Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire 2020 wasn't so bad

For some, this year has been a dumpster fire and I'm not here to salt any wounds. But for us, 2020 has been a great year, and in this season of giving thanks and counting blessings, I wanted to memorialize our year. This is probably going to take a while, but don't worry, there will be fish and game pictures and stories. Sit tight and I'll get it all in quickly.

Starting in January, before anyone cared about a pandemic, we took a cruise to Mexico with 3 other couples, none of whom I'd seen in 20 years. They were all old 4-H friends that I hadn't stayed in very good touch with and about two years ago we tried to put together a reunion with about 20 of us. No surprise, but only a few core folks decided to go, and I'm glad we stuck with the cruise idea, as it allowed everyone to pay their own bills, set their own budget within the constraints of a settled upon itinerary, and no one got stuck trying to collect on money owed. It was a great cruise and the booze package with the locator beacon (princess calls it the medallion) meant a bartender could bring you a drink anywhere. We only maxed out the package limit once on a sea day (had an awesome 4 sea days out of a 7 day cruise). Mazatlan is a dump by the way. And the craps table was very generous to us. Twice, the pit boss had to go back to the bank for more chips despite the crappy max odds. It more than paid for the other cruise expenses. Playing craps into the wee hours is no big deal when you only have a sea day the following day. And besides, it's just Mexico, we weren't going for sights, just the atmosphere and being amongst old friends. Thankful for a great time with old friends.







I wrote up a deal about running down and tasing an illegal and wanted felon that eluded my state trooper buddy and was gonna post pictures, but he still hasn't been deported yet, so I'll just say I'm thankful for a peaceful ending.



About a week after that incident, our 8 year old Golden Retriever died suddenly of a tumor on her heart that burst and filled her pericardium. She was a great dog, and a typical sweetheart, so gentle with the kids. I'm thankful for all the joy she brought to our life. So our next task was to replace her, and we wasted no time, finding what seemed like a great puppy 6 hours away. Otto has been such a blessing. He's the sweetest, gentlest, most joyful dog we've ever had, and that's saying something.








By April, we were back to fishing, taking the kids out on the canoe a couple times, including one camping trip with it since we had such a terrible drought and the mountains were already clear of snow.





For years we had threatened to buy a boat and the quarantine times gave us all the excuse we finally needed and pulled the trigger. Thankful for being debt free and able to indulge on occasion. This has been the best toy we've ever bought ourselves and our whole summer revolved around boating. We never missed a week on a boat between May and September, even if it was just an evening cruise at our local State Park 15 minutes down the road. The kids have loved it and Otto has found his calling in life as a boat dog.







Many more blessings to come

We also went boating on the Front Range, Nebraska and Yellowstone and are thankful for the generosity of our friends and family to host us on those trips. I caught my personal best walleye in Nebraska while night fishing. Surprisingly got checked by game wardens at 2am, and probably to their surprise there were no violations, and we caught a bunch of wipers. Hats off to them for being out there in the middle of the night.









Speaking of Yellowstone, that's the only time my family has chosen to see our kids this year, as they have been trying to minimize social interactions due to their risk factors. But we did get to do another reunion of sorts, with both my brothers and their spouses plus our parents all getting together for the first time in Yellowstone since my older brother was married there in 2011. I don't think my kids had ever seen them all in the same place before. Yellowstone was a big deal to us growing up, going there about every other year and sometimes consecutive years.










more to come

Good thread! Thanks for sharing.

We did take the canoe out one more time after buying the real boat, borrowing a cabin and the in laws got to come out for some civilized camping. Katie also had elk and deer licenses here so she got to spend a little time scouting.






Now, on to hunting season. We only really had one tag to get excited about, and that was my muzzleloader tag. I spent two overnighters in the unit on scouting trips, and the bulls were screaming all over the place on the second one in the backcountry. I only took three goats on that one and the elk barely noticed them. I went back to that same place two weeks later after a big snowstorm. We saw that the weather would warm up quickly, so we skipped the opener and headed up a day later with all 7 kids loaded down moderately for as much as ten days if needed. After passing up close to a dozen bulls, I got this one at 90 yards quartering towards with the .54 cal muzzleloader. Unfortunately it was a liver shot and I was alone when I shot him, so I couldn't tell which direction he ran when I fired and there was no blood trail. I didn't find him until the next day, but thankfully he was salvageable. It was a great hunt, we were in elk daily, even if they weren't screaming constantly like a few weeks prior. Even had numerous moose encounters at close range. The goats did great packing for us and even acted as decoys several times. The elk weren't universally concerned by them, and if laying down, the goats really allowed the elk to come in close. Thankful for a great hunting buddy and 7 cooperative goats.


















more to come...

Between my wife, myself and father in law, we only drew one antelope doe license this year. So, to make it worthwhile, we dragged the boat 7 hours out there, knowing that the hunt may be over quickly if I do my part. When weighing how to put some challenge into the hunt, I debated trying to get one with my FIL's .41 mag S&W or a T/C contender rechambered for .445 Supermag. Instead, I went with the challenge of letting my four year old tag along on the stalk. Thinking he would blow a few stalks, and we'd be able to spend all day hunting, I was wrong, and I got a doe on the first stalk. He was about 50 yards behind me with my wife, while Allison was in the truck. Kristofer said it was the loudest thing he ever heard in his life. Katie got my daughter out of the truck to come pose for photos and play with the antelope while we quartered her. After spending 30 minutes poking, prodding and petting the antelope and stumbling around the sage, she managed to fall in a little cactus just as we were loading up the quarters. So I got to hike a naked crying baby with cactus spines in her ass along with two quarters back to the truck.







We got to spend the rest of the weekend fishing and boating a new lake, catching several walleye and some good sized rainbows. Made for a beautiful place to camp with practically no one there at night.











more to come...

Thats a nice walleye and bull! Looks like the goats paid off. Sounds like you have great life..

Nice. From early Jun we spent about four months at our place on the foothills of the Cabinet's in north Idaho. Could not be at a better place at the time or, frankly, ever.

Katie finally got to hunt, but I couldn't help her until after the opener. She screwed up with elk at 60 yards by trying to chamber a round, feeling resistance, then backing the bolt and trying again, causing a double feed. While screwing with the gun, the elk heard it and took off. She had a bull in chip shot range but blew it. So when I saw her a few days later, she was still pretty down on herself, knowing you only get so many chances. While glassing up the area at dawn she said she was hearing bugles the night before, we found a lone elk about 900 yards away (either sex license, so as long as it wasn't a spike we would have been good). It was in an isolated pocket, surrounded by timber, so we quickly bailed off our ridge and hustled over there. We slowed down considerably as we approached, but were busted by two elk. Don’t know if the original lone elk was one of these or not, but there was no elk to be found in the park where we left it about 20-30 minutes prior.



A week later Katie was back in the same area, but a little lower, with a girlfriend and a deer tag. Once again, I couldn’t help her for the opener but was available later in the week. On opening day I randomly ran into her girlfriend’s husband and his mom unknowingly blew my wife’s secret of the deer she shot on opening morning. Apparently the girls climbed up a mesa, seeing lots of does. She glassed up what she thought may have been a buck back towards the road, and climbed back down, shooting him barely a 100 yards from the road at less than 100 yards with her 308. She was pretty tickled to have gotten the buck and packed it out with no boys involved but tried to sneak it home through my web of spies without me knowing. Thankful for my sneaky wife.



I then picked up a reissued deer license for one of our favorite deer spots. The season opened on Saturday and Wednesday I drove 4 hours to our spot. I had until Friday to get it done. I climbed a ridge, seeing hunter after hunter in each of my preferred draws. Dejected, I snuck down into the main draw, continually glassing with the waning light. Just after sunset, I realized there was a dark shape in the light grass watching me descend the ridge. I dropped down with my binos but couldn’t make out any antlers in the draw. Instinctively, I knew it was the body of a buck, but I couldn’t confirm until he turned his head and I could see the movement above his head through the brushy background above him. But as he moved, I lost my shot, and all of a sudden other does appeared at various distances between 50 and 100 yards. With the bad light, I frantically tried to sort out where my buck went. He knew something was up, but the does were content and he didn’t want to leave them. I couldn’t get a shot from the seated position with shooting sticks above some brush as I found him walking toward the cliffs with heavier timber. It was now or never time, and like the fatal flaw of all mule deer, he stopped and turned broadside at 150 yards. So I stood up and shot him offhand with 5 minutes of shooting light remaining. But now I had to find. I ran over there, setting my pack where I thought he was standing and began to circle and I instantly smelled buck. I found him about 20 yards further than where I thought, dropped in his tracks. 280 AI did the trick. 4 hour drive, 2 hour hunt. I got out with the first load way after dark. Spent the night at an AirBnB, and went back at it in the morning, finishing with two more loads. Thankful for a great spot and a little luck to get a better buck than my wife.



cuz I apparently didn't have any paracord this time to hang quarters overnight, still figured something out







With a day left of the season, I offered to help my father in law with his tag and got him into some deer that morning, but he wasn’t comfortable with the shot presented and was tired after 6 days of hunting, so he called it quits.



Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and here’s to another great year.

Excellent, sir!!!

Great post!

Wish my 2020 was half that good.

We've had our best year yet. Many changes - all for the better. It is what you make of it. Glad to hear you are doing well.

great post and congrats

Yes that looks like a pretty good year, but from where I sit it looks like it was good because you managed to do it with family...best way to go.

ya did good!!!! excellent. a family living life the way it should be lived.

Awesome EX, I'm very happy for you and your family. You are a blessed man. Lol, I see the boy didn't roll to far away from the trunk.........

You got a permit to have that much fun?????

Great pics.


Thanks for sharing.

great writeup.

sorry about the Golden. =/

That sure looks like a lot of fun! (I'd like to see a PFD on everyone)

Very well done and very well told. Thanks for sharing