1. sports
2. hunting and shooting

APRIL-MAY 2015
BACKCOUNTRY
IDAHO
THE MAGAZINE FOR OUTDOOR ENTHUSIASTS
IN THIS ISSUE:
GOTTA GET A BIKE!
STUCK N THE RUT
LONG VS. IDFG
JOHN BARSNESS
WHERE NOT TO FISH
PLUS MUCH MORE!
IDAHO IS CALLING, YOUR NEW CAREER AWAITS...
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For more information about Idaho Forest Group, please visit www.idfg.com or call:
HUMAN RESOURCES
(208) 762-2911
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APRIL/MAY 2015
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LACLEDE/CHILCO MAIN
(208) 263-7574
FORESTRY
(208) 772-6033
CONTENTS
9 GEAR REVIEW
We test the Danner Gila boot.
BY LUKE JOHNSON
11 GUNS: THE .30-06
Does the .30-06 stand the test of
time? BY JOHN BARSNESS
14 OFF THE BEATEN PATH
Tag along with the Stuck N The
Rut crew. BY TANA GRENDA
16 LONG VS. IDFG
One hunter’s journey down the
hard road. BY BEN LYNCH
20 GOTTA GET A BIKE
A great way to travel the backcountry. BY KELLY LYNCH
22 TWO HUNTS RUINED
BY ROBIN MATHIS
24 FISHING PRIEST RIVER
BY MIKE WRIGHT
31 THE BACK PAGE
Is it really the more the merrier?
BY JERRY ADAMIETZ
32 ANATOMY OF A BIKE
Tips for buying your first mountain bike. BY KELLY LYNCH
THIS PAGE: Many dream it. Few actually do it. Luke Johnson enjoying a backcountry archery hunt. (Luke Johnson photo)
COVER: Stuck N The Rut’s Trevor Schneider with his 2014 archery bull. (Stuck N The Rut photo)
Priest
River
WELCOME IDAHO SPORTSMEN!
Seth Callos
MEMBER
FINANCIAL ADVISOR
119 Main Street, Suite 202
Priest River, ID 83856
(208) 448-0461
www.edwardjones.com
Bonners
Ferry
Kevin Callos
FINANCIAL ADVISOR
CALL US TODAY
to find out how we
can help you plan
for your future!
6797 Eisenhower Street
Bonners Ferry, ID 83805
(208) 267-5664
www.edwardjones.com
backcountry idaho
i 3
CONTRIBUTORS III APRIL/MAY 2015
is a well known
gun writer and his articles are regularly found in GUNS, Sports Afield
(where he is the hunting editor),
Rifle, Handloader and American
Rifleman. He lives in Montana with
his wife Eileen. You can find out
more about John and enjoy more of
his musings on guns and hunting at
www.riflesandrecipes.com.
JOHN BARSNESS
STAFF
KELLY LYNCH Publisher & Editor
JERRY ADAMIETZ Senior Writer
BEN LYNCH Senior Writer
CONTACT
kelly@backcountryidaho.com
208.597.1601
TANA GRENDA is the only girl in
the Schneider clan and was raised
in the mountains, hunting with her
brothers from a young age. She has
a degree in Air Traffic Control, a
pilot’s license and a float plane rating. She loves nothing more than
exploring the backcountry and
pursuing big game with her family
and her husband, Adam.
Backcountry
is
printed
bi-monthly. New issues come
out the 1st of February, April,
June, August, October and December and can be found at
many locations in North Idaho
and the Spokane Valley. E-mail
us for a distribution list.
SUBSCRIPTIONS: PLEASE SEE
SUBSCRIPTION FORM IN THIS
PAPER OR GO TO WWW.BACKCOUNTRYIDAHO.COM TO USE A
CREDIT CARD OR PAYPAL.
SUBMISSIONS: To submit a story or get information about our
guidelines, please e-mail kelly@
backcountryidaho.com or mail
to: Backcountry, PO Box 1523,
Priest River, ID 83856. We welcome the submissions of quality
stories and photographs.
ADVERTISERS: For ad rates
and sizes or a copy of our media guide, please see www.
backcountryidaho.com,
call
208.597.1601 or e-mail kelly@
backcountryidaho.com.
We
strive to make your business or
organization look good.
was born and
raised in the Northwest and has a
deep love for the outdoors, especially the Selkirk Mountains. An
avid bowhunter, photographer
and freelance writer, Luke also
works for Lone Wolf Distributors,
a North Idaho-based company that
manufactures components for the
Glock line of pistols.
LUKE JOHNSON
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Lynch
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APRIL/MAY 2015
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.
(509) 447-3788 1871 Green Rd (Diamond Lake Area) Newport, WA
Serving the Area for Over 40 Years 100% Guaranteed Service
THE DIRT
A few things you did (and
didn’t) want to know
about this magazine.
BY KELLY LYNCH
phoToS cLockWISE FRoM BoTToM LEFT: LUkE JohNSoN; TANA GRENDA; JohN BARSNESS; kELLY LYNch
If someone asked me to describe this
magazine, I would probably answer
with a few words like “fledgling” (an organization that is inexperienced or underdeveloped), “shoestring” (something
produced on a small or inadequate budget) or maybe even “doomed.” (I tend
to be a little pessimistic about things!)
While the above words aren’t flattering,
I think they are honest.
However, because you’re reading this
magazine, I’m guessing you somewhat
enjoy it. And, because people tend to
have an interest in the things they enjoy and wonder how they operate, I’m
going to share a few “insider” secrets
about Backcountry Idaho with you, sort
of like the dirt you might get in People
or one of the other pointless periodicals
in that popular genre.
The editor with his wife and four of
their five kids. The one in front on the
three-wheeled bike is a firecracker!
THE EDITOR & PUBLISHER
Here’s a little dirt on the editor of this
magazine. He’s actually a dump truck
driving, shovel operating construction
worker who had, before this, zero experience in the publishing business. Ever
notice those annoying little spelling errors in this paper? He’s to blame. His
me. Not again! I think to myself. But, at
the eleventh hour, when the stress is really getting to me, I’ll slip it in, sure nobody except my family and close friends
will know it’s me on the cover. Again.
(Note to anyone who has a photo that
they think might be a good cover shot; it
has to be very high resolution, typically
not something shot with a phone.)
THE COVER SHOTS
If you were acquainted with me and
knew what I looked like in person, you’d 208-448-1231
DESIREE JACHETTA
Your Local Agent
probably recognize that I’m on the cov11 HIGHWAY 57
PRIEST RIVER, ID 83856
er of this magazine about every other is-djachetta@farmersagent.com
sue, usually with my ugly mug looking
Desiree Jachetta
away from the camera. Now, before you
Your Local Agent
start thinking I’m conceited, I’ll tell you
the real reason. Typically, it goes a little
(208) 448-1231
something like this. I’m panicking at the
djachetta@farmersagent.com
last minute (about two days before I go
to print) for a cover shot. I start scrollnew location!
ing through all my old photos, seeing if
5871 HWY 2
I have something that might remotely
Priest River, ID
work. All of a sudden I’ll feel a sense
of relief as I come across a picture that
Jachetta
just might do. But then my hopes are
Agency
dashed as I realize that it is a picture of
CONTINUED on next page
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i 5
dad, who writes the book reviews, often
tells him (and rightly so) that he might
try editing a little better before the paper goes to print. And he means to, he
really does. But it’s hard to edit a magazine from the driver’s seat of a dump
truck. That wouldn’t go over too well
with the DOT...
In all seriousness, Backcountry Idaho is
a small magazine with a smaller budget
published by an inexperienced publisher. But my hope is that this is a magazine that people in North Idaho are
proud of and that it portrays our rural,
outdoors-oriented lifestyle in an honest,
positive way.
If you like Backcountry Idaho and what
it stands for, there are a few things you
can do.
First, send us a story. People are often intimidated about putting their
thoughts down on paper, but I’m going
to tell you a little secret; I like editing
people’s stories for them and, believe it
or not, the story you write will probably
be a lot better than you think. It doesn’t
have to be about the bruiser buck you
shot; it can be about anything outdoors.
And, if you have a good picture to go
with it, that’s just the icing on the cake.
Don’t worry about how long it is. Short
is good. (Stories can be e-mailed to kelly@backcountryidaho.com or mailed to
Backcountry, PO Box 1523, Priest River,
ID 83856.)
Second, subscribe. For $24 a year, we’ll
mail each issue right to your door. Subscriptions are extremely helpful because
it provides a revenue source that helps
grow the paper. It’s also convenient for
you because it’s easy to miss a paper that
comes out every other month. (You’ll
find more information about how to
subscribe on page 28.)
Third, send us some pictures of your
outdoor adventures; hunting, hiking
or whatever else you do outdoors. I’m
hoping in the future to publish a page
with readers photos. Send yours to kelly@backcountryidaho.com.
Finally, if you own a business that might
benefit from being seen in these pages,
advertise. New this issue we have a
business card page, and for $80 an issue
your ad will be seen in 6,000 copies of a
magazine that gets read, front to back.
Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy
this issue of Backcountry Idaho. When
you’ve finished, pass it on to a friend.
We’ll see you in the mountains - Kelly
Lynch
EMPLOYERS
THE COST OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION
It is not uncommon for improper claim adjustment to cause
employers to have to pay thousands of extra dollars in premiums. Many adjusters are under-qualified and overworked. Employers should not assume that their adjuster is acting in their
best interest. If you do not know, you should know.
I have extensive experience representing insurance companies
and employers in workers’ compensation matters. A confidential
consultation will reveal whether your adjuster is the cause of your
high, or increasing, premiums. Starr Kelso
Kelso Law Office
6 i
APRIL/MAY 2015
. (208) 765-3260
i www.backcountryidaho.com
79
NUMBER OF WOLVES
harvested by pandhandle
trappers and hunters so
far during the 2014/2015
season. Throughout Idaho, 225 wolves have been
harvested this season.
Hopefully keeping these
predators in check will be
good for Idaho’s deer and
elk populations.
BOOK REVIEW
The National Audubon
Society Field Guide to
Birds: Western Region
By Ben Lynch
CONTRIBUTOR
phoToS FRoM LEFT; STock phoTo; kELLY LYNch
the tropics, flying thousands of miles
south every winter. They must spend
most of their lives in the air! And the
birds in the pine tree? None other
than what’s become my favorite – the
good old Stellar’s Jay, a shy cousin to
the Gray Jay. (commonly known as the
Camp Robber, Canada Jay or Whiskey
Jack.) And how did I learn about all
these birds? Easy, I bought a book, the
National Audubon Society Field Guide to
Birds, Western Region.
Why this particular book? It has the
best pictures (real photographs) of any
bird book I’ve seen. A lot of books
have paintings or drawings – which
doesn’t work for me. Second, it’s got a
great format: the first half of the book
is nothing but photographs (676 to be
exact) broken down in groups by shared
characteristics (i.e., duck-like birds,
upland ground birds, hawk-like birds,
USDA INSPECTED FACILITY
Then there’s the time I was starting a
campfire and noticed five or six Blue
Jay-looking birds messing around in a
nearby pine tree. Only instead of being
blue and white, they were bright blue
and smoky gray. Over time it started to
dawn on me that North Idaho is full of
interesting birds. Soon I was spotting
“new” birds everywhere I looked. It
turns out the bird sharing my deer
hunting spot is a Belted Kingfisher. It
ranges from Alaska down through
southern Canada and south throughout
most of the U.S. It eats fish, that’s why
it’s often seen perched on a limb over
a river or lake. The ‘parakeet’ on the
porch was indeed a Western Tanager, a
bird ranging from southern Alaska to
WOW! I think that’s a purple goldcrown marshy finch house wren!
tree-clinging birds, perching birds, etc).
The second half precisely describes
each bird. Finally, the book is small
enough to fit in a coat pocket; rarely
do I go on a hike anymore without
my “bird book.” Have you ever seen a
Common Merganser, Mountain Quail,
Osprey, Northern “Gilded Flicker”, Redbreasted Nuthatch, Cedar Waxwing,
Mountain Bluebird, Pine Grosbeak, or
Black-capped Chickadee? These are
some of the birds I’ve identified in the
Priest Lake area.
Bird watching can be a lot of fun and
a great reason for getting out. Plus,
now I’m the one who gets to say, “You
idiot, that’s not a parakeet, it’s a Western
Tanager.” I bought my bird book at
Barnes and Noble for $18. I later found
a used one in perfect shape on eBay for
$8, including shipping.
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F
ried chicken is really good; turkey
is a must on Thanksgiving; and
someday I’ll shoot a grouse on the
fly. That’s about all I used to know, or
care, about birds. I remember the first
birds that really caught my interest.
During deer season I always sit under a
tree next to a stream. A small, funny
looking bird flies up and down this
stream early in the morning and late
in the evening. It always lands in the
same bush and sits there looking at the
water. It’s been going on for years - to
the point I worry if he doesn’t show up.
Another time I was sitting on the cabin
porch when a bright yellow bird with a
fluorescent red head and black wings
landed on the railing. I remember
thinking, Somebody’s parakeet got out of
its cage. I bet it won’t last two days out
here. Later I mentioned it to a friend.
His response was, “You idiot, that’s not a
parakeet, it’s a Western Tanager.”
i 7
TIPS AND NEWS
NEWCOMER
ESTABLISHES ITSELF
IN NORTHERN IDAHO
143,000
Number of resident deer tags
sold annually in Idaho
If you’re a fan of YouTube, check out the
great video by well known outdoorsman
Randy Newberg about the gutless method of butchering a deer. (Search “Randy
Newberg gutless method” and it should
be the first video that shows up.) He
makes it look easy, but for those of us
who like to hunt the backcountry, it’s an
important skill to learn.
Walleye, a staple of the
Midwestern United States,
have not historically been
a part of the northern
Idaho landscape. However,
Lake Pend Oreille is now
home to a growing walleye
population. Walleye were
illegally introduced into
the Clark Fork River,
upstream in Montana. They
gradually worked their way
downstream into Idaho and were detected in Lake Pend Oreille and the Pend Oreille
River around 2005. Although occasionally caught by anglers, substantive catches of
walleye weren’t evident until 2010. The IDFG completed walleye surveys in 2011
and 2014 that showed walleye are expanding. Catches show walleye abundance
has nearly doubled in the three years between surveys. In Lake Pend Oreille and
the Pend Oreille River, that means walleye may reduce the number of fish of other
species that anglers like to catch. They may also pose problems for some of the
native fish in the system, such as cutthroat and bull trout. Like them or not, walleye
are a permanent part of the north Idaho landscape. SOURCE: IDFG
builds
THINKING ABOUT HUNTING IDAHO THIS YEAR?
Remember, if you were born on or after January 1, 1975 (unless you’ve held
a hunting license from Idaho or another
state) you are required to take hunters’
education before purchasing a license.
If you plan on hunting this fall, you’d
better get a move on. Find upcoming
classes at www.fishandgame.idaho.gov.
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APRIL/MAY 2015
i www.backcountryidaho.com
POLE BUILDINGS!
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Are you a
RIFLE LOONY?
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(
If you are, make this your
next stop on the internet!
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Eileen Clarke & John Barsness
For $8 a year, subscribe to the online
magazine Rifle Loony News, the best in
hunting, shooting and game care with
John Barsness (a regular contributor
to Sports Afield, GUNS and American
Rifleman) and Eileen Clarke (author
of Slice of the Wild and Sausage Season). Plus you’ll find all their books on
guns, optics and preparing wild game.
You can also order their books by calling
(406) 521-0273
Watch our hunts online!
GEAR REVIEW
THE DANNER GILA By Luke Johnson
I
have been on the hunt for a lighter
weight boot to wear during the early
season and may have just found
the solution: the new Danner Gila. I’ve
always been a Danner fan, but until
recently their designs were limited and
didn’t offer anything along these lines.
Last year I decided I needed a
lightweight and nimble boot that was
a bit “cooler” on the feet. Most full
grain leather boots, regardless of being
uninsulated or not, bake my feet during
the warmer months. On the other hand,
I’ve always shied away from boots with
mesh or “synthetic” uppers, wondering
if they had enough support for technical
terrain and could withstand the abuse of
their full-leather counterparts.
phoToS FRoM LEFT: STock phoTo; LUkE JohNSoN
Another caveat of mine that boot
manufacturers often have a hard time
overcoming is a shank/midsole design
that’s stiff enough to handle technical
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THE MAGAZINE
FOR HUNTERS,
ANGLERS AND
OTHER OUTDOOR
ENTHUSIASTS
Last year while looking for something
lighter weight I picked up a pair of Lowa
Khumbu II GTX boots. The Khumbu
II’s are a great boot; light and nimble
with an awesome outsole. My only
complaint was that they beat my feet on
flat terrain and when tackling steep and
technical terrain. This led me back to my
CONTINUED on next page
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www.stuckntherut.com
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terrain while still comfortable when
worn on milder terrain; too often it’s one
or the other. Thankfully, Danner nailed
it with their Dynamic Response System. I
have one other pair of Danners utilizing
this platform (Mountain Assault
GTX) and I have to say, it’s a very odd
sensation! On one hand, you have a stiff
shank that you can definitely feel while
walking on flat surfaces and yet you can
also feel what seems like a cushion of
air that runs from the heel through the
forefoot.
Front
PMS 294 - 110
PMS 432 - 156
Send us a photo of a good day you had in the great outdoors. If we print yours, we’ll put you in a drawing for
an official Backcountry t-shirt. (One shirt will be given away each issue) E-mail your photo to kelly@backcountryidaho.com along with your name, where the
picture was taken and a few sentences about the picture.
backcountry idaho
i 9
GEAR REVIEW
heavier and less nimble Kenetrek
Mountain Extreme boots when the
going got rough, which ultimately led
me to the Danner Gila.
When the UPS driver showed up with
my Gilas I immediately tore the box
open and ended up wearing them all day
at work. (Even though they didn’t match
what I was wearing!) I finished the day
with a two mile hike carrying a 50+ pound
pack. These boots are one of the few I’ve
tried that are instantly comfortable. I
quickly noticed they seem to possess a
bit more padding than my Khumbu II’s.
I also noticed that Thinsulate insulation
is listed in their specs. My guess is that
since the uppers are largely comprised of
highly breathable mesh, the Thinsulate
is used not only for a more comfortable
fit throughout the upper, but to keep a
buffer between the outside surface and
your feet. Otherwise, your feet would be
freezing during those cold, September
mornings.
I also noticed a nice bit of air flow as
I walked, which keeps your feet at an
even temperature. This feature will
pay dividends during August scouting
missions and well into September when
“
the temperatures remain warm during
the day.
There is a rubber rand that encapsulates
the foremost portion of the toe and
wraps around to almost the mid point
of the midsole. A full-wrap rubber rand
is always nice, but will of course add to
the overall weight of the boot. There is
just enough coverage in the correct areas
that they should suffice with staving off
harsh abrasions met out by merciless,
alpine granite.
One feature that seems novel is the way
the eyelets are configured. They utilize
a hook of sorts that covers the backside
of the lace and keeps them inside the
confines of the eyelet. I can see several
benefits to this, but mainly the speed
and ease of the lacing process. These
boots are ideal for the “fast and light”
crowd; someone who wants a lightweight “trail shoe” but needs the stability
a boot provides.
To find out more about Luke, you can
also follow his blog “Watching The Back
Trail” at www.watchyourbacktrail.
wordpress.com.
On one hand, you have a stiff shank that you can
definitely feel while walking on flat surfaces and yet
you can also feel what seems like a cushion of air that
runs from the heel through the forefoot.”
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APRIL/MAY 2015
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GEAR
Danner Gila
MSRP
$180
RECOMMENDED FOR
Early to mid-season excursions with different
types of terrain
DRAWBACKS
Feet may become damp
quicker compared to a
full leather boot
RATING
ADVENTURES
WITH THE
.30-06
Once considered the
all-around big game
cartridge, does the .3006 stand the test of time?
By John Barsness
The author with a caribou taken at
430 yards. The rifle is a New Ultra
Light Arms .30-06.
I
n some ways the modern attitude
toward the .30-06 parallels the
history of the “sporting” magazines
of the past half century. Back in 1960
the .30-06 was still considered the most
useful, all-around big game cartridge,
and this notion was usually endorsed by
the few magazines that regularly covered
hunting and shooting.
There were several reasons for this
unanimity. First, one of the ways “gun
writing” varies from modern journalism
is that being young, glib and trendy
aren’t necessary qualifications, as they
phoToS FRoM LEFT: LUkE JohNSoN; JohN BARSNESS
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are when writing about Tuscan cuisine,
the drug addictions/sex lives of movie
stars and Oprah’s most recent weight
loss. Instead, the majority of gun writing
is done by semi-geezers whose writing
style might be called “local want ad.”
This is because it takes time to gain
experience with a variety of rifles.
Many gun writers of 1960 were products
of the Great Depression, when there
wasn’t a lot of variety in ammunition and
a new rifle often cost a month’s wages.
Consequently few hunters were looking
for a safe full of centerfire rifles (Who
owned a gun safe?), each absolutely
perfect for some particular use from
coyotes to moose.
The same was true of sporting
magazines: There weren’t very many,
but they were versatile. Field & Stream,
Outdoor Life and Sports Afield covered
everything the avid sportsman needed
to know, including canoeing, fly tying,
Dutch oven cooking, quail dogs, bass
lures and deer rifles, once in a while
throwing in a story about a really
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“
The second reaction has come from
guides and professional hunters,
who have almost universally been
enthusiastic. This isn’t totally due
to the virtues of the .30-06 itself,
but from having noticed over the
years that clients who bring .30-06’s
don’t believe in the magic of wildcat
cartridges, magic bullets or the
word “magnum.” Instead they tend
to believe in putting the bullet in the
right place, and if you do that with
a .30-06 then there will be meat on
the ground and heads on the wall.”
exotic trip to Wyoming for pronghorns
or elk. Some rifle loonies read Guns &
Ammo or Guns, both only a few years
old, though many got by with an annual
purchase of Gun Digest. There wasn’t
any Handloader, American Handgunner
or Varmint Hunter--or any internet,
where shooters could argue about which
6.5mm round had the correct shoulder
angle and call each other names.
This was also long before 378 premium
bullets existed for every particular
range, animal and angle. Some guy from
a tiny Oregon town was making bullets
called Nosler Partitions, but they cost
an awful lot of money and had to be
handloaded. You could go down to the
hardware store and buy a couple boxes
of Remington ammo for less than the
price of 50 of those fancy bullets.
Consequently the major factors in
bullet performance were still weight
and velocity. This was where the .3006 usually won the argument, because
a hunter could easily find factory
ammo loaded with 110, 125, 150, 180
and 220-grain bullets. The 110’s and
125’s were listed at 3370 and 3200 fps,
and though the ammo companies
recommended them for varmints a
12 i
APRIL/MAY 2015
lot of people used them on smaller
big game animals. The 150-grain load
had an advertised velocity of 2970 fps,
considered ideal for pronghorns and
mule deer out West. The 180-grain bullet
at 2700 fps was the all-around load,
fine for medium-sized big game such
as grizzlies and elk, while still not too
much for deer. The 220-grain roundnose
bullet at 2410 fps was often used for
woods hunting, even on game as small
as deer, but generally it was looked on as
a load for really big game like moose or
brown bears.
This selection of loads actually did
a reasonable job, partly because the
muzzle velocities of each load worked
pretty well with conventional bullets.
The real (not advertised) muzzle velocity
of the 150-grain load was often around
2800 fps, even in 24” barrels, just about
the ideal muzzle velocity for hunting
deer-sized game. I know this because the Speer bullet
company tested a bunch of factory
ammunition on their chronograph
and published it in their 6th reloading
manual in 1964. The only 150-grain load
that reached that advertised 2970 was
Remington’s, beating it by 10 fps. The
i www.backcountryidaho.com
Winchester load got 2808 fps, and the
Federal 2849. The Remington load was
probably their Core-Lokt, about as close
to a controlled-expansion bullet as could
be found in common ammo back then.
These days the jackets of spitzer CoreLokts are much thinner, about like any
other conventional bullet, but back then
the jackets were much thicker, which
probably helped at the higher velocity of
the Remington ammo.
A very good 150-grain handload for
the .30-06 is around 50 grains of either
kind of 4895. The powder we call
IMR4895 was designed for use with the
152-grain military load for the Garand.
It gets around 2800 fps in 22-24” barrels,
recoils pretty mildly, and normally
shoots accurately. It’s just about ideal
for all-around deer hunting, with fine
performance from any 150-grain bullet.
The 180-grain loads back then came
pretty close to the advertised 2700 fps.
Winchester’s lagged a little, at around
2600, but the Remington and Federal
loads were spot-on. This is just about
ideal for larger game with conventional
bullets, and in fact many hunters in
Montana still believe in conventional
180-grain .30-06 loads for elk.
Unfortunately, Speer didn’t chronograph
any 220-grain loads, but no doubt they
did get close to the advertised 2410.
This is actually a moderate load with
modern powders (Nosler’s manual lists
one load at 2602 fps) but again is about
ideal for conventional bullets used on
really big game. Even in today’s Africa,
where premium bullets cost a LOT more
than they do here, many hunters prefer
conventional bullets at no more than
2400 fps for shooting big game at closer
ranges in typical thornbush cover.
In the 1950’s a New York advertising
executive named Grancel Fitz became
the first hunter to take all legal species
of North American big game, and with
a .30-06. He used a Remington Model
30 rifle, essentially a “sporterized”
version of the 1917 Enfield, customstocked by Griffin & Howe. He also
used factory loads, mostly with 150and 180-grain bullets, but for some
specialized purposes he also used 110and 220-grain loads.
The 110’s were used on pronghorn and
Coues deer with fine results, yet many
modern hunters think that using ultralight bullets from big game rifles was
only made possible by the invention of
the Barnes Triple-Shock. The 220’s made
one-shot kills on brown bear and walrus,
both big record-book animals (Fitz was
a big wheel in Boone and Crockett),
something not usually considered
possible by today’s more specialized
hunters, who prefer much more gun for
brown bear, even if they’ve never seen
one.
I will note that Phil Shoemaker, the
Alaskan Master Guide who’s been taking
clients after some of the biggest bears in
the state for decades, is happy to guide
anybody carrying a .30-06, especially if
loaded with 220-grain Nosler Partitions.
Phil does a lot of bullet testing, sometimes
on “media” as large as dead whales, and
has found the 220 Partition penetrates
deeper than any other .30-caliber bullet.
By the time I took my first big game
animal with the .30-06, a whitetail buck
taken not long before my 25th birthday,
I’d already used the .243, .270, .30-30
and .308 Winchesters to take around 30
big game animals. The .30-06 seemed
sort of common, but I’d picked up a wellused Remington Model 760 pump from
an acquaintance for $60, a good price
even in 1977. It seemed like it would
be the ideal rifle for the kind of deer
hunting frequently done in northeastern
Montana, where I was living at the time;
jumping deer out of brushy coulees and
shooting them on the run.
This particular buck, an average 4x4,
jumped at about 100 yards from some
wild rosebushes and headed uphill
toward the head of the draw. The first
bullet missed. (He was bounding
through brush with high leaps and the
bullet went just over his back.) Shucking
in a new round, I aimed again as he left
the brush. I put the crosshairs on the
edge of his chest and pulled the trigger,
seeing the deer stagger sideways as it
went over the ridge.
The deer died a few yards after topping
the ridge, and was lying in the open
bunchgrass. The bullet had entered
the short ribs and ended up in the
far shoulder. It was a 165-grain Speer
Hot-Cor, and looked like a magazine
advertisement, retaining 85% of
its weight, something else that isn’t
supposed to happen with “ordinary”
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backcountry idaho
i 13
STUCK N THE RUT
off the
BEATEN
PATH
Trevor Schneider’s
2014 Archery Bull.
By Tana Grenda
O
ccasionally one finds themself
miles from civilization in
nasty terrain—weighed down
by the worry of never locating a single
animal heartbeat on the mountain. The
Schneider Stuck N the Rut brothers,
Travis and his youngest brother Trevor,
found themselves facing this situation
during the 2014 archery elk season.
Two months earlier, Trevor lay in a
hospital bed, recovering from a neardeath collision between his motorcycle
and a moose. However, as Travis and
Trevor chased bulls that didn’t seem to
exist on the first day of archery season,
gratitude filled them for the opportunity
to be together in the mountains after
Trevor’s brush with death.
“
They abandoned the pickup two hours
prior to first light, hoping to enter prime
elk territory by dawn. With relentless
rainfall and dense fog blocking the sun,
they trudged through drizzled brush and
thickets of alders, their gear absorbing
the rain with each step. They traversed
rugged terrain for miles in deteriorating
14 i
APRIL/MAY 2015
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Eventually,
after reaching
a somewhat
open area, they
perched their
sodden bodies
on a cliff to
bugle once more.
Immediately the
sweet sound of
an elk pierced
the rain. A lone
bull was moving
toward them.”
weather conditions without finding elk
sign and were prepared to finish the day
empty handed.
At dawn Travis had let out a couple
sporadic bugles, but unfortunately,
the thick fog muffled the sound. They
were miles from the pickup, soaked
head to toe and bugling, so it seemed,
only to themselves; it seemed unlikely
they’d find a bull. They continued on,
however, side-hilling through thick
alders. Eventually, after reaching a
somewhat open area, they perched their
sodden bodies on a cliff to bugle once
more. Immediately the sweet sound of
an elk pierced the rain. A lone bull was
moving toward them.
They had to act rapidly. Travis and
Trevor snuck below the cliff to set up
for a close, archery-range shot, Trevor
posting himself behind a rock with bow
in hand. Travis, the designated caller,
remained 50 yards behind in hopes of
directing the bull to Trevor. Five minutes
passed from the bull’s first bugle and as
the sounds of crashing brush neared,
“
He’d guessed
right and his
heart thumped
at the sight of
elk fur. The bull’s
head emerged
from behind a
tree along with
the light tips of
antlers. Though
the fog hampered
visibility, Trevor
determined it
was a shooter.”
Trevor knew the bull was coming fast;
he kept his eyes on where he felt the bull
would appear.
phoTo: coURTESY oF STUck N ThE RUT
He’d guessed right and his heart thumped
at the sight of elk hair. The bull’s head
emerged from behind a tree along with
the light tips of antlers. Though the fog
hampered visibility, Trevor determined
it was a shooter. He quickly drew back as
the bull stepped into his small shooting
window and, without hesitation,
released; his arrow pierced 35 yards of
air before disappearing into the majestic
target. The bull bolted.
Though confident with his shot, Trevor
did not see the arrow’s flight. He and
Travis decided to give the bull time to
die rather than push him. With extreme
patience, they waited, giving them
ample time to build a fire to dry their
sopping wet gear.
The rain persisted and so did the
heavy fog, but high hopes remained
for finding the bull. Two hours passed
and they began to track the elk. They
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immediately found good blood, but
not much of it. Trevor stumbled upon
the bloodied arrow, which had fallen
out as the elk pushed his way through
the dense brush. They tracked the
blood trail for another 150 yards and
discovered a small tree with blood
splattered along its trunk, which the
bull visibly leaned against to support it’s
injured frame. With the decent blood
they had high hopes they’d quickly find
the bull, but decided to wait for another
half hour just to be safe. At last, Trevor
glanced beyond the brush and saw his
bull. They were both excited as they
approached Trevor’s respectable archery
elk, far wider and bigger than expected.
They quickly celebrated while realizing
an extensive pack lay ahead.
Dividing the meat into four game
bags, they devised a plan, for they
could not complete this pack in one
day. Instead, they transported part of
the meat halfway to a secure location,
returned to the kill, and packed the rest
to the pickup as dusk hit. The following
morning, Travis and Trevor retrieved
the remaining meat and horns.
Travis later explained their approach
to tracking the bull. “Every approach
to archery hunting is different. We had
plenty of patience, gave this bull two
hours, and sneaked in as quietly as we
could. In this circumstance, with very
little blood, if we didn’t have patience
and pushed the bull, there’s a good
chance we wouldn’t have found him.”
The Schneider brothers are among the
few hunters who go beyond comfortable
conditions in their pursuit of big game
with DIY public land hunts. When you
hunt this way, the length of the hike, the
distance of the shot, or the size of the
animal are the least important factors.
Sometimes. It’s all about the remarkable
adventure and discovering what lies just
past a hunter’s limits.
A video of this hunt can be found online
at www.stuckntherut.com.
backcountry idaho
i 15
Long vs. IDFG
November 24th, 2007 was looking good.
Michael Long and his partner were on the
road early, headed for a familiar hunting spot
northeast of Coeur d’Alene. Michael was
thoroughly familiar with the country roads
leading to their planned hunting area because
he’d traveled them at least three times a week
for more than 10 years before retiring from
his AT&T fiber optics technician job. North
Idaho had been his assigned service area
and over the years he’d met and worked with
many local landowners and construction
companies. It was familiar territory, miles
and miles of interwoven private and public
property. By 7:30 AM the two hunters were
well on their way. BY BEN LYNCH
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APRIL/MAY 2015
i www.backcountryidaho.com
backcountry idaho
i 17
Long vs. IDFG
M
ichael and his hunting
partner had seen several
deer but all were on
posted land or in places
that, because of nearby
houses, couldn’t guarantee a safe
shooting lane. No matter, they had
the day’s hunting spot already picked
out and they’d be there soon enough.
As they drove along, his partner, who
was driving, suddenly slowed the truck
and said, “Hey, there’s a buck up that
hillside.” He pulled to the side of the
road and Michael got out for a better
look. Sure enough, one of the largest
whitetail bucks he had ever seen was up
there looking down the hill. Michael
grabbed his .300 Weatherby and crossed
the road; the land wasn’t fenced and he’d
never seen “No Trespassing” signs on
this stretch of road.
After climbing about ten yards up a
game trail he again sighted the buck,
still standing like a statue. Michael
remembers wondering, Hey, is this one
of those fake deer the game department
sets up to catch guys shooting from
the road? Not this time, this deer was
definitely real. Michael’s first shot was
good. The deer ran about twenty yards
further uphill before a second shot
finished the job. Since his field dressing
tools were back at the truck he decided
to drag the deer down the hill before
gutting it out.
Back at the road Michael saw someone
talking to his partner.
The guy
immediately came over to Michael and
started asking questions. He wasn’t
wearing an identifiable uniform, he
didn’t present any identification, and
there was no vehicle parked where
Michael could see it. After several
questions, Michael had enough so he
asked the guy, “Who are you and why all
the questions?” He identified himself as
an Idaho Fish and Game Conservation
Officer. He advised Michael he’d killed
the deer on posted private property, a
18 i
APRIL/MAY 2015
“
Back at the road Michael saw someone talking
to his partner. The guy immediately came
over to Michael and started asking questions.
He wasn’t wearing an identifiable uniform, he
didn’t present any identification, and there was
no vehicle parked where Michael could see it.”
violation of Idaho hunting laws.
Michael was caught totally off guard all he knew about trespassing law was
that he’d never intentionally trespassed
on anyone’s land. His initial reaction
was a combination of embarrassment
and anger at himself for breaking the
law. Then it hit him – the land wasn’t
fenced and he hadn’t seen any signs.
How could he be breaking the law if the
land wasn’t even posted? When he told
the officer he hadn’t seen any signs he
said, “I’ll show you the signs.”
The first one was a small sign on the
ground next to a tree root, not visible
unless you were standing at a perfect
angle. The second one was a ways
further up the road, about forty yards
up a draw and forty feet up in a tree –
visible only if you were coming from
the opposite direction, and even then
you’d have to be lucky to see it. When
Michael questioned the signs’ locations
the officer’s response was, “Looks
legally posted to me.” Michael admits
he was upset; it appeared the officers’
only interest was declaring a hunting
violation. When Michael continued to
question his supposed guilt, the officer
ended the conversation and radioed
another officer. A few minutes later
another officer drove up in an IDFG
truck. End of discussion. Michael was
told to dress out the deer and put it in
the back of their truck. No citation
was issued; the two officers simply left
with the deer. That evening one of the
officers showed up at Michael’s home
i www.backcountryidaho.com
in Post Falls and issued him a ticket for
trespass and illegal harvesting of game.
A lousy ending to a lousy day.
The next morning, remembering that
neither his hunting partner nor he had
seen any “no trespassing” signs and still
not sure of what he should do, Michael
drove back to where he’d shot the
buck to look at the signs again. Upon
returning home, he asked another
friend, a certified IDFG hunting
instructor, to return to the site with his
video camera and video the roadway
along the property. A few days later
they did just that, giving him visual
documentation of the property and
showing where and how the signs were
placed. He later found out the land in
question was a 180-acre parcel posted
with a total of three signs; the two the
IDFG officers had shown him and one
more about 1,000’ back up the road.
By the time Michael Long was
scheduled to go to court on February
5, 2008, he was sure the law was on
his side. Michael believed that if the
IDFG officers objectively evaluated the
situation they would have realized he
wasn’t lying when he said he hadn’t seen
any “no hunting” signs; the two weren’t
readily visible. Second, and more
importantly, the land in question wasn’t
posted as required by law - thereby
trespass law didn’t apply.
So, how was Michael Long’s day in court?
Well, it wasn’t a day; it was six incredibly
long, frustrating and very expensive
years! Here’s how Michael describes his
phoToS: pREVIoUS SpREAD kELLY LYNch; ThIS pAGE coURTESY oF MIchAEL LoNG
ordeal. First, the IDFG seized his buck.
Then he got his ticket. Then he got a
letter from the Kootenai County court
system notifying him of the date of his
first court appearance (which he chose
to attend without an attorney) at which
time he would enter his plea. Outside
the courtroom, prior to this first hearing,
he met somebody from the prosecutor’s
office who offered to “Cut him a deal.”
The “deal” was he would plead guilty
and get off with a $1000 fine and one
year forfeiture of all Idaho hunting and
fishing privileges. At that point Michael
had two options; plead guilty and accept
whatever punishment the judge decided
to hand out, or plead innocent and take
his chances in court. When he read the
Idaho trespass law (both the fish and
game regulation and Idaho state statute)
it was obvious to him that the land
wasn’t legally posted – not by any stretch
of the imagination. The law is written
to protect both the landowner and the
public. If the landowner follows the law
he can be confident law-abiding citizens
won’t trespass. Correspondingly, if land
is properly posted it’s readily apparent
to law-abiding citizens the land is off
limits, so they won’t trespass. Michael
had never, and would never, knowingly
trespass on private property. If the land
had been properly posted he would
have accepted his fate, even if he hadn’t
seen the signs. But then again, if the
land was properly posted there’s no way
he would have missed the signs. He
wouldn’t have left the truck, he wouldn’t
have taken the shot at the deer and he
wouldn’t have been issued a citation.
“
Michael Long on a different hunt that
ended on a happier note.
No deal – Michael went in and pled not
guilty. Next step was another day in
court, this time for a pre-trial hearing.
At this hearing, still without a lawyer,
Michael got the chance to try to convince
the deputy prosecuting attorney to drop
the charges. She was not the least bit
impressed with his side of the story. So
now a jury trial would be scheduled.
Then there were delays. A friend
suggested Michael hire a lawyer, which
he did. The court system sorted out a
trial date. Michael’s lawyer petitioned
to have the charges dropped; his efforts
fell on deaf ears. Finally on July 16, 2008
the case went to a full jury trial. It lasted
10 ½ hours. Following a full day of
testimony and legal arguments, the jury
instructions were discussed by the judge
and the lawyers. At that time the judge
told the prosecutor that the evidence
Then it hit him – the land wasn’t fenced and he
hadn’t seen any signs. How could he be breaking
the law if the land wasn’t even posted? When
he told the officer he hadn’t seen any signs he
replied, “I’ll show you the signs.”
did not meet the requirements of the
law for trespass and, without a trespass,
the charge of possessing an unlawfully
taken deer had no basis. He asked
Michael’s lawyer if he would entertain
a motion to dismiss the case. Michael’s
lawyer was hesitant, because he was sure
the jury saw no basis for charges, but
did so. The judge dismissed the charges
against Michael. Michael was overcome
by a huge sense of relief and vindication.
Not only was he innocent, the case had
no legal basis and the judge threw it out
of court!
His jubilation was short lived. The court
system allows a set period of time for
the losing party to appeal the magistrate
judge’s decision. At the last possible
moment the prosecuting attorney filed
an appeal. More waiting while the
wheels of justice slowly ground forward.
Finally, almost a year later on June 22,
2009, the appeal hearing took place
before a district court judge in Coeur
d’Alene. At the end of the hearing the
appeals judge upheld the dismissal of
charges. Michael was elated, but once
again his relief didn’t last long. Two
LONG cont. on page 30
backcountry idaho
i 19
T
he bicycle is probably the most
underrated form of transportation you’ll ever find in the
backcountry. In a world filled
with jeeps, ATVs, UTVs and
pickups, the bicycle may just be the perfect tool for the outdoorsman or woman. (Other than boot leather, of course!)
NEXT
WHY THIS IS YOUR
PIECE OF HUNTING GEAR
By Kelly Lynch
Mountain
MOUNTAIN
Bike
BIKE RACE
Race
WOODRAT 25’er
priestlakerace.com
20 i
APRIL/MAY 2015
i www.backcountryidaho.com
JUNE
June66
25 mile
25 MILE
OR 12
12COURSE
mile
MILE
Awards,
Prizes,FUN
&
AWARDS,
Fun
AND PRIZES
I stumbled onto mountain bikes the year
I graduated from high school. My older
brother had purchased an aluminumframed Research Dynamics mountain
bike with front suspension; to me, the
bike just oozed coolness. When I set off
for northern Minnesota upon graduation, one of the first things I bought
with my hard-earned laborer’s paycheck
was a purple Gary Fisher Tassahara. (I
wasn’t super-fond of the color, but the
price was right.) And while it didn’t get
much use that summer in Minnesota,
upon my return to the northwest in the
fall, I embarked upon riding it into the
ground, literally.
In the twenty years since I purchased
that first mountain bike, I’ve been somewhat of a pedaling fool. I quickly took
up racing and spent a few years tramping around the northwest to different
events. When I went to college, I’d often
bike from the Spokane Valley to downtown, then hop an STA bus for the journey to Cheney. But my favorite way to
use a bicycle is exploring the backcountry; North Idaho seems to have endless country to explore. Whether it be
forest service logging roads or rugged
singletrack that hugs the shores of Upper Priest Lake, there is nothing quite
like the silence of pedaling through the
mountains.
A mountain bike is also a great scouting and hunting tool. Those gates you
find in the woods with signs forbidding
entry by motorized vehicles don’t apply
to bicycles. It’s a great feeling being able
to pedal into an area that is off limits to
anyone who doesn’t like the idea of getting out of their rig. And you can cover
a surprising amount of country on a bicycle, as long as the route you are traveling doesn’t get too steep.
If you’re interesting in trying mountain
biking and are absolutely new to the
sport, hopefully the following tips will
get you excited to give it a try and improve your chances for success.
GET A GOOD BIKE
Notice I didn’t say expensive. However, I also wouldn’t recommend you
head over to WalMart or Target, either.
If you’re going to spend $200 on a new
bike, you might as well just put a match
to the money. (Or, go ahead and send it
my way.) You’re going to end up with a
pile of junk that just the sight of makes
you want to vomit; not only will it be really hard to ride uphill, it won’t be pretty
on the downhills, either.
If you’re buying a new bike and you plan
on riding a lot, you need to spend at least
$800 (you can spend less if you’ll be an
occassional rider). This will get you a
solid bike that will ride nice, come with
quality parts and last a long time. Now,
obviously, you could drop way more
than that on a bike, and you may end up
doing just that if you get into the sport.
But if you’re just starting out, an $800
bike will be great. If you don’t want to
buy new, Craigslist can be a good bet,
but if you’re not very knowledgable
about bikes I’d highly recommend buying new from a shop. I’ve gotten a few
Bicycles are a great way to get beyond
the gates on public land.
used bikes off Craigslist for a good price,
but I knew what I was looking for.
YOU DON’T NEED EVERYTHING
Full suspension bikes look cool and are
great if your goal is to shred gnarly terrain with lots of rocks and roots; I’ve
owned a few in my day. However, if you
just plan on riding old logging roads, a
hardtail with front suspension will be
more than adequate and cost less. (In
fact, it’s what I ride). Don’t let someone
talk you into fancy features that will only
drain your wallet. If you’re going to ride
rugged terrain or spend lots of time on
trails, buy the full suspension bike. If
your going to ride logging roads, don’t.
BE REASONABLE
I’ve gotten excited about a new activity
before and set unreasonable expectations for myself. (Teaching myself to
play guitar is the first thing that comes
to mind.) If you’re new to biking, don’t
expect that you’re going to go for 20 mile
rides right off the bat. Find a short loop
and ride it a few times to get your legs
and lungs in shape. And, I’ll be honest,
your first few rides may feel like misery, but then suddenly everything will
click and you’ll be loving life. Oh, and I
should bring up the seat issue. You don’t
need to buy a big, cushy old man’s seat
for your bike. Give the seat that comes
with your bike a chance; you’ll soon find
that it’s actually quite comfortable.
USE IT
Whether you’re scouting a new hunting
area, bikepacking in for a hunt or just
enjoying spinning along an old logging
road for exercise, get out and use your
bike. If you buy a bike and it only becomes one more thing to clutter your garage, you just wasted your money. (Unless of course you sell it to me for pennies
on the dollar!) If you give it a chance,
you’ll be exploring country you’ve never
seen before while at the same time getting in the best shape of your life.
phoToS: kELLY LYNch
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backcountry idaho
i 21
TWO HUNTS RUINED BY
M
SUCCESS!
By Robin Mathis
y wife Cheryl and I are hunting
partners. Cheryl hunts as hard or
harder than I do and we often hunt
a few hours every morning during
general elk season before heading
home and opening our individual businesses.
After elk season we turn our attention to deer
hunting in Unit 3, but mostly on weekends.
On the weekend of November 13th of 2010,
Cheryl had to go to a leather trade show to
represent the company she worked for and to
possibly buy some leather for her own business,
Barbedwire Leather. I would be hunting alone.
On Saturday I went to our hunting spot, more
on a scouting mission than hunting, but I
wouldn’t hesitate to drop a nice buck. I sat in
each of our ground blinds for awhile, only seeing
a little fork horn cross a small meadow. After
awhile I decided to look around for signs of the
impending rut. I found several rubs and scrapes
along the edges where the meadows meet the
forest. A positive sign! I followed a trail for some
time before happening onto another hunter that
I know. We decided we would go back the way
we came so as not to interfere with the other’s
hunt.
22 i
APRIL/MAY 2015
i www.backcountryidaho.com
When I got within 100 yards of a meadow I sat
down with my back to a tree, watching an open
shooting lane. It was a cloudy day and the end
of this shooting lane was fairly dark, but I could
see daylight on the light brown meadow grass
between the distant evergreen trees.
After settling in, I pulled a Primo’s call out of my
pocket and tipped it a couple of times. About 10
minutes later I did it again, watching and listening
intently. I had glanced behind my position and
was just looking back to the shooting lane when
I saw something cut the daylight at the end of
the lane but couldn’t tell what it was as it went
quickly out of sight.
A minute later I caught movement to my left at
40 yards. It was a white-tailed buck walking along
through the brush. When I looked through my
scope all I could see was brush and movement
due to the fact that I had cranked the scope up
to about 9x while I was watching the fork horn
earlier that morning. I quickly turned it down to
3x but the buck had already disappeared from
view. When Cheryl returned home I told her
about the buck and that I figured he was at least
a 4x4. That gave both of us a little excitement
knowing that there was a shooter in our area.
Sunday morning, November 21st, we
arrived at our spot before daylight eager
to get to our blinds. I asked Cheryl which
blind she preferred and she quickly
answered, “I’ll take the one closest to
where you saw that buck!” On our way
from the road to the blinds I decided
that I would walk up the draw between
the two blinds and still-hunt up the old
road turned trail where I had seen some
scrapes. When we got to the creek (the
North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River)
we crossed and then went our separate
ways, Cheryl heading to the blind and
me creeping along at shooting light.
“
entered this opening, I pulled the trigger
and here he is!”
As I looked him over I saw that he was
a really good 5x5. Not a monster but
probably a solid 140” rack. The part that
really impressed me, however, was the
size of the body; it was huge! I’m not a
good judge of deer weight, but I know he
weighed over 200 pounds. It took both
of us working together two hours to get
him to the truck; instead of hunting I’d
spent the morning packing meat!
I started up an overgrown road, listening
and looking as far ahead of me as I could.
I’d snuck 200’ up the trail when “POW!”,
I heard what I believed to be a shot from
Cheryl’s .30-06. I stood motionless,
listening for some time, then I heard
the radio in my pocket crackle to life.
“Robin, do you have a copy?” “Yes,”
I replied. “Was that you?” “I got a big
buck!” she answered. My hunt was over,
but I was elated for my wife. When I got
there Cheryl had already started the task
of gutting. As I held one of the buck’s
hind legs I asked her to tell me the story.
Jump ahead to the 2011 deer season.
We had been hunting deer for three
weekends with no success. We’d been
seeing does and fawns, small bucks, but
nothing big enough to shoot. Cheryl
and I have a verbal agreement when we
hunt: “Nothing less than a 4x4”.
On November 24th we set out for our
traditional Thanksgiving morning hunt.
We arrived at the parking spot, sprayed
ourselves with Scent Killer and took off
for our blinds. I reached my blind first.
(Cheryl’s “lucky” blind is downstream
400 to 500 yards from mine and on the
opposite side of the creek.)
“Well, I got here just before daylight and
got settled in to watch this small field in
front of the blind. I used my deer call a
couple times and right at shooting light
I saw this buck coming along through
the small trees right at the edge of the
field and the hill. I was ready when he
handmade in
A minute later I caught movement to
my left at 40 yards. It was a white-tailed
buck walking along through the brush.”
I’d barely settled into my blind when
my peripheral vision caught movement
to my right, a nice buck walking across
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the creek upstream from me. I quickly
got my .243’s crosshairs on him and
squeezed off a shot at 50 yards. He
jumped and cleared the rest of the water
in two leaps before disappearing. I sat
still for some time, listening for any
noise but didn’t hear anything.
I called Cheryl on the radio and told her
what I’d just done. She answered, “I just
barely got here.” “How does that feel?” I
laughingly shot back.
I told Cheryl I was going to find the
buck and would radio her back when I
did. I eased through some thick, snowladen bushes until I stepped into the
opening where he’d crossed. I spotted
blood on the snow, but quickly realized I
wasn’t going to be spending a lot of time
tracking him. I peered to my right and
there he was stretched out under a tree;
he hadn’t gone 30 yards.
It was like Christmas and he was my
present under the tree. I quickly reported
to my wife the buck was found and she
showed up shortly to help me. I hurried
back to the truck and came back with a
plastic toboggan that we’d brought along
just for this purpose. We had the deer
skinned, quartered and in the cooler in
plenty of time to shower and for Cheryl
to finish cooking Thanksgiving dinner.
It was a very good day.
Robin Mathis is an Idaho native and
was born into a hunting family; he’s
lived in the Silver Valley his entire life.
Robin owns and operates a garage and
body shop and when he’s not turning
wrenches hunting is his passion,
especially for elk. He feels very lucky to
have had his late grandfather, Arthur
C. Bradshaw, spend so much time with
him to make him the dedicated hunter
he is today.
backcountry idaho
i 23
A LONG AGO NORTH
IDAHO LOG DRIVE
Bonner County Historical Society
FISHING THE PRIEST RIVER
W
Past, present and future By Mike Wright
hen a devoted fly
fisherman first gazes
over the waters of the
Priest River he or she
might believe they
have stumbled on a trout nirvana. The
river below Priest Lake has many of
the favorable characteristics of the well
known blue ribbon streams of Southwest
Montana and Southeast Idaho. A clear,
freestone stream with good pocket
water (in places), punctuated with
long deep pools. However, when you
actually fish the Priest, there is a very
good chance you’ll be disappointed.
Although there are some nice trout
in the stream, they tend to be few and
far between. In the summer of 2011,
the Idaho Fish and Game Department
conducted a survey of fish densities in
the Priest River and found an estimated
Cutthroat density of 0.02 per 100 square
meters. In comparison, the same survey
24 i
APRIL/MAY 2015
on the Coeur d’Alene River yielded an
estimated density of 1.93 fish per 100
square meters. The Rainbow density on
the Priest indicated an even grimmer
picture: 0.01 per 100 square meters.
There are several factors which may have
contributed to its low trout density. The
first may have been the employment of
log drives during the early years of the
20th century. In 1901 the first log drive
was introduced onto the river. This drive
took place three miles upstream from
the town of Priest River and was rather
modest in scope. Over the next few
years the log drives increased in volume
and moved further north, including
areas around Priest Lake. By 1920 the
annual drives had expanded to the point
where 125 million board feet of logs and
an additional 50,000 cedar poles were
floated down stream to the mouth of
the river. These log drives would occur
i www.backcountryidaho.com
during the spring runoff which would
coincide with the Cutthroat spawning
period. Often the drives would scour
out the spawning beds in the shallower
sections of the river. Many of the
smaller feeder streams, such as the West
Branch, Big Creek, Kalispel and Granite
Creeks were also impacted by the
logging operations. In many instances
logging was done to the very edge of
the stream banks, allowing silt to wash
into spawning beds. In addition, each
spring crews would be sent out to
remove logs, rocks and other obstacles
that would interfere with the drive. This
unwittingly deprived trout of the cold
water refuges needed during the warm
weather of midsummer.
In fairness to the lumber companies,
virtually no scientific research was
conducted in the early part of the
20th century concerning what effects
entering the river is from the warmer
surface layer of the lake. A study by the
Idaho Department of Environmental
Quality in 2010 determined that not
only the main portion of the Priest River
exceeded the established temperature
standards, but also a number of the
tributaries were exceeding standards.
Since trout, especially Cutthroat, are
highly sensitive to water temperatures,
this undoubtedly had a major effect on
their density. However, while the trout
population has been slow to recover,
there has been a rapid increase in the
small mouth Bass population. This may
be an indication that the river is slowly
becoming a warm water fishery. Since
bass feed heavily on smaller fish, this
may also be a factor in low trout density.
logging practices would have on
fish habitat. Since sport fishing was
about as important to the economic
well-being of North Idaho as surfing
was to the economy of Arizona, very
little consideration was given to the
subject. The log drives ended on the
Priest River in 1949, which in ordinary
circumstances would have given the
river adequate time to recover. However,
the recovery has been exceedingly slow.
In 1950 a dam was constructed where
the waters of Priest Lake enter the lower
Priest River. In 1978 a concrete, gravity
feed dam replaced it. The purpose of
the dam was to reduce the lake level
fluctuation and aid in recreational uses.
It was soon discovered that the dam was
increasing the water temperature of the
river. Outlet Bay is relatively shallow
and is rapidly heated during the warm
summer months. In addition, the water
An additional factor affecting the
trout population in the Priest River
is the amount of insect life present.
According to Jim Fredricks, regional
fishery manager for the Panhandle,
“The Priest River is the most sterile
of any of the rivers we have surveyed
in North Idaho.” There simply is not
enough food to support a healthy trout
population.
Although at the present time fishing
on the Priest River is not as productive
as one would like, there are some signs
of hope. In 2008, catch and release
regulations were put in place on
Cutthroat, although it was not extended
to other trout species. Also, a small
school of Bull Trout has been making a
spawning run into one of the tributaries
of the Priest. Based on the most recent
survey, Jim Fredricks estimates as
many as 200 are making their annual
pilgrimage out of Lake Pend Oreille and
into the Priest River drainage.
The Idaho Fish and Game Department
A (SHORT-LIVED) MIRACLE
ON THE PRIEST RIVER
When I first moved to Priest
River, I was anxious to find a
spot to fish. Two friends and
colleagues (both non fishermen) suggested that I try the
Priest River, which I did. I
tried it a couple times and
the only thing I was able to
catch were White Fish and
Pike Minnows (Squaw Fish).
Needless to say, I was not impressed. However, just a few
years ago a friend invited me
out to her place for a BBQ.
She said I should also bring
out a fly rod because, “Bill
fishes the river a lot and says
it is good.” I accepted her invitation but thought to myself
it would probably be a lost
cause. Judging from past experience, it would be miraculous if I caught a trout in the
Priest River and the last time
there was a miracle of that
size there was a star in the
east. However, to be polite I
did bring a fly rod along and
went down to the water just to
see. To my surprise I caught
two Cutthroat and a hybrid, as
well as losing two more in less
than an hour. I tried it on two
other occasions and although
I never did catch big numbers,
at least I caught fish. Unfortunately my friends moved and
that was the end of my “honey
hole.” MW
FISH cont. on page 27
backcountry idaho
i 25
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FISH cont. from page 25
and the Kalispel Tribe are cooperatively
studying the possibility of cooling the
water below Outlet Dam. This project
would not affect the lake level or the
c.f.m. flow from the dam, but would cool
the river by taking water from the lower
and cooler levels of the lake. At the
present time the project is in the study
stage and no action has been taken. In
other parts of the country, excellent
tail water fisheries have been created
downstream of dams. Whether this is
possible on the Priest River is unclear,
but it is an interesting possibility.
In studies by Todd Anderson of the
Kalispel Tribe, it was determined
that there is an increasing number
of Cutthroat journeying into some
tributaries of the Priest in order to
spawn. Unfortunately, the vast majority
of these fish are returning to the Pend
Oreille River after spawning. However,
as more Cutthroat come into the
tributaries there is a greater chance that
more of them will linger in the Priest
River. If the water is cooler and there
is sufficient feed, perhaps more of the
Cutthroat will make the river their
permanent home. Although the cooler
water would probably have only a
minimal effect on the insect population
it could help curb the trend toward
being a warm water fishery. This would
lessen the competition for feed and
provide for less predation on the trout.
phoTo: kELLY LYNch
Although the overall trout population in
the Priest River is low, there are certain
sections or pockets of the river where
the trout fishing is relatively good. For
anglers who fish the river regularly these
pockets are carefully guarded secrets.
For those who would like to fish the
Priest and are not familiar with the
waters, it may take you some time to
find one of these “honey holes,” but
when you do it can be very rewarding.
In addition to Cutthroat, Rainbow and
hybrids there are also some Brown and
Brook Trout in the system. Some of the
Spring is considered the most productive season to fish the Priest River.
Browns can reach very respectable size,
perhaps up to 20” or even more.
For those planning to fish the Priest it
might be advisable to fish it during the
cooler water periods of spring, fall or
even the winter. There is a small stone
fly hatch that occurs in the spring and
some May fly and caddis hatches that
occur throughout the season. Stone
Fly Nymphs, Pheasant Tails, Prince
Nymphs and Woolly Buggers are
usually the most effective. Chartreuse
or white Zonkers are also very effective
for the Small Mouth Bass that inhabit
the stream. There isn’t a great amount of
dry fly action, but at times a Parachute
Adams, a Griffith Gnat, Elk Hair Caddis
or a hopper pattern can produce fish. If
you fish the Priest River, don’t expect to
catch big numbers; but if you find the
right spot, you may catch some nice
fish. You can also take heart that the
fishing may be better in the future.
Thanks to Jim Fredricks, Todd Anderson,
Joe Maroney, the Bonner County Historical
Society and the Priest River Times.
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backcountry idaho
i 27
BARSNESS cont. from page 13
bullets. But my handload started out at
just about 2800 fps, that ideal muzzle
velocity for cup-and-cores.
Since then I’ve always had a .30-06 in my
safe, and once had as many as six. I’ve
taken 10 species of big game with the
cartridge on three continents, plus the
island nation of New Zealand. The rifles
have included single-shots, bolt actions,
two autoloaders and the 760 pump. I’ve
owned 18 .30-06s, including three 1903
Springfield sporters, three 98 Mausers,
two pre-’64 Winchester Model 70’s and
a Sauer 12x12/.30-06 drilling.
The bullets used have all been between
150 and 200 grains, but most have been
180’s, partly because when any company
introduces a new bullet one of the first
they bring out is a 180-grain .30. There
have been 17 different makes of bullet,
from Barnes, Berger, Federal, Hornady,
Norma, Nosler, Remington Speer, Swift,
Trophy Bonded and Winchester—and
only one failure, a 150-grain Winchester
Silvertip that came apart on the shoulder
of a mule deer buck. (I did manage to
track him down and put another in his
ribs, which worked perfectly.) Some of
the bullets are no longer made, such as
the Deep Shock bullet from Federal,
or the lathe-turned 200-grain Nosler
Partition “semi-spitzer,” a euphemism
for roundnose, but they worked very
well too.
Before doing so much gun writing
I mostly used 165’s for deer and
pronghorn, and 200’s for elk, but after
using the 180’s a lot I’ve decided they’ll
do as well if you choose the right model
for the job. For bigger game a monometal
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But if forced to choose just one load
for the .30-06, it would have to be the
180-grain Nosler Partition. That old
and boring bullet has simply been the
most versatile, crumpling animals
from 75-pound springbok to elk and
kudu over and over again. It isn’t the
most accurate or deepest-penetrating
of the 180’s, but I cannot recall any
non-dangerous big game animal that
wouldn’t have died just as easily with a
180 Partition from a .30-06
There are some years when I don’t
take any big game with the .30-06, but
always return to it eventually, even
though a gun writer always has to test
new and supposedly better cartridges.
Somehow, though, the .30-06 has never
disappointed. It has taken both my red
stags on memorable hunts in the Czech
Republic and New Zealand. In fact, since
I started hunting at 12, I’ve now taken
more big game with the .30-06 than any
other single cartridge.
Over the years I’ve gotten two different
reactions upon showing up with a .3006 in hunting camps around the world.
Among my fellow hunters the reaction is
a sort of disdain, either because they’re
rifle snobs (who bring some sort of
wildcat) or average guys who think a
7mm Remington or .300 Winchester
Magnum would be somehow better.
The second reaction has come from
guides and professional hunters,
who have almost universally been
enthusiastic. This isn’t totally due to
the virtues of the .30-06 itself, but from
having noticed over the years that
clients who bring .30-06’s don’t believe
in the magic of wildcat cartridges, magic
bullets or the word “magnum.” Instead
they tend to believe in putting the bullet
in the right place, and if you do that
with a .30-06 there will be meat on the
ground and heads on the wall. It really
still is that simple, more than half a
century after Grancel Fitz proved it over
and over again.
Find more of John Barsness’s writing on
guns at www.riflesandrecipes.com.
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180 will do anything required, whether
a Barnes TSX or Nosler E-Tip. For
“normal” game, from springbok to
caribou, about any bullet will do, though
I tend to use Sierra’s more than anything
else anymore, partly because they shoot
so well. If you really want to stretch the
range, the 185-grain Berger VLD will
often shoot even more accurately. In
my New Ultra Light Arms the 185 VLD
averages under ½” for three shots at 100
yards, and in New Zealand I lay down
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i 29
Long vs. IDFG
LONG cont. from page 19
days later the judge faxed a written order
stating that he changed his mind, the
charges were reinstated! Unbelievable!
What now? Go back to square one or
appeal the appeal judge’s decision? No
turning back now, he’d appeal.
More time passed. Adding to his
frustration, the case fell through the
cracks somewhere between Coeur
d’Alene and the three-judge appeals
court in Boise. Each blamed the other
for mishandling the case file. While
waiting for the second appeal hearing,
the prosecuting attorney informed
Michael’s lawyer that if Michael would
give up any claim to the deer and
dismiss the appeal, the charges against
him would be dismissed. The buck,
however, was the largest Michael had
ever shot and he said no.
Finally a date for the second appeal
hearing was set for September 2012.
(Remember, this had all started way back
in 2007.) Michael’s lawyer and a new
lawyer from the state attorney general’s
office presented their legal arguments.
The three-judge panel informed them
they’d issue a written decision. Pins and
needles time for Michael Long. The final
decision was a slam-dunk in Michael’s
favor. The appeal judges reinstated the
initial order dismissing the charges. Six
years later it was official; Michael Long
had been wrongfully charged and was
innocent.
End of story? Not quite. With the case
over, Michael’s lawyer contacted the
prosecuting attorney to get his deer back.
(Remember, IDFG had seized Michael’s
deer meat, hide and horns as criminal
evidence; the IDFG Evidence Custodian
in Coeur d’Alene was responsible for
making sure they were properly stored
pending the outcome of the case.)
However, the prosecutor replied the
deer was gone. IDFG claimed it had
donated the meat to the St. Marie’s Food
Bank and the horns had been sold in
one of the IDFG annual horn auctions.
Seems the evidence from the case had
simply disappeared.
Not satisfied, and because it appeared
that Michael’s deer had been illegally
disposed of, his lawyer asked for a formal
investigation. In 2012, a detective from
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30 i
APRIL/MAY 2015
i www.backcountryidaho.com
the Kootenai County Sheriff ’s office
began an investigation. He determined
(1) the St. Marie’s Food Bank did not
accept wild game at the time the IDFG
claimed it had been donated to them;
there was no record of the meat ever
being donated (and they’re required
to keep accurate records of all donated
meat), and (2) IDFG couldn’t come
up with any record that specifically
identified Michael’s deer’s horns as
having been auctioned off. It seems the
evidence of the case just disappeared.
The prosecuting attorney refused
requests that criminal charges be filed
against the responsible IDFG officers.
Under Idaho law, any person can go
before a magistrate judge to see the filing
of criminal charges. On September 18,
2013 Michael did so, seeking that felony
charges for theft be filed against IDFG
officers responsible for disposing of his
deer. After considering Michael’s sworn
affidavit and testimony, the magistrate
judge ordered Michael’s complaint
against two IDFG officers be filed. The
prosecutor again refused to pursue
charges. He filed a motion to dismiss
the complaint. Michael asked the
presiding judge to order the prosecutor
to comply with state law and file a
statement containing his reasons, in fact
and law, for not pursuing charges. The
judge dismissed the complaint.
Today Michael says he’s not sure what he
would have done back in 2007 if he knew
then what he knows now. Occasionally
he thinks he would have been better off
to pay the fine and forfeit his hunting
and fishing privileges. Most of the time,
however, he’s sure he did the right thing.
He wasn’t guilty of trespassing and saw
no reason to plead guilty just to avoid
going to court. And, he wonders how
many other people have been wrongly
cited for game violations and suffered
the consequences.
THE BACK PAGE
With Jerry Adamietz
E
ver invite a friend to hunting camp? And the following year they (without warning you) invite a couple of
friends? When I was a young hunter this often happened to me. Friends, family members and workmates all at
one time or another invited themselves to my camp. Often I
agreed, only to find out the next season they had invited their
friends! After a few seasons of everyone inviting buddies, not
only would camp be overrun but so would my favorite spots!
One year I invited an acquaintance to camp; soon after that
the group suddenly grew from the two of us to five. Finally, we
agreed if anyone wanted to invite a friend we all had to concur. Unfortunately, that only lasted a few years; while some
hunters dropped out, others felt free to invite their friends.
Another time a family member nagged me for a couple years
to take his in-laws elk hunting. I repeatedly said no; it just
blows my mind how some people just can’t take no for an answer! Through the decades I’ve experienced situations like
this over and over again. However, as time goes on I become
more selective with whom I invite to camp. For me, the hunt
is more about solitude and enjoying the total experience; getting away from the daily grind, fast paced society and negative
news. After some bad experiences I started to limit my hunting group to not only a small party but also a very selective
group of individuals; at times this meant hunting solo.
Mmm....
Hunting ethics start at home and extend into the field. One
may ask how one says “no” (without appearing to be a jerk or
hurting their feelings) when someone wants you to take them
to your secret spot. (Over the years I have hunted off and on
with several groups, all which started small but then grew to
be quite large and eventually turning into a city in the woods.)
So, to begin with, four is the max amount of hunters I would
recommend in a camp. Second, your hunting partners need
to agree if someone wants to invite a new person into the
group. It’s even a good rule of thumb to get to know the new
member to ensure they will be a good fit and they understand
and agree to established rules of camp. And, if someone asks
and you say “no” but they keep bugging you, it’s a good indication they may be a pain at camp. Finally, establish up front
rules about splitting meat, who brings what gear and ethics.
For the last fifteen years my hunting party has consisted of
two people (myself and a friend) and it has worked well.
However, my hunting partner had to return to Montana so it
looks like I’m a solo hunter again. I’ve been invited to hunt
this year with my cousin and his partner as well as to a friend’s
camp that he shares with his son. If I take either up on their
offer, there is one thing I know; I won’t be inviting others to
their camp!
HUCKLEBERRIES!
DO YOU HAVE a great huckleberry recipe? Enter BACKCOUNTRY IDAHO’s HUCKLEBERRY RECIPE CONTEST! If your recipe wins, you’ll receive:
STock phoTo
custom Huckleberry inspired Back1 Acountry
T-shirt.
Rocky Mountain Berry Book by Bob
2 The
Krumm.
3 Plus other Huckleberry inspired products!
Recipes need to be
e-mailed to kelly@backcountryidaho.com
or
mailed to Backcountry,
PO Box 1523, Priest
River, ID 83856 and received by July 1st, 2015.
E-mail us your best Huckleberry recipe by July 1, 2015 - that’s the deadline!
backcountry idaho
i 31
PO Box 1523
Priest River, ID 83856
208.597.1601
kelly@backcountryidaho.com
Anatomy of a Mountain Bike
If you read the story on page 20 and
are itching to hit the trail on a mountain bike, you’ll hopefully find the below
tips helpful when purchasing your first
bike. Shown is the author’s trusty GT
Zaskar Team, circa 2001.
SUSPENSION: Hardtail or full
suspension? It will depend on
your riding style and bank account. This bike, though a hardtail, has a suspension seatpost.
BRAKES: Most new bikes come
with disc brakes front and rear.
This bike is old (just like it’s
rider) and has V-brakes. They
work well in dry conditions.
WHEELS: 29” and
27.5” wheels are the
new standard. The
26” wheels seen here
are practically obsolete on new bikes
but still work well if
you’re buying used.
WEIGHT: One of your
biggest
considerations. (Remember,
you’ll be pedaling
every pound uphill!)
This bike is light and
goes up hills really,
really fast.
PEDALS: If you’re going to ride a
lot, clipless pedals are the way to go.
They may seem somewhat inimidating, but you’ll love them. Trust me.
(208) 437-5669
DRIVETRAIN: The options are endless. 3x9,
2x10 or 1x11 and Shimano or SRAM. If simplicity is your goal, the 1x11 is for you, as it
deletes the need for a front derailleur.
OUTDOOR RECREATION CENTER
Washington & Idaho Hunting & Fishing Licenses
.
Ammo
. Fishing Gear . Boat Registration . Propane
Camping Equipment . RV Supplies . Boating Gear
Hunting Gear
.
.
Stop by for last minute supplies on your way to the Lake!
Open 7 Days a Week
7am - 6pm
Just East of the Oldtown Bridge