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/woodwizard/2010%20hunt%20pics/Marksbear6.jpg)
Now for the timeline correction. My hunting partner, Fish, was up a couple days before I could make it. While for him the elk have also been scarce, he put shot on this huge blackie...grandad to mine. A true 7-footer, this is a great bear. Of course Fish is a true bear killing machine having taken several.
In 20 years of hunting this property we have never taken a bear here...then this year we take two in two days! Great consolation prizes for our efforts thus far chasing elk and deer.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/woodwizard/2010%20hunt%20pics/Fishsbear3.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/woodwizard/2010%20hunt%20pics/Fishsbear4.jpg)
Although elk have been scarce, all indications are that we are seeing a great year for deer antler growth, and I saw the biggest whitetail Ive ever seen in my life this past weekend...a true world-class stud. Hope to see him a lot closer.....just maybe!
Wow what a nice big bear...that's a cool thing for both of you to score on bears...... :thumbsup: :notworthy:
Nice bears. Like the color on yours and the size on Fish's. Congrats to fathers and sons.
Mosty excellent buddy! Congrats to you and Fish on your great bears :clapper: :clapper:
:clapper:
Good stuff Mark. :)
Very cool Mark, thanks for the update!
Good stuff! Awesome animals! :thumbsup:
Congrats Mark!
Great thread! Really great to see generations hunting together.
Thanks all....I'll be back at it this weekend, as will all of us. Hope to have another update next week.
I love that last picture of the bear you had with your bow and arrows. Make a great 8x10!
Thanks for the pics and stories. Congrats to all ya'll!
Mark, you and and Fish done good....really good! That's the way to show those young whipper snappers! :clapper:
For those of you who have never had the pleasure of meeting Fish and Mark, you're misssing out.......I have been blessed to know both.
Oh ya, for those that don't know, Fish is a bear killing machine; he turns down bears that I still dream about.
Way to go guys! Nice bears and great hunting. Can't wait to here the rest of the story.
Congrats guys; Hope the rest of your season goes as well;; :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Wow, sounds liek a great start to the season!!
Mark, Congrats.
That buddy, Fish, has got a MOOSE-stash to be envious of!
Sounds like a season to remember already!
Great photos Mark! My son's away at college and chances are he won't be hunting :confused:
Very tough not having him around... :(
Awesome, Mark! Glad yall are doing so well!
Mark, I love reading your articles and posts! Congrats to all! That selfbow and arrows look awesome. I love the 2 tone shafts. Looking forward to reading more.
I am so glad for your all's success' this season. I am kicking myself for being on the course at Cloverdale in 09 instead of listening and meeting you that Saturday afternoon. As mentioned above, your articles and posts are very much the sort I look forward to.
Keep after them and keep filling us all in.
Christopher
Yep the Baker/Fisher clan are all killin machines and as good as it gets in the "great fathers and sons" department also! Great job again guys!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
At long last an update....
I had to work about 3 weeks out of state, and returned with our general (gun) season in full swing. Elk were not on my plate anymore, and whitetails were to occupy the rest of my season. Fish did manage to take an elk, I heard, but haven't yet talked with him about any details.
Fish also scored on a fine buck, capping a great season for him and Riley.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/woodwizard/2010%20hunt%20pics/Fishbuck1.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/woodwizard/2010%20hunt%20pics/Fishbuck2.jpg)
Kory and I hunted pretty hard, and had great fun. We managed to rattle in quite a few bucks as well. Kory filled his doe tag first on this gal....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/woodwizard/2010%20hunt%20pics/Korysdoe.jpg)
Then he finally settled on this buck. He rattled this one in along with 3 others at the same time. He liked the trashy set of antlers and made a great shot. This was about mid November.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/woodwizard/2010%20hunt%20pics/Korysbuck4.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/woodwizard/2010%20hunt%20pics/KoryandDad.jpg)
The final two weeks of the season Winter kicked into overdrive, with sub-zero cold, mega-snow, and blowing winds. Being outside was plain tough, and hunting even tougher....you could only manage an hour or so in these conditions most of the time.
I still had a great season, blew my one good opportunity at a mature deer that I "played" over and again (and he "played" me...a great story), had several close encounters that never presented shot opps, passed on many up and coming bucks, and could easily of "tagged out", but decided in the end to let the youngsters and does (deer numbers seemed low this year) have their shot at another year of survival. I witnessed a lot of cool stuff this year...memories that will never fade I hope, and had good times with both my sons (Boone hunted some too) and my buddy and his son, Fish and Riley. I did tag this doe during 40 mph winds with blinding snow and 15 below. Thank GOD for a good shot and quick recovery in these conditions! Thanks for looking all.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/woodwizard/2010%20hunt%20pics/Mdoe1.jpg)
You sound satisfied Mark and isn't that what really counts?
Congratulations!!
Good hunting with good buddies(sons and friends of sons) has to be some of the best.
Thanks for sharing.
God bless,Mudd
Great season, Mark! I've enjoyed your updates and photos. Kinda like going along with you on your hunts. Thanks for the ride.
We'll get 'em next year!
Darryl
Great to see the competition,you taght them well.
WOW Mark I can't even imagine shooting a bow in those conditions. You done good.
Jack
Ya'll are well oiled hunting machines!....Phil
Great season guys!
A good season for the Bakers and friends!
Great pictures and a fine season! Congratulations on your very successful hunts.
It's nice to see the beautiful country you guys are hunting in.
Thanks for sharing your hunts...
Bernie Bjorklund - IA
48# Spirit Lingbow
45# Martin Hunter
Thanks for the update Mark!
Great Stuff
chris <><
Man,That's GOOD STUFF!!
Thanks for Sharing the stories. Tough hunting in your winters!!
What!! No selfbow deer kill? At those tempatures I suspect the chance of the wood giving way may be an issue.
Great season for all of you. Glad you filled us in.
Hey thanks guys.
Christopher...I decided to use this recurve for whitetails this year. Only the second time in 25 or so years I've used one. I have several, and love to shoot them.
I've taken a lot of critters with selfbows and all-wood bows, and they work well in the cold too. Just wanted to try something different this year. Actually, the high wrist (or is it low wrist) of the grip on the recurve may have cost me my buck. Yeah...that's my excuse. I can shoot longbows and selfbows "quicker", since I've shot them for so long, whereas with the recurve I seem to have to "settle in" more. I think that's why my arrow sailed over his back....that's my story and I'm sticking to it!
Great stuff buddy...thanx for the update! :clapper: