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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (March 6, 2021)
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.