Fall is on the WAY!!!
Jul 15 2010Fall is almost here. With that it’s time to start getting your equipment and gear squared away. With the help of the good folks over at Lathrop and Sons (www.lathropandsons.com) Nate and I devised some boot tips to help our fellow hunters with everything from boot selection to blister prevention. Here is the first of the series, “Proper Boot Fit”. I hope you enjoy and good luck with your preparations. -G
KS Buck Returns Home to WY
Feb 11 2010
KS kill shot field photo (before).
The Kansas muzzleloader buck has finally returned home to Wyoming for good after being remounted up in Libby, Montana. It’s good to have the buck back in the office for us to all enjoy. Mel did a fantastic job on the taxidermy and base. The cape is unreal, double throat patch and all.
Now I just need to cook up a “do not touch” sign for the old boy.
A huge thank you goes out to Mel and Kevin over at Wildlife Recapture Taxidermy in Libby, MT for all their hard work on the buck. It turned out awesome fellas’. (www.wildliferecapture.com)
The new and much improved muzzle-loader buck.
Wolves on the Winter Range in WY
Feb 10 2010The following is a caption and photo sent to me just today from a friend and fellow backcountry snowmobiler in Jackson Hole, WY. Wow, twenty wolves in one bunch!!! More of our precious wildlife resource up in smoke. Thanks again USFWS.
“Great news, the Wyoming Game & Fish Department won’t have to feed elk this year, probably can’t even find an elk in the Gros Ventre, they will be scattered everywhere alive and dead. I wonder how many elk and moose a week it takes to keep this bunch going?
22 wolves in one pack about 2 miles from the Cabin and Alkali feedgrounds in the Gros Ventre. Late January, 2010.”
Elk...Moose...Deer...yum-yum.
WORTH EVERY DAMN DIME!!!!
Jun 18 2009YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR IN LIFE, and taxidermy!!!!!!!!
Taxidermy is an art form!!! Mel did a great job re-mounting my WY mule deer. Exactly what you would expect from a guy who has mounted more world records than any man on earth!!!!
I just got my 2004 Wyoming buck back from the taxidermist after being re-mounted. Can I just say, dang WHAT AN IMPROVEMENT!!!! Mel Siefke at Wildlife Recapture Taxidermy (www.wildliferecapture.com) in Libby, MT did a fantastic job re-mounting this buck. Notice the muscle detail and modeling as well as how the eyes are set properly, the nose is squared off and the ears are positioned in a natural orientation and not “droopy”, all signs of quality-first class taxidermy work. Mel promises a turn-around time of less than 12 months and in most cased can even get a job done in less than six months, another sign of a good taxidermist/businessman. The second biggest factor in a bang up taxidermy job, behind a good taxidermist is the quality of the cape. I have been saving the cape we used on this buck in my freezer since last fall. Notice the coloring is very silver, and the facial coloring is very distinct, with the nose, forehead and throat patch all contrasting nicely. The lights are “light” and the darks are “dark.” I also look at the quality of the hair. This hair is all very fine and all the same length. Bucks earlier in the season (September) can have very “ratty” and patchy capes that are not worth keeping when the summer hair mixes with the winter hair. The cape from this buck was killed in the same area of Wyoming as the original buck came from during the first week of October.
Front view of the new and improved Wyoming deer mount.
This photo of the "old" not so old mount reveals what a difference there is between bad taxidermy and good taxidermy.
Plain and simple, “life is too short for crappy taxidermy.” I had to have this buck mounted twice which cost me way too much money. The moral of the story is, like most things, DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME!!! It’s cheaper in the long run.
Let me know if you have any taxidermy or trophy care questions or comments. I would love to hear them, as I begin working on an article for the next issue of Eastmans’ Hunting Journal on the subject of taxidermy and trophy care in the field and beyond.
This is the cape I used for the new mount. I am always on the prowl for good capes like this one any time a kill a buck. Notice the maturity and coloring on this buck's cape. A definite 1/100 type cape that needs to be saved for a killer trophy mount. A cape like this one can be worth well over $500!!!
Good luck on your next hunting endeavor.
Guy
Summer Time on the River
Jun 10 2009Good morning fellas:
Just an update: we hit the Bighorn River yesterday and I finally got a chance to try out the new Rod and Reel set-up. The dam monkeys cranked the flows up 35% while we were on the river causing the water to murk up on us but we still managed to get a few fish into the boat regardless. I finally managed to get a nice hen brown trout with my new rod and reel set-up. It
A new rod, high water and hungry fish...
Too nice to fish with...well maybe not.
worked very well and I can honestly say, the new Sage Z-Axis is a solid rod for river fishing. I did hook a smaller cutthroat (snake river carp as Mike calls them) a bit earlier in the day but I let it roll until it popped the fly out. I was determined to have the new rod’s first fish be a good brown trout. This nice but very thin 22-inch hen took a…you guessed it, a Girdle-Bug in size 6.
Just thought I would let you all know I have been staying out of trouble this summer, so far. Good luck in the draws fellas’.
Guy