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IDFG In the past ew years,some Idaho big game huntershave complained that they nolonger see elk in places they havehunted or years. Idaho Fish andGame spends more than $2 mil-lion annually tracking the statesbig game populations, and recentaerial surveys do show some elk population declines.

But elk numbers have notdeclined everywhere 10 o Idahos 29 elk zones are abovemanagement objectives or emaleelk, 13 zones are within objectivesand six are below objectives.

Elk populations are a ectedby a number o actors, includingpredators.

Since the return o wolves toIdaho 15 years ago, Idahos overallelk population has dropped by 20 percent rom 125,000 to about100,000.

To nd out why, Idaho Fish andGame biologists have been look-ing closely at the e ects o preda-tion in general on elk herds, and

wol predation in particular. They are learning how delisted wolves

will t into state management o big game and other wildli e spe-cies.

An ongoing study in 11 elk management zones shows thatpredators today are the primary cause o death among emale elk in ve zones. The zones representthe range o habitat, hunting op-portunity and predator densities

ound in Idaho. In at least three o

those zones, wolves are the pri-mary cause o death o emale elk and calves over six months old.

Elk population trends dependon the survival rates o emale elk and calves.

To maintain the population,typically about 88 percent o thebreeding emale elk must survive,and enough calves must survive toreplace the adult animals that dieeach year.

Elk survival depends primarily on our actors: habitat conditions,

weather, predation and hunter harvest.

The infuence o habitat onelk tends to be subtle. Pregnancy rates and cal survival may be

10 to 20 percent lower in poor habitat small changes that canhave important consequencesover decades.

In the winter o 1996-97, un-usually heavy snows arrived early in much o central and northernIdaho. Elk mortality during that winter was extensive, as high as40 percent in some herds.

In 1995 and 1996, the U.S. Fish and Wildli e Service released 35 wolves into central Idaho rein-troducing a top predator to thelandscape. Today, wolves in Idahonumber more than 800.

In 2005 Fish and Gamelaunched its elk survival study,the largest ever conducted in thestate, covering 11 elk managementzones.

Biologists captured, radio-col-lared and monitored more than500 adult emale elk since thestudy began. They ound the num-ber o adult emale elk surviving

rom one year to the next sur- vival rate ranged rom a low o 75 percent in the Lolo Zone to89 percent in the Tex Creek and Weiser zones.

Predators were the primary cause o death in ve zones, ando those, wolves were the primary cause o death in three zones the Lolo, Smoky Mountains andSawtooth zones. In the other twozones the Elk City, and Salmonzones mountain lions either equaled or exceeded wolves asthe primary cause o elk deaths.

Since 1995, elk populations havedeclined in these ve zones.Elk numbers are below man-

agement objectives in the Smoky Mountains, Lolo and Sawtooth zones, and within objectives inthe Elk City and Salmon zones.

Harvest was the primary known cause o death in six zones the Pioneer, Weiser, Tex Creek,Island Park, McCall and Boise Riv-er zones. Elk populations declinedin the Pioneer and Island

Park zones since 1995, whileincreasing in the Tex Creek and Weiser zones. Elk populations inthe McCall and Boise River zoneshave been relatively stable since1995. The Weiser Zone is above

objectives and the other ve are within objectives.

Though most o the research ocused on adult emale elk, it also

evaluated cal survival and mor-tality in the Lolo and Sawtooth zones.

Between 2005 and 2009, biolo-gists captured and radio-collared272 six-month-old elk calves. Inboth zones, cal elk survival romDecember through June was con-siderably less than normal, which is about 82 percent.

In the Lolo Zone, deterioratinghabitat and other actors contrib-

uted to a long population decline,dropping rom about 16,000 in1988 to ewer than 8,000 elk by 1998. Since 1998, the numbershave dropped to about 2,000 adecline o more than 70 percent.

Survival o the radio-collaredsix-month-old calves was 52 per-cent; wol predation took nearly one-third o the cal population.

In the Sawtooth Zone, elk numbers also have declined. Sur- vival o six- month-old calves wasabout 30 percent during the study.Overall, predation by wolves wasthe leading cause o death, butmalnutrition was also an impor-tant actor during the di cult winter o 2007-08.

In both zones, wol predation was the leading cause o death o six-month-old calves. Earlier research shows that in some areaspredation by black bears was theprimary cause o death o calvesless than six months old.

As the elk numbers in the Loloand Sawtooth zones have de-clined, Fish and Game has raisedlimits on predators, reduced hunt-ing opportunities and stopped

emale elk harvest in the LoloZone since 1998.

Meanwhile, in some other areas elk are so numerous they are

causing trouble or landowners.The in ormation rom thisstudy may not apply in other partso the state, but it may help Fish and Game biologists evaluatedeclines in other areas.

Wildli e managers have no con-trol over the weather and only

little control over habitat. In2009, however, Idaho Fish andGame conducted the states rstregulated wol hunt. Huntersharvested 188 wolves in an or-derly hunt and ollowed the strictreporting requirements.

Recognizing that e ects o predators on elk would increaseas the numbers o predatorsincrease, the Idaho Fish and Game

Commission has set a wol popu-lation goal at about 500 thepopulation in Idaho in 2005, the year when wol depredations onelk herds and domestic livestock began to rise sharply.

Fish and Game has shown thatpro essional wildli e managerscan manipulate wildli e popula-tions to limit their e ects on each other and on people, as they havedone with elk that cause dam-age to crops or take over habitatoccupied by mule deer. They will do the same with wolves inplaces, such as the Lolo notto wipe them out, but to reducetheir e ects where elk herds arein trouble.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

by the numbers

Elk survivaldepends primarilyon four factors:habitat conditions,weather, predationand hunter harvest.

Idaho Department of Fishand Game

Idaho elkIdaho elk

By Tom ClaycombFor the Idaho Press-Tribune

To be an e ective hunter out west you need to learn how to glass. In1988 I was bow hunting with a riend,Dennis Buhlke, and we topped a hill.He said, Lets glass a minute, a lot o times Ill see one. In less than veminutes we spotted a deer. And thenanother one. I dont want to exagger-ate but nearly every hill we crested, i

we glassed long enough wed see deer. Ibecame a believer a ter that.

A couple o years ago I took a kid hunt-ing. We hit a wet heavy snow. It was tough duty. We nally made it back to the truck andI told him wed go spotting/stalking. He said,How do you do that? I told him wed nd aspot and glass it.

The rst spot we pulled o I looked about oneminute and said theres a deer, another one until there

were three. He said, Wow, youre pretty good. I said,

Yeah. I didnt tell him I was surprised, too. We snuck upand got a buck.Dont just look in the open. Glass the brush. You usu-

ally arent lucky enough to spot a whole elk. Look or legsmixed in with the tree trunks, an ear twitching or some-thing that is o color.

I youre glassing hills do so in zones. Heres what I meanby that. Move rom side to side all the way across the moun-tain and then drop down 30 eet and do it again. When

youre done, do it again. Animals move in and out o cover.I youre hunting in a blind, a ter a ew days you learn

all the weird objects and what is new and doesnt belong. Also as the sun changes, objects look di erent throughoutthe day. Dad always said or every seven things you thought

were a deer, one would be. Years ago Ed Sweet, Gary

Kirkpatrick and I took a kid ona spotting/stalking bear hunt. Intwo a ternoons we spotted 10 bears. Out o 10 I only saw one rst. Thats because they had top quality glass. I hada low-grade set o Burris binoculars. I quickly learned theimportance o good glass.

Buy good glass. I realize that everyone is on a budget buton this purchase, dont leave any pennies in your pocket.Figure out what you can a ord and go compare everything

in that price range or the best deal. Ive had super luck with Leupold products. They have li etime warran-

ties. I you have cheap glass, a ter a day o glassing your eyes will be wobbly and out o ocus. It will

be hard to go to sleep, as youll be hallucinat-ing.

Ive always said dont buy over 8x binocsas anything higher wobbles too bad, but

I did get a pair o Leupold 10x or thisspring bear season. Also or real spot-ting I have a 15x30 Gold Ring Leupoldspotting scope.

I you see an animal, then youneed to plan your stalk. Hows the

wind? Is the cover OK or you tosneak up? Do you have enough day-light le t? Will you have to sleep onthe mountainside?

What i you see three bears anhour be ore dark and only have timeto put the sneak on one? You needto be able to tell which one is the big-gest. Youll need a spotting scope to

get serious.Sometimes you see game but when

you try to sneak up on them you cantseem to locate them. A ew things may

help you out here. First, check thegeneral direction that theyre eed-ing. Next, notice some landmark.That way when you get up close youll be able to zero in on them.Use scent cover.

In 2006 while bear huntingin Colorado, I heard a bull bugleand started glassing the mountainacross the valley with my spottingscope. I saw a couple o cows. Sud-denly a bull shot out o the aspens.It looked like a bass scatteringa school o minnows. The cows went every which way. I told my wi e Katy to look. She said Wow,

whats he doing? I told her bulls are rough on cows. It wasawesome and I was glad she was there to see it.

Start to glass and I guarantee youll start seeing a lotmore game.

for big gameGlassingGlassing

Photo by Tom Claycomb

Hunting2010 IDAHOIdaho Press-Tribune/Messenger Index WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2010

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By Glen Bruderer

gbruderer@idahopress.com Hunting with stick and string

brings about a side o huntingthat appeals to just about every outdoor lover. Archery hunting isan experience that, or those whohave experienced the excitement,gets in your blood. But the sport,

with all o its intrigue, needs con-stant attention.

There is something primitiveabout hunting big game with abow and arrow. Most o your shotsare limited to around 40 yards de-pending on your shooting ability.

Over my years as an archery hunter, I have run the gamut o experiences. Close calls, success-es, ailures and beauti ul country

have all played large roles in why I chose to hunt with stick andstring. Archers dont choose thesport as an easy way o getting atrophy each all.

Your role varies rom scene toscene.

You are walking down adusty old road that winds its way through a grove o aspen that areso tly singing a song to anyone

who will listen. Something abrupt-ly breaks the tranquility. You hear a rustling in the brush just over the crest o the road. You nock anarrow and your heart begins torace. You edge your way closer tothe sound. There it is, a beauti ulmuley buck. You slowly draw your

bow. You guess the distance to beabout 35 yards, take aim and letthe arrow loose.

C r a c k!O bounds the animal you have

dreamt about several times over the last 10 months. You walk downto where the animal was standingand see something shining aboutthe place the deer stood momentsbe ore. Its a mangled broadheadattached to about three-inches o shattered graphite. Your arrow laysin many pieces in the rocks.

This scenario replays itsel many times each all. Either youmisjudged the yardage, hit a limb,

jerked the trigger or pulled your head trying to see where your ar-

row might hit. Archery is a sport that needs your constant attention. There aremany things that can go wrong

while shooting a bow. You oweit to the animal to be in your bestshooting orm and your equipmentmust be tuned and ready to go.

This is no easy task.

IssuesMake sure your bow is in good

working order. Check or cracks inthe limbs. Sights should be secureand pins straight and intact. Besure all the moving parts havebeen lubed and the strings are ingood shape. It is not un to have

your bow sighted in and ready togo, only to nd your string needsreplacing. The process then startsall over again.

Make sure your bow is in tune.Every archer has their own way to do this. For me, I take mine inbe ore the season. They make sureeverything is good to go. Trustme, they will see things that youmight miss. The point is to removeany variables you can. This is well

worth the money spent.Tuning doesnt end there

this is just the beginning. You will constantly be tweakingthroughout the process. I like

to mark where your bow and itsaccessories are set. This gives youa re erence point to return to i things change or something hap-pens.

The most important actor isto practice o ten and with pur-pose. I shot a lot in the spring, butlightened up when summer camearound. When I started shootingserious again, I was a mess. Force yoursel to work through your weaknesses. Mine is my trigger. Ican pull up at any given time andhit a 10-inch circle up to about 40- yards, but this is not su cient.

Yes, this might kill an animal,i all actors are per ect. For those who hunt, you know that thingsare seldom per ect while hunting.

I work on holding the pin onthe target and ght it through the entire shot. Your trigger pullshould almost startle you when itgoes o . I work on pulling with my back rather than my nger.

Once you start to tighten your groups, check your bow and acces-sories again. Check your re erencemarks and make sure things havenot changed.

BroadheadsThe addition o a broadhead is

where things can get dicey. Many people will assume that i you areshooting the same weight broad-head as your eld tip you should

be ready to go. Not so much. With the aster bows out there,

some heads need more stabiliza-

tion. I have tried many di erentthings. I like Blazer vanes. I haveshot them or a while and lovethem. They stabilize surprisingly well or a small vane. Plus, they have less cross-wind dri t. Regard-less o what you shoot, get a eel

or what they do. I like to shoot alot and shoot in the area I will behunting. I have noticed that the wind up in the area I hunt willa ect the shot quite a bit. I I know this in advance, I can allow or it asbest I can.

Many people adjust their sightsto accommodate or their broad-heads, but I think that is a mistake.There is a reason they are hittinga bit o , provided your broad-heads and arrows are straight anduni orm. A broadhead accentuatesany deviation in orm and tuning. Your eld points might be hittingper ect, but a broadhead o tenreveals issues.

Some broadheads just do not work in some setups. Find what works and stay with that.

Clothing Another dilemma that archers

get themselves into is with cloth-ing. Lets say you have spent hourson shooting in late summer. Your

broadheadsare fying su-per. Openingmorning nds you waiting ata common elk crossing where youknow a bull requents. Youhear something coming and ready yoursel . Out steps a great bullat just 24 yards. You slowly draw your bow and settle-in your sights just behind the shoulder.

THWAP! You missed!The sound o the shot was not

normal. When you look down at your arm the jacket you put onthis morning is all bunched upon your arm. When you did all o your practicing it was 90 degrees. You had a light T-shirt and did notallow or a heavier jacket.

This is a common mistake.Shoot with the clothes you plan tohunt in. This sound like a trivialthing, but trust me, this has hap-pened to me too many times.

Mix it up As a nal step in your prepa-

ration, shoot at odd distances. Ihave a small target that can bemoved and set at di erent angles,distances and up or down hill. Donot skip this. Judging distance isnot easy and takes time to per ect.Shadows and heavy brush will trip you up. I you have a range nder,

use it! Guess a distance to an ob- ject, then range it to see how close you were.

I dont think it is possible toshoot too much. Find a sa e placeto shoot and set time aside. The valley has great places to shoothere close. There are two outdoor shooting ranges or the public togo and shoot at all distances. Oneis in Caldwell near Rotary Ponds.This range has target butts out to60 yards.

Another range is in Nampa andunded by the Nampa Bow Chie s.

The clubhouse is located at 222 W.Railroad, behind Fred Meyer. They also have an indoor range that isavailable to members to shoot at just about any time. Emmett alsohas a archery club called the Black Canyon Bowmen. They host acouple o shoots a year and holdleagues.

Go to www.idahoarchery.com/nbc or www.black-

canyonbowmen.comand give them a call

to nd out how to join. These are

great organiza-tions that o er agreat support sys-tem or archers.

There is alsoa shop located

just o the reeway at the Franklin exit

in Nampa. Archery Central is run in conjunc-

tion with TriState Marine. They are open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 6p.m. Saturday. They have a greatindoor shooting range. Danny Aden, the owner o the pro shop,o ers great advice and might havethe answer as to why things arenot where they should be. He evenmade me a set o BSU-inspired blueand orange Death Harp strings or my bow. Go BSU!

Every Wednesday Archery Cen-tral has a 3D un league that startsat 7 p.m. It is a great way to stay inpractice and have pro essional sup-port to answer your questions. We have had many outdoor shops come and go in the area.Hope ully we will all support theones we have and keep them inbusiness.

A bit more practice and I shouldbe ready to go.

All archers have their own styleand opinions. Thats what makeshunting with sticks and strings soappealing. Try it and you will behooked. Remember to PRACTICE.Be diligent. You owe it to your game to be in the best orm youcan be.

IPT file photo

Practice often, and make sure your bow is in good working order before you head out on any hunting adventure.

Hunting 2010WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2010 Idaho Press-Tribune/Messenger Indexhunting 2 C M

Y K

Dove, crane and grouseseasons start soon

IDFG Forest grouse season starts Aug. 30 this year, a changerom the traditional Sept. 1 date made to accommodate hunters

traveling into the high country to set up camps or early big gameseasons. Forest grouse are a popular traditional camp ood. For-est grouse hunters need only a valid Idaho hunting license.

Mourning dove and sandhill crane seasons begin Sept. 1.Sandhill crane hunting was ormerly by controlled hunt but,because o low participation, has gone to an over-the-counter tag hunt with a limit on tags sold in each o ve hunt areas. Allsandhill hunting areas are located in southeastern counties in theUpper Snake and Southeast Regions. For hunt boundaries andother in ormation speci c to cranes, hunters should consult thecurrent season fyer available at vendors or Fish and Game o cesor on the Fish and Game website: shandgame.idaho.gov/cms/ hunt/rules/ug/10crane.pd .

Legal shooting hours or cranes and doves are listed in thecurrent upland game bird rules brochure.

Dove season is unchanged rom previous years, running romSept. 1-30 with a daily limit o 10 and possession limit o 20. Dovehunters should note page 17 o the upland game rules book thatexplains the rule on Eurasian-collared doves. The rules brochureshows photos and descriptions o the two di erent doves.

t Ask Fish and Game: Dove permitQ. I plan to go dove hunting. Do I need

a permit other than a hunting license? A. Yes. The mourning dove season opens September

1 and in addition to a 2010 hunting license, hunters

must have a federal Migratory Game Bird Harvest

Information Program Validation, migratory bird permit for short not a duck stamp. It costs $1.75 for resident hunters and $4.75 for nonresidents. For moredetails see the 2010-2011 & 2011-2013 UplandGame, Furbearer and Turkey rules brochure.

get shootin

get shootin

Mike Vogt/IP

Danny Aden talks to a shooter at his shop Archery Central in Nampa. His shop offers great support and anindoor range that is open for shooters to practice here in Nampa. Archery websites

site.archerycentralllc.comhttp://www.idahoarchery.com/nbc/

www.blackcanyonbowmen.comwww.gemcountyarchery.com

8/9/2019 Hunting 2010

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By Scott McGannFor the Messenger Index

The date was April 14 when theboxes arrived at my o ce. While my

wi e Kami and I were super-excitedabout what was in the box, I was alsoa little bummed out about the tim-ing o the arrival. You see, Kami andI were blessed enough to be addedonto the Parker Compound Bows Na-tional Field Sta and Carbon Express

Arrows Shooting Sta and the boxesthat just arrived were our new bowsand arrows. I was hoping to be ableto hunt opening day o turkey season

with the new equipment. However,it was 2:30 p.m. and opening day or Turkey was the next morning, andmy alarm clock was set to go o at3 a.m.

Opening morning came aroundand Kami and I decided to take our shotguns. Just shortly a ter noonKami and I had our spring birds onour shoulders and headed out to the ATV or the long ride back to thetruck. The ride looked much di er-ent on the way out than it did on the

way in at 4:15 that morning. Withboth o our turkeys now cleaned andin the reezer, I asked Kami i she wasinterested in buying a second tag andgo out again. Bless her heart, but atseven months pregnant another tripon the ATV did not appeal to her.

Can I? I asked. One thing aboutbeing blessed with a beauti ul wi e

who also loves to hunt is I rarely herethe words,No I dont want you to gohunting.

With the permission to get a sec-ond tag, I opened up the newly-ar-rived boxes and began putting my new bow together that evening. I

went to work the next day and lookedover the regulations again to makesure I was correct that the waiting pe-riod to hunt a second bird had beentaken away. It had. That meant I could

go out or a second bird the next day.That night I spent some time tuningand getting my new bow sighted in.

That Saturday ound me hittingthe snooze button again at 3 a.m., butthe excitement o a bowhunt was toomuch and o I went. I set up my de-coys and got ready in a spot we hadseen turkeys in be ore. As the sunbegan to break up the darkness, I

waited patiently listening or the gob-bling o a Tom turkey. Un ortunately all that I was hearing were songbirdsand silence. I began calling and a ter an hour o daylight I had to make adecision: get out o the blind to look

or birds and possibly go somewhereelse or sit and wait. Well, the silence

was killing me so I decided to get out

o the blind and saw nothing in all di-rections. I packed up and headed or the ATV to go to another spot. Uponreaching the new spot I began to usemy binoculars to glass the draws andhillsides. A ter about 20 minutes o glassing I spotted a big Tom strutting

or his girl riends. He was with vehens, so I knew it would be tough tocall him away rom his girls.

I looked over the area and plannedout my approach to the area wherehe was. Well, when I got to the area Iset up some decoys and began callingand calling and calling. Thirty min-utes later I noticed movement up thehill a good 500 yards away. There he

was, strutting around and I knew my hunt or this bird was over. Then I no-ticed movement about 80 yards to my

right. Two hens were eeding along. All o a sudden, the Tom on the

hillside jumped up and few downthe mountain like a big glider. Helanded right next to the hens and im-mediately began a pu ed up strut. Icalled and he ignored me. I did thiso and on or 30 minutes be ore Icame to the decision that this bird

was not coming to me; I needed to goto him.

I crept along the side o the moun-tain, peeking up over a small rise ev-ery couple o steps. About the thtime I peeked through the brush Inoticed the circle o eathers o theToms an was spread out just above

me at about 22 yards away. I got my arrow ready on my bow and rose upslowly to peek again when I realizedthe best-case scenario was happen-ing. It was the back o his eathers I

was seeing. He was looking straightaway rom me so his own eathersblocked his vision o me rising up. Idrew back my bow and set the sights

or what some people call a TexasHeart Shot. The arrow struck true.I had just harvested my best archery turkey with a bow and arrows that

were only two days FRESH OUT OFTHE BOX. The bird was a little over 22 pounds and had an 8-inch beard.The rst day out with my new bow

and arrows blessed me with a realtrophy. I cannot wait or the next tripout with this set-up. Im con dent it

will produce another great memory in the eld.

n Scott McGann lives in Emmett and isregular contributor to the Messenger Index.He is a member of the Mossy Oak Pro Staff,Parker Compound Bows National Field Staff,Carbon Express Arrows Shooting Staff, Cop-per John Shooting Staff, Blacks Creek GuideGear Field Staff, Browning Pro Staff, TrophyBag Kooler Pro Staff, Gem County ArcheryPro Staff and runs Scooters Hunting Camp.

idaho Press-Tribune/Messenger Index WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2010hunting 2010C M

YK

Hunting 3

IDFG Some early elk hunts opened Aug.1, most o them antlerless green- eld hunts.

The early green- eld hunts in seven elk management zones Palouse, Weiser, Lemhi,Beaverhead, Pioneer, Snake River and Ow-

yhee-South Hills zones are meant to helplandowners reduce crop damage.

Early archery hunts also started Aug. 1 inthe Snake River elk zone, and controlled green-

eld hunts also open in the Dworshak and

Hells Canyon zones.The green- eld hunts are open only out-side the National Forest Boundary and withinone mile o cultivated elds. They help reducedepredation problems and control populationscausing crop damage by harvesting or discour-aging animals in speci c areas or portions o units.

Early hunts, however, bring concerns about waste. Hunters have an ethical and legal obliga-tion to salvage the edible portions o their kill.But meat spoilage is an important concern dur-ing typical hot August weather.

The key to preserving meat is starting the

cooling process quickly. Game animals shouldbe skinned immediately and quartered in mostcases and transported quickly to cold storage

acilities. Early season hunters may consider using large ice chests to keep game meat cooland clean. Removing meat rom the bones alsohelps speed cooling.

When cutting up the elk carcass, huntersmust be sure to preserve the evidence o sex.I the head or antlers are removed, evidence o

sex in the orm o testicles, penis, scrotum, ud-der or vulva must remain naturally attached tothe carcass or parts thereo until it reaches the

nal place o storage or personal consumption,or a commercial meat processing acility. Ant-lers or horns removed rom the head must bele t naturally attached to the skull plate wheresize, point or brow-tine restrictions apply, andthey must accompany the carcass or partsthereo .

Hunters must have a val id 2010 Idaho hunt-ing license and tag in their possession, andthey are encouraged to review the 2010 BigGame Rules or additional details.

Most early elk hunts are green-field

By Tom ClaycombFor the Idaho Press-Tribune

Its crazy to go to all the expense and e orto getting to the point o getting a shot, andthen missing a trophy animal. Or worse yet,

wounding one because you didnt take time toproperly sight in your rife. Here are a ew tipsto help you sight in your rife.

Take a slip-on pad to put over your rife butt.

This will minimize the kick so you finch less. While on the subject, buy a good butt pad.Start o sighting in your rife at 25 yards to

make sure that it is on paper. Then go to 100 yards.

Take a shot. Lets say it is two inches low and three inches to the le t. Prop your rife up

rmly and re ocus it on the bullseye again. Turnthe scope knobs so it sights in on the originalbullet hole. Now, it should be on target.

Start o using cheaper ammo. When youhave it where you want it, go ahead and tune itup with your high dollar ammo that you will beusing while hunting.

I you plan on taking long shots, shoot your

rife at 50, 100, 200, 300 and 400 yards so youknow where it hits. Wear double ear protection. Not only

can shooting hurt your ears, it can make youfinch.

Make sighting in your rifle easy

By Tom ClaycombFor the Idaho Press-Tribune

Success ul people scout or game, but most hunters dontdo it. I you just moved here

rom the fatlands, you had toscout around at rst to nd

where to build a blind, but a -ter that the deer habits stayedpretty much the same. In Texas

or example, winter or summer they live and die in the samespot, maybe even living anddying within a one square milearea.

Nebraska/Kansas/South Dakota whether its 100degrees or -30, they live in thesame place (they do bunch uparound shelter belts in times o deep snows). It doesnt matter

where they go, its still 30 de-grees and 3- oot o snow. Thereis no escaping, its miserableeverywhere.

Out west though, as a whole, they summer up high and as bad weather moves inthey move down to lower el-evations ollowing their ood

source, moving literally 5, 10or even 20 or more miles whenbad weather moves in.

It usually takes hunting an

area a ew years to learn the lay o the land and how animalsmove. I discovered a draw thatcut through a bald mountain in

Wyoming. It turned out to be agood crossing or antelope. Youcould set there and drill your-sel an antelope every morningat 7:00 year a ter year.

Game has certain trails/ drainages they use as escaperoutes and to travel. Usually it makes sense a ter studyingthem. It just takes a ew yearsto learn these spots. Many times when spooked, deer willalways escape a certain way.This is good to know.

Ive got a spot in Idaho where Ive hunted elk or three years and eel like I really justlearned how the game movesthere last year. Im the worlds

worst about bouncing aroundrom spot to spot. When you

do this, though, you dont learnall the ins and outs o a certainarea.

You should always havemore than one spot lined upto hunt. I once hunted with a

guy that had scouted out anarea. We walked one drainagethat morning and it turned upthat was all he had lined out.

You cant put all your eggs inone basket. What i another hunter is there? What i wolveshave moved in and devastated

your area, as is happening with alarming regularity now in Ida-ho? What i there was a re?

Dont just keep poundingthe same deadbeat area. The

rst elk I ever got, I movedcamp three times be ore I gotinto them. I you set up campand theres no sign MOVE.Deer/elk cant fy. I you dontsee tracks, theyre not there!

Word o caution an area canbe dead today and game getspooked into it tomorrow.

Now the real question. Whohas a month o weekends to goscouting, even though we allknow that it is the proper thingto do? Thats the bad deal aboutliving in Idaho. Theres just toomuch to do. I have something

un going on every weekend. Years ago Ed Sweet and I

were out scouting or bears.The discussion turned to deer hunting and what a big deal itis in Pennsylvania and Texas.

Used to Pennsylvania shutdown schools opening day.Thats their hunt. Its the big-gest event o the year. They

scout and prepare or weeks inadvance.

In Idaho theres so much todo that many dont adequately scout, but still Im convincedthe guys that get big bulls year a ter year scout more than therest o us. The problem is, they thereby somewhat limit their other activities. Thats theproblem, I want to do it all.

Moral to the story every minute spent scouting is worth it. Scout all you can. Have morethan one spot lined up. The lon-ger you hunt an area, the better

you learn it. I you dont scout,

by the time you nd the game,its time to go back to work.

Scouting hintsGuys that get an elk year

a ter year set aside nine or 10days to hunt. Elk hunting istough.

Use your other outdoor ac-tivities as a chance to scout or game.

Realize that no matter how much you scout, things canchange. People there, houndhunters hit your bait or wolvesmoved in and scattered/killed

everything.Learn to look or evidence.

Tracks, eces, trails, wallows,scrapes and vegetation thathas been eaten all point to evi-dence o game, you just have tobe smart enough to read it.

Just because you nd a draw with the proper ood sourcedoesnt mean that they arethere. Lets take or instancebears. Many draws will haveberries in them. On a good

year they cant hit them all. You must nd one in which thebears are eeding currently.

Submitted photo

Scott McGann shot this nice turkey with his bow in the 2010 season here in Idaho.

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By Glen Bruderer Idaho Press-Tribune

June 2009 marked thebeginning o an adventurethat will be with me and my

amily orever. My daugh-ter Cheyanne turned 12in April and this was to beher rst year to ollow inmy shadows and enjoy thegreat sport o pursuing biggame. Why June you mightask? June is the time every

year when Idaho controlledhunt application are sentin. We decided to try our chances at drawing thetrophy deer tag in Unit 40. Ihave put in several times inthe past, but to no avai l. Weput in together as a buddy hunt, which i drawn, we

would both draw the much coveted tags.

When I checked onlineand saw that we drew, Iknew that this was going tobe a special year. The huntruns rom Nov. 1 through Nov. 24 and would be my

rst rut hunt or deer. My daughter had no idea whatshe was in or, but I wassure it would be no di er-ent than her rst huntingadventure chasing turkeysnear Grangeville. She willbe the rst to point out thather bird was bigger thanmine. Well, we will see.

November was here be-ore we knew it. I had taken

her out many times shoot-ing her rife in October. Ichose a .308 or her rstgun because it is a versatileand accurate caliber. Sheshot it well, but was ner-

vous as we drove through the sage brush in route tothe grounds we were goingto hunt. Her worst ear wasthat she would wound thedeer and not get a clean kill.I assured her that she hadput in the practice and allshe could do was her best.

On our way in, we saw a herd o elk. They werecool to see so ar out inthe desert. We under-an-ticipated the time it wouldtake to get there, and as wegot to the area we wanted

to hunt, it was well a ter daylight. I had told mysel that I WOULD NOT SHOOTuntil Cheyanne had shothers. As we rounded acorner there they were.Cheyanne and my buddy Dennis ran straight at themand I tried to fank them,and maybe cut them o andgive her a better chanceat them. There were twobucks in the group; a crab-claw our point and a 5+point monster. This buck

was pushing 35-inches. Asshe put her cross-hairs on itshe was just too shaky. Shehad a couple o chances,but wasnt com ortable with her shot. It was hard lettingthe buck go, but I was super proud o her or not takinga bad shot. Harder yet wasnot shooting it mysel andletting her hunt be donebe ore I pulled the trigger.

What a toad! We hunted a ew other

areas, but only saw smallbucks. Cheyanne ound two

orky sheds and thoughtthat was cool. We wentback to the truck and atelunch.

A ter eating, o we went in search o another group o deer. We weretalking about various plans

o attack when I spotted adoe on the hill to the le t.

We started making our way to the right in hopes o getting a better look at thehillside. As we made our

way, I saw another deer. Just then, they took o toour right. There were twobucks. A small orky anda main- rame three point.

As I asked Cheyanne i she wanted to take him, he turnstraight away and we both saw how wide he was. This

was de nitely a shooter. We made our way up to anold stump between us andthe deer. I saw the smaller buck pushing some doeso to our right. I told her that we should just sit hereand watch them. We couldnow see a doe at about150 yards. She ed her way toward a small group o trees directly in ront o us.I could see another doe andshe bedded down just tothe le t o the trees. I toldCheyanne that there wasno reason to pursue them,the buck would stay closei the doe was still in sight.I looked through her scopeand could see the widebuck just inside the trees.She pulled up and the buck pushed does out towards

us. Then he was gone. Iasked Cheyanne i the doe

was still there and she

responded, Yes, she is stillbedded down.

A ew minutes later Cheyanne exclaimed,There he is! I turned upthe magni cation on her

scope and clicked her sa ety o . I saw her nger beginto squeeze the trigger, ando he went chasing doesagain. I put her sa ety back on and turned down her scope. By now we had beensitting there or a good 30minutes. I was a wreck!I was in ull body shiversby now and Cheyannelaughed. Oh, there he is,she said with excitement.I asked i she was on himand again turned up themagni cation and poppedo her sa ety. Again I saw her nger start to squeezeand I told to remember to

be so t with the trigger.BOOM! I told her to cham-ber another one. She said he

was still there. I told her to

put another in him. BOOM!She chambered another andBOOM! The does were allstill standing there. I said

we just needed to wait asecond and watch. She saidshe was con dent in her shot. Just then I heard thedeer snort and wind us. O they went. I saw nothingo the buck going out theother side. I went downthe hill and got my gun and

we went up a ter him. As we approached the smallstand o trees we both wereteaming with anticipation.I looked through the brush and told Cheyanne to holdup. He was watching us.I pulled up and nishedhim o , but he was already done. When we approachedthe downed deer there

was de nitely no ground

shrinkage. It was a beauti ulanimal a wide 28-inch buck (o course, wider thanany I have shot).

First big game hunt sets the bar high

IPT file photo

Cheyanne Bruderer, 12, shot this beautiful buck while on a l ate-season hunt in Unit 40.

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