Hello,

I'm afraid I'm becoming a pest with these newsletters.  Normally I send out just 3 or 4 a year but this is the third I've sent out in just the last couple months.  So please forgive me but there's some news I wanted to share.

A couple years ago I purchased the outfitting area adjacent to my original area.  At the time it was permitted only for cat hunting but immediately after I acquired it I began the paper process to have deer, elk, moose and bear added.  It was a long grueling slog through the halls of bureaucracy but I was just notified that all the t's have been crossed, the i's dotted, and I'm now free to harass all those other animals on my newly acquired area.  At the same time I had elk hunting added to my original area.  So in addition to having a lot more country in which to chase bears and whitetails, I'm finally ready to offer a few elk hunts.  I want to stress that these will be physically demanding hunts but for those that come prepared I expect good things.  The second and third weeks of September generally seem to be the prime time for a bugle archery hunt so to optimize our success I'm going to limit the archery hunts to those 2 weeks with no more than 2 hunters per week (unless you're part of a group of 3 or 4 that want to hunt the same week, we can accommodate that).  For rifle hunters, the first week of rifle season is generally best as the elk haven't been harassed and there is still some rut activity so I'll also take one group of hunters for that week (October 10th is the opening day).  The elk hunts will be $3500/person for a 6-day 2x1 hunt or $4500 for a 1x1 hunt.  The prices include meals, lodging, guiding, trophy preparation and airport pick-up and return from Spokane, WA but do not include 6% sales tax or your license and tag ($514 for nonresident rifle hunters, $532.25 for nonresident archery hunters).  We're looking forward to making our first year of elk hunting a successful one.

The other interesting news I wanted to share is that I've heard from Mossy Oak Productions and they would like to come video some hunts.  It seems like every Bubba with a camera has their own televised hunting show these days and I've heard from lots of them.  Without fail they want me to comp their hunter and camera crew a free hunt but I've never been interested in doing that.  It would disrupt the camp for the entire week and it sounded like more hassle than it was worth.  But Mossy Oak does things differently.  They just want to come film regular hunters/clients doing their thing and they take care of their own lodging and travel.  What they want to film is an early September archery whitetail hunt but at this time I don't have any hunters booked for that.  If that would interest you let me know.  In some ways it would be a pain having to drag a camera man around everywhere, but on the other hand it would be pretty neat to have a professional video of your hunt and maybe even be a TV star!  They also bring Mossy Oak clothes for the hunters they film.  Apparently they produce several different shows, including:

Mossy Oak's Hunting The Country
American Hunter
Mossy Oak Classics
Whistling Wings
Brownings The Best There Is

and the footage could be used on any of them.  Anyway, it's kind of a unique opportunity and I thought I'd let you know about it.  I would assume that the sooner we can let Mossy Oak know that we've got a hunt scheduled the better the odds that they'll fit us into their schedule.  I still have some good dates available for a rifle hunt in November and it sounded like that might be a possibility for Mossy Oak as well, although what they really want is the early season archery hunt. 

It's almost time to apply for moose tags again and there have been some massive changes to our moose seasons.  I'll be sending information out on that to those of you who have expressed interest in applying in a couple weeks.

Thanks for reading and just let me know if you have any questions.

Clint Gray
Buckshot Outfitting
208-267-3885
www.buckshotoutfitting.com

Howdy,

Another cat season has come and gone which is my signal to send out another newsletter.  The season really couldn't have gone any better.  I took one more lion hunter since the last newsletter and he also got a nice tom on the first day of his hunt.  It was an exciting hunt that started out with miserable conditions. 

WARNING: What follows is a detailed account of this hunt.  Buckshot Outfitting will not be held liable for any damages incurred by boredom inflicted by reading this story.  By continuing to read you are implicitly agreeing to hold Buckshot Outfitting harmless for any such damages.  To avoid any such problems we suggest skipping to the next paragraph.  We were in the midst of the dreaded freeze/thaw cycle in which daytime temperatures warm up above freezing making the snow heavy and wet, and low overnight temperatures freeze the slop into a solid block on which a cat won't leave a track.  So I was snowmobiling along looking for lion tracks and feeling very pessimistic about catching a lion until the weather changed when I noticed a set of old lion tracks, made when the snow was soft, frozen into the crud.  I got off the sled to investigate and noticed that the lion had actually gone both ways there which made me suspicious so I followed the tracks off the road and up the hill for a ways.  Soon I came to where the walking tracks suddenly began running and shortly after that there were drag marks and traces of blood going up the hill.  I followed these for another 50 yards and came to a mound of dirt and pine needles where the lion had covered his kill.  There were lots of old tracks coming and going and it was impossible to tell if he'd been there recently on the icy snow but based on the amount of deer left and the fact that it was still covered I guessed that he probably had been there sometime during the night.  We brought the dogs into the kill and they picked up a line and began trailing away although it was tough going on the crusted snow where the lion left no mark of his passing.  The cat had zig-zagged up the mountain and every time he changed directions the dogs would get hung up while they circled around trying to relocate the track.  These delays made it possible for me to follow along without getting too far behind.  Finally around mid-day the dogs suddenly took off making much better time and sounding very excited and I could see that the lion was now sinking into the softened snow.  About that time I looked up and saw the lion running down the hill directly at me!  He had apparently made a hairpin turn up above and the dogs hadn't reached the turnaround yet and were still heading up the hill.  For a few seconds it appeared the lion was going to run right over top of me, possibly using my face as a launching pad, but at the last minute he swerved and ran past me.  I watched him run another 75 yards and then he climbed a tree!  Soon the dogs came by me, located the tree and began barking treed.  Jon and his wife Kerry made the steep climb to the tree and Jon collected his trophy.  It's always especially rewarding when we have successful hunts under tough conditions like these.  I've added pictures to page 13 of the web site's photo gallery of this lion.  I also caught an unusual bobcat which had white toes on its hind feet and there are pictures of that too. 

Our success was 100% on nice tom lions this year and I hope to see that trend continue.  I still have good dates open for next winter but to assure a spot they should be booked soon.  Spring bear season is just around the corner and that's booked full, still good dates available for 2008 though. 

Normally the last 2 weeks of November are the prime time to take a trophy whitetail buck and those were booked solid for the coming fall but I recently had a cancellation so the last week of November is available again.  I really don't expect that to last long so please let me know if you're interested.  We had a spectacular deer season last fall and I'm really looking forward to the '07 season.  In addition to all our usual stomping grounds I'll have a large block of additional hunting territory by the coming fall.

For those of you who haven't keeled over in a boredom-induced coma by now, thanks for reading.  If you have that kind of stamina I hope to see you on a hunt soon! 

Clint Gray
Buckshot Outfitting
208-267-3885
www.buckshotoutfitting.com

Hello,

I hope the winter is treating you all well.  I've been hearing a lot of whining about when will it ever be spring, but I'm pretty darn happy right where we're at!  We've had some good cat hunting conditions and it appears that's going to continue.  I've taken 2 lion hunters and they each took nice males plus a bobcat each.  I've also had several bobcat hunts that have ended successfully.  There are still 3 good weeks of lion/bobcat hunting left (until 2/15) and I don't have any hunters scheduled so if you're getting cabin fever and fall seems much too far away a cat hunt might be the perfect cure.  Price details are on my website, you can choose the daily rate/trophy fee hunt or the guaranteed hunt.  This would be a good time to take me up on the guaranteed hunt because if we aren't able to find the lion you're looking for this winter your 2007 license and tag would still be valid for December so we could reschedule at no extra charge to try again then. 

Speaking of spring, it's not too far off and I've just had a cancellation for one week of the bear season.  Date of arrival is 5/12 and departure is 5/19.  The baiting season ends on 5/15 so this hunt could be a baited hunt for the first 3 days, spot and stalk the rest, or we could spot and stalk the whole week, it would be up to you.  There are 2 spots available for that week.

The best rifle deer hunting dates are going quickly but I do still have some prime spots open.  Definitely something you'd want to talk to me about soon if you're interested.  The new food plot archery hunts are open for September as well.  By fall I'll have a large chunk of new ground available for deer hunting that has never seen outfitted clients.

Moose applications will be due in April.  If we've already discussed that and I've added you to the e-mail "interested moose applicants" list then you'll be hearing from me then, but if you're interested and we haven't discussed it before then drop me a line and I'll get you on the list.  The Fish and Game is proposing a fairly radical change to the current moose season and if it goes through it will make choices on where and when to apply much more complicated...but I'll go into that in more detail when the time comes.

I've added the pictures from this season's cat hunts to page 12 of the Photo Gallery section of the website if you'd like to take a look.  Thanks for reading and just let me know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Clint Gray
Buckshot Outfitting
208-267-3885
www.buckshotoutfitting.com

Hello,

It's time to throw your name in the hat for an Idaho moose tag.  There have been some big changes to the antlered moose seasons up here and it will make the application process interesting.  In the past you've only had to choose which area you wanted to apply for and if you were lucky enough to draw a tag then you had a long 11-week season to hunt.  That was much too simple and now they've created six separate 2-week long seasons for each of the units so you now must choose the unit and the 2-week time frame you want. 

Despite being more complicated, this new system may actually prove beneficial for you as you're probably planning on concentrating all of your hunting in one week or so anyway.  They've only made this change in the 5 northernmost moose hunting Areas (4 of which are on my outfitting territory) and they've left most of the rest of the state basically unchanged.  Some resident applicants that have historically applied for tags up here may shift their application to other areas where they have the long season.  Fish and Game is anticipating lower success rates with these shorter seasons so they've increased the number of tags by about 20%.  I'm hoping both of these factors will contribute to higher drawing odds.  Right now it's impossible to predict how the drawing odds will fall out among the different areas and time periods, but I think it's possible with the six-fold increase in hunts that there may be some hunts with fewer first-choice applicants than tags which means that for the first time you may actually have a chance of getting your second-choice.

Again, we need to decide on both area and time frame for your application.  I'll discuss the areas first.  My outfitting territory has all or parts of areas 1-1, 1-2, 1-4, and 2.  I'd eliminate Area 2 first because it has fewer moose and has historically had tougher draw odds.  If for some reason you just want to hunt there (you live there or have a cabin there for example) then go ahead and apply there but otherwise I'd consider one of the other 3.  This will be the first year I can guide moose hunters in 1-4.  It's part of the additional outfitting territory I purchased a couple years ago but the paperwork has just recently been pushed through to allow me to do more than just lion hunt there.  All three of these units are excellent areas and have historically had similar draw odds.  1-2 is the most convenient to hunt from my base, 1-4 is next closest and 1-1 is the farthest, taking 45 minutes to an hour to access from here.  1-1 is a bigger unit and consequently has more tags.  Just take your pick and if you can pull a tag we'll have a good hunt.

With regards to the season dates, I'd definitely avoid the earliest season, 9/1-9/14, for a couple reasons: 1) It's a terrible time to hunt moose.  Warm weather, thick brush, and little or no rut activity, and 2) I'm hoping that a fair number of applicants will be misled into applying for this hunt just because it is first and they think there will be some advantage to being the first ones out there.  My first choice for season dates would be 11/1-11/14 followed closely by 10/15-10/28.  During those times most leaves are off the brush and there's the possibility of snow on the ground, both of which vastly improve our ability to spot moose.  There will still be some rutting activity during the last 2 weeks of October and the odds of snow are better during the first 2 weeks of November so these factors almost balance each other out, although I'd personally take snow over the rut.  That leaves the 10/1-10/14 season and the 11/15-11/28 seasons.  The first 2 weeks of October are good rut dates so I would recommend them to anyone dedicated to using a bow to take their moose, but for the rifle hunter I'd still suggest one of the later seasons.  The last 2 weeks of November will definitely have snow but I hesitate to suggest it for 2 reasons: 1) That's my busiest time of the year  with all the whitetail hunters, and 2) I think it may be a pretty popular choice which may make drawing odds tough.  Having said all this about which time to choose, if your schedule will only permit a certain time frame that conflicts with my advice, go ahead and apply and if you get a tag we'll make it work.

On the application you'll fill in a first-choice and a second choice.  You can either choose two different time frames in the same unit or two different units during the same time frame.  Here's the list of hunts you have to choose from that are on my outfitting territory:

                                    Antlered Bull Hunts

 

Hunt No.                  Hunt Area                       Permits                  Season Dates

 

3001                                     1-1                                     14                                     Sep 1-Sep 14

3002                                     1-1                                     14                                     Sep 15-Sep 28

3003                                     1-1                                     14                                     Oct 1-Oct 14

3004                                     1-1                                     14                                     Oct 15-Oct 28

3005                                     1-1                                     14                                     Nov 1-Nov 14

3006                                     1-1                                     14                                     Nov 15-Nov 28

3007                                     1-2                                     6                                    Sep 1-Sep 14

3008                                     1-2                                    6                                     Sep 15-Sep 28

3009                                     1-2                                     6                                     Oct 1-Oct 14

3010                                     1-2                                     6                                     Oct 15-Oct 28

3011                                     1-2                                     6                                     Nov 1-Nov 14

3012                                     1-2                                     6                                     Nov 15-Nov 28

3019                                     1-4                                     8                                     Sep 1-Sep 14

3020                                     1-4                                     8                                     Sep 15-Sep 28

3021                                     1-4                                     8                                     Oct 1-Oct 14

3022                                     1-4                                     8                                     Oct 15-Oct 28

3023                                     1-4                                     8                                     Nov 1-Nov 14

3024                                     1-4                                     8                                     Nov 15-Nov 28

3025                                     2                                     4                                     Sep 1-Sep 14

3026                                     2                                     4                                     Sep 15-Sep 28

3027                                     2                                     4                                     Oct 1-Oct 14

3028                                     2                                     4                                     Oct 15-Oct 28

3029                                     2                                     4                                     Nov 1-Nov 14

3030                                     2                                     4                                     Nov 15-Nov 28

If the columns of this list are jumbled up you might try widening the screen of this e-mail and if that doesn't work just let me know and I can e-mail you a Microsoft Word version.

Now, for those of you interested in a cow moose hunt, things are a whole lot simpler.  You can choose Area 1-1 or Area 2.  I'd suggest 1-1 because odds of drawing a tag have been a little higher there.  If you pull a cow tag you'll have a 5 week season, 10/15-11/23, in which to schedule your hunt.  Here's that info: 

                        Antlerless Hunts

 

Hunt No.            Hunt Area            Permits            Season Dates

 

3126                                     1-1                                     20                                     Oct 15-Nov 23

3127                                     2                                     20                                     Oct 15-Nov 23

 

As far as the mechanics of applying for a tag go, you must first purchase an Idaho hunting license and then you can apply for the tag.  The following link will take you to a page with the application worksheet as well as links to purchase the hunting license: 

http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/apps/ch/apply.cfm  The application deadline is April 30th.  Results of the draw will be out by at least June 10th, and usually it's considerably earlier than that. 

Let me know if you have any questions and Good Luck! 

Clint Gray
Buckshot Outfitting
208-267-3885
www.buckshotoutfitting.com