This past spring Nicole, against all odds, knocked down a huge Alaskan brown bear with her Mathews at just 23 steps…This fall it was Pat’s turn to try to knock down a monster brown bear with his bow. Pat harvested a huge brown bear back in 2007 with a gun, but it has always been on his bucket list to check one out with his bow. We were headed to Kodiak Island to hunt with Paul Chervenak and guide Cole Kramer. Brown bears and sitka blacktails were on the hitlist.

The trip started out in Chaos. We fly into Anchorage, and the next morning we boarded a plane to Kodiak. We boarded the plane, and took the short flight to Kodiak, but on our final approach the weather was socked in and the pilot pulled off at the last second because he couldn’t see the runway. We flew back to Anchorage and were forced to wait until the 3:30 flight, hoping the weather would clear. We boarded the plane again, but again same thing! Back to Anchorage to stay the night and we would try again the next day. Unfortunately the weather stayed, and all the flights to Kodiak were cancelled the next day!

On the 3rd day, we took off with high hopes of landing. Once again, upon arrival we had to pull off! We were diverted to the small town of Homer to wait a bit. After waiting for about an hour, we got back on the plane and the pilot was determined to make it. As we approached the runway, the fog cleared just enough that we could see the runway… the pilot cranked the plane around and put it on the deck. We made it…finally!

We met up with our guide Cole and spent the night in the Kodiak Inn, and were going to fly out the next morning on a float plane to where we would hunt. The story continues…bad weather prohibited us from taking off on the float plane. Nobody was flying. We got stuck in the hotel in Kodiak for 4 days! This was frustrating to say the least, but you can’t control mother nature.

Looking at the bright side, Pat was able to connect with Nicole and his kids over Skype and watch his son Carson’s first wrestling meet of the year!

On day 8 of our trip, the weather finally cleared enough that we could make it out. After about an hour flight over the beautiful island, we landed on a remote lake and started our hike to where we would setup camp. Now this wasn’t an easy hike by any means. It was about 8 miles from where we got dropped off to where we were going to camp. We had basically all of our gear on our backs, and had to hike in chest waders because of the wet conditions and the rivers that we had to cross to get there.

We hiked all day and made it to our camp spot just as the sun went down. We were exhausted. We unpacked all of our gear and setup camp.

The next few days brought more bad weather conditions but we were determined to get out in the elements and chase Pat’s dream of harvesting a brown bear with his bow. We spend several days glassing from our spotting knob, and saw several bears. Lots of sows and cubs, and a few big boars, but just not in the right spots that we could go after them.

At night we would head back to our small tents and try to dry out our gear which was virtually impossible. We had really no heat so all we could do was hang our clothes at the top of the tent and hope that they would dry even the smallest bit for the next day. We ate mountain house freeze dried food everyday. It may not sound too appetizing, but after a long day out glassing in the rain, it sure tasted good!

Everyday we would wake up in that cold tent, and our sleeping bags would be wet from condensation. Frost lined the inside of the tent. On the fifth day, we decided to hike around the mountain and checkout a drainage that we couldn’t see from our spotting knob.

Just before the sun set, Pat spotted an old mature blacktail down by the river, and was headed our way. We got into position above the deer and he fed along below us at about 100 yards. Pat settled the crosshairs and hit him perfect with his Thompson Center Muzzleloader. This was his first sitka blacktail! No mountain house tonight…. fresh backstraps for dinner!

The next day, we packed up camp and all of our gear and were going to head down river to a new location to try our luck there. We blew up a raft that we had brought along and loaded all of our gear onto it. We floated all day down the river and setup camp all over again.

That next morning, we climbed up the mountain and spotted a nice blacktail buck with a doe. It was cameraman Bryan Lemke’s turn to get in front of the camera and try to harvest his first blacktail. The buck followed the doe into an opening and Bryan made it count, also with the Thompson Center muzzleloader. We had two awesome sitka blacktails on the ground!

Unfortunately, the next day, as the hunt was coming to an end, we had to load up again and float the rest of the way down the river to the ocean to be picked up by float plane and fly out.

What an adventure! Pat was not able to harvest his brown bear, but we had an incredible hunt and knocked down two beautiful sitka blacktails. Whenever you hunt, especially in Alaska, you  can only control so much. The weather and conditions were brutal, so all you can do is be prepared for as much as you can. We battled the entire hunt, and stayed optimistic and determined. This was the hunt of a lifetime, and one that both Pat and Bryan will never forget.

You can count on one thing…. Pat will definitely be back after those monstrous brown bears and fulfill his dream of harvesting one with his bow!

Special thanks to Cole Kramer and Paul Chervenak for an unbelievable experience and an unreal adventure!

Kodiak Outdoor Adventures

Paul Chervenak

kodiakoutdoors.com

907-486-3008

 

Cole Kramers Guide Service

Cole Kramer

This past year, the Driven team acquired a new property close to home here in Minnesota.  We spent endless hours this summer, scouting, planning, putting in Evolved food plots and hanging our Big Game and Muddy stands in preparation for the whitetail season.

We spent a lot of time in the tree during the archery season and had some extremely close encounters with some of the top deer on our hit list, but just never could close the deal.

In Minnesota, the first weekend in November marks the opening of the statewide firearm season.  I can tell you that I will never forget my first time at deer camp, and bet that everyone who has grown up around hunting can appreciate the memories and traditions that are encompassed by “opening weekend at deer camp.”

Jim and Susan, Nicole’s mom and dad, headed up from Illinois for the weekend family hunt, and all of the kids were fired up to say the least.

The plan was for Pat to sit with Carson, Nicole with Olivia, an Papa Jim with Isabel. Cole was going to stay back with Nana Susan and hold down the fort and make some chili and other food for everybody to come in and warm up to.

The TC was locked and loaded, and Nicole and Olivia were ready for a big opening morning buck to show up!

The first morning was cold and super windy,  so after sitting for a few hours, we packed it in and headed back to camp to warm up, grab some lunch and regroup before the afternoon.

The afternoon hunt turned out to be more productive. We saw a lot of deer, but unfortunately just not the right ones.

Turns out,  our neighbor and good friend Celene Holst had some awesome opening day luck!

This is a deer that we were very familiar with, and the top deer on Pat’s hitist. We had knick-named him Lucky because he had what looked like a perfect bullet hole through one of his ears.

Congratulations to Celene on an awesome deer and the buck of a lifetime. We guessed that this buck will score right around 175” as a clean ten pointer.

After visiting with the neighbors and checking out Celene’s buck that night, we got back to camp just as Nana Susan was pulling a huge ham out of the oven. Pat’s mom, Carol, and step dad Mikael came to meet everyone for a big family dinner.

The next day we headed back out to the stand, and again saw a pile of deer. That evening, just as the sun was starting to go down, a buck that we called Curveball appeared at the edge of the cornfield in front of Carson.

He cocked his TC Encore muzzleloader and settled the crosshairs on the buck at about 100 yards. Smoked him!

Carson had a close encounter at just 15 yards with this buck just a couple weeks prior with his bow so this was an extra special redemption kill for him.

The rest of the crew heard the news, and came to help Carson recover this awesome buck. This was a perfect ending to a great weekend.  Spending time in the outdoors with our family is what we love the most. This weekend was all about the laughs, the love, and the camaraderie of being together as a family.  We are truly blessed.

The next week, the kids had to head back to school, but with a major cold front rolling in and snow coming, Nicole knew the big bucks would have to be on their feet. She headed to the same blind where Carson shot his deer and had the pink TC Encore Muzzleloader ready to rock.

She had, editor, Adam Helwig with her running the camera, and deer started to pile out into the corn field in front of them not long after they got setup. They had a few smaller bucks and does in front of them, when a wide heavy 10 pointer stepped out at the other end of the field.

We had just gotten some recent Eyecon pictures of this deer so we knew he was in the area and figured we would have a good chance of harvesting him with the cold temperatures and snow.

Nicole made a perfect shot, and the deer took off, running right under them before tipping over just behind the blind.

Slipping him out nice and quiet with our Polaris EV.

All of the hard work and preparation that we put into this new property is paying off. 2 big bucks on the ground, and I have a feeling you will be seeing a few more pictures coming soon. Stay tuned!

It was the end of October and that could only mean one thing… the Driven crew was headed up to our favorite whitetail spot in Saskatchewan. Along on this trip were good friends, Mike Jahnke, Clint Walker and Whitney Fouts, Whit’s dad Kevan Fouts, and Chad Schumacher. Also joining us was Pat’s daughter Olivia, and she was going to try to take her first Saskatchewan buck with her Barnett Crossbow. We met up with Brandon Schreiber and the crew at Buck Country Outfitters and made plans to head out to the bush.

Clint was the first to strike  with this tall tined stud on day 2! Whit laid down some awesome footage.

The same day Mike Jahnke knocked down another awesome buck with his Mathews. Mike has been on quite the roll, and added to the long list of big bucks that he has taken here.

Whitney followed up with this huge deer. This is why we come to Saskatchewan…. to chase these huge bodied monster canadian monster bucks.

Pat had been filming Olivia, and Bryan was filming Nicole, but on day 4 we decided to switch up our luck. Bryan went with Olivia, and Pat with Nicole. Well, it worked! Nicole smoked this awesome buck with her Mathews that night!

That same night, Kevan put the smackdown on this heavy horned buck. This was Kevan’s first deer ever! To say he was pumped would be an understatement. Congratulations Kevan!

While helping recover Whit’s deer, Mike and guide Oneil stumbled onto something special. This is a matched set from a huge Saskatchewan giant! Each one of them found a side about 300 yards apart.

Mike’s side scored 93″ and Oneils was 90″. These sheds are incredible and off a true Canadian monarch.

Olivia hunted her butt off all week. In the blind, all day, every day. It was down to the last day and her and Pat headed to the same blind where Whitney had shot her deer. They had been getting Eyecon pictures of a dark heavy horned 10 pointer there and Olivia was determined.

With deer all around them, the dark horned 10 appeared back in the timber…and here he came! Olivia got her buck… a little last day magic! She stayed patient, persistent, and Driven and it all paid off! Congratulations Olivia!

I don’t know who was more excited, Olivia or dad, Pat. I know it was such a special moment for him, being able to share this experience with his daughter. Surely one neither of them will ever forget.

Also on the last day in the final minutes of the hunt, good friend Chad Schumacher arrowed this awesome buck. Check out that character. This was also Chad’s first trip to Saskatchewan and I think he will definitely be back!

Buck Country Outfitters is one of our favorite places, not just because of the big bucks, but also because we get to make memories with great friends and people we love.

Thanks to Brandon Schreiber, Dean Kuypers, and everybody at Buck Country Outfitters.

 

Buck Country Outfitters

Brandon Schreiber, Dean Kuypers

www.buckcountrycanada.com

306-238-7783

Good friends Darren and Sherri Martin have put a ton of work and effort into their property in Illinois and it has really paid off for them. They have taken some crankin bucks over the years. Last year, Darren started getting Eyecon pictures of a huge typical 6×6 on his farm and the story of “Mr. Perfect” began. He had recognized the deer from the year before and he had absolutely blown up! He hunted him hard over the next few months, and had an encounter with him, but never got the right opportunity to kill him.

Later that winter, Darren was lucky to pickup both sides off of the buck. They rough scored 191 and Darren couldn’t wait to see what the deer was going to do the following year.

Sure enough, in July, Mr. Perfect started showing up on the Eyecons and was bigger than ever.

When October rolled around, the buck was still hanging close. Darren knew he had to be very careful not to bump the buck, and waited for the right night to sneak in there and kill him. With Sherri behind the camera, filming, Mr. Perfect showed up and Darren was able to close the case on the legend, Mr. Perfect.

What an absolute giant. Mr. Perfect scored 203″ Congratulations Darren on the deer of a lifetime!

Now it was Sherri’s turn….with Darren behind the camera, Sherri arrowed this beautiful 10 pointer with her Mathews!

Congratulations Sherri!

Way to go guys, keep knockin em down!

We have said it once and we will say it again, Wicked Outfitters has become one of the Driven team’s favorite spots when the whitetail season rolls around. With Carson already filling his tag during the Kansas youth season, it was team member Mike Jahnke’s turn to try his luck with his TC during the early Muzzleloader season. Mike has been a Driven team member almost from the start and has knocked down some great deer over the years.

Mike rolled into camp a few days before the season started and met up with owner and operators, and good friends Clint and Whitney. They sat down and started to go through some of the thousands of Eyecon trail camera pictures that they had logged throughout the summer. While going through pictures, there was one deer that really stood out, and that was a buck that they had knick-named Brutus.

The only drawback was that they had no daytime photos of Brutus at all in the spot that they wanted to hunt. There was a big tall 9 pointer and some other good bucks frequenting that area though so they decided to sneak in there the first evening and see if they could make a little Kansas magic happen.

Clint was behind the camera and deer started to filter out into the field not long after they climbed into the tree. As light started to fade, a few deer appeared towards the back of the field. Clint spotted a big buck, and out of the timber walked…..BRUTUS! Immediately Mike got ready and focused in on the monster….Boom! Mike drilled him.

Mike has taken lots of good bucks over the years, but this deer was different. As Mike walked up on this deer, he was taken back…For those of you who know Mike, he is always full of energy and excitement, but as he approached the deer laying there, he was quiet. The emotions rolled through his body and it all started to sink in. He had just killed Brutus!

Not only did he have his hands on a Kansas giant, but he got to experience it with great friends. The buck scored 183 7/8.

Congratulations Mike on you’re buck of a lifetime!

Special thanks to Clint, Whitney and everybody at Wicked Outfitters.

 

Wicked Outfitters

Clint Walker, Whitney Fouts

816-918-4325

www.wickedoutfitters.com

wickedoutfitters@yahoo.com

 

 

 

Carson’s first elk hunt…

The day I left for my elk hunt all I can remember is staring at the clock during school hoping it would go faster.  It seemed like forever for the bell to ring but when it did I raced outside where Nicole was picking me up from school and we met up with dad and Bryan and rushed to the airport. We didn’t think we would have time for dinner as we were running as fast as we could through the airport.  We grabbed a quick a bite to eat at Arbys and I ordered the biggest sandwich they had because I was starving!  We rushed to the gate to find out our plane was delayed.  We were scared we weren’t going to make our connecting flight to Albuquerque, New Mexico.   We landed in Salt Lake City and sprinted through the airport to get to the gate just in the time as they were closing the gates when we got there.  A short flight later we landed in Albuquerque where Andre Galenda from Royal Trophy Outfitters was there to pick us up and guide us for the week.

We got to camp at 3:30 in the morning and Andre told me I had to be awake in an hour by 5.  That morning I was tired but excited to get out on my first ever day of elk hunting. That morning I fell asleep in the truck on the way to our hunting spot.  We had to walk until we heard a bugle and it almost made me pee my pants! It was really loud! That morning we stalked up on a big bull that we could hear bugling and knew he was close we just couldn’t see him. He followed the cows off into the forest the opposite way. Then we went to a different spot and could hear bulls bugling and we set up by a pine tree and we couldn’t see the bulls because they jumped the fence in the woods. We decided to back out and not spook the bulls and go back to the lodge and eat eggs and bacon.

That afternoon I met a dog named Red.  He is a puppy and really nice.  I liked to play with him when we weren’t hunting and even taught him how to sit.

We sat by a fence jump hoping we may catch elk coming our way.  We didn’t see anything so we moved and heard a bugle close by.  We were standing there and heard something running and hurried and got our stuff ready to go only to find out that we spooked a bull elk.

After that we headed back to the truck and to the lodge to have dinner and go to bed, we were all very tired.

Day 2 we got up early again and had to walk a long way.  We were walking to the spot that our guide Andre wanted us to go to and when were on the trail we heard a loud bugle that was close to us and Andre told me we couldn’t get any closer that we had to set up.

Right away we saw the bull rounding up his cows.  He had a lot of cows for a bull.  He was bugling and chasing them back and forth. Finally the cows jumped the fence right at us and then worked off and then the bull came behind him but wouldn’t give me a good shot.  I had a good shooting lane that Dad and I picked out and he chased a cow right through it and they all took off.  After that we walked a long ways and set up in a different spot where we heard a lot of bugles but nothing would come in.  We moved and tried to get closer and set up by a big fallen tree but nothing came in. We left them along because we wanted to come back in the evening and hunt them.  We went back to the lodge for breakfast, a nap and I played with my new buddy Red.

That afternoon we parked at Pink Tank and walked a long way.  Right away we heard a bull bugling to our right and tried to get close.  We set up on him in a couple different places but he wasn’t responding to our calls.  Andre and my dad said he was probably with cows so he wouldn’t break away from them to come to our call.  We snuck and snuck to try and get closer but he just wouldn’t come out.  We walked down in a gully so it would cover up our walking noise and snuck out of there for the night.  Back to the lodge and had pork loin, stuffing and green beans then went to bed.

The next day on our third day of the hunt I woke up and Red wasn’t outside. I was sad I ddin’t get to see him before I left for hunting but we left really early to get there before the elk did.  As we were walking down the path we stopped dead in our tracks when we heard through the dark the sounds of elk running off.  I was bummed because I thought we had spooked all the elk off.   We kept walking and all of a sudden we heard another bull crashing his antlers in the bushes up above us.  We snuck up as quietly and close as we could and set up under a bush.  Andre starting cow calling and the bull responded immediately with a couple loud bugles.  Dad helped me pick out my shooting lane while we were watching him through the thick brush walking our way.  He was bugling all the way in and stopped to bugle in my shooting lane.  While he was bugling I made a perfect shot right with the TC right behind the shoulder.

Then we had to track him and he ended up gong a very long ways before we found him.  I never realized how tough elk were until we searched and searched for him!

When I walked up on my bull he looked ginormous.  I couldn’t even fit my hand around his base because he had so much mass. We counted up the points and he was a big mature 5×5.

After we found my elk he was in such a steep, rocky place we couldn’t get our truck or Polaris close enough to him to get him off the mountain.  Instead, Andre and Pat caped him and quartered him and had to figure out how to get all the meat, cape and antlers down the mountain.

After the Andre, Pat and Bryan got all of the stuff off the mountain we were all starving.  It was now 4:00pm and we hadn’t eaten since 5 in the morning.  We fried up some back straps, bacon, mac and cheese and cheesy hash brown casserole and had a feast! Red loved me because I gave him meat scraps we were getting rid of and he chowed down on them.  After we ate we all took much needed showers and relaxed the rest of the night knowing  I had a big bull on the ground and fresh elk meat in the freezer!

We had one more day before we had to leave so we got to go see some really cool stuff.

We got to checkout where the Continental Divide goes through and also got to see some of the indian reservations that were in the area.

This was the trip of a lifetime. Thanks Dad, Nicole, and Andre for a memory that will last my whole life and one that I will never forget!

-Carson

Royal Trophy Outfitters

Andre Galenda

www.rtohunts.com

andre@rtohunts.com

716-866-9795

After just a few days in the Minnesota whitetail woods, it was time for the Driven team to hit the road. Pat was up to bat, and we headed to Alberta to hunt with Glenn Brown and Blue Bronna Outfitters. Pat had his Mathews dialed and began his quest for his first Shiras Moose.

We met Glenn at the trailhead and loaded up our Watson bags and gear on the horses, and it was off to spike camp.

This would be our home for the next 10 days. The snow capped mountains captivated us as we rode up to the tent, and the anticipation started to set in.

The first morning we awoke to frost covering the ground and headed out to see if we could locate a big bull.

We put on several miles, calling along the way, but at first…..no moose, but we knew that if we kept at it, we would find the right bull and get him fired up enough to come in.

At the end of the day, there is nothing like coming back to camp and sitting around a warm fire.

We spent a lot of time calling, and waiting with high hopes of hearing that deep grunt of a big bull in the distance.

Finally, it happened. You could almost feel that grunt echo through your chest. The bull was about 200 yards away and fired up from his bed. We were losing light quick, so we decided back out and get back there at first light to see if we could get him to close the distance.

When we got there, he fired up again, and it was on! As he started around the corner towards us, I could hear Pat’s heart beating. The huge bull was coming right at us. I was taken back by the sheer size of the animal. Pat drew back and drilled him at 20 yards. He ran 70 yards and tipped over right in the meadow.

Now the real work began! It was Outdoor Edge time, and let me tell you….we put those knives to work!

After getting the bull all cut up and skinned, we put up a meat pole to hang the meat and let it cool before getting the horses and packing the meat back out to camp.

Packing him out.

By the time we got the bull packed out, it was late when we arrived back to camp. We cranked up the fire and got the fresh backstraps cookin. You can’t get food fresher than that! There is nothing more rewarding than sitting around the fire and eating backstraps from an animal that you harvested and worked so hard for.

After we tagged out, we had an extra day before flying out, so we headed back to civilization and spent the evening in Banff. This has to be one of the most beautiful places in the world. The scenery is immaculate.

Banff has a herd of wild elk, and some of them live right on and around the golf course!

We spent the evening taking in all of the beautiful scenery and enjoying the country and wildlife.

This was truly an experience of a lifetime.

We are all so busy these days, that we rarely have a chance to step back and give thanks for all that is around us. We are so fortunate for all of the opportunities that we have and everything that we are given each and everyday!

Special thanks to Glenn and Donna Brown, and Dan Adkins for an incredible journey.

Blue Bronna Outfitters

Glenn Brown

1-403-443-5718

bluebronna@gmail.com

www.bluebronna.com

It’s that time of year again…summer is coming to an end and fall is quickly approaching. Last year the Driven team kicked off their deer season at Wicked Outfitters for the Kansas youth season with Pat’s son Carson. Carson hunted hard and put his time in, but things just didn’t come together. This year, we kicked off the same way with Carson heading back down there looking for some redemption!

We had two reasons for going to Kansas; first is to get Carson a big buck, and second to meet the guys from Caterpillar® and the local dealer Foley Equipment. We are very excited to announce that we are now partnering with Caterpillar®, and will be using their products and attachments in the field for land management and hopefully hauling some big Midwest bucks out of the woods this fall!

Before heading to the woods, we met up with our friends from Foley Equipment, Craig Noland, Zane Tschanz, Jake Mankin, and Tony Mana. They are the local Cat dealer for the area we were hunting, and delivered our new 259D CAT® with an assortment of attachments tailored to our needs in the field and the outdoors.

The 259D is a very versatile tracked skid steer that will be perfect for working on our food plots, managing vegetation, and putting in ponds and water holes.

The guys from Foley Equipment showing us how to use a landscape rake to prepare food plots!

Carson sitting in the new Cat machine!

Clint Walker and Whitney Fouts, owner and operators of Wicked Outfitters have really put their time in this summer and have been getting pictures of some huge deer on their Eyecon trail cameras. One in particular that Carson had his eye on was a buck they nicknamed Shooter.

Shooter.

After putting out a little Evolved Habitats Driven Dirt Bag, we settled into the blind with high hopes.

Not long before dark, deer started making their way across the field in our direction. In the back of the line, we could see a big white velvet rack coming. Everything seemed like it was playing out perfect, but just before the deer got into Carson’s shooting window, something spooked them and the field cleared. Another disappointment, just like the previous year, but Pat stressed to him….that’s hunting! You have to stay patient and persistent and eventually it will pay off.

The next evening, we headed back to the same blind, hoping the deer would show back up. Sure enough, the deer started to filter back in, and Shooter appeared in the distance. Carson was zoned in, and when the buck finally gave him the opportunity, Carson let the hammer down on him with his Thompson Center Venture .270. The buck ran 30 yards and tipped over! Carson was pumped! He had just knocked down a giant Kansas velvet buck!

That is one proud dad! Pat was just as excited, if not more than Carson!

Carson also had a doe tag in his pocket, and while we were still in the blind after he shot his buck, a doe appeared on the woodline. Clint had talked to Carson about doing some doe management if he had the chance, so Carson jumped at the opportunity and harvested a big mature doe. It was a double!

After recovering both his buck and doe, it was time to get them out of the woods and back to camp. Good thing we had our brand new CAT®. We loaded them up and had them hanging back at camp in no time!

When we arrived back at camp, we also found out that Tim Anello with Inside Outdoors TV also on the Outdoor Channel, and his daughter, Hannah had also had some luck, and harvested a big velvet 8 pointer! Congratulations Hannah!

What a youth season and start to the year at Wicked Outfitters!

Thanks to Clint and Whitney. You guys have an unbelievable place and operation. The hunting and quality of deer that you guys have is outstanding, and we love coming down there every time.

This is Carson’s second year hunting in Kansas and it hasn’t been easy. He hunted hard and fought through frustration and disappointment. He has learned that sometimes it doesn’t work out how you plan, but you don’t quit because you don’t succeed the first time. You keep going, and stay DRIVEN!

Special thanks to Caterpillar® and the guys at Foley Equipment. We look forward to working with you to enhance the properties that we hunt in the hopes of another very successful year.

Wicked Outfitters
Clint Walker, Whitney Fouts
www.Wickedoutfitters.com
816-918-4325

Foley Equipment
Kansas City, MO
816-753-5300
www.foleyeq.com

For Information on Cat® products visit: www.catresourcecenter.com

After harvesting a male lion with my bow, there was only one thing left at the very top of my bucket list…. a big brown bear! Spotting and stalking  a brown bear with my bow has been a lifelong dream of mine. My quest started a year ago in the snow covered mountains of Alaska. We hunted hard for 10 days in -20 degree weather and the majority of the bears were just not out of their dens yet. That is part of hunting. Every trip doesn’t end successful, but my quest had just began and I wasn’t going to give up that easy. This last week we headed back up to Alaska to try to once again fulfill my dream. We were hunting with Bill Stevenson and Alaska Outfitters on the Alaskan Peninsula. We met Bill and guide Rebecca this past year at the SCI show and knew immediately that it was a perfect fit. Our guide, Rebecca Francis is one of the leading women bowhunters in the world. I have followed her for awhile now, and she has harvested some incredible animals with her bow.

The adventure begins….

After arriving in Alaska, we flew into a small fishing village and spent the night before jumping on a Super Cub and flying into camp. We were fortunate enough to meet some great people there. We stayed with John and Tinker Jones, who own and operate a commercial fishing business in the town.

John and I before heading out.

We landed in the basin of a huge river valley and setup camp. The scenery was breathtaking. You can’t find this at any Holiday Inn.

Me with owner Bill Stevenson and our guides Rebecca Francis, Cole Kramer, and Stig Yngve.

Rebecca and I setting up camp!

That first evening, after getting the tents and everything setup, we headed up to a high spot to glass for bears.

We were overlooking a huge river valley surrounded by immaculate snow covered mountains. These bears were using the valley as a travel corridor, and we could see for miles.

 

We started seeing bears immediately on the first day! We set up a small cover shelter on our spotting knob to protect us from the conditions.

We spent a lot of time here, glassing and strategizing, waiting for the right opportunity to put a stalk on a big bear.

Enjoying a little Nature’s Kettle Coffee. Just add hot water and you can brew yourself a fresh cup of coffee! This is a great product for us and especially on mountain hunts like this.

 

We had a blast with these guys. We were all anxious to put the Outdoor Edge’s to work!

We spotted this huge bear down on the gravel bar and tried to get down ahead of him into position…

Taking a break while stalking in to refuel with some Sqwincher.

After a long stalk, we got close, but just not close enough to close the deal, so we headed back to camp to grab some food and some shuteye with high hopes for the following day.

Eating dinner and having some fun with our guides, Rebecca, Stig, and Cole!

When you are out in literally the middle of nowhere in a remote location, one of the toughest things is battling the elements. Every night we had to come back and hang out all of our clothes and gear in the tent to try to dry them for the next day. You never know what curve ball mother nature might throw at you, and the weather can change so fast, so you have to be prepared for everything.

We did get to have a little redneck shower one day. Rebecca and I washing our hair in the crystal clear river below camp!

Later that day, we were back after it! We spotted a beautiful bear way off working his way down the river bottoms towards us and decided to make a move.

With the wind in our favor, we headed down the mountain and got into position.

The beast finally appeared out of the brush, and was heading right for us!

At this point, my legs were starting to tremble. Watching this huge animal take every step closer made my heart beat faster. He came down across the river and up onto the gravel bar in front of us….

Standing face to face with a huge brown bear is like no other feeling in the world. I thought this was it… something that I have dreamed about all my life. I was overwhelmed with emotion. I was taken back by the sheer beauty and size of this amazing animal. My heart felt like it wanted to beat out of my chest. As the bear turned broadside at only 23 steps, I drew back my Mathews and tried to calm my nerves. As I released the arrow, I remember seeing the Lumenok disappear right behind the shoulder..

The bear took off into the brush and I watched him go down. I couldn’t stand. My whole body was shaking and my whole world was turned upside down. I had just done it…Spot and stalked and harvested a huge Alaskan Brown Bear with my bow! Emotions that I have never felt rushed through my body.

We all started to hug and celebrate! What an absolute rush. 23 steps!

As we approached him, I started to come to a realization of what I had just accomplished. As a knelt down beside the enormous animal, I was speechless.

My dream just came true. This was absolutely the hunt of a lifetime and a long time in the making.

I started hunting when I was a little girl and to have the opportunity to harvest a bear like this with my bow was everything that I could have ever imagined and more. If you work hard, and follow you’re true passion, dreams do come true!

Thank you so much to Bill, Rebecca, Cole, and Stig for a wonderful adventure, and making my wildest dreams come true!

Alaska Outfitters

Bill Stevenson

www.unit9bearhunts.com

 

There is no place we love going more than Saskatchewan. We have done lots of black bear hunts in the past, but this one was special! Nicole was going to try and harvest a bear LIVE. Steve Bowman from the Outdoor Channel joined us and was going to film and broadcast the hunt live on the Outdoor Channel’s website. Team member Mike Jahnke and cameraman Bryan Lemke also joined us on the trip and we were headed to meet up with Brandon Schreiber and the crew at Timberclaw (soon to be Buck Country) Outfitters!

We got in the tree early on the first night and got setup for the LIVE hunt. At 5 pm we went live! We immediately started receiving and answering questions from people viewing the stream. Deer started to filter in front of us, and we were all ready for a bear to show up! Unfortunately… no bear. Day 1 LIVE was a success, but no bears!

We all had high hopes for day 2. As soon as we got in the tree and got setup, we received a text from team member Mike Jahnke that he had just shot a huge bear!

Mike and Bryan had 3 bears come in right away and it got crazy! The bears were chasing and running each other off. 10 yards away the 2 big boars raised up on their hind legs and went at it… Roaring and biting at each other! At one point, one of the big boys came over to their ladder and started to climb! What a rush.

Finally, when the bears calmed down, Mike settled his IQ and hit the biggest boar perfect! The bear let out an insane roar and rolled! He rolled about 8 times and that was it! This was one of the coolest bear kills that I have ever seen!

Congratulations Mike! This bear weighed over 400 lbs! Awesome job, and awesome hunt!

This got really got us pumped up. We were up streaming LIVE and just waiting for the bears to show up by us! Sure enough not long after, here they came! Nicole’s heart was pumping and the whole world was watching! She was able to keep calm and stay patient. When Steve was ready, Nicole drew back and made an awesome high pressure shot!

The fact that this was being broadcasted LIVE added a whole new element to the hunt! Harvesting a big game animal LIVE has really never been done like this before! Everything came together. The bears cooperated, Steve did an awesome job capturing it all, and Nicole came through in the clutch! Over a half of a million people watched Nicole knock down this big Saskatchewan black bear LIVE!

Steve and Nicole with her bear! The hard work that Steve, Pat and Nicole, the crew at Timberclaw and the Outdoor Channel put into this hunt is unbelievable!

Team effort!

After such an action packed night, it was Steve’s turn to try to harvest his first black bear! On the second night of his hunt, he was able take this beautiful bear!

Congratulations Steve!

Thank you to the Outdoor Channel and Steve Bowman for making this live hunt possible. We couldn’t be more thrilled and humbled to be apart of it! The LIVE hunt was a huge success. Timberclaw Outfitters is like a second home for us and we came out successful once again! We cannot wait to get back out there and bring you some more LIVE ACTION.

Special thanks to Brandon Schreiber, Dean Kuypers, and everybody at Timberclaw Outfitters. Also thanks again to Steve Bowman and the Outdoor Channel!

Timberclaw Outfitters

Brandon Schreiber

www.timberclaw.com