Hunters and Anglers Buy from Companies that Support Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation

Large majorities of hunters and anglers say they are more likely to buy products from companies that support wildlife and fisheries conservation efforts, according to a recent survey.

Hunters and anglers also perceive specific firms as being particularly strong in their support for conservation.

In separate November 2008 surveys (one for hunters and the other for anglers), respondents were asked if they would be more or less likely to buy from companies that support conservation of wildlife and fisheries resources. A significant 67% of hunters and 52% of anglers stated that they are “much more likely” to buy products from conservation-supporting companies. A further 22% of hunters and 29% of anglers describe themselves as “slightly more likely” to buy products from such companies.

Only 7% of hunters and 14% of anglers stated that companies’ support for conservation had no influence either way on their purchasing decisions.

“These results show that clear majorities of both hunters and anglers are positively influenced in their purchasing decisions by companies’ perceived efforts in support of wildlife and fisheries conservation,” said the survey’s author, Rob Southwick of Southwick Associates.

The survey results also show that hunters and anglers perceive specific companies as being supporters of conservation efforts. In the separate surveys, hunters were asked which listed companies they felt contributed to hunting and wildlife conservation, and anglers were asked which listed companies they felt contributed to fishing and fisheries conservation. A list of companies to choose from was provided to each respondent. The top five brands were (the figure following each company or brand name indicates the percentage of respondents who perceived that company as a conservation supporter):

Chevy Trucks: hunters 16%, anglers 15%;
Budweiser: hunters 13%, anglers 12%;
Polaris: hunters 12%, anglers 8%;
Ford: hunters 10%, anglers 8%;
Yamaha: hunters 8.5%, anglers 10.5%;

Launched in 2006, AnglerSurvey.com and HunterSurvey.com help the outdoor equipment industry, government fisheries officials, and conservation organizations track consumer activities and expenditure trends. The list above represents only a small sample of the vast amount of information that is available from the complete survey results. The results are scientifically analyzed to reflect all U.S. anglers. Find out how a subscription to the complete survey data can help your business, government agency, or organization.

For more information, contact Rob Southwick at Rob@southwickassociates.com.

What's Up With Some Hunters?

I must admit to being a regular on a couple of internet messageboards and while they are typically a great place to ask questions and share information, there inevitably are some heated discussions. The one thing that I can never understand though, is some hunters' need to slag other hunters, usually for practices the poster has no experience with. As hunters, we need to support other ethical hunters and while conversations surrounding ethics are certainly a good thing, they don't come with a need to put other hunters down because their ethics may differ slightly from ours or because they have hunting experiences that we don't.

That's my rant for the day......spending too much time in the edit suite gives you lots of time to think. Watch for new episodes of Outdoor Quest TV beginning next week on Wild TV.

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays to everyone and may your New Year be filled with much success and good fortune.

Does it get any stupider?

I just sent the following letter to the National Post in regard to an article they printed regarding hunting in Alberta. It could quite possibly be the most rediculous thing I've ever read and better suited to the Peta web site than a national publication.....

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=1083655

I hope many of you take a few moments to draft a letter as well and send it to the editor of the National Post.

Dear Mr. Libin:

I started to draft a letter but your article, Hunters Go Hog Wild, is so fraught with wild speculation, innuendo and outright lies that it seems pointless...ugh....my head hurts!

Your obvious disdain for hunters and hunting has certainly allowed you to abandon any journalistic integrity that you may have had. Shame on you.

I'm not sure what else to say other than that was one of the trashiest examples of yellow journalism I've ever read. It's a sad commentary on our society when a respected publication like the National Post will publish drivel like this.

Yours truly,

T.J. Schwanky

Hunters' Rendezvous

In the tradition of the great trappers' rendezvous of the 1700s, we decided to hold a hunters' rendezvous this past weekend and gather together a bunch of friends to celebrate the past hunting season. Despite frigid temperatures and deep snow, more than a dozen of Alberta's most dedicated hunters came out to share their good fortune, stories, tips and gear reviews. It started early in the afternoon and went well into the night and many new freindships were forged and many plans laid for the upcoming season.....

Thanks to all that could make it and I hope everyone had a great season and is well underway planning for 2009.

Elk Hunt Day 7

Well, I ended the Arizona elk season with an unused tag. We tried to make a play on a 340-class bull with 60"+ beams this afternoon but it was not to be. Overall, I had a great hunt and I'd like to thank George, my guide Gadget and the crew at United States Outfitters as everything was first class. Not only was USO critical in helping me draw this world-class tag, their guides' knowledge was incredible in this very challenging unit. I'd also like to thank Brenda and the crew at Westside Lilo's for all the great meals! Make sure you stop in there if you ever find yourself in Seligman.

Elk Hunt Day 6

We spent another day watching over a deep canyon where George has had considerable success over the years but luck was not on our side today and we never saw an elk. One more day to go.

Elk Hunt Day 5

Today started off with some excitement when our guide, Gadget, spotted a nice bull at first light. After looking at him for about 15 minutes, I decided not to shoot him. We got ahold of another hunter and he was thrilled at an opportunity at the big 6x6 and he made a great 300 yard shot, killing the bull in his bed. We videod the entire sequence and you'll see the hunt on a 2009 episode of Outdoor Quest TV. The bull was a solid 320 but I'm hoping that my path will cross with something bigger. Tomorrow is another day.

Elk Hunt Day 4

We put in another long day but only got one brief glimpse of an elk a mile away. We did see some javelinas today and a mule deer but that's all that came out on this 70 degree day. One of the hunters in camp killed a monster bull yesterday that grosses 432. Seeing a bull like that keeps you getting up at 4:00 every morning.

Elk Hunt Day 3

Put on lots of miles both on foot and in the truck today and never saw an elk. Heard that a 421 was killed opening day and there are three hunters tagged out in our camp but my search continues. Seeing elk in this terrain is tough enough and getting on them can be impossible sometimes. I never imagined that the hunting would be this tough here.....but tomorrow is another day.

Sheep Season Day 10

The final day is here. When you draw such a tag you never envision it taking the entire 10 day season to find a good ram. This is my 12th trip up a mountain in as many days and my butt is dragging. One heel is held together with camo duct tape and the opposite knee is kept in the game by fortification with a brace. The brace eats a bigger hole out of the back of the knee every day.

Matt and I hit the Hot Rocks before light again and while we wait for the light to come up we speculate on what we have done wrong. When we could finally glass, low and behold the band of 50 sheep we had left there at last light were still there, no twister rams but at least there was some decoys. We worked around the Rocks and scoped Slaughter, nothing there anywhere. Well that made the decision easy anyway and we went up Hot Rocks. Unbelievably minutes after we climbed up and then back down to our watching point a ewe took offence to a young rams attentions and headed up the hill at us. We were astounded to watch every ram (5) in the band turn and follow. The rest is history when this 8 1/2 year old the biggest in the group crossed out of the mine and stopped to stare at us.

I want to thank Pat Garret for coming along for 3 days, the camaraderie picked up our spirits when they were flagging. Matt my son and camera man deserves special thanks for his grit and determination and sticking it out to the bitter end with the old man no matter the outcome. I told you Matt if nothing else we would have a helluva story and I kept my promise not to part out the old body on the mountain!

Elk Hunt Day 2

We spotted a great bull this morning about a mile and a half away. He would have easily been in the360 range had he not broken his top point off but we still decided to make a play on him. Unfortunately, the steep rim rock and heavy cover prevented us from finding him. We saw two other bulls today....a 5x5 and a small 6x6 but neither was big enough to interest us. There's lots of hunting pressure in our area but there are lots of elk too so hopefully luck is on our side tomorrow!

Sheep season Day 9

There were zero sheep on the Hot Rocks or the mountain behind when the sun came up. So we climbed Slaughter for the 8th time in 11 days. The wind roared hard enough to move rocks again today, this is the 9th straight day of horrendous winds. One small ram was all that came by today and worse we never even saw a decent ram. Another brutally miserable day on the mountain. One last mountain to climb tomorrow.

Elk Hunt Day 1

The rain finally stopped and the roads are drying up quickly so we should be able to get around better tomorrow. This is definitely a unique landscape to hunt elk in with Pinyon pine, juniper and cactus dominating the arid landscape. The day was pretty slow but we ended up seeing three bulls right at last light that we'll try a play on tomorrow. They were over a mile away so not sure if the one is a shooter but he had a big frame so he's definitely worth taking a look at. Getting close in the thick cover will prove challenging!

There was one nice 6x6 killed in camp but it appeared to be slow for just about everyone today.

Sheep Season day 8

Today Matt, Pat and I shot up Slaughter in 45 minutes, the impetuous was a band of sheep out in the bowl. The biggest ram was a legal 6 1/2 year old but I didn't come this far to kill that. We spent the entire day within 40 yards of him and his girls. The little band of sheep attracted 4 banana heads through out the day and there were a couple of real twisters that started up to leave the mine but each time ewes got in the way and they never made it up.
The wind howled again and it snowed some more a real pleasant day.
On a side note the hotel room is getting so funky from sweated up synthetics that the staff is leaving the window open in the room. Two days left.

Sheep Season day 7

Plenty of movement today but all on the mine. It is terribly frustrating to watch rams run back and forth from the Hot Rocks and the base of Slaughter.
A brother of the remaining hunter told us the F&W told them Ministers tags are filled, both rams are in the 190's. There was one successful hunter in the first season and two in the second.
Time grows short!

It's Wet Out There

We arrived in Seligman, Arizona today to begin my Unit 10 elk hunt tomorrow. We were greeted with snow and rain and by the looks of the guides' trucks, it's going to be muddy out there tomorrow but the forecast is for better weather later in the week. This is my third hunt with United States Outfitters and USO applies for all of my U.S. draws for me. These draw tags are the working man's chance to hunt world-class animals at a very afforable price.

I'm not going to be in a big hurry to pull the trigger this week and really hope to find a bull in the 350+ range........

http://www.unitedstatesoutfitters.com/

To add a bit of triva to this post, Seligman is the birthplace of the famous Route 66 and there are a plenty of quaint little shops, restaurants and hotels desgned around that theme!

Sheep Season Day 6

Today there was a little fresh snow on the mountains. On our way up Slaughter we crossed fresh wolverine tracks. Today Pat Garret (Gunslinger to AO folks) joined Matt and I. Up on Slaughter we saw some small rams and ewes but nothing left the mine. The 10 wolves we saw yesterday finished off an old ram to the east, ravens were all over the remains.

Over on Hot Rocks we glassed the young fellow as he filled his tag and as we watched them packing down we saw several rams start to move up so we spooled our rags down Slaughter and up Hot Rocks. We passed within 100 yards of a young ram at the top of the pass and another the one in the picture came up and checked us out while we sat and watched a nice ram bedded below. The ram was 90 yards on the mine but when he got up the ewe with him took him down the mountain. Dang! Tomorrow is another day.

Sheep Season Day 5

Today there were lots of sheep working their way up Slaughter as the light first hit, so Matt and I headed up it, yet again. The wind was low until noon when the snow started. We glassed a pack of 10 wolves and bult some rock walls to get out of the wind. A couple of different legal sheep came within 300 yards of leaving the mine but all failed to complete the journey.

Sheep Season Day 4

I put the truck in park and shut it off in the access parking lot. From the dark outside I could hear the rocks driven by the wind ricocheting off the side of the Ford. Great! A crappy start to the day and it only got worse. It usually takes Matt and I 30 minutes to get across the Hot Rocks to the top of the Gregg River. Today it took an hour, fighting the insane wind all the way. Matt and I climbed Slaughter anyway and never saw an animal that wasn't a tiny speck at 10x. There are no sheep on Slaughter or the Hot rocks right now.

Sheep Season Day 3

The Patriarch of the Hot Rocks still reigns. In 2006 TJ and got several minutes of video tape of this old boy. He was wider and taller then but much heavier and gnarly now.

The sheep are moving more today, mostly little rams and the only one we saw of the mine was over on Luscar. We climbed Slaughter again and probably will again tomorrow as we left a ewe bedded near the peak.

Funny story: Matt peaked out at the pass before me today and the next thing I heard was "Dad there is a cougar here!" The cat had started coming at him until he yelled and then it took off. Meanwhile Matt was trying to get his pepper spray off his belt and the damn thing came apart. I laughed and said it was lucky it didn't blow up in his hands - that cougar would have been eating Mexican!

Sheep Season Day 2

Today we went up Slaughter and discovered that one of the other hunters, (a fellow from Wainwright) had got his sheep on the east side. I'd entered the corner coordinates for the mine in my GPS and was amazed at how much of the east side can be hunted.

The wind blew again today and instead of getting pelted by any rock smaller than an inch it snowed. great day any way!

Sheep Season Day 1

Today we were headed to the Tower and got there just minutes after one of the other lucky hunters, so off to the Hot Rocks for Matt and I. The Hot Rocks were covered in elk and very few sheep. Up the ridge we went and sat for the day. we saw a nice ram out on Slaughter but he was booking it for the mine and was back safe in less then 10 minutes. By 2:30 the wind was blowing hard enough to spray us with rocks so we worked our way down to the truck and called it a day.

sheep picture for Day 2

Day 2 Scouting Sheep

Here is a ram that is just below the tower on the mine. I would shoot this fellow on opening day or any other day. You can click any of the pictures to enjoy them full size. Today I headed through Cadomin and out to the Tower Trail. Lots of sheep out here, even some off the mine.
It is a bit of a tug up the last pitch into the hidden basin nestled just under the pass. Far above me, well into slip-and-die country a high country romanced was taking place. Ewes when pushed make sure their suitor is determined and she had him up in the snow covered cliffs. Several times I watched both of them go spraddle legged just to cling to the tenuous ledges. At one point the ram attempted to breed no matter how precarious the situation was. Poor bugger fell off the mountain! It took him 10 minutes to get back up to her and he was still there with her when I left. He is a nice ram but the nearest I can get to him is about 800 or 900 yards and the shot would be straight up!

Tomorrow is opener!

Day 1 Sheep scouting

Today I worked my way across the Hot Rocks and over to Slaughter. From atop of Slaughter I glassed about 300 sheep on the mine to the east. There was the usual mob of 180's ram and one big black monster. From over a mile away he made me blink when he lifted his head while lip curling. Great huge flaring horns that must stretch mid 40's or better absolutely dwarfed the rams around him. I don't know what short of an aneurysm would make him leave 200 ewes and run up a mountain to me but, hey a guy can dream can't he?

This beauty walked up to me as I crossed the mine on the way back to the truck. I'm no expert and TJ might want to jump in here but I figure this fellow at the low 180's.

Hmmmmm.....

I snuck out for a couple hours this afternoon and the whitetails were really rutting. I had a great looking 5x5 at 20 yards and decided not to pull the trigger on him despite the fact that I'm headed to Arizona on Monday for my elk hunt and the Alberta season will be over upon my return. I somehow have a nagging feeling I made a mistake......

November 18, 2008

Tonight I'm sitting in my hotel room in Hinton. Tomorrow is my first day of 2 that I'll spend scouting for my late season WMU 438 Bighorn Ram hunt. I've drawn one of 3 tags available for the 10 day season that runs Nov 21-30. The hunt is limited to the 438C part of WMU 438.
I hunted here successfully in 2006 and saw rams that were the stuff dreams are made of. It'll be hard sleeping tonight!
P.S. T.J. The fridge in the hotel room actually has a door on it this time. The hotel we stayed in in 2006 had most of the wall around the air conditioning unit covered in ice. We referred to it as the fridge.

Southern Alberta Mule Deer

We just got in the door from fantastic mule deer hunt in Southern Alberta. Vanessa took this great buck on day two with her trusty ProHunter 7mm shooting 139-grain Hornady InterBonds at 265.5 yards.

TJ was anxious to give the Icon a test and took this great looking 4x4 on the last day of the hunt. He took the buck at 279 yards with a 165-grain Hornady SST. Watch for both these great hunts on the 2009 series of Outdoor Quest TV.

More Success at Buck Paradise

Well, Lady Luck smiled on us yesterday afternoon and I killed a big 5x6 whitetail at 3:00 in the afternoon. We saw 16 bucks in total yesterday and the rut is really starting to heat up. Bucks were chasing does, grunting, rubbing and scraping. Just got in the door so it's time to unpack and get ready to chase some whitetails around home!

Check out Buck Paradise Outfitters

Success at Buck Paradise

Luck was on our side this afternoon when the buck we were looking for came in to tend his scrape. Vanessa made a perfect shot with the Triumph and the big buck was hers. Now it's my turn to trade the video camera for the Omega. Hopefully we have more pictures to share tomorrow. http:\\www.buckparadise.com

Saskatchewan Whitetails

Vanessa and I are in Green Lake, Saskatchewan hunting whitetail with Buck Paradise Outfitters. We've been seeing loads of deer, including numerous 130-class deer but we still haven't pulled the trigger on the muzzleloader. There is one large 5x5 that we passed on day one that we are going to try and find again tomorrow. After reviewing the footage, passing on him was definitely a mistake. Hopefully he comes back to tend his scrape tomorrow!

Wish us luck!

Jake's Mule Deer

Jake is our youngest boy and this year he drew a mule buck tag. Jake is a journeyman carpenter and does a 14 in and 7 out shift in Ft McMurray. October 25 and 26 he and I got a chance to fill that tag. With the temperature hovering at zero and winds gusting to 50 mph scattering leaves and snow, we gave up trying to spot and stalk and pitched a blind on a canola field that Sandi and I had spotted good bucks on back in September. Just before dark a nice buck came out and slowly started feeding away from the blind. By the time Jake was ready the buck was at a lasered 348 yards, but Jake's shot with the 30 T/c and show hand loaded Nosler E-Tips made for some spectacular footage.

Project: Deer Blind

With a day that was too nice to waste in my office where I should have been writing, I loaded up the Argo and trailer with tools and materials headed out to the back 160. A elevated deer blind on my property is a project that has been waiting for a day where I had nothing better to do.

A good days work saw me get the post holes drilled and the posts placed and tamped true and plumb. I got the cross bracing and the floor on along with two of the walls. Building is sweet when you have the tools and the Argo made get the generator, compressor, nailers and everything else out there breeze. Now I just need to find another day where I have "nothing to do" to finish what I've started.

Moose Camp 2008

Matt my oldest son ans I drew calling season bull moose tags this year and the last week of September saw us in camp suffering through the hottest moose hunting temperatures ever. It took 7 days but Matt finally connected on his second ever moose.

With two days left and moose as scarce as hen's teeth I went home empty handed, but my good luck charm Sandi picked up the camera duties for me a couple of days later and with two intense days of hunting I finally got my chance and made good on it with the Triumph muzzleloader.

Some Fun in Brooks!

No October would be complete without a trip to the Pheasant Festival in Brooks, Alberta and that's where last weekend found us. After enjoying the festivities on Friday night, we headed out for a day of canal shooting on Saturday and managed to take a limit of mixed ducks.

Sunday found us up at 4:00am waiting for buddy Ed Houck from Fowl Weather Outfitting to take us on a goose shoot. Ed has a real place in his heart for youth hunters and he was accompanied by two 14-year olds, one on his first goose shoot and several other novice goose shooters. We had a great morning, taking 14 geese and several ducks. The largest goose tipped the scales at 13.5 pounds!

Nice Day in the Mountains

With all of our sheep tags filled and our bellies full of Thanksgiving turkey, Vanessa and I took a trip to the mountains to photograph some sheep. I think we had a pretty successful day. Also saw a grizzly bear, goats, loads of bugling elk and several coyotes.

Alberta Bighorns

While hunting season started off slowly for me, I made up for it in late September when Vanessa and I snuck into a remote basin in the Alberta Rockies and found a trophy bighorn ram. I managed to sneak within 59 yards of him and dispatched the big ram with one shot from the 7mm STW. It turned into a 15-hour day with heavy packs and Vanessa took a bad fall and fractured her elbow but she toughed it out and returned with me the following day for a second load of meat.

The following weekend, buddy Dan Mosier came down to hunt for bighorn ewes with us and he took a nice fat ewe that will provide some great meals this winter.

Not to be outdone, Vanessa followed up the next weekend by taking a nice fat ewe herself. She dropped the ewe at 197 yards with the Pro Hunter 7mm Rem Mag shooting Hornady 139 grain Accubonds. While temperatures were only +2, the bright sun and good fortune made for an incredible day in the Rockies.

Yukon Adventure

Hunting season started early with a backpack hunt for Dall sheep in the Yukon with Deuling Stone Outfitters. Despite covering countless miles with heavy packs, my guide, Paul Dueling and his buddy Ronny, were unable to put me on a legal ram. While disappointing, it was still an incredible experience and if anything, it just made me want to go back more than ever. http://deulingstoneoutfitters.com/

Vanessa joined me for a second hunt with Yukon Stone Outfitters. I was again skunked on the hunt, this time for moose, but Vanessa took a very old mountain caribou with the Triumph at an amazing 279 yards. The bull will easily make top-5 in the Longhunter Trophy Book. http://www.yukonstone.com/

More Great Fishing Action

I returned to Winefred Lake again in August and enjoyed more incredible walleye action and a quick trip with Mikisew Sportfishing Adventures provided some great lake trout action and my buddy Brad caught a true monster northern pike. http://www.mikisewsportfishing.com/

Vanessa and I also enjoyed a number of trips to the mountains in Alberta's Kananaskis Country where we scouted for bighorn sheep and enjoyed some incredible cutthroat trout fishing.

Fishing Season begins with a Bang

Where has the time gone? It seems it was only a few short weeks ago that I was planning for the May Long Weekend trip to Duck Lake in British Columbia and now, here it is, mid October and we are right in the middle of hunting season. Where to begin?

The Duck Lake trip was awesome and we enjoyed +30 degree temperatures and phenominal largemouth bass fishing. Vanessa caught the big one of the weekend at just under 5 pounds.

June found us headed for Winefred Lake Lodge in northern Alberta where we enjoyed some incredible pike and walleye fishing. Having fished many of North America's best walleye waters, I'd have to say that Winefred Lake ranks right up there at the top. We caught numerous walleye in the 27-29 inch range and some big pike were an added bonus. For more information on Winefred Lake Lodge, check out http://www.winefredlakelodge.com/

September 22 2008

After days of false stalks and frustrating wind and rain filled evenings we finally got a break and just days before I left for moose camp Sandi and I were set up on large canola field in the blind hoping the nice buck we had put to bed there days ago was still holding to his pattern. We got in early, hours before when we thought the bucks would make an appearance and yet had barely settled into the blind when the big buck wandered out into the field. Mule deer are strange creatures, he feed for twenty minutes at 300 to 400 yards distance and then turning towards us walked to almost 250 yards and bedded down in the open swathed and combined field! We watched him sleep for hours and when he stood again Sandi said "I'm taking him." I said "OK, but make sure you anchor him that coolie is very deep and you will have a tough pack getting him out of there." The 155 grain Berger bullet from her 308 Icon flipped his switched so fast his jaw slammed into the dirt when he fell. Watch for this exciting episode in our 2009 broadcast.

September 17, 2008

Opening day of Mule deer season. Sandi has drawn a buck tag near home here in Northern Alberta. We spot a nice buck out is a swathed canola field with about an hour to go before sundown. We tried a long circuitous stalk on him only to find he was more interested in feeding in the center of the half section. There was just no way to close the distance as the minutes counted down we resigned ourselves that we weren't going to get a shot at him and turned to work our way out of the field before dark. To our surprise a large black bear had came out into the field behind us. Sandi had a tag left from spring bear so we quickly slapped together a make shift plan and headed after the big bear. Having a spare tag in her pocket completely turned around what was looking to be a bust on deer opener. All the action is captured on film and will make for a great episode of the new season of Outdoor Quest.

2008 Outdoor Quest Blog

Welcome to our BLOG page!
On this page you are going to see bits and pieces from all parts of the day to day stuff that goes into making a TV show. Sometimes you'll get a on location report other times the latest trip to the sport store or range. Who knows where this will go but we hope you enjoy it! Rich & T.J.
Home 2007
July 2008 Crocodile Bay Resort Costa Rica
For the first time in a couple years we have fishing back on the show. Sandi and I chose big game fishing in Costa Rica for its incredible weather and sterling reputation for big fish and plentiful numbers of fish.


Sandi and a Cuberra Snapper.










One of many Rooster fish we caught fishing inshore. Incredible battlers!











Sandi and a 120 pound sailfish. In total we fished 1 day inshore and 4 days offshore. We caught Marlin to 300 pounds and hooked and fought larger fish. One day we took off from fishing to enjoy the world class spa and an eco tour zip lining through the jungle canopy. Crocodile Bay Costa Rica is a fabulous vacation spot and the staff are first class. It especially impressed me that we were met at every turn by staff. Whether coming or going Crocodile Bay made sure we were transported from airport to hotel and back. They even provided transportation between airports!

May & June 2008 Alberta Spring Bear
Straight from our New Zealand plane we drove over to Argyll Motor Sports in Edmonton and picked up our new 2008 Argo Avenger 750 EFI and headed to the woods bear baiting.










For a review on what's new with the Avenger check out this 2008 Avenger EFI.Nothing compares with an Argo when it comes to hauling the thousands of pounds of bait required to run a dozen bear baits.

Sandi and I renewed old baits from last year and set up several new for this year, even floated a couple of beaver dams to set up baits in untouched areas.All to no avail. We had small bears coming in on the trail cams and a huge number of sows with cubs but only one decent boar.

we sat the baits right to last day of the season hoping for a good bear to wander in but no success. Hopefully we can get on some bear in oats crops this fall and use some tags.














April 2008 North Island New Zealand
Sandi and I found our way back to the incredible green hills of Kanuka Wilderness Hunting situated just east of the town of Palmerston North near the south end of the island. The weather this trip was gorgeous and we enjoyed beautiful blue skies and 20 C plus days. Now that is great hunting weather!






Sandi was first up to hunt, (when isn't she?!?) and she lead us on three merry stalks for a beautiful fallow buck. The fallow were just wrapping up their rut and were pretty mobile which can make for difficult hunting especially when packing a camera with you. We saw some huge bucks but they never stayed out where we could put a stalk on them. Two we watched bed and lost sight of as we trekked through the ravines and forest only to pop up where they were to find empty beds. Such is hunting.




We took to sitting on some pretty spectacular cliff ledges during the warm part of the afternoon and from one at Ferrari Lookout I made a great shot cross canyon for my fallow buck. The second victim of the Icon in 30 T/C.




















Not to be outdone Sandi made a great 240 plus yard shot two mornings later while lying in the dew soaked grass to anchor here great stag. Once again the 30 T/C did a spectacular job. Sandi's heart shot stag managed two faltering steps and plummeted over the edge of a gorge and in spectacular fall broke a hind leg. He was dead where he landed but as we were enjoying here beautiful trophy, I commented on how something smelled bad and at that point Shane our guide exclaimed "Bugger! Look here!" Not 20 yards from Sandi's stag a monster stag had slipped on the precarious hillside trail and had hung himself backwards by his great antlers from a Kanuka tree. The terrible story was there for viewing and the poor bugger didn't have a good end at all.

Bit a bit. Similar to our large burrs the beggar crumbles to the touch into a multitude of near impossible to remove seeds.

Bastard Grass. It looks similar to red top or rye grass here but let a seed come in contact with a hair and you are in for an unpleasant pull as the specially evolved hooks won't let go of the hair and it takes quite a tug to get the seed loose of the stem.

Lawyer Vine. I love these names! It is pretty obvious where the name comes from, cause if it gets its hooks into you it don't let go.

My stag in the Avenger from Blair's . My first animal killed with the new T/C Triumph. Believe it or not one box of Hodgdon pellets cost $110.00!

Sandi and I took these two fine rams on the same day, mine at 142 yards with the Triumph and Sandi's at 220 with the Icon.

For giggles Sandi and I carried the sheep to the Argo in the traditional Kiwi style where you turn the animal into its own back pack. Very comfortable but a little messy.
New Zealand was hard to leave once again, the people and the country are so welcoming they must have strict immigration laws in place to stop being over run by newcomers. Be sure to watch

the Outdoor Quest in 2009 for all the new hunts.