Spring bear 2019.
The black and tans first try at running bears. We ran them the last few weeks of June and they did really well! They didn't make every tree but they gave it their all and did well. Pheonix was able to harvest her second black bear, first one with hounds. It was a tough hike up the mountains to the lake to where the dogs treed it, then a tough pack out with it. Kyle and I didn't fill any tags that spring.
Fall 2019
Youth season and archery season are the same 9 days at the beginning of September. So last year I never had a chance to hunt with my bow because I was so focused on getting Pheonix her deer. This year I decided there wasnt any point to bringing out my bow because we would be hunting hard for Pheonix again. She then filled her 2 deer tags, one on opening day and the other the next day and still had 7 days left of archery/youth season lol. The first day we were hunting for whitetail. She was having a rough day, last year she struggled with buck fever and it looked to be the same this year. She missed a really nice 4x4 whitetail and was pretty down on herself. We came up to a clearing an hour before dark and out in the middle was standing a buck. I told her it was a buck and she wanted to see it. It was a 2x2. I was surprised when she said she wanted to take it, but Kyle helped her get set up and I watched in the binoculars. One shot and he dropped. She was so happy that she didnt have any issues this time. When we walked up to him she was a little disappointed at how small he was but we cheered her up reminding her that she had made an excellent shot and it was her first buck!
The next day we went hunting for Mule deer for her. We came up to a massive clearing and I spotted a few does and a small buck. so we snuck up to the edge and thats when we seen more down at the bottom of the clearing closer to the treeline. I backed off and stayed with Easton and her and Kyle snuck up to a better vantage point. They had seen a beautiful 4x4 but he had walked into the trees. They sat for about 30 mins watching the deer and finally she decided on the big 3x3. Again she struggled with a bit of buck fever and she shot, but it wasnt a fatal shot. So she reloaded quickly and waited til he stopped walking and took another shot. This time it was a good one. He died right at the treeline and then work started. It was all uphill back to the road. She was over the moon happy with her first mule deer.
The rest of the fall season I spent trying to get a deer or elk with my rifle. I didnt have a good season. I shot at a huge 5x5 whitetail and missed, and just didnt get the opportunity at another buck.
Winter 2019/2020
Cat season! The hounds were old enough now and Maverick was as well. So we had the 3 dogs to chase with. They did really well, treeing 11 cats during the season. Pheonix also got a cougar, her first one as well. A friend also gave us one of his Plott females, Cinder. Which rounded off our pack at 4.
Bear season 2020
Well this spring was a good one! I started it off with a bang by shooting my bear April 17th. A beautiful 6 foot boar and the hounds very first solo tree. Also my first bear taken under dogs. My 2 year dry spell finally came to an end. We ended up having a litter of puppies with Cinder and Maverick...was an opps. Cinder busted out of her kennel and spent the day with her boyfriend...insert facepalm here... 12 puppies during the hunting season is stressful. Unfortunately one died at birth and cinder suffocated another 2 weeks later. I was pretty crushed. But we now have a pack of 6, we kept 2 babies. My black female with brindle markings and the lightest brindle male, Raven and Todd. We are a very busy household of 9 dogs now. We ran 36 bears this spring and the dogs really came together and worked well together. Maverick really impressed us and is an excellent bear dog. No fear and is quick and agile. Natalie did really well as well. Cinder even got in on a couple runs at the very end of season and you could see she loved every minute of it...although I was worried she would catch her sagging teats on the blow down.
Fall 2020
Well Pheonix started this fall off with a good start, she managed to get a 3x4 whitetail. NO buck fever this year! I think she was more excited that she didnt have any issues. So she had a really nice 4x4 infront of her but he was really jumpy. It took her a little bit to get set up with the shooting sticks and as soon as she had her cross hairs on him he took off. But the 4x3 walked out and she got really excited and said Mom! Look theres another one. Im going to shoot him. She managed to get reset and took one shot. He dropped, got up and stumbled across the creek and died on shore. She was a trooper and crossed the creek, we got some photos and then she dragged it out across the creek and out to the road where Kyle came with the truck to load it.
To be continued....
