B
Saturday, March 6, 2021
The Observer & Baker City Herald
S TORIES
IN THE
S NOW
■ Getting around on snowshoes can
reveal the mysteries of animal behavior
through their tracks in the snow
T
ears of joy
ran down my
bewhiskered
cheeks when I tore
colorful Christmas
wrapping loose from
a large cardboard box
with an L.L. Bean label em-
bossed on the end fl ap. Inside
nestled a pair of 48-inch long,
ash frame snowshoes that
appeared to glow in low light.
Rawhide laces. Handcrafted
in Canada. I’d dreamed of
owning a pair of vintage
snowshoes since childhood,
but held off on purchase
when I could well afford it. A
frugal upbringing may have
entered into the equation.
My prized snowshoes were
quickly put to use on wintry
treks along ice-glazed creeks
and conifer-lined ridges of
the Blues. I traversed steep
slopes and old growth forest
where deep snow rendered a
route virtually impassable to
outdoor adventurers on foot
or cross-country skis. Myster-
ies of animal behavior were
revealed to me via tracks of
cougar, elk, ruffed grouse,
and snowshoe hare. Marks
made by the plunder of great
horned owls and the kill of
red foxes intrigued. Dragging
a newly cut Christmas tree to
the truck in waist-high snow
drifts no longer challenged.
A whole new world opened
up when Nancy and I moved
Dennis Dauble/Contributed Photo
THE
NATURAL
WORLD
Ice-capped boulders decorate a small stream in early January 2021.
DENNIS DAUBLE
to a golf course development
outside of town. When snow-
fall accumulated to reach
ankle-deep, I’d strap on my
snowshoes and hike through
a 40-acre parcel of big sage,
rabbitbrush, and sulfur buck-
wheat to reach a clear day’s
view of the Yakima River and
Rattlesnake Mountain. The
trek provided a hinterland
experience in an otherwise
suburban setting.
At some point in time — I
can’t say exactly when — the
snowshoes began to gather
dust on the garage wall. A
new housing development
blocked my route to the
river. Two-hour drives to
the mountains on black ice
became more of a challenge
than an adventure. Looking
out the living room window
this winter, though, the sight
of shaggy snowfl akes falling
from a muted sky made me
want to tip my face back and
catch them on my tongue. As
new layers of snow gathered,
I thought back to when I
fl opped on my back and
shaped an angel in soft sur-
round.
I move swiftly to the
Dennis Dauble/Contributed Photo
This distinctive three-toe track of a great blue heron was
found on a winter trek alongside an ice-glazed stream.
sharp and clean. The refl ec-
tive properties of ice and
snow never fail to add sparkle
to my mood. According to an
article in Science magazine,
“light refl ected off fresh snow
Dennis Dauble/Contributed Photo can outshine a full moon.”
A pair of vintage wood-frame and modern aluminum frame
I skirt the edge of the golf
snowshoes are lined up and ready for a trek in the snow.
course where a tiny vestige of
native shrub and bunchgrass
cluttered garage, strap on
also about stillness. Its pres- vegetation remains. My snow-
my vintage snowshoes, and
ence causes a too-busy world shoes fl oat atop a foot of snow
refl ect on what I have missed. to stop and take a breath.
so dry it squeaks. I look for
How fresh snow clothes
I recall magical moonlight
animal tracks and think back
naked branches in vestal
treks over dune-like drifts
to a photo I sent to a friend
white and renders the rough of powder, peering up at a
for verifi cation. Ken, who has
edges of an otherwise stark
never-ending night sky, and
a degree in Wildlife Science,
landscape smooth. Snowfall is breathing frosty air that is
wrote back, “Most likely a
squirrel. Rabbit tracks form a
distinctive triangular shape.”
When I replied I had hoped
the tracks were from a cot-
tontail rabbit that used to
frequent our yard, he wrote,
“I always wonder why people
even ask me if they don’t
want to hear my answer.”
No sign of animal activ-
ity exists where wandering
coyotes and mule deer once
strolled, except for the wispy
tracks of ground-feeding
juncos beside the senescent
bloom of gray rabbitbrush.
See Signs/Page 2B
Turkey hunters: Don’t forget to pick your shot pattern
A lot of turkey hunters
think that the whole key
in being successful is
to learn how to call su-
perbly, so that’s all they
focus on. In my turkey
seminars I teach that calling
is about 20% of the puzzle.
You have to also learn strat-
egy, camo, decoys and many
other details if you want
to be successful. Calling is
actually only a small part
of ensuring that you have
a successful turkey hunt.
There are many champion
callers that can call a whole
lot better than me but they
aren’t good hunters.
So with the above said,
let’s discuss an often-forgot-
ten piece of the puzzle —
patterning your shotgun. On
most of your shotgunning
you can switch out the choke
and use one shotgun for
multiple hunts but if at all
possible, for turkey hunting
it is nice if you can designate
one shotgun for turkeys.
Here’s why: To shoot out
to 40, 50 or even 60 yards,
you’re going to need a sight
or a scope because using the
beads on top of the venti-
lated rib just doesn’t work. If
you have to mount, unmount
a sight or scope every spring
BASE CAMP
TOM CLAYCOMB
on your multipurpose shot-
gun, it will be a pain.
This year I got a Mossberg
930 and mounted a Vortex
SPARC AR Red Dot scope
on it. If you can’t afford to
designate one shotgun for
turkeys, don’t panic. But for
sure use a good turkey choke
like a Tru-Lock .650 or .660
choke so that you can get
a tight pattern. Even my
youngest daughter looked
at a target I shot and said,
“Daddy, you don’t want that
many BBs in him do you?” It
put 132 BBs on the target.
After you get a good choke,
test three or four different
loads because they vary in
how they perform. Turkeys
are tough birds so you want
to make sure you use the
best shells. The bad deal is,
the good turkey loads are
expensive. They run from $1
to $5 per shell so you don’t
want to waste too many on
the range, but still, if you go
to all the time, trouble and
expense of going hunting
it’s a small investment to do
BBs whiz harmlessly over-
head. I like to use Birchwood
Casey Shoot N-C targets.
They make it easy to count
how many BBs are in the
kill zone. To count how many
BBs hit in the kill zone I
lay a piece of paper over the
target and count holes as I
slowly slide it down. Shoot
and then count how many
BBs hit in the head/neck
area. I’m sure there is a so-
cially accepted number you
want to obtain but I don’t
know what that is.
Do you have to buy store-
bought targets? If you’re a
kid on a paper route budget,
no! You can get a large piece
of cardboard and draw a
turkey on it. Color the head
red so it’s visible at 40 yards.
After you’ve decided which
Tom Claycomb/Contributed Photo shell to use, shoot at 20, 30,
As these targets show, the shot pattern can vary substantially with different shells
40 and 50 yards. That way
you’ll know how effective
so. From what I’ve tested,
provide for a tighter pattern. shells kick big time). Also
you’ll be at each range. If you
HEVI-Shot outperforms
You’ll have to decide what
to reduce fl inching, wear
have a really tight choke it’s
everyone else.
size shot you prefer.
double ear protection. I
easy to miss if one is really
To make the choice even
If you test a lot of differ-
wear foam ear plugs and ear close.
more complicated, manufac- ent manufacturers then
muffs.
Some of the loads will
turers offer different sizes
you ought to buy a Caldwell
To pattern your shotgun,
have up to 2¼ ounces of shot,
of shot and HEVI-Shot even Lead Sled. If you don’t, after aim 5 to 7 inches below the
so they kick. So it doesn’t
offers a blend of 5, 6 and 7
shooting a few of the 3-inch turkey’s head. That way the scare off young hunters and
shot in one load. The theory or 3 1/2-inch shells, you’ll be bulk of the pattern hits from women, have them shoot a
is, the 5s are heavier and
fl inching. (OK, I hate to be
the heart to the head. If you 3-inch mag in a 20-gauge.
even though lighter, the 7s
a wimp but the 3 1/2-inch
shoot at the head, half of the Put a recoil pad on their gun.