Hunting Articles:
12/15/23 The following article was written by FindAHuntingBuddy.com member Mel L. from California
Frustrated at finding no elk or sign, I continued on hoping the next turn in the trail would bring
me luck. I carried my rifle out of the scabbard and across my lap as I often do when I have a
hunch I will bump elk at any time. The trail ahead narrowed and disappeared as it made a sharp
turn around a large boulder.
My anticipation for the next turn in the trail turned to near horror as my horse rounded the
boulder and into the path of a gigantic male mountain lion utilizing the same trail. I barely
whispered a “whoa” to my horse as my legs shot forward and out bracing for the deadly
encounter that was sure to see one or more of us dead. Instinctively my rifle found my
shoulder, my eyes wide open and I knew I was on target from a lifetime of tactical shooting.
The lion and my horse froze in place at the same time facing each other with nowhere to go.
Estimating the lion to be well over 200 pounds and near eight feet from nose to tail, stood in a
barely noticeable crouch, motionless facing us. The lion did not move a muscle, not even his
pupils in his eyes. His mouth was partially open exposing his massive fangs. My horse was also
frozen in place, ears forward staring at the lion.
Time stood still as I waited for the lion’s tail to drop telegraphing an attack. After what seemed
to be close to 30+ seconds or more, I broke the silence and said, “What’s it going to be cat?”
The instant I spoke, the lion’s pupils moved several times as I surmised he was focusing back
and forth between my horse and myself. The lion’s tail still did not move as he seemed to study
the situation.
I gave a silent sigh of relief when the lion finally flashed a glance to the hillside above. The lion
locked his stare back on me for a moment longer and then in one fluid movement, turned his
head towards the hillside, dropped tail and made a good ten foot leap up and behind him. The
barrel of my rifle tracked his movement.
The lion landed silently and looked over his shoulder at me. From this angle, I could clearly see
the lion was male. Sensing too much time was passing and perhaps the lion was reconsidering, I
said, “Keep going.” This king of predators, looking indignant that I had the nerve to speak yet
again, slowly took a couple steps, stopped and again looked back. Lowering my rifle now to take
in the full majestic beauty of this awesome predator, I watched as he stared back a moment
longer, then turned and moving at an even pace, went up the canyon wall and out of sight.
Sitting a while longer and feeling the tension flow from my horse and me, I considered what to
do. An old saying my father taught me regarding lions kept repeating in my mind, “If you see a
lion in the wild, it is hunting you.” My horse watched the hillside above as did I, as we slowly
headed back down the trail towards camp. An uneasy calm filled the air as I packed camp and
headed for the trailhead.
My horse let out several uncharacteristic whinnies as we came into site of the trailhead and
other livestock. My hunting companion’s questioning rivaled a board of inquiry as they analyzed
and wrapped their minds around my story of deliverance.
β
Now I would like to take credit for having nerves of steel and exceptional horsemanship skills,
but I know in my heart, my Guardian Angel was standing between us, keeping everything calm
and calling it a draw!
Author’s note; my true hunting story may sound familiar to some older readers as it appeared in
several outdoor/hunting magazines many years ago. I recently came across my original writing
and action sketch drawn by my good friend E.A. I figured I would share it again hoping to
entertain and kindle the spirit of adventure for the hunt.
Old School Hunter
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2/06/23 The following article was written by FindAHuntingBuddy.com member Mel L. from California
HUNTER’S TOOL KIT
As the saying goes, “If the only tool you carry is a hammer, then every problem looks like a
nail!” I’m sure most everyone has heard this saying and I have found over my three decades of
service, it holds a lot of truth.
As hunters we face many challenges pursuing our way of life. Much of society today values the
wellbeing and actions of animals over the safety and legal rights of hunters. Large predator
attacks on humans will continue to rise as their numbers increase through protection and re-
introduction into historic ranges.
I will spare you the dull subject of modern forensics and investigative techniques employed by
law enforcement agencies. Be it to say, you do not want to be the guy who puts a bullet into an
animal un-justifiably killing or wounding it, using an unauthorized weapon or not immediately
reporting the action to officials. All sorts of trouble will likely find you; the least of which being
the loss of your hunting privileges.
I have carried firearms daily my entire adult life, both open and concealed. In no way am I
suggesting for you to be unprepared to exercise your legal right to self defense against all
comers, be it animals or humans. My intent here is to share some gear and philosophy ideas
not readily found in traditional hunting articles.
Obviously as hunters, we always carry at least one capable weapon while hunting. I have
continually struggled with the pros & cons and oftentimes, legality of carrying additional
weapons, e.g. handgun for self defense while hunting. Just as importantly is how to carry
additional weapons along with all my critical gear so as to have it readily available when most
needed.
I have a garage full of handgun holsters, rifle packs, backpacks, binocular chest rigs, load
carrying vest configuration and even various leg packs I have used professionally and ultimately
experimented with while hunting. The problem lies with wearing most of this gear for
extended periods of time. While performing great for a few hours and generally looking pretty
bad ass, they really don’t ride well against your body or work well with traditional hunting gear
for extended periods of time and/or miles. Additionally, the vast majority of weapon support
gear is very socially awkward to wear in public and draws unwanted attention. I am a firm
believer in the “Grey Man” mentality. Move through society carrying weapons unnoticed by
the good guys and bad. This is obviously much easier to do with a concealed carry permit,
which I highly encourage putting the effort into obtaining.
Before I completely lose some of my readers believing I may be a tree hugging pacifist, I will
cover a few thoughts on the full size handguns I carry while hunting in bear country. My main
large bore hunting handgun is a Smith & Wesson model 629, in .44 Rem. Magnum. I load with
Federal Premium, 300 grain solid hard cast flat nose lead bullets. When hunting south of the
β44th parallel, I pack my every day carry handgun, a Springfield XD-45. I load with Buffalo Bore 45
ACP +P, 255gr solid hard cast flat nose lead bullets. A note of caution, these high performance
rounds can push the tolerances of handguns, so I recommend not shooting them for practice.
Because of the weight and size of these handguns, my holster placement of choice is on my
backpack hip belt on my right side. This location is where my brain knows from a lifetime of
carry to find my weapon. I use secure holsters that also provide good protection from the
elements while still being reasonably quick to draw from. This setup works well with one real
drawback being my handgun leaves my body when I drop my backpack. Whatever you choose
to carry, I strongly urge you to practice often and with the setup you will use in the field.
Muscle memory is critical in stressful situations.
Okay, with the grunting’s of approval for my choice in large caliper handgun carry out of the
way, I will get onto my RIBZ Front Pack kit. I have worn my basic RIBZ Front Pack configuration
for 1,000+ miles backpacking the PCT, JMT, multiple mountain climbs and many hunting
seasons. The following is a list of the primary gear I carry in my RIBZ Front pack while hunting.
Obviously some adjustments are made based on primary weapon, season, terrain, state laws,
etcetera. Additionally, I am not sponsored by any of the following products nor am I receiving
compensation for including them in this article.
- RIBZ Front Pack. The latest version of RIBZ Front Packs is one size fits all. Capacity is 7
liters and weighs 11 oz. RIBZ Front Packs are great for carrying everything I want for my
immediate use. I own three colors of the latest production RIBZ packs. I have modified
my RIBZ Packs by shortening the straps to my build and lengthening the pull tabs. I have
also integrated a small padded nylon holster to securely hold small framed handguns
from moving and rubbing. When opting to carry a full size handgun in my RIBZ Front
Pack, I place the weapon top down with the grip facing inboard. I mitigate the rubbing
and printing by sandwiching the handgun in a light flexible leather. This works
extremely well and no one is the wiser of what I carry. Only do this if you are legally
able to conceal carry a weapon!
- Smith & Wesson Model 317 Kit Gun. The 317 Kit Gun is an eight shot, 22 LR caliber,
aluminum alloy J-frame revolver that weighs in at 11.7 oz. The 317 Kit Gun is extremely
well made and will fire the majority of all the 22 caliber line up of ammunition with little
chance of failure. The versatility of the 22 LR caliber is well known for taking small
game, dispatching large game when done properly, audibly signaling location, etcetera.
Best of all is the light weight and small size of the ammunition.
- Bear Spray. Based on studies from big bear country, bear spray is your best defense
against anything large, dangerous and charging you. In my experience, it is difficult in
the best of circumstances to make accurate shots on moving targets, even with
extensive training. Bear spray is easy to use, legal to carry and you can walk the spray
cloud into your aggressor. Luckily I have never had to use bear spray on an aggressive
animal in the wild, though I do have extensive experience with similar products
professionally. I currently have a new canister of Frontiersman bear spray. As soon as
βthe expiration date draws near on my bear spray canisters, I practice drawing and
deploying the contents in a safe downwind manner.
- Bear spray holster by Mystery Ranch. Mystery Ranch’s bear spray holster has been an
absolute game changer in efficiently carrying bear spray. The Mystery Ranch holster
nests securely to the middle of the latest version of the RIBZ Front Pack, making
deploying easily with either hand. The one modification I have made to my Mystery
Ranch bear spray holster is to add a small lightweight carabiner clipping the top of the
holster to a ring on my RIBZ Pack strap. The carabiner keeps the bear spray holster
attached to my RIBZ Pack when the two halves of the pack are unzipped.
- Slingshot. The Simple Shot, Scout Gen 2 hunting slingshot is small, lightweight and
virtually indestructible. Before you start laughing and dismiss the idea of a slingshot
outright; having a slingshot with you hunting is a lot of fun and can be useful in many
ways. I use my slingshot to accurately create noise where I direct, encouraging game to
break cover, rise from beds and sometimes move in a desired direction. Additionally, I
use my slingshot with great success dissuading range cattle, black bears and nuisance
critters from getting in my business. With practice, you can confidently use a slingshot
to quietly harvest small game.
-Camera. Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-HX80. I am currently using the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-
HX80 because of it’s 18.2 Mega pixel quality photos, 30x optical zoom, size, weight and
most of all Bluetooth capability to send photos and videos to my smart phone. My
smart phone automatically backs up my photos and videos to the cloud for multiple
layers of redundancy.
- Binoculars. Leupold 10 X 42, BX-3 Mojave Pro Guide HD, are my most often used
binoculars for general Western States hunting. My advice here is to spend as much as
you can justify on binoculars. Secondly, find a way to hold your binoculars steady and
securely for extended periods of glassing. I am currently using a Primos Gen 3 short
Trigger Stick for my glassing and shooting platform. I accomplish this with an easily
made aluminum binocular cradle, attached to a Trigger Stick camera mount. I find this
dual purpose set up works exceptionally well.
- InReach Explorer by Garmin. The ability to stay in touch with family, friends and call for
emergency rescue from anywhere cannot be overstated. I have used my inReach
satellite communicator extensively for the past several years without problems. When
combined with Garmin Earthmate app, communicating anywhere is quick and easy.
- Two Way Radio. Midland Xtra Talk GXT. The value of two way radios is well known. I
recommend using water resistant two way radios along with quality earbuds for quiet
communications. My hunting companions all carry two way radios and we have
established safety check in schedules. I also recommend understanding the different
power output levels between GRMS and FRS channels.
β
- Range finder. Leica Rangemaster 1200. Leica products are great quality and have never
let me down. Knowing the range to your target is critical for accurate shots.
- Headlamp. Stream light Enduro. I like this particular model because it is small, powerful,
simple to use and very reliable. I recommend always keeping a headlamp or flashlight
on your person.
- Ammunition. When hunting with a muzzleloader, I always carry two pre-weighed
charges, bullets and extra 209 primers in easy to use plastic tubes in my RIBZ Front Pack.
- Hiking poles. Though not carried in my RIBZ Front Pack, hiking poles fulfill an important
safety roll in my kit deserving a mention. Hiking poles are probably the number one item
that will keep you from getting seriously injured in the field from a fall at the very worst
possible time. Hiking poles are a great defense against poisonous snakes and make you
look much more formable to all animals. Many call using hiking poles, “four-wheel drive
hiking”. Hiking poles will increase your hiking stamina and relieve stress on all your
joints, especially your knees. I personally prefer Black Diamond carbon hiking poles and
use them almost always in the field.
During my outdoorsman’s life and professional career, I have had confrontations with a brown
bear, several black bears, a mountain lion, several range cattle and many aggressive dogs. First
and foremost, understand your mind is the true weapon! Any traditional weapons or non-lethal
deterrents used are nothing more than tools. With less than lethal options added to your kit,
enables you to use an escalation of force (if deemed safe and appropriate), and perhaps a more
desirable outcome in the long run.
My friends I will leave you with this; the most dangerous predator on this planet is you. Own it!
Stay safe and good hunting.
Old School Hunter
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