The weeks prior where designated to setting up our bows, practicing with the fish arrow and the broad heads making sure we were on the mark. In addition to that seemingly like most of my stories begin, three weeks before we were scheduled to leave I managed to blow my knee out “Joey style”. I hurriedly made all the doctor visits hoping there would be a quick fix learning that I had a destroyed ACL and a torn meniscus all to which the Doctor said I had to have surgery. I voiced my concerns stating that I was heading out in 3 weeks to do my hunt and could he make my knee work for me with a brace of some kind. Fortunately he’d taken a course in professionalism and knew how bad it would be for him to laugh directly in my face, so we scheduled the surgery at his earliest convenience. For a few days there we were full of doom and gloom thinking we would have to cancel our Florida trip, but we decided to wait until after the surgery to see how I handled it and what the physical therapist had to say about our timeline. She thought it was a possibility giving me the incentive to push myself harder to recover as much as I could, in the amount of time I had.

My hard work paid off and before I knew it we were on our flight meeting up with our hunting buddy in Minneapolis and sailing in air to our sunny hunting destination. We found our motel and a great place to eat where the boys gorged themselves on shrimp and I on Mahi Mahi by then we were exhausted and retired to our rooms for the evening.  Our first day was supposed to be a beach day; we called our hunting guide to check in with him to get the specifics for our following days hunt, and instead he told us to head his way in a few hours. Oh god, my excitement was amped up a notch with that announcement and I decided to forego the beach to gear up for the afternoon hunt.

We made it to our guide’s house with a few missed turns along the way, Justin’s place was the epitome of any hunting mans castle. There was a huge shop, swamp buggies, air boats, Polaris Rangers, trucks, hunting hounds, animal cleaning area, a walk in cooler, an ice machine full of beer and plenty of land to shoot on. I had a feeling this was going to be good! We stopped for licenses on our way to the ranch peppering our guide full of questions regarding the surrounding area and the particulars of hunting alligator.

Since our arrival to Florida we’d been trying to spot an alligator, of which once you figure out where to look and what you are looking for you begin to realize they are everywhere. Justin flew by quite a few pointing them out as the dust rolled out behind us in the rear view mirror, only stopping to look at a few worthy suspects of large enough proportions. Truly it wasn’t long before we spotted just the eyes of an alligator sitting up in the water in a small watering canal out about 80 yards, that Justin seemed to think might be a good one and whoever was up needed to put a move on gearing up and putting the sneak on it. We decided Jesse was going to go first because I was still too excited and really wanted to know how this whole hunting situation was going to go down. We were in an orange orchard and we snuck down the tree line and peeked over the edge into the water, seeing the alligator laying there in the bottom. Upon some discussion of shot placement the first shot was made. It was a good shot but needed to be a bit forward because the kill area is about the size of a quarter. The second shot was even better as the blood started rolling out, a hook was thrown out to try to pull him in at which point the gator started thrashing and rolling himself up in the line we got him positioned for the final shot and he was drug up on land. A few photos later Justin was eager to get on to the next lizard there wasn’t time to dally, we had business to do.

After witnessing the first harvest of an alligator I prepared myself to take the next opportunity. While racing down the road Justin got a call from the ranch manager telling him that they had spotted what looked like a large gator in a small pond where one had taken down a calf the week prior. We headed that direction, arriving only to see the tail of one slipping into the water as we drove up.  We got out and walked around the pond checking the tracks that looked fairly large according to our guide.

Again, the gear was hurriedly rallied and my fish arrow was on, this was going to turn out slightly different than the last alligator because the creature was underwater and we couldn’t visibly be seen. Justin hauled out a large weighted treble hook attached to a rope and threw it across the pond several times dragging it back towards him trying to snag the gator. The rope and hook are used to bring the gator to the surface of the water, bringing it in close improving the shot placement. Justin hooked it and pulled the reptile to the surface producing a large gator prompting me to get myself into position to get a fish arrow into the side so a buoy was attached to it in case it got off the hook. I lodged the fish arrow into its side and he thrashed around so much he broke that off and managed to also remove the treble hook from the other side as we watched him disappear into the water. Yet again Justin ran the treble hook across the pond trying to snag the alligator in minutes the gator was on the hook and within 5 yards when I lodged the first broad head into the base of his skull hitting him just a tad back. Like I mentioned earlier the kill spot on these tough creatures is only about the size of a quarter. This scenario happened yet another time where the gator took to rolling, breaking the arrow and hook off. In the meantime the rancher and another guy showed up also trying to snag the gator, Justin came up with my gator as I got yet another two broad heads into him while the rancher snagged another equally nice gator that Jason was in the process of successfully harvesting. There was a lot of action going on there for a while; I was relieved to have the reinforcement of the two extra men helping us.

My alligator was dead, but like most reptiles they continue to move so Justin jumped on him taped his mouth shut and handed me a knife to sever the spinal cord in the back of the skull. As I’m pounding the back of the knife handle driving it as deep as I can into the creature (I’m thinking to myself, this is crazy). Jason was on the other side of the pond finishing off his gator. Three guys had to drag mine out of the water and up on shore where we could get a better look at it. Wow, both Jason and I landed nice gators which lead to the usual banter of whose was bigger and all the rest of the smart remarks that follow up a good day of hunting with us. The sun was beginning to set and we needed to get our photos taken while the lighting was still decent. This whole hunt was incredible and I was able to share it with some of my favorite people. The day ended at Justin’s shop taking more photos and measuring them out over a few celebratory Corona’s.

Fish Fry Alligator

1 lb Alligator
1 c Milk
1/4 tsp Garlic powder
Seasoned fish fry, I used Tony’s
Vegetable oil
Salt & Pepper

Mix milk and garlic powder, and a dash of salt and pepper. Add alligator and marinate for 1 hour. Roll pieces in fish fry and deep fry in hot oil until golden brown.

* Fried alligator can be used for making po-boys or we used our leftovers and prepared it  like a fish taco.

Dusted Alligator Fry

Alligator meat
Cayenne pepper
Oil
1 cup Cider Vinegar
1/4 cup Flour
1 cup Cornmeal
Salt & pepper to taste

Use fresh alligator tail, cutting pieces not to exceed 2″X 1″ thick. Place in shallow dish. Pour on small amount of vinegar and add salt and pepper and cayenne to taste. Let stand for approximately 30 minutes. While gator soaks, pour into dusting bag or other container  corn meal and flour. Put about 1″ oil in skillet and heat to 400 degrees F. Roll or shake alligator strips in dusting mixture, then place in hot oil and fry until golden. Use only enough pieces to cover the bottom of the skillet. Serve hot.

These recipes were taken from justgamerecipes.com

2. Make crust: Combine chocolate wafers, sugar and butter in bowl of food   processor fitted with blade attachment and pulse until cookies are finely   crushed. Press mixture firmly into prepared baking pan (I spread it with my   hands first, then use the bottom of a measuring cup to even it out). Bake for   8 minutes. Set on rack to cool completely.

3. In the meantime, make peanut butter filling: Combine all ingredients   together in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix at   low speed until just combined (do not whip). Set bowl in refrigerator while   you prepare the rest.

4. Make chocolate ganache topping: Combine milk chocolate chips and heavy   cream in microwave safe bowl and cook in microwave at medium power (50%) for   1-1½ minutes. Stir until bowl no longer feels warm. Continue heating at 15-30   second intervals, stirring until smooth and melted. Do not overheat.

5. Put it all together: Use an offset icing spatula to spread about ¼ cup of   chocolate mixture evenly over cooled crust; place pan in freezer until   chocolate is set, about 5-10 minutes. Spread peanut butter mixture into even   layer over chocolate (if it’s firm, you can use your hands; if it’s soft, use   a butter knife or spatula). Give chocolate ganache a quick stir to smooth any   lumps, then spread evenly over top of peanut butter layer. Cover pan with   plastic wrap and place in freezer for 1 hour to set (or, if you’re not in a   hurry, you can just leave it in the refrigerator for a few hours). When firm,   use a sharp knife to cut into squares (make them small as they are very   rich!). Keep refrigerated and serve cool.

Recipe found from Once upon a chef.com, the bars were so good I just had to share!

In large bowl mix:

3 ½ cups flour

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg, plus 1 egg yolk

3 cups of semi sweet chocolate chips

1 ½ cup coarsely chopped nuts

1 ½ cans sweetened condensed milk

15 oz toffee chips

Crumb Mixture:

Stir flour and brown sugar together then cut in butter until coarse and crumbly.

Add eggs and mix well.

Stir in 2 cups chocolate chips and all of the nuts.

Reserve 3 cups of the crumb mixture.

Press remaining crumb mixture into the jelly roll pan and bake 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

Remove from oven and pour sweetened condensed milk over hot crust, leaving a slight rim around the edges uncovered.

Top with 10 oz toffee chips.

Sprinkle reserved crumb mixture and chocolate chips over the top.

Bake 20-25 minutes then sprinkle the remaining 5 oz of toffee chips over the top.

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 king-sized Hershey’s milk chocolate bars (if you want a more subtle chocolate flavor use regular sized chocolate bars; enough to fit) I used the dark chocolate king-size.  YUM!
1 1/2 cups marshmallow crème/fluff (7 1/2 oz jar)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.

2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined.

3. Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Place chocolate bars over dough. 2 king-sized Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick. Spread chocolate with marshmallow crème or fluff. Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff. This part can be tricky. I made little disks with the dough and formed them into a sheet on some parchment paper then transferred it over. Spread it around gently.

4. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Makes 16 cookie bars.
Recipe found from “The Girl Who Ate Everything” blog.

¾ cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 cups sugar
3 cups Granny Smith apples peeled & finely chopped
2 ½ cups self rising flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup chopped pecans
6 ounce bag butterscotch chips

DIRECTIONS

Combine oil, eggs, and sugar in a large bowl.
Beat at medium speed until well mixed.
Combine flour and cinnamon and add to egg mixture, beating only until well mixed.
Stir in pecans, apples, and ½ bag of butterscotch chips.
Spread into greased 13×9” pan.
Sprinkle remaining butterscotch chips on top and bake.

350° for 50 mins.

ICING

1 stick butter
¾ cup sugar
½ cup evaporated milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Bring to a boil, and boil for 2 minutes then pour over warm cake.

Let bars cool and indulge!

First I would like to thank my grandpa and my father for this amazing opportunity.

For three weeks my dad had his eye on this buck for me. He would go out every morning and evening to watch him and try to pattern the buck. We knew he was very big and this would be a rare chance for me, but my chance was much greater considering the extra two days that that kids under the age of fifteen get inMontana. I woke up early, grabbed my hunting stuff and we headed out to the area we were going to hunt the first morning.  We hiked up the river about a half mile and my dad carried me on his back through a couple sections of the river. When we got to our spot we had to sit and wait for him to exit the grain field.  It finally got light and about 20 minutes later the perfect buck was coming my way.  He stopped and turned broad side.  Dad ranged him at 120 yards and I prepared for the shot.  We were in a small patch of aspen trees and I was trying to use an aspen for a steady rest but I couldn’t get steady so dad told me not to shoot.  While moving around trying to find a better rest the buck saw our movement and started heading a different direction.  We snuck up on him to try it again, this time we were about 180 yards away and he stopped behind a bunch of branches. I looked at my dad and said, “I don’t feel confident taking this shot.”  We came back that night but we did not see the buck.

The next morning we were going to try and sneak to edge of the grain field before daylight and hopefully catch him before he could head out his usual direction.  As the grain field lit, he stood there quartering away.  I set up on my new shooting sticks and told my dad I was ready.  Dad ranged the buck at 317 yards and said “he’s too far, don’t take the shot”.  I said I’m perfectly steady and I can make this shot, but dad said “no” were not going to risk a shot that far and I watched the buck walk away.  It’s now Friday evening and my last opportunity at this buck before the general season opens for everyone.  My dad calls from work and says he is not going to be able to take me out.  He says “ask grandpa if he can take you.”   I call him and he jumps at the chance.  We loaded up and headed out.  We drove out and set up where the buck usually headed for the grain field.   We didn’t see anything but we decided to stay for a while longer.   I wanted every chance I could to get that deer.  After what seemed like an eternity, I said “grandpa lets go see if he is already in the grain field”.   As we approached the field he was way down at the other end about 600 yards away.  Grandpa got me out of the truck and set me up in the tall grass and then got in his truck and drove away.  I waited and waited but the deer got further and further. My luck was running out when a small coyote jumped out and started chasing the buck towards me.  Twenty minutes later the buck was 160 yards away and I took the shot.  When I looked up and didn’t see my deer I was heart broken.

I looked toward where grandpa was parked and could hear him yelling “GO GET HIM!” I replied, “But I missed, are we going to go follow him?” He said, “No you got him!”

I ran out into the field and sure enough there was my buck. All the more special I was using a gun that my grandpa made for my great grandma in 1962 and that my grandpa was there to share that special moment with me, making it the perfect buck.

Pros

• The open tread pattern works well for all types of terrain and conditions. I’ve worn them in snow, mud, rocks, winter runoff and on dry ground and the performance is like no other boot that has accompanied my feet into the hills.
• Available insulated with 400-grams of Thinsulate giving them Insulation for colder weather conditions without the bulk which is an important factor for me.
• Also available in non-insulated for warmer weather conditions. These aren’t in my closet yet but they are next on my “wish list”.
• Water proof making them great for snow and crossing mountain creeks.
• No seams down the tongue of the boot increasing abrasion resistance and making the boots even more waterproof!
• Breathable membrane also aids in keeping my feet dry and warm, allowing my feet to be happy. (oh yeah)
• Extra padded soft collars give comfort and all day ankle support which is a personal “must have” for rocky terrain.
• Heavy duty midsoles provide extra support while I weave my way across uneven ground.
• Traction teeth at the heel and toe give the Mountain Extreme Boots extra grip for going up and down hills while perimeter side lugs provide grip when side-hilling.
• Reinforced rubber sole guards give extra protection against rock abrasion great in Mountain goat and Big Horn sheep country.

Cons

• The Mountain Extreme 400 is insulated and isn’t the boot that I select for my early September bow hunts, choosing the right equipment tailored to each hunt is key. This isn’t actually a full on “Con” in my opinion, because I whole heartedly love my boots and this is the only time of year I don’t wear them based on my type of hunting.

Reviewed by Huntinggal

“You drew my tag!” This was a phrase I heard over and over from fellow hunters after finding out I had drawn Montana’s coveted unit 270 tag.  Every time I heard this, the pressure mounted. The unit is notorious for trophy mule deer and tough draw odds.  The odds are less than one percent and there are only 45 tags drawn out of roughly 6000 applicants.  10 are land owner tags, so that leaves a measly 35 tags for the general public.  Not only did I hold one of these measly 35, so did my 13 yr old son.  It felt a bit like possessing the golden ticket.

You would think I would be ecstatic, but I felt a little panic stricken.  I wanted to do the tag justice, and I desperately wanted to bow hunt it.  I had been bowhunting for nearly 4 years and had only one bow kill under my belt.  My confidence had been boosted by my success, but I was clearly still a novice.  More than confidence though, I had a taste for the knee knocking adrenaline that comes along with getting a shot.

The opportunity to shoot a nice mule deer buck with my bow was probably never going to be higher than with this tag.  But on the other hand, I knew with a rifle I would have more range and a longer season to hunt within.  What to do?

After much consideration (okay, not that much), the knee knocking adrenaline won out. When does a stay at home Mom ever get that rush, not from baking cookies I’ll tell you that!  I decided I would bow hunt the unit during the only weekend I had available and if I was not successful, I would rifle hunt the later, longer season.  Our 13 yr old son Jake had come to the same conclusion.  He had enjoyed great success his first hunting year and had bagged an antelope buck, white tail doe, white tail buck and a beautiful chocolate bear all with his rifle .  However, he had recently completed his bowhunter education course and was itching to try out his new skills.

Labor Day weekend found the whole family, plus our good friend Zach, all heading to the unit with two novice bow hunters hoping to do the coveted tag proud.  We had scouted the unit two previous weekends and had spotted many beautiful bucks, nearly all Pope & Young worthy.  My personal goal was to shoot a P&Y buck (not a lofty goal in this unit) and Jake’s was to shoot a 165+ buck.  What can I say, he is 13 and has confidence in spades…all his goals are lofty!

The first few days we put stalks on several different bucks, but our limited bow ranges kept us just out of reach of the best trophies.  Jake had his eye on an amazing, large bodied, big antlered brute he affectionately nick-named “DC” for double crown.  This particular buck sported double crowns on the ends of each side of his rack.  He was the biggest buck we had located thus far.  My husband Jerrod had guessed his score at 165+, so Jake was smitten and this was to be “his buck.”

The final day of our Labor Day hunt had arrived and brought fresh snow and cold weather. As we headed out that crisp morning, we had the intention of putting a stalk on D.C.  The plan was to orchestrate a gentle drive/push toward Jake, hopefully putting him in bow range.  I would act as a back-up shooter if he was out of Jake’s range or if we were separated and he came my direction instead.

I really wanted Jake to have success and as a Mom I would gladly step aside and let him have the opportunities at the bigger bucks because that is what was important to him.  I, on the other hand was anxious to get another adrenaline rush and bow kill to my name, regardless of antler size, that would be a bonus of course. Please keep all this in mind as I continue…

As we located D.C. along with several other nice bucks feeding in a draw, we started to strategize on how to go about getting Jake into a good position.  We were quietly planning our next step when the bucks began to move….quickly.  We were positioned on an old overgrown logging road, nestled nicely into a steep hillside. The small band of bucks was heading straight toward it. Stealthily and hastily we aimed to intercept the path of the bucks and ended up situated under them on the hillside.

Jake was giddy with excitement and my knees had started the anticipated shaking at the site of these gorgeous creatures.  We ranged D.C. and he was 15 yards out of Jake’s range.  My heart sank at the realization his opportunity was lost.   Being this was our last day to hunt, I couldn’t imagine letting this majestic buck slip through our fingers. Instinct took over and I took action.

I whispered to Jake to move over and I stepped in line with the buck.  As I drew my bow, a smaller buck fed his way right in front of him.  I let my bow down.  My heart felt like it was going to pound out of my chest and I was positive that the sound might spook the deer! I subconsciously was holding my breath, as if that would silence the loud thumping! The smaller buck finally stepped aside and graciously gave me a shot at his buddy.  I drew again and let my pin hover as I took aim.  I remember checking my level bubble for the steep uphill shot, and noticing that the shaking in my knees was graduating up my body and was starting in my hands….breathe….smack!  The bow went off effortlessly just like I had practiced.  I followed through strong and was still holding my position when the buck lunged forward.

I immediately thought of my son Jake and looked over at him.  I could see the disappointment on his face.  His mother just shot his beloved D.C. right out from under him.  I couldn’t stop from tearing up, between the adrenaline, the anticipation and the look on my son’s face it was too much to process.  As the water works poured, I started apologizing to my son for shooting “his deer.”  Halfway through my blubbering apology I heard Zach exclaim “He’s down!”  That snapped me out of my emotional breakdown and I started to smile.

My son Jake was amazing and although extremely disappointed he was congratulating and hugging me, all the while telling me he was proud.  I too was proud, of him and the maturity he showed.  At that moment, I sent a prayer up that when Jake got his buck; it would be bigger and better than D.C.

The shot was perfect and he only went a few dozen yards.  His antlers were massive and even more impressive than we initially thought.  To be perfectly honest, I was so elated at killing my first deer with a bow, and the fact I had made a great shot, the score of his antlers was secondary to me.  However, I was fairly certain I had did the 270 tag justice with the buck’s green gross score being a mind blowing 195! After the required drying period, the official net score was 192 2/8.

Archery is so much about opportunity, and those moments are few and far between.  As Jake becomes a seasoned archer, he will understand this more and more.  I did not want to take that moment from him, but I was glad he was there to share mine.  Besides, his opportunity was to come during the rifle season.

God works in mysterious way.  That summer, while we were scouting the unit, Jake had taken a picture of a magnificent wide spread buck in the velvet.  He had blown the photo up and tacked it to his wall as his “inspiration” photo.  We had not seen this particular buck during our bow hunt, therefore he was put out of our minds.

On the first day of the rifle hunt in unit 270, within the first 20 minutes of the hunt, we came across a nice bedded buck at 150 yards.  Jake passed him up, confident that the day held more promising prospects.  We all hoped so, as this buck seemed to be a slam dunk…and close to the pick up!  He was respectable at a rough score guess of 160 or so.

The family hiked all day and we encountered a few smaller bucks, but were beginning to think we had passed on the best opportunity, when Jerrod spotted a nice buck.  We put a stalk on him and when Jake had a clean broadside 200 yard shot, he took it and he took that buck down!  The buck died only a few hundred yards from where I had killed my buck earlier that fall.  He was the exact same buck Jake had on his wall all summer long! He had a nearly 30” outside spread and rough score of 182.  He was amazing.  Jake was so proud and no longer disappointed that he was not able to shoot “D.C.”  The ironic part is that although Jake’s buck was not “bigger” in score, it was certainly wider and appeared more impressive in size.  So, my prayer was answered and Jake got a “bigger and better” buck.

I am so thankful for my amazing husband Jerrod, who has willingly and gladly put so many of his hunting priorities aside to ensure myself and our son success in our own right.  He truly loves the thrill of the hunt, and strives for his family to love it too.  I also need to acknowledge that Jake’s little brother, our youngest son Luke was present during both these hunts and kills.  He is waiting for his opportunity to hunt (this fall will be his first year) and with a happy heart has followed the rest of the family around, putting in all the hard work, with none of the glory. I will never forget these hunts, and I am pretty sure that not very many people have been able to have their entire family present for two amazing experiences like that.  Our family is small with only 4 of us, but I have say…the family that hunts together, stays together!

1/3 cup baking powder

2 t salt

1 cup cold butter or shortening

Blend all to a fine mealy consistency and store in an airtight container until ready to use.

Add 1/3 cup of milk for each cup of dry mixture. Roll or pat down onto floured surface to about 1” in depth and cut with biscuit cutter or a glass.

Brush tops with melted butter, optional. (I did for the picture)

Bake at 425° until golden brown. Best served warm right out of the oven!

My grandma and my mother where the best cooks, I can’t help but think of them when I am baking and enjoying these biscuits.