Tag Archive for: mountain

Archery season here in Montana has been a blur and September is almost gone.  As I look at the calendar rifle antelope looms and will be here quickly.  October 6th is the opener and I plan on being there and ready.  So yesterday I decided to go put some more trigger time in behind the Weatherby and try to find out which bullet it would shoot best.  Often a gun will shoot one type of bullet or even one weight of bullet much better than others.  With 3 new boxes of ammo, each a different bullet style, I set out to go attempt to shoot some 200 yard groups.

rifle, mountain, hunting, weatherby

Now shooting groups is actually a fairly difficult thing in my opinion.  It’s very results oriented and one bad squeeze messes up the group.  Eliminating the human error is all but impossible.  I tend to shoot better at longer distances so I like to shoot groups at 200 yards if possible.  This day I had three rounds to test out.  A) 180 grain Accubond B) 180 grain Norma Spitzer & C) 180 grain Nosler Partition

weatherby, mountain, rifle

Bullet testing and a trophy bull for motivation

I started out by cleaning my rifle as it’s only had about 40 rounds through it and I’m trying to help break in the barrel even though it is hand lapped.  I shot a round to clear the barrel of oil and then started in on my 200 yard groups.  Each group I’d shoot 3-4 rounds.  Sometimes you know when you made a bad shot and I like to eliminate that shot and shoot a fourth so that I don’t have to restart on a new group and burn through more ammo.  I shot a group with each different ammo and then cleaned my rifle once it had cooled down.  I also made sure to let the barrel cool down some before continuing through my groups.  I shot my first round off the concrete bench but found out it had a little wobble in it.  I was wondering why my reticle was moving left to right on me and that was it haha.  For the second round I laid prone off my bipod.

From my first round the 180 grain Nosler Partition was the easy winner.  I didn’t take an official measurement but it was well within the 1 MOA standard and close to a 1/2 MOA group.  Plenty good for a rifle that I’ll rarely push past 5-600 yards in a hunting scenario.  Now between groups I’d been shooting my other rifle, a 300WSM at distance trying to dial in my ballistics through my Kestrel, so by the time I got into round 2 of my groups my shoulder was getting a touch sore and my shooting seemed to go downhill a bit.  I still put some good rounds downrange but had more flyers it seemed.  The Spitzer and the Nosler Partition were close and the Accubond just didn’t perform.  To end my session I took two of the Nosler partitions and took shots at metal gongs at 458 and at 620 yards and got hits on both.  I’ll be shooting another round here in the next week or so to pick between the Partition and the Spitzer and then from there zero in and start extending the distance.  With antelope coming and general rifle just around the corner I’ve got my work cut out for me but things are looking promising given I get a few more quality days in at the range.  Setting up and getting acquainted with a new rifle is a process but doing it right from the beginning makes all the difference and helps you develop a level of confidence with your rifle that will translate to more one shot kills in the field.

weatherby, rifle, hunting, montana, kestrel

Zack Boughton

backcountry, fuel, subscription box, hunting, fishing, camping, backpacking, montana

backcountry fuel, hunting, eating, food, cooking, camping

Each year brings on a number of different hunts, some day trips and others week long backpack missions.  Each has one thing in common, fuel.  What you put in your backpack and your body has a great impact on your performance in the field.  Generally the more calories the better and often happier you’ll be.  They come at a price though, weight.  As you fine tune your setups you begin to weigh calories to weight and try to maximize the equation in your benefit.  Eventually we all find foods that fit the bill and taste good, for a while a least.  By November we often dread another Beef Stroganoff Mountain House or a Chocolate Chip Cliff Bar.  It’s easy to come by and trying new things can be expensive and hard to find.  This year as I began to prepare for another fall in the mountains I dreaded the thought of the same old foods filling my pack.  Fortunately I’d seen the Backcountry Fuel Box started by Cody Rich and got my hands on one.

backcountry, fuel, box, monthly subscription, food, backpacking, camping

I opened the box one day at my desk and proceeded to eat the first thing in the box, a Protein Puck.  Dang that was good!!  I had a hard time not eating the whole box at my house.  Over the next three months I got to try a bunch of cool food products from small backcountry nutrition brands.  Here were a few of my favorites:

green belly, meal to go, hunting, backpacking, fuel, montana

I got to try the Peanut/Apricot version and it was great.  There are two bars in each package coming in at a whopping 650 calories and 33% of your daily nutrition.


fbomb, meal to go, hunting, backpacking, fuel, montana

Next up was the FBOMB.  I got to try the Macadamia with Coconut version and it also was awesome.  These small packets are filled with nut butter and this one is Macadamia nut butter and Coconut Butter.  It tastes great and provides 205 calories in 1oz of weight.  Big on calories, taste and light on weight.


The Protein Puck in Almond Butter – Dark Chocolate was the first thing I ate out of a Backcountry Fuel Box and it was tasty as hell.  This one comes in at 460 calories for 3.25 ounces of weight.


So far I haven’t really been diving into the dinners that come in the boxes, I’ve been saving them for hunts.  There’s usually about 10 items in each box and they come on a monthly basis.  It’s super easy, subscribe and each month a box shows up in your mailbox or doorstep.  You’ll be able to use the food to supplement hunts and try new products you might not have easy access to.  I would highly recommend them.  You can learn more and subscribe super easily at their website > wwwbackcountryfuelbox.com

Zack Boughton

mountain, lion, pizza

Little do people know that mountain lion meat is extremely tasty. Yes anti-hunters, we do eat predator meat on occasion, so here is a big get educated moment for yourself.

Mountain, lion, pizza, trophy, western, montana, eat, lion, meat

Today we are going to show a brief outline of how to make Wild West Mountain Lion Pizza.

INGREDIENTS:

  • favorite steak seasoning
  • 1 mountain lion backstrap
  • balsamic vinaigrette
  • pizza dough
  • 2 tomatoes
  • pasta sauce
  • mozzarella cheese
  • basil
  • 1 can olives
  • artichoke hearts in olive oil (costco)
  • 14″ pizza pan

First take and slowly thaw out the mountain lion backstrap in your refrigerator. Once thawed, clean the meat, rinse, dry and put in container where you can apply your favorite steak seasoning and splash with balsamic vinegrette. Let the backstraps marinate for 24hrs.

eat, mountain, lion, cougar, backstrap, pizza

(Now is the time to make your pizza dough, or purchase your pizza crust from the store. We prefer making our own.)

Once the meat is marinated, you are ready to prepare the most unique pizza you have ever made. In our case we will be cooking on a Traeger Grill. Preheat your grill to 350F. Once preheated lay the backstraps evenly on the grill.

mountain, lion, recipe, pizza

BBQ backstraps 5-6min each side, flipping to new grill space each time. (These times may vary depending on thickness of cuts, so watch meat closely). *Make sure the internal meat temp reaches above 150F to avoid trichinosis*

eating, eat, mountain, lion

Once meat is cooked (golden tan color), remove from heat and throw rolled out pizza dough in the Traeger at 450F for 5-6 minutes. (Be sure to spray pizza pan with non-stick spray to avoid sticking)

pizza, dough, mountain, lion, pizza

Make sure your pizza topping are sliced and ready.

pizza, toppings

Remove pizza dough, spread pasta sauce, sprinkle on the mozzarella cheese, and apply the toppings. Add sliced mountain lion during this step. We had extra backstrap and ate the extra steaks, which were drop dead amazing by themselves.

cougar, pizza, mountain, lion, pizza, montana, wild

Throw the pizza in the Traeger on high heat until crust is crisp and golden brown and the cheese is all melted.

wild, west, pizza, mtn, lion, pizza, edible

Once cooked to perfection, remove, cut and sprinkle with basil. Enjoy and impress your friends when you tell them they are eating mountain lion!

-Travis Boughton

tooth, and, fang, coyote, hunting, predator, calling, quest

Coyote hunting, its a controversial topic for many. To most hunters it seems to be an obvious necessity to keep a balance between predators and prey. Coyotes affect deer, elk and antelope numbers in many regions of Montana. An overpopulation of coyotes will reduce fawn survival rates drastically and put added stress on the wildlife in that area. Coyotes have a strong knack to survive the harshest conditions and have a rapid ability to reproduce.

coyote, hunting, film, montana, wild, predator, call, foxpro, shockwave, snowy mountain rifles, hsm ammo, the, hunting, shack, snow, camo, vortex, optics, viper, hslr, fhf, gear, 6xc, caliber, fur, shockwave

On top of that, coyotes are the largest cause of death for cattle and sheep calves in the spring season. When a rancher has a $50,000 loss in one year due to coyotes, you know they are a huge problem. Coyotes affect many ranchers livelihoods and have a much larger impact on livestock than many realize.

coyote, hunting, film, montana, wild, predator, call, foxpro, shockwave, snowy mountain rifles, hsm ammo, the, hunting, shack, snow, camo, vortex, optics, viper, hslr, fhf, gear, 6xc, caliber, fur, shockwave

Tooth & Fang is a very unique coyote film that goes into some of the reason behind coyote management. We traveled thousands of miles, talked with many ranchers, and visited some of the most beautiful landscapes that Montana has to offer. This three year film project shows a rancher’s perspective on how coyotes affect the wildlife and livestock on and around their ranches.

tooth, and, &, fang, coyote, hunting, coyotes, predator, predation, northern, lights, montana, ranching, land, cattle, calves, sheep, lambs, montana, wild, film, video

Don’t be mistaken, we made sure to show some of our best coyote encounters while helping balance the coyote populations on multiple tracts of land throughout the treasure state. Here is the teaser below. Help support our future film endeavors by renting or purchasing the film HERE.

[vimeo https://vimeo.com/149700981 w=580&h=440]

RENT THE FULL FILM HERE.

mule, deer, sitka, gear, mountain, buck

Its been a long journey for Zack to find a mature mountain muledeer in Montana. Read the full story here: MONTANA’S MOUNTAIN MULEDEER

montana wild, muledeer, 406, hunting

We drove into the sunset after enjoying a day of elk hunting with our friend Ryan.  Our roadtrip east had begun.  Images of big muley bucks clouded my thoughts, navigating through small towns, until finally reaching our destination at nightfall.  We had seen small groups of mule deer off the road on the way in, giving us a small glimpse of what was to come.  I was excited for my first chance to shoulder a rifle of the fall season.

sunset, montana, eastern, hunting, cool, burning

That night I could hear the large snow flakes beating the  outside of the truck. The temperatures dropped as I  hunkered in my 15F sleeping bag. I jolted awake to the sound of my alarm, setting my eyes on a blanket of fresh snow.  Zack and I gathered our gear and ate breakfast in our truck, attempting to gain any warmth we could before heading into the frozen landscape.  As I sank my teeth into a muffin, I pulled up my binos and glassed through the foggy windshield.  Instantly I located the outline of a deer which resembled the characteristics of a muley buck.   Zack and I quickly finished our breakfast and began to close the distance on the deer.

vortex, razor, hd, spotting, scope, montana, snow, toughest, clear, best, glass

The buck was a nice 4×4 with a 3in kicker off his left beam.  The deer was still young and we decided to pass and look for a mature buck. That day we found plenty of deer and passed multiple bucks, ending the day with a close encounter with a decent 3×3.  This 3×3 wanted to do nothing else, but chase does.  It looked as if the rut was in full swing.

buck, 3x3, montana, muley, deer, buck, hunting, wild

At last light we decided to bust out the predator call.   After 15 minutes of calling Zack spotted a coyote 600 yards away along the fence line.  I dialed in my scope to 20x and got setup to take a shot if the coyote presented myself with an opportunity.  I lost sight of the coyote and continued to scan the long grass for the small furry figure.  Quickly I looked left and saw a coyote at 150yds staring at me!  I motioned Zack to get the camera on him, and instantly the yote took off running, with another coyote close by.  I guessed my yardage as Zack stopped the coyote with a bark.  Missed high.  Coyote ran another 300yards before stopping again.  Another miss high and the coyote was gone.  It was an awesome coyote stand, and a spark was ignited inside me.  Calling in coyotes is truly an adrenaline rush and anyone who hasn’t tried calling coyotes needs to buy a distress call and do their best Les Johnson impression!

yeti, coolers, night, photography, ford, f-150, montana, wild, hunting

The next day was spent weeding through more mule deer, once again running into the kicker buck 4×4.  Plans were made and we headed north, looking for new country.  Our afternoon we found an endless amount of smaller bucks and a young 4×4 with great potential in the coming years.  All of the bucks were tied up with does, oblivious most of the time to our presence.  We camped for the night, grilling elk steaks to cap off the day.

 

The next morning we continued further into the breaks.  Finally we found a pocket of land that the landowner had blocked access to trucks or ATVs.  We headed in and instantly saw a couple small bucks chasing does.  We kept our eyes glued to the glass before spotting a large mule deer body in the distance.  It was a buck, and needed a better look.  We closed the distance from 1 mile to 1000yds.  The deer was a tall framed, crazy 3×3, with forks in the back.  The deer’s headgear resembled a small elk rack and  I decided this deer was definitely deserved of a closer look.

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Our only option was to sneak through the coulees in front of us, which put us to within 350yds of the herd.  I finally located the buck bedded in some sage.  He stood, chased some smaller bucks away from his does and then bedded back down, directly behind another sage bush.  I knew this was a deer I wanted to take if given the opportunity.  If the deer stood, he would have to clear the brush in order for me to have a shot.  Zack and I setup, waiting for the deer to make a move.

bedded, buck, mule, muley, deer, montana, rifle, season, wild

I dialed in my Vortex turret to just over 300yds and settled into a sturdy rest on my MR pack.  After 45min of waiting, the buck stood, chasing his does with his nose in the air.  It was awesome watching it all take place through my rifle scope.  This buck was doe crazy and his interaction with the other deer was very entertaining.  The deer finally stopped broadside, I squeezed off, hitting the deer slightly high.  I racked in another HSM round as the deer stopped after a couple steps.  I put one more round into the deer’s vitals, dropping the deer within seconds.  The Snowy Mountain Rifle had done its job, buck down!

prone, shooting, long, range, montana, wild, vortex, razor, hd, rifle, scope, montana, sitka, gear, mystery, ranch, longbow

I walked up on the downed deer, checking out his unique looking rack, complete with thick cactus looking bases.  The buck was a cool looking deer, with a ton of character.  Zack said it best at the beginning of our trip, “I don’t hold out looking to shoot a deer that meets someone’s scoring standards, when I see a buck, I just know whether its a deer I want to take or not”.

cactus, bases, montana, mule, deer, muley, crazy, wild, buck

lone, wolf, knives, montana, wild, mule, buck, cutting, debone, deboning, sitka, gear, vortex, optics

We deboned the deer and loaded the fresh meat into our Longbows.  We made the hike back through the numerous coulees and breaks back to the truck.

mystery, ranch, montana, wild, longbow, packout, mule, deer, muley, sitka, gearZack and I cracked open some beers and situated the fresh meat into the cooler, watching the light fade fast in the distance.

ford, F150, montana, sitka, yeti, coolers, montana, wild, mule, deer, rack

 

The Yeti 160 was starting to fill up, and ready for one more deer.  The road trip was off to a great start!  It was now Zack’s chance to search for a mule deer.

yeti, in, action, 160, big, what, size, montana, deer, elk, frozen, freezer, dry, ice

-Travis