Posted on: August 14th, 2011 Arizona Bruin
Jon Yokley and his Arizona Black Bear
Another congratulations goes out to Jon Yokley of Arizona. Jon escaped the heat of the August desert and climbed to the top of the White Moutain range in search of bears. His reward: this beautifully colored bruin. With long, frosted tips, this bear resembles the color of grizzly as much as it does a black bear. Below are Jon’s words in the e-mail he sent to me:
“This was my first Arizona Bear taken in the White Mountains @ 8200 ft. While everyone else is suffering from the summer heat we encountered highs in the low 70’s and our lows in the 40’s…monsoon rains almost everyday ( sometimes a few inches in one our!) The moist ground made it easier to hold the scent for my great friends unbelievable hounds. But it also made it very difficult when it did rain as it would wash all the scent away.
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Havalon Replaceble-blade Hunting Knife
There are many items of hunting gear I have labeled as perfect for me. My Hoyt bow, Swarovski binoculars and other such items have a permanent spot on my packing list before a hunt and I will probably never change them. However, one item in my pack I have changed more frequently than I do socks–my knife.
In the past 10 years, I have been through more than a dozen different manufactures and models to find the perfect hunting knife. Schrade, Buck, Kershaw, SOG, Gerber, you name the company. European blades, Japanese blades and American blades, all have spent time in my pack and all have found their way back out. For two seasons, I even carried around a folding, drywall knife from my construction belt. Don’t get me wrong, I have found some very good knives, but they haven’t been perfect; for me.
Now I don’t know what the perfect knife is, or else I would own it. However, I know what attributes I look for in a hunting blade. First of all, a sharp, durable, stout blade that holds an edge is a must. Next, I prefer blades that are not heavy or bulky. But I would sacrifice space and weight in my pack if the blade is worth it. Lastly, since I am lazy when it comes to knives, I like blades that are easy to sharpen.
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Solo Scouting Trip
This year I took advantage of the Fourth of July weekend and made a quick scouting trip to Northern California. After a seven hour drive, I arrived at the wilderness area trailhead. Since it was already dark, I slept there and took off before first light the next morning.
It took me around four hours to reach the main ridgeline about 8 miles and 2000 vertical feet above my vehicle. I know we had above average precipitation this year, but I was amazed how much snow there still littered the ground. I had a difficult time walking the trails because snow on the north-facing slopes was so deep. I found out after I got back that several of the trails in the area were closed.
The snow had thawed and frozen so many times that it made it impassible on some of the 50-degree slopes. I decided hiking the ridge tops would be the only way to get to the areas I wanted to scout. A couple miles later, I reached a spot where I had to turn around or cross an ice bank. I found the shortest, safest (or so I though) spot to cross and started chipping away footholds in the ice.
I needed to cross only 40 feet of ice to get back to the dirt and granite hillside. About half way across, my left foot slipped and a started sliding down the steep ice chute like it was a waterslide. The good news was the ice slope wasn’t very big. The bad news was below it was rock and dirt, which hurt a lot more. I slid about 50 feet before being able to dig my boots into the hillside and stop my momentum. Read the rest of this entry »
T3 from G5Outdoors
Open T3 from G5Outdoors
I guess I have now entered the 21st century of bowhunting since yesterday I shot an expandable broadhead for the first time. As promised, I took the new T3 heads from G5Outdoors for a test drive last night. And outside of being a little fiddle some (as all expandable heads are) to maintain shot after shot through a target, the heads are great.
Broadheads group right with my field points as they hurl perfectly toward the target. The spider clip system that holds the blades in place during flight is very innovative. However, after a few shots, the clips tend to bend or wear. So make sure to change the clips every dozen or so shots, or as needed, to ensure proper arrow flight.
Before my next shooting session, I will take my three target heads and superglue the blades in the closed position. My hope is to keep the blades from deploying and thus prevent the need to change clips as frequently. Just make sure if you do something like this to clearly mark the broadheads as practice so that you don’t take them into the field. It would be devastating to make a good shot on a buck and not have the blades deploy. Read the rest of this entry »
The new T3 from G5 Outdoors
These just arrived on my door step today–the new T3 broadheads for G5 Outdoors. I have been waiting for these heads for quite sometime and just two weeks before archery season starts, they are here.
The 100-grain, 1 1/2-inch cutting diameter 3-blades are one of the hottest new heads this year. G5 has been struggling to keep up with the demand being created by massive advertising and even more massive consumer demand.
I will be testing the heads over the next few days. Check back for more information in the days to follow.
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