Author: leaddog

Friday:
Leaddog arrives to a dark, cold, and empty camp to apparently hunt solo. After getting the camp prepared for the rest of the gang, a hunt to Billy’s watch was in order due to yet another round of Al Gore’s induce global warming events. Three inches of partly cloudy and the uncertainty of more changed the plans of going up top, but resulted in a great day hunting the swamps and hardwoods along the stream. Tracks of bear and deer were present, but no makers of such were encountered. It is now apparent where the mules cross when pushed from one side to the other. A watch will be set up in the future in these spots. Polecat, Piewhore and Probie joins Leaddog after dark for the last Friday’s beer tasting event.

Saturday:
Since the pressure seems to be off on the gang from last weeks kill, everyone else arrives early in the morning due to various but still unconfirmed excuses. A hunt from No-name to Ironder-twat is in order, with the usual push to be performed. Stosh shows up an hour late and a mile behind, but not because of his lack of promptness in arrival, but due to his promptness in getting his car stuck in the ditch on the road into camp. Said vehicle’s position in the road prevented the drivers from being dropped off by vehicle, until the obstruction was cleared. The extrication crew was considering firing up Denmama’s backhoe to push the obstructing vehicle over the bank, but Probie removes the stump and the large rock that somehow Stosh perfectly parallel parked within just in time, and the drivers are driven to finally drive.

Does once again are penned and released at the end of the drive on part one. Part two consisted of the usual antics up top by Toucher and Digger, who were playing slap ass with the does. After some time, in which several fingers and toes were frozen solid of the watchers, the drive was completed. In the very last minutes of the drive, a doe is pushed out by the Polecat to the bottom, proving that a tighter drive line works. All returns to camp for closing-eve activities.

Sunday:
Where did all the So-Co go? Sounding like a new country hit song, most likely performed by Miley Cyrus somebody drank just about all of the So-Co! Closing ceremonies of the night prior and the success of last week’s kill has created a no urge to hunt scenario. The camp gets cleaned and ready for snowmobile season, as all finally disperses down the hill to the their loved ones for holiday related preparations.

Synopsis:
F-Troop hunts in snow conditions, during all seven weeks of the season.

Lindy see’s and hits the Thirty-Seven Point buck. All’s not lost however, due to the deers armor.
Watchers pass on a fork-horn and a spike.
A big mean ‘ol bear took all of Toucher’s bullets, and one-third of his rifle.
Robba has a chance to bag a big eight, but his Jammington 30.06 prevents such.
Leaddog bags the only buck – a nice seven pointer. 😉

Sign of bears up a Tree

F-Troop with Leaddog’s 2013 Buck

Leaddog’s 7pt 134lb buck 2013

Leaddog with his 7pt Buck 2013

F-Troop with Leaddog’s Buck 2013

Rangers in Training dragging a buck

Rangers in Training Dragging Leaddog’s 7pt Buck 2013

Leaddog’s 7pt 134lb buck 2013

Leaddog’s 7pt 134lb buck 2013

Friday:

The turkey stuffed crew of 10 arrives early to single digit temperatures, both outside and inside the camp. Snow is still present, and provides a workout for the gang as the hunt commences. Polecat and Leaddog assaults Beaver Valley to the Amphitheater, with the gang waiting on the other side for mules to be pushed to them. At the top of the frigid, cold mountain Polecat pushes a moose sized doe out of it’s bed to points unknown. Drivers from all directions converge on the watchers, where they laid in wait for action. The Valley in Piney Knob had the appearance and smells of an Indian encampment; fires burning resulted in smoke hanging in the valley and covering any odors of human occupancy. Mules stayed high, apparently enjoying the heat produced from below.

Saturday:

In an effort to totally confuse the mules, A Sunday hunt was in order. Drivers were driven to the starting point, with part one resulting in the crew mixing it up with the coyotes who now seemed to dominate the happy hunting grounds. Dogs, dogs, and more dogs were about, and actually heard by the gang, with tracks being present everywhere. This possibly may be the result of Toucher’s big mean ‘ol bear forming an alliance with said dogs, but we will never know. Mules are about, but are on high alert due to the presence of the coyotes. Toucher spanks a coyote hard, one less to chase the mules.

On yet another note:

Of great interest and amusement was what Polecat found, in the swale in the back of the mountain where no-one should have been, except for F-troop. A small tent was present with a backpacking woodstove pipe sticking out of it, with smoke! A call to the occupant by the Polecat resulted in a response from the occupant, who declared “what are you doing here?”…Polecat of course asked the same.

Mr. Occupier replies that he’s “deep in the Adirondack wilds, where no one should be” Polecat replies that there’s 13 guys around him and are hunting, and you’re only a mile from the road.

Obviously, Mr. Occupier has a different opinion and view of what is defined as the “backcountry”.

It must be told that the prior night was below zero, and the “Occupier” declared he had a difficult night sleeping all alone the “wilds” of the Great Northwoods due to the cold. Better yet, was that this individual was not hunting – but had a bow – in the north – during the big game season. He also had no clue about bears, coyotes, and of course F-troop, which he was quickly educated about.

He declared he was packing up and leaving the woods – good idea. Adios, mu-chachos!

Back on the hills, part two had mules flying about, once again playing pinball with the watchers. Three does sneak right up to Leaddog, as seen by Digger from another watch not too far away. The does bounce off him, to Steven, then they display themselves to Jake (F-trooper in training)- who had a great time seeing does all by himself on watch.

Sunday

Two main troopers, Toucher and Digger leaves camp to perform “other duties” not related to mule hunting. An assault was performed on Marsh, with just three watchers in place. Leaddog on his ridge watch, Chip on Spike’s improved watch, and the Pie Whore down low guarding both the mountain – and the remaining pies at camp.

Junior (F-trooper in training) tries to confuse the mules by leaving his shootin’ iron in the woods as he stops and then moves on. After 100yds it was apparent something was a-muck, the walk is much easier without all that weight. His rifle was found as it was, and where it was left.

Finally!

The drive apparently worked! A lone mule walks slowly from the drive, under Leaddog’s watch, and at 40 yards away from him headgear was observed! Concealed by recent upgrades done last week by Lindy and Leaddog to the watch, the shot was set up and delivered after several attempts to do so. Shot one hits the beast square in the heart, with the remaining four shots fired for effect. No Jammer from the Jammington 7400 occurred this time! The beast fell 20 yards from Leaddog, a nice seven pointer, almost eight – 14 inch spread- weighing in at 134 lbs is down!

Next week – Bears!

Digger will post pictures!

The Cliffs of Big Marsh

LPL

The boys on the shores of LPL

LPL II

Where Are You?

Drying everything out

Plenty of Cold Beer!

The Vly

Friday:

Leaddog arrives to IFR conditions: fog and snrain limits visibility to 75 yds and less. No other Rangers are present to join in the hunt, so a solo Gore-tex laden walk was in order. A s-l-o-w still hunt through the Knolls to the Stump watch was completed, with tracks observed. Polecat shows up, and declares that he’s not joining the hunt. A traverse across Marsh to the first Cable did however result in a backpack full of mushrooms collected which will be added to Saturday’s dinner. A fresh mule would have been nice to add to the recipe! No bears sporting bullet laden bandoleers were seen either……

At least something was brought back to camp!

Saturday:

With a full compliment of Rangers now assembled, an assault on Marsh in the reverse direction was in order. Watchers were placed by vehicle, with a big push starting from camp. Chip goes low and encounters two flags as he approaches his assigned watch. Other mules are pushed from and about the top, as always. All reassembles at the “Annex” to attempt something different. All are dispersed, and as always when all were at the farthest point from anywhere – the lake effect snows start. Visibility was no more than ten feet at times, with new snow creating the “etch-a-sketch” conditions that if a fresh track was seen, the mule in it would be fogging up your scope with it’s breath. No fogging of scopes occurred.

Sunday:

Waking up to 7 degrees, and 25mph winds plus, (do the math for windchill temps):

T(wc) = 35.74 + 0.6215T – 35.75(V^0.16) + 0.4275T(V^0.16)

Where T(wc) is the Wind Chill in degrees F, V is the Wind Speed in MPH, and T is the temperature in degrees F. I don’t think Polecat’s pencils or calculators will perform this function… 😉

The crew has a leisurely breakfast, cleans camp and leaves the hill. Proud wimps we all were! This global warming thing is rearing it’s ugly head again, as now it’s too cold! Please, oh please Al Gore make it stop!

F-Troop at The Hilton 11/20/2013

The Well is frozen.

Christmas Tree in The LD’s

NEW BADGE! Moonrise from the DuckHole!

Headlamps were brought out by some, others used their iPhone’s Flashlight instead.

Friday:
Three members (in good standing) of the FAMHC gets into camp the night prior, and discusses the next days hunt. Two other members (in good standing) joins the crew in the morning and decides to hunt the newly annexed portion which lies to the west of camp. A drive to the area leaves the three amigos up top, with Hobbit and Probie on watch below. As the hunt begins, the three amigos split up, and immediately the “fun” begins.

Robba splits and hunts just out of Polecat and Leaddogs view, when a flag is seen heading for Robba from a multitude of tracks and sign observed by Polecat and Leaddog. Anxious seconds are endured followed by a single shot. More time is endured, and the statement of “I got a F%$#@%^ jammer” from Robba. The antlered topped mule of eight points would not stop from various attempts by Robba, so the last ditch method of throwing a shot out in front of it worked. The follow up shot did not work however due to the jammer in the rifle.

Mules were pushed all about the annex, the crew could hear the laughing that only mules can make.

A gun cleaning clinic was promptly held at the return to camp.

Saturday:
A full compliment of Rangers and guests prepare for the long awaited confirmation hunt-hike that may prove if the Beast O’ Mighty lived through Lindy’s attempt to bag said beast from last week.

NEWSFLASH! Chip brings the NY SAFE ACT to a new level!
As the gang prepares for the trek at hand, a situation occurred that would pass the granola out of the nose of a treehugger! Chip, being a conscious and proponent advocate of gun safety, brings his rifle to camp in a case with a trigger lock fully deployed on said firearm. Problem was, was that the device to free said lock from said firearm, was safely left at home 75 miles away – making this rifle one of the safest in camp, or in the state! Chip vowed to never let this happen again.

The crew heads for the back country – tracks, tracks, and more tracks are seen. Bears appeared to have had a barn dance throughout the territory. Very large tracks are seen up top where the Beast was heading last week, hopefully belonging to said beast. The mountain was assaulted, and mules were moving about, but the mule in question did not want to engage the “wolfpack” now present in his haunts. It appears to live!

Back to the show

“Chip, it’s your turn to go first in Double Jeopardy, so choose a category”
“I’ll take Gun Safety for $400, Alex”
“The clue is: This item is required to remove a trigger lock from a firearm before it’s used”
“What is a key, Alex?
“Correct, for $400” 🙂

Back to the hills:

A tired crew returns to camp in moonlight conditions, with some Rangers completing a 12 mile trek to nowhere to stop any mules from using the back door. It appears that no mules were home, and the door was locked. A disturbing development has occurred however. Upon setting foot on the hill in the backcountry, it was observed that “others” had attempted to find the Beast of F-Troop’s desire. This crew of three to four knew what they were doing, as observed by their ingress and exit to and from the hill. It appeared that this rogue crew was in there earlier in the week from an alternate starting point. Either they were blissfully unaware of the Rangers engagement of last week; or it was “Icicle Al” who listened to the whole exchange of last week and tried to covertly bag the beast. There may be trolls on this website! 😉

Toucher, who is still recovering from a wobbly knee sets up shop in the 10.2 watch, where he encountered a big, bad, mean ‘ol bear, of at least 2000lbs….probably more. The bear came from above, snarling and snapping his sharp, blood stained teeth at the Toucher, who due to his wobbly knee couldn’t climb a tree or run away – so he threw his gun right at the beast. The beast grabbed his gun from the mud and shook it like a dog with a newly caught squirrel, breaking it in three pieces and running off into the wilds with the shootin’ portion. All Toucher has now is the stock and forepiece, the bear even took all his bullets.

Poor Toucher!

Back to the show

This puzzle’s clue is “Thing”

“Ok, Chip – your turn to spin the Wheel”
-Sound of spinning wheel-
“Ok – $500”
“Pat, I’ll take a K please!”
“Vanna, indeed there’s a K!
“Spin again, Chip”
-Sound of spinning wheel-
“WoW – $1000, letter Chip?”
“I’ll buy an E, Pat”
“There’s an E!”
“I’ll spin”
-Sound of spinning wheel-
“$200 – Chip”
“I’ll take a Y”
“I’d like to solve, Pat….ummm…KEY?”

Dat-dat-da,da,daaaa! 😉

Sunday:

The crew wakes to grey skies and the threat of rain – which appears now to be an every Sunday event. The crew deploys to one of the bunny hills, and a drive commences but not as directed by the Denmama. Mules are actually seen and verified, with Chip getting a handle on this whole deer hunting thing, by pushing and viewing the mules. The drive seems to work as mules, all flat topped fly off the hill as usual. Steven sees a small bear, probably not the one that Toucher encountered – it wasn’t sporting a bandoleer of 30.06 bullets. Robba see a future buck down by the water edge, with lots of sign as well.

The Piewhore gets a treat and has a flatopped mule joins him in his watch as the crew nears on the way out.

All gets wet, and the woods are left again to heal for the week, as well as the legs, feet and backs of the crew.

A tired polecat enjoys the couch for the first time in years.

Mule steaks three weekends in a row! Trailhugger would have been proud of how these rare ones turned out!

Friday:

Global warming strikes again, with three inches of partly cloudy being deposited across the happy hunting grounds. Leaddog has the woods to himself, which apparently was the case indeed. Just one mule track was observed, heading away from the intended solo hunt. Many hours were spent in several watches, with not one additional mule track or associated mule in it observed. Polecat shows up, but is hindered by yet another gas delivery.

Saturday:

With a almost full complement of Rangers, sans the Probie and Steven, The crew heads for the back country to verify the existence of the Beast O’ Mighty. The main assault commences from the alternate ingress route, with Leaddog and Digger having blocking guard duty up above on the Thumb and the Escape route. While both were contemplating the next task at hand, two shots were heard from down below, where the spearhead assault was underway.

Radios proved to be somewhat useless, as garbled transmissions were heard with comments such as “A Racker Buck”, and “Lindy”! The excitement was short lived however due to what was heard in the next transmission as “Crossed the Creek, and heading to Stayaway”.

Let loose the Hounds!

Lindy has finally seen and confirmed the actual existence of the “Beast O’ Mighty”, and what follows next was the emotional rollercoaster ride of hunting. Robba and “Junior” finds blood, and then tracks the now somewhat wounded mule to the top of Stayaway, where apparently it’s bullet proof armor worked in fine fashion. With a grazing wound, the mule digs a trench akin to what National Grid would dig to lay cable, as observed by Robba – (aka:The Bloodhound). Feeling confident that the mule is just pissed and not mortally wounded, the crew suspends operations vowing to return bright and early next Saturday.

According to Lindy, the mule encountered was indeed “Da thirty-six point buck” of hunting lore. Lindy drowns his sorrows and relives over and over in his mind the prior exchange, with copious amounts of “kerosine”.

Junior earns inadvertently, his “Cross the Creek” and the coveted “Stayaway” badge with Robba on Saturday, and even earned the “Bernie’s Mystery Trail” badge on Sunday, by soloing and navigating the trail.

Sunday:

The crew decides to put on drives in familiar haunts, due to weather uncertainty, which certainly exercised it’s uncertainty. The drive commences, as does the rain, snow…snrain!
Much sign is observed by Digger, who was being observed as well by a non-conforming hunter of a different crew. Mules were pushed off the hill, with a spike and a fork horn being passed by the now picky watchers. Part two of the hunt has “Darren’s Dates” flying off the hill as usual, but no buck in the mix this time.