WORTH EVERY DAMN DIME!!!!

Jun 18 2009

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR IN LIFE, and taxidermy!!!!!!!!

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.

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.

Good luck on your next hunting endeavor.

Guy

Summer Time on the River

Jun 10 2009

Good 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

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

Spring Fishing

May 28 2009

Hello All,

Memorial Day was a great holiday weekend for us. Rinda (my girlfriend) and I hit the Bighorn River here in Wyoming for some fly fishing. This is Rinda’s second year at the helm of a fly rod and reel and she has been searching for a “big” trout ever since first picking up the sport. I think all of my talk of huge fish ripping line off my reel has worn off on her. Well on Monday morning at 9:00 AM her quest was fulfilled.

With a cone-headed Muddler Minnow and a Girdlebug (my favorite fly for big Brown Trout) in tow she latched on to a “Wild Brown” trout of epic proportions on a heavily fished public river. This monster hammered, you guessed it the Girdlebug in only about 14-inches of water lying against the far bank and he took it slow. Rinda set the hook on him and all hell broke loose.

With the over-cast skies above and a drizzling rain in the air, I did not get a good look at the fish from behind the oars until he lit up and went airborne. It was then and there I was glad she rigged up with an 8 ½ pound leader. After a fifteen minute fight and plenty of barking orders from my mouth she landed the trout and what a gorgeous brown he was.

I knew we were destined for big fish as I forgot my good camera that morning and would be left to resort to my Blackberry camera phone. The photos do not do this fish justice. He is right at a little bit over six pounds and almost 24-inches long-a hook-jawed monster brown and one hell of a fight to go along with it. Rinda did a great job fighting her first “big” trout. I am very proud of her. Maybe the next one will be mine.

Just thought you might enjoy a photo. Cheers and good luck with your next outdoor endeavor.

Guy

Salt Lake Bound…

Mar 10 2009

The Eastmans’ trailer is finally loaded and the Deer Display is secured for the trip to the Salt Lake City ISE sports show. Ike and I will be leaving the home office here in Powell at 6:00 AM tomorrow morning for the short 8 hour drive to Salt Lake. There is a little snow in the forecast but it looks to be smooth sailing and pretty cold. I’ll be checking out the ever precious mule deer winter range on my way down tomorrow. I’ll have a full report for all of you region G and H hunters once I arrive in Utah. I hope you can find the time to come down to the show and hang with us for a while. I’ll be lecturing every day except Sunday. Check the ISE website for the exact times. I look forward to seeing all of you there. Safe travels and we’ll see you on the other side of the divide.

Guy

Viewer E-mail

Feb 03 2009

Hello,
I would like to start off by extending a huge thanks to the whole staff at eastmans for great mags and a great tv show. I live in montana and my family and i are always enjoying the outdoors with every chance we get. My question is about your slogan ” no fences here”. I hunt about every thing you can in montana and some in wyoming. I have noticed in the past ten or more years how much tougher it is getting to find a land owner that is willing to give up hunting access. My question is do you folks at eastman pay trespass fees or do you pay guides. Does the no fences here slogan pertain to high fence hunting? I am a middle class working joe and it is getting harder to afford the sport i love. I would consider my self a “trophy hunter” in the regard that like most hunters i would love to harvest some of the animals i see in your mags and on your show. Do you have a secret for access or are you paying for some of it?

Justus H.

Guy’s Reply:

Hello Justus,

Thank you for the e-mail and kind words. To answer your question, the “No Fences Here” slogan is in regards to no high fenced hunts. We do not hunt under any conditions that are not considered Fair Chase and ethical.

As for the public land hunts, we do on occasion hunt on private land or with outfitters, but a majority of our hunts/shows are public land DIY hunts. We calculated it the other day, and I think for the 2009 television season over 65% of the hunts on the TV schedule where public land DIY hunts. Surprisingly, most of the biggest trophies taken on the show are on the public land hunts. We film over 26 shows each year and it is next to impossible to get that many episodes without going on a few guided or private land hunts mostly due to the extraordinary amount of hoops we have to jump through to get filing permits and such from the Federal Government just to hunt/film on public land, not to mention the additional expense for these very expensive film permits (over $150 per day in most cases).

There is a ton of public land opportunity out there to take advantage of, it just requires a little bit of research and hard work to find it.

Good luck this fall and thank you for the question.

Guy