Another year's Krag hunt
Well the hunting aREa has expanded this year. We got an invite to hunt down in the Salmon River country, season opens there 10/10. I couldn't see buying an elk tag, but supposedly there are a lot of big deer there so I got an "A" tag for deer. CWD hasn't hit that area (yet). I'm putting together some 150 grain loads for this one.
I also got an Oregon elk tag. It's a bull elk tag good only inside the Eagle Cap wilderness area in the Wallowas. It is a muzzle-loader hunt, that one goes from 10/19-27. I'm hoping to find some tracking snow, go in on the south side of the wilderness area. If the animals are there, they will be maybe 1/4 mile down from snowline.
We are also going to hunt our old grounds in the Lolo Zone. We may have located a monster bull last year, see if he's still around. ID F&G can hardly give away elk tags in that zone any more.
Last year we met up with some of the regulars, locals. The year before, when Paul left me alone and then there was 3 feet of heavy snow, they came by to see if I was OK - I had lost my car keys when my tent collapsed and was getting around on a bicycle, they were worried. It was kind of touching. The guy's teenage son and wife both collected on moose tags last year; his mother in law got HER moose the year before. I guess they must like moose meat. I expect they will be around again - where else they gonna go?
CWD is spreading: the whole uplands around Grangeville and Craigmont are mandatory test areas, as are the Little Salmon and Payette River valleys from Riggins down to Wheezer. And now Unit 1, from Canada down to the north side of Lake Pend d'Oreille. Any deer you take in those areas, you have to cut out the lymph glands and submit them to one of the ID F&G stations for testing.
I am thankful that we can get out at our ages, and to have a partner that can look out for me and vice versa.
jn
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