Hello Everybody, 

Lion and bobcat season just got wrapped up so I thought I'd drop you a line and get you up to date and let you know what's coming.

Seems like there was just a week or two of deer season left when I sent the last update, so I'll pick up there.  I shot a decent 4x4 and my last hunter shot a better 4x4.  So for the rifle hunt we had 100% success on deer this year.  I still have plenty of openings, both archery and rifle, for the coming fall.

We took 3 lion hunters to Montana for the first week of December.  We got 2 lions in the first 3 days and then it started raining.  We never were able to connect on that last lion but I think it was due more to the poor weather than a lack of lions.  This was the first year I've guided in Montana that success wasn't 100%.  I took 4 lion hunters here in Idaho and they took a total of 2 lions and 3 bobcats.  We hunted hard and generally had pretty good conditions but just had a very tough time locating lion tracks.  I'm very disappointed in the 50% success rate and it's prompted me to make a few changes.  I recently detailed the changes on the lion hunting page of my website and if you're interested you can read about it there, but basically I'm switching to a daily rate plus trophy fee system in Idaho.  The emphasis will be on running the dogs and having a good time and if we get a lion that will be a great bonus.  There are lots of bobcats here so we should get the opportunity to run the dogs nearly every day.  The pressure of selling a high-dollar lion hunt and then not being able to locate a track in 10 days was too much for me so hopefully this will be a better arrangement for everyone.  I'm planning to do more lion hunting in Montana where they manage for a higher population.  I'm in negotiations with an outfitter in the Swan (where I grew up and where my parents still live) to purchase his lion hunting business.  I will get a Montana Outfitting license and begin taking 2 or 3 lion hunters a year there.  I still have hunts available for next winter for either Montana or Idaho but there are quite a few interested people so if you want a hunt I'd recommend booking as soon as possible.

On a lighter note, my oldest boy, Jake, just turned 10 and after our last hunter departed we still had a few days of bobcat season left so I took him cat hunting for the first time.  The first bobcat ran into a hole in the rocks so we couldn't get it, but we found another track and after a one hour run the dogs treed it about 1/4 mile above the road.  We hiked in and Jake made a great shot with his old .22 rifle.  Jake was one cold, whipped pup by the time we got back to the truck.  I said, "So Jake, tomorrow is the last day of bobcat season, are you going with me?"  He said, "No, I think one bobcat is enough."  Ha-ha

Next up is bear hunting in May and I still have openings for baited or spot and stalk hunts.  We had a great hunt last spring and this year should be just as good.  Drop me a line if you'd be interested in one of those. 

If you're interested in applying for a moose tag up here the application period is April, which is coming up fast.  I'm keeping a list of people that want to apply and in April I'll contact those people with a reminder and information on what units to apply for.  If you'd like me to put you on the list just let me know.  If you want to book a deer hunt and apply for a moose tag, I'll gladly switch your hunt from deer to moose if you draw a tag.  That way you can at least count on some kind of hunt and you'll know that the $128.50 you have to spend on a hunting license just to apply for the moose tag won't be wasted. 

This summer I intend to start a hunting and outdoor skills school.  I'm tentatively planning to offer 2 1-week sessions, and a person could choose to attend one, the other or both sessions.  The first week will focus on outdoor skills, e.g. map reading, compass and gps use, orienteering, etc.  Its goal will be to equip a person with the skills to venture out into new territory with confidence that they can safely navigate to where they want to go and competently handle the situations that an outdoorsman often finds himself in.  The second week of the school will be all about big game hunting techniques and the basic biology of the primary big game animals.  It's obviously designed to make a person a more successful and knowledgeable hunter.  Both weeks will involve some time indoors and some time in the field.  I'd sure appreciate hearing from anyone that might be interested in something like this.  Your input can help me design a good course that has the information you're looking for.

Thanks for reading and if this has prompted any questions just let me know.  If you'd prefer not to receive any future newsletters just let me know that too and I'll get it taken care of.  I've got film being developed now with the last few hunts on it and will be adding those pictures to the photo gallery section of the website soon so please check it out if you're interested.

Sincerely,

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

Hello Everyone,

Hope you're all in the midst of a very successful fall.  Due to a lack of salesmanship skills I've found myself with no hunters this week, despite it being one of the best weeks of the whitetail season.  I'd be out there myself right now instead of writing this newsletter but a lot of wind and rain convinced me my time was better spent under a roof for the moment! 

I thought I'd take this opportunity to bring you all up to date with everything here.  As I mentioned in the first newsletter we purchased a new place with a bunkhouse that needed a lot of finishing.  Due to a larger load of forestry work than I'd planned I didn't get it completely finished, but it is completely liveable.  Right now it's got 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, and a small living area complete with heat, lights, shower, sink, toilet, beds, TV, microwave and insulated and sheet-rocked walls...the basic necessities.  What it doesn't have is mud, tape, texture or paint on the interior walls, interior doors (although I rigged up a temporary solution for the bathroom door), or totally carpeted and vinyled floors.  We've had 2 groups of hunters stay there so far and they both seemed very happy with the set-up.  In late winter or early spring I'll get back to work and hope to have it pretty well finished for the spring bear season. 

Unfortunately no mighty bucks crashed to the ground due to one of our arrows this fall, but we did have some excitement.  I really only had one regular archery hunter and he was looking for a 120+ buck.  He saw bucks that met his criteria each of the first 4 days of his hunt but wasn't able to get a shooting opportunity due to one or the other of the many Murphy's Laws of Bowhunting.  The last 2 nights of his hunt did not give him an opportunity for the buck he was looking for and he had to go home with an unfilled tag.  I allowed one of my guides to hunt from one of my stands one night and he missed what he described as "The biggest buck I've ever seen in my life" twice!  I told him to stick to guiding and let somebody else handle the shooting.  I also did a trade with a local friend and the first night he was in the stand he missed a decent 4x4 twice (sheesh, you can lead a horse to water....).  The next night he made a great shot on a small 3x3 and tagged his first archery deer.  I did some archery hunting myself and passed on a handful of bucks, including a couple in the 120 to 130 range, hoping for a really good one.  I never released an arrow but had a good time.  On one of the more memorable nights I took my sons Jake (8) and Kevin (4) with me.  We had 3 bucks come in through some thick stuff immediately behind us.  Two of the bucks appeared to be in the 140+ class.  They were within 20 yards of the stand for at least 10 minutes before they finally got nervous and left without giving me a shot.  It was one of those situations that demanded absolute silence and stillness.....a near impossible feat for an eight year old and a four year old.  It was exciting though and we'll all remember it for a long time.

I finally got my first moose hunting client this fall and we had a great time and learned a few things.  It's a long season that begins August 30th and goes until November 23rd.  I thought we'd be better off waiting for weather to cool, leaves to drop and rutting to begin but Larry (the moose hunter) felt like he should be there early in the season.  I didn't think it was a real big deal so we compromised by splitting a 10 day hunt into two five-day trips, the first in September, the second in late October.  During the September stint Larry passed on an average bull but we really had a hard time finding many moose.  He was visibly concerned at the apparent lack of moose here.  That all changed when he returned in October.  He ended up shooting a nice 37" bull on the third morning of his hunt (it was the 4th bull we saw that morning).  It's a good average bull for this area but I think we could have done considerably better if we'd skipped September and concentrated our efforts later in the season.  I've seen several more absolute giant bulls this fall.....one of which looked like he must have wandered down from Alaska!  I was looking at him through a spotting scope and he was facing straight away from me.  His antlers were over 3 times wider than his butt!

During the first week of November I had my first group of mule deer hunters in quite awhile.  I scare most mule deer hunters away with my descriptions of physically challenging hunting in difficult terrain, but these Virginia boys said that was just what they were looking for.  Some blizzardy conditions in the high country made the first couple days of hunting unproductive but when the weather improved so did the hunting.  All 4 hunters tagged a buck and a good time was had by all.  Although some bigger bucks were seen, none of them ended up on our meatpole.  That didn't seem to matter to this group, they were just happy to see the beautiful country they saw and shoot their first mule deer bucks.

I had my first 2 rifle whitetail hunters of the year the next week, a father and son from Michigan.  It was pre-rut, full moon, and deer activity was pretty slow.  These guys hung in there though, hunted hard, and were well rewarded.  Steve (the son) shot a very pretty 5x5 one morning and his dad Ed shot a big 4x6 that grosses around 150 that night.  As I mentioned, I don't have any hunters this week and I have only one hunter for next week.  If he or I manage to tip over a big one I'll let you know about it in the next newsletter.

I think that about fills in all the gaps between the last newsletter and now.  I didn't include any photos with this e-mail because I sympathize with those of you that have slow internet connections like myself.  But I have updated the website with photos of all the animals I've mentioned.  If you're interested in booking a hunt, spring bear, archery deer and rifle deer are all still fairly open for 2004.  My Idaho lion hunts are booked for 2004 and mostly booked for 2005 so you'll want to plan ahead if you're interested in that.  Montana lion hunts for December 2004 are still available.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me.  And if you'd rather not receive future mailings (probably a couple/year) just let me know and I'll remove you from the list.

Good Hunting,

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