May 01 2010

Jack and Grampa scouting for Blackie Video Clip

A while back, I blogged on a very lightweight knife that that came with replacement blades and did a very good job. Now to you who still use a fixed-blade knife, I would like to introduce a new product.

Back in my old outfitting days we guides would pack several custom knives and an assortment of sharpening tools. Lets see, I had a caping knife and a larger dressing knife, then I would pack a small stone along with a fine file or diamond steel. All this was packed on my belt in a leather case. And of course, this added some packing weight, but they were sure cool looking! I was ready to dress out any game my hunter harvested.

But several years ago, I ran across a lightweight sharpening system that I’ve used many times out in the field. It’s the little Tactical Pro Knife Sharpener by Redi-Edge and it does the trick while weighting nothing. They make several models, one that is tiny and another that is larger enough to fit in your hand. The third model in the series has a shaping tool accompanied with a small steel attached to the end of the sharpener, and comes with a carrying case.

The black color is rugged looking, however, I do wish they would make the tools bright red or orange. As we all know, most of the time we are taking care of an animal in the dim light of evening. It would be handy to be able to see it easily in our pack pocket, or if it was laid down on the ground. But anyway, I recommend this compact sharpen system. It’s made by Benchmade Knife Company out of Oregon City. PH: 800-800-7427 or web site “benchmade.com” Check it out!

Jack and I go scouting for Blackie

Apr 24 2010

It’s several weeks before the black bear rifle season opens up here. Jack, my grandson, and I went on a little scouting trip to see if we could locate Blackie the black burin I’ve been hunting the last three springs. My iron knee is now good enough to do some walking and ride the 4-wheeler. The other day my neighbor, Del, spotted the first sow grizzly and a year old cub behind my house digging up ground squirrels. So the bears have finally come out for the season.

Jack and I ran into a really big set of grizzly tracks and some wolf tracks. I was hoping to find some sign of Blackie, but no such luck. Del went along to video Jack and I doing this scouting trip. (I hope to put the video on my blog in a few days.) The trip gave my new knee a work out for sure. I have to realize it’s been only 18 days since the surgery. Jack, at the age of 5, can all ready tell the difference between grizzly and black bear tracks. And I was very impress when he told me how to tell which direction the bear was walking.

It was great fun and we both are looking forward to the season opening. Jack thinks we’ll run into the old boy this spring. I’ll keep you posted on the annual hunt for Blackie. Mike Eastman

Iron Knee Mike

Apr 11 2010

The last blog I did was just before going steelhead fishing in Idaho. Did OK, the biggest I landed was a 37-inch, native hen swinging a black leach fly. She put up quite a fight and made the trip. Shortly after getting home I checked into the hospital and went under the knife. If you have read my Hunting High Country Mule Deer book or watched me on our TV show, you know I have a bad right knee. This knee has been shot for over ten years. I was hoping that it was going to be a partial knee replacement. Well, they got inside and it turns out it was 90% bone-on-bone and covered with arthritis. The surgeon said it was bad. So off came the whole thing and now it’s iron leg Mike. In recovery I was such a pain in the ass the Doc let me out of the dungeon (hospital) a day early.

The next day even with the pain from surgery the fake knee feels better then what I was dealing with all those years. Bertie said maybe that was why I always had a frown on my face. The Doc is confident I will be able to backpack this fall. But be careful with the load. This morning while sitting out on the deck watching Bertie and the fox I noticed no pain coming from the knee! It’s a little stiff but Bertie has me in the rack making me do bends to get my range of motion back. Now three times a week I have to journey the 77 miles out of the mountains to Powell for legal knee torture. But it’s going to be worth it!

This down time gives me a chance to make up time on that new mule deer book, plus a field guide to judging trophy mule deer and antelope. It will be a small notebook style you can throw in your pack, just a pack-along field reference book for trophy judging.

As for an update on the wolves and grizzlies, neither has shown up the past month. I know the bears are out, but not on my creek. Those wolves have cleaned up all the winter kills so I think the bears are in other drainages. However, black bear season is coming up and Jack, my grandson, wants to go this spring.

Now the best for last: While I was getting sawed on in the Cody hospital, over in the Powell hospital my son Ike and his wife, Candi had the fourth generation Eastman, a granddaughter, making me a Grandfather three times over. Grandmother is having fun fussing over the little girl. Their goes my cook for a while, so will keep you posted.

I have been working on several product evaluations and will post them next go around. Good luck in the draws. Mike (Iron Knee) Eastman

Lightweight Knives, Heavy Work

Mar 19 2010

The older I get the more important it becomes to have lightweight equipment that can do the job in the backcountry. I guess as age catches up, your pack weight becomes more of an issue, so I found myself searching for innovative, lightweight gear that is multi-functional. While up in northern Canada as a teenager, I watched the natives use Russell knives with a metal file for quick sharpening. So I began packing a Canadian Russell knife in my teenage years. Then in later years while guiding and outfitting, I went to using high-end custom knives.

Now fast forward to my modern day D-I-Y pack with its manageable weight. One item to look at is the knife. I find most are heavy and have become too specialized, plus you need to pack some type of shaping tool. While doing my research on lightweight knives I ran into the Havalon Knife (www.havalon.com/the-piranta-knives.)  It’s really a practical design approach for dressing and caping. This isn’t a knife to pass down to the son. It’s a working knife.

The Havalon Knives are small lightweight and like Guy Eastman said “scary sharp!” Nate Simmons (Research Editor EBJ) has taken the Havalon’s Piranta Edge and boned out a mature bull elk with one blade. Also these knives come with several disposable blades. The sharpness is like that of a surgical knife. When it dulls, you just put in a new blade and keep on caping or dressing the animal. The cost for the knife with replacement blades is only $35.00. What a deal!

It comes in several models and blade shapes. The knife is enclosed in a black nylon case, with several replacement blades. I dropped the 4 inch knife on the scale and it weighed in at only 2.5 ounces!  I didn’t believe it, so I found another scale, same weight!  The knife style I like is the orange colored Piranta–EDGE with the Blunt Tip Blades. It’s not only excellent for caping, but also dressing and boning. The Blunt blade has a round tip that I believe is a little safer for dressing an animal in the backcountry. The orange color is another safety feature. How many times have you laid your knife down on the ground? Then spend several minutes trying to relocate it again when needed. But the bright orange makes it easy to spot on a snowy side hill or at dusk. It’s my choice.

Check out their web site. This could be the knife for anyone who wants to shed a little weight on your hip, or in your pack.

Catch you later. Mike Eastman

Grizzly Size Feet

Mar 02 2010

After 55 years of hunting both by foot and horse I have covered many rugged miles. Packing out of the high country with 100 pound plus packs over rugged granite mountain ranges didn’t help. Lets face it I have had a rugged and rough western life of straight up and down terrain. My old feet are worn out from use and abuse. I finally went to a foot doctor some years ago and he said my nerve endings are fray from abuse. This along with having an extra wide foot makes finding proper fitting foot wear impossible.

I don’t have a long foot it’s like size 10 1/2 or maybe 11. But I do have an extremely wide foot like a grizzly. It’s so wide that I can’t find boots that can match the width of my feet. Over the many years I purchase the widest boots possible and just wear them until they widen out from use. Back when I was in my twenties and thirties that wasn’t that big of a deal. My feet were rugged and tough. A pair of leather boots lasted only a year before I worn them down. Now days its hard on my wore out feet to break in narrow boots. In fact lets face it the boots now days are heavier build and don’t break down and widen out!

Lucky for me Lathrop and Sons came along with their expertise on footwear. Guy Eastman and Nate Simons (research editor) used Lathrop and Sons boot all last fall. Now those two put a lot of miles on boots in fall. That’s a fall  lasting over 5 months! After wearing them all hunting season you can’t get them to part with those Lathrop fitted boots. If you follow the Eastman hunts on TV you know because of the backcountry terrain we hunt its a must to have rugged boots that fit. The Eastman crew is so impress we talked Lathrop and Sons in to a Eastmans’ Hunting TV Shows sponsors.

What sold me was not only do they sell top of the line brands of hunting boots but have the ability to fit problem feet. This expertise comes from the senior Lathrop as a foot doctor. Using his medical knowledge they make  hunting boots fit. For those of use who hunt in rugged terrain day after day Lathrop developed special insoles. The whole point of the insole is to give you a more comfortable fit while bushwhacking thru the backcountry. And for an additional fee Lathrop and Sons will fit your feet to special build boot. They have several levels of service in fitting boots.

That’s where I come in with my 4 X foot. I’m sending off a tracing of my grizzly wide pad and they are going to make up a pair of boots that will finally fit. In my way of thinking next to optics you need comfortable footgear. If not, you can’t going those extra miles in search of trophy big game. I will let you know how it turns out. So Stay Tuned! In the mean time check out lathropandsons.com

Arizona Hunt

Feb 13 2010

It’s been a couple months since I did a blog. I often wonder if anyone really reads them. Let me know if you enjoy these.

I didn’t connect down in Arizona while hunting mule deer. In fact, I only found two 170-class bucks with the biggest one a 29” wide in the high 180’s. I was holding off for a 190 plus B&C gross buck. I did see a lot of small four-point and forked horns harvested, and one buck that was maybe 180 with a 30” outside spread. The hunt was D-I-Y and I went right up to the last hour of the season.

The second to the last day it snowed a bit and I figured those old bucks would come out and rut, but only smaller bucks wondered out of the brush. We camped out in tents and the weather wasn’t too bad. We had Thanksgiving dinner by the campfire and Nate Simmons, our Video Production Manager and Research Editor of EBJ, cooked a turkey dinner by headlamp. That’s hunting!

All in all, I did have excellent success by taking two trophy bucks this fall, one in Wyoming and a 190-plus buck from Colorado. See my last blog for photos.

On the home front, our snow level is 30” behind at the house. This makes for lousy sledding, but we’re hoping February will show us more of the white stuff. Of course, the wolves are all round the place and I see tracks every morning. Those two Bull Moose are back this winter and doing well. With the lack of snow, the moose are having a better time keeping away from the wolves. The winter has also been warm with only a week or two in the 20 below range. Lately, it’s been in the 40’s up here and I told Bertie, my wife, the grizzlies would be coming out soon. I know with this warm weather they are thinking it’s time to start moving around.

It looks like I’m going to have a knee replacement the 1^st of April. A real April Fools Deal. I’m waiting until the March Steelhead fishing is over. This year is the best steelhead fishing of the century. The counts are the highest in modern history! With the new knee, I’ll be going back into the high country to do some backpacking for mule deer in my high country holes. I have come up with some lightweight gear for us older guys who want to keep on hunting for trophy big game.

After this fall of hunting antelope I got some great feedback from hunters who used the tactics in my book to take some good trophies. The book went into its second printing after only 90 days! Must be a lot of hunters pursuing trophy buck antelope. If you’re interested in a book on D-I-Y big antelope bucks, go to eastmans.com to grab a copy.

So far the winter has been good to the antelope herds and if it keeps up, the little guys will be out in full force next fall. However if we get heavy spring storms, it can still wipe out the old aged trophy bucks. So cross your fingers for a mild spring out in the plains.

I’m in the middle of creating my own personal website. It will have all my big game photos for sell, plus several posters and note cards. I will be including a video clip once a month on a hunting tip. I’ll also post more information on some of my hunting picks for units. Of course, it will be linked to the Eastmans’ site, so you can access it from there, too. I will let everyone know when it comes on line.

I will try to do better updating my blog in 2010, but I just don’t know how many hunters really read it. I’ll let you know how I do on the South Fork of the Clearwater for those hard fighting steelheads. Catch you in a few weeks. Mike Eastman

Halloween

Nov 02 2009

Halloween: Trick or Treat

It’s the season for trick or treating and there’s no exception here in Wyoming. Up at the house we have our own special goblins that come around checking for treats. The other night we were visited by some Halloween goblins, and they weren’t little children dress up as spooks. The general deer season had just ended and the gang moved in to clean up the leftovers. Yesterday morning I was going down the road and run into wolfs! Two large adults accompanied by some young pups. The family group was walking up my road. I think they were checking for gut piles. One little pup puffed up his thick winter hair making him look like a small cub bear.  Then in the afternoon, I was out and about and ran right into a pack of 4 wolfs! Before I could get my camera out the gang was on top of the ridge and heading up the creek. They didn’t stick around for a photo op.

Last night it snowed a bit and those tricksters were nosing around the house. My neighbor Delmar, saw the wolf pack standing by my gate about 9:30 looking into my house. That goblin wolf pack had picked up another trickster. Walking down the road was a small, three-year-old grizzly with the wolf pack trailing not far behind. The grizzly walked up to my neighbor’s doorstep and looked around, then went back on the road and wondered pass my house with the wolves in toe. He wondered up to my wood burn pile and made sure there weren’t any goodies buried. Then they all wondered on down the creek. Three miles down the creek drainage the grizzle found a little pay dirt when he came to a pickup bed containing some elk blood from hunting season. Fortunately he only stood up and looked into the bed. What a surprise it would have been if the owner had come out in the morning to get into his pickup and there was a grizzly sitting in the bed. But by morning he moved off over the mountain. I know when cow elk season starts in a few weeks he will be back for sure!

If you want to know the difference between a black bear and a grizzly bear footprint, take a look at these photos. A grizzly track has toes that string straight across the front of the pad. A blackie’s toes curve in a half circle around the pad. This grizzly isn’t large like the big old boy that lives in the neighborhood. But young grizzly bears usually are the most aggressive and apt to get into trouble with human contact.  This young bear has been hanging around the area the last few months and could be one of the problem bears the game and fish transplanted into our area.

Well, trick or treat Wyoming style!

Last stop Arizona for late mule deer hunting the end of this month. I’ll let you know how we do. Mike Eastman

Mid Fall Update Mule Deer

Oct 12 2009

Just got in! After putting in 14 days of hunting in Colorado and Wyoming, the first thing I did when I got home was put the tape on the Colorado buck. I came up with 183, or so, in the velvet!  I was expecting around 190. How could I miss judge him that bad? I mean he had 6.5 inch bases and the other two mass measurements where 5.5 each. So I thought I was getting old and needed to wear my glasses all the time. Then as I was driving to the dump yesterday I began thinking about this low 180 buck. When I spotted him, I figured he would be pushing the 190 gross mark, but my measurements came out to only 17.5 inch of mass to a side. Then like a bolt of lighting it hit me. (You probably already figured it out.) I forgot the fourth mass measurement! I raced home in the old Ranger and through the tape on that sucker again. Voila! The old boy’s 4th mass measurement is 4.75 inches giving him over 22 inches of mass!!! That puts him right at 191, or so, and if you wanted to add the two extra points off his burr, he grosses 194 plus or minus. That made my day! The old buck was about to strip his velvet off. It isn’t soft, but more like dried on the antlers. However, the taxidermist was able to save it. Oh by the way, this is the first velvet buck I’ve harvested since the 70’s, so I’m mounting him.

While in southwestern Wyoming, I took a cheater buck in the low 180 gross with a 27″ spread. Ike, my son, was along and harvested an old, old buck that still had some velvet on some of his points. He really likes the old boy; it’s not your standard trophy buck. Of course, he is wider then mine and has bigger bases. So Ike teases me that my buck fits inside his, and his also has 5-inch bases. Saw several mid 180 gross bucks during the hunt. On the first day I saw one pushing the 190’s, but the old boy give me the slip. Fun stuff hunting with your son!

The knee surgery didn’t take and the doctor says I need a knee replacement. I wish he had told me before he went in and ground on it.

Wyoming got caught with a heavy snowstorms and the temperature dipped down into the teens. In the high country they must have got a couple of feet.  It’s been snowing up here at the house all week and is down in the 0 degree mark this week.

The last three days we’ve had a grizzly hanging around the house. He went up to my wife’s truck and smelled around it. Got the shoot gun handy!

I have a great high country bull elk tag, but afraid the herds have migrated out to the winter ranges. Next week I’m heading for my Wyoming antelope unit for the last few days of the season. Three weeks ago I spotted a good buck! We’ll see if I can find him again. This unit was my second choice, but still found many high 70 B&C bucks! And the one I’m after, I think, will go over that 82 mark. This strategy of a second choice tag is out lined in my new book “Hunting Antelope On Public Land. You can order it from our web sit.

Looking forward to my Arizona mule deer hunt the end of November. Hope they get some snow. I will keep you posted on the hunts. It’s winding down for me.

Until next time, Mike Eastman

09 Hunt Winner 7×7 Timber Bull

Sep 21 2009

The EBJ 09 hunt winner, Todd Smythe, slammed a heavy-beamed 7×7 as the bull walked across a high country meadow bugling all the way. The Eastmans’ video crew captured it all on film, and I was along to share the experience. For sure, a classic high country hunt for a herd bull that was hot into the first phase of the rut. On the third evening, the old boy came out of the black timber on the opposite side of a meadow to play in the mud. With some cow calling from us, he slowly made his way to where we had set up. Very exciting! It took over twenty minutes for him to make his way to our side of the meadow.

With a 7×7 bull walking straight for him and video cameras bearing down on his back, Todd handled it like a seasoned hunter. Cool and calm, he waited until the mudded up bull turned broadside then with his new Savage 7mm magnum rifle and 160 grain Nosler, he slammed the heavy beamed 7×7 timber bull right behind the shoulder. A perfect shoot even under pressure!

On the first day we found at least a dozen bulls running together. The bulls were bugling, however the rut wasn’t quite on yet. After seeing all those bulls on the first day, that night Todd was running on adrenaline making the first night sleepless. Later while packing the bull out, he told me his wife has picked out a special spot for the trophy bull. I was thinking yea right, in the garage next to the tires. No! Above the big screen TV in the living room. Now that’s an understanding wife! Watch it on Eastmans Hunting TV in 2010. Good stuff!

The old man connects with a Colorado velvet buck, a goal of mine for many years. This year I snagged a Colorado mule deer tag. This unit typically doesn’t have many deer. It’s mostly an elk unit.  However over the years while hunting elk, I have seen a few 190-plus bucks hiding out in the steep canyon walls and timber ridges. That rugged area makes spotting and stocking a buck difficult. Well I was lucky! After a hard-hitting rain and hailstorm, I jumped an old timer on a timbered ridge. He was moving up thru the timber from the rugged canyon below. After the storm, the velvet buck was heading for the top to bed. I was slipping along checking out the timbered ridge and we met each other in the cover of timber. This smart old buck was moving through and using it for cover. Not much for a spot and stock hunt. More like a spot and shoot. With two of his front teeth worn down to the gums and looking at the back molars, I aged him at nine or ten.

In my book Hunting High Country Mule Deer I explain how to field judging a buck in five second. It took me less then that to determine it was a great trophy. He’s one of those bucks with no out standing features to his rack. Having tall backs, good fronts, four-inch eye guards and 24 inch plus main beams, he is truly a symmetrically typical mule deer.

The last time I harvested a velvet buck was in the seventies. I was able to save the velvet on his rack for the mount.

Did I mention I have a Late 12 A West Mule Deer Tag in Arizona? It took me eleven years of giving Arizona Game & Fish license money. I just about had given up on that draw. For me it’s shaping up to be an interesting fall of hunting. And just when I figured I was going to slow down! Next two weeks I’ll be hunting antelope in Wyoming and Southern Colorado. Will post when I get time. Mike Eastman.

Field & Stream Outdoor Icons

Aug 16 2009

Just got back last Sunday from doing lectures at three Bass Pro Shops. It went will and I thank all of you Eastmans’ Journal fans for showing up. I did a talk on trophy antelope hunting and it went over excellent.

Several weeks ago Wolf Creek Productions show up at my doorstep. To get to my house here in Wyoming you need to pack a lunch. Will they are doing a series on the Outdoor Channel along with Field and Stream. Steve Gruber the producer told Guy Eastman that the production of the series Field & Stream Outdoor Icons will look beyond what viewers see each week and explore more in-depth the personalities that come alive.

In my case they compiled information on all four generations of Eastmans. Plus what I do when I’m not filming or hunting. They did a lot of interviewing with my family and went with me while I filmed an Osprey nest one morning near my house.

I gave them some old 1957 vintage footage. Dad guiding in Alaska, me at fourteen bugling in a six point bull, and floating across the Snake River at 30 below to hunt trophy mule deer. Good Stuff!

It will air next week.  Times are: WED 2:30A ET | FRI 6:30P ET | SAT 10A ET | SUN 3:30P ET you mite check it out if you get the Outdoor Channel. Or go to the web http://outdoorchannel.com/shows/outdooricons/episodes.aspx

Update on my knee. I hate needles but went in yesterday and got a shoot into the knee joint. It has helped not limping around and ready for the fall. I will be leaving the middle of the week on a Nevada trophy antelope hunt. Looking forward to this DIY public land hunt. Not accustomed to hunting with a rifle for antelope bucks in August oh will! I have been putting in for 8 years in Nevada for this tag! Guy my son is all ready down in his Wyoming antelope unit scouting and hunting with a bow. The 2009 season is now on! With all the rain we should see some great horn and antler growth. Up here at 7500 feet last night it frosted and I can smell the fall just around the corner. Will touch base after I get back from the antelope hunt in Nevada.

Good luck on hunting this fall. Fair Chase is the only way to hunt and take big game! Mike Eastman