The Year of My Contentment

I
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HUNTER:
STEVEN MILLER
SPECIES:
MULTIPLE HUNTS
L O C AT I O N : WA , I D , A K
must start this story out on a philosophical note. I have
been hunting big game for over 40 years and have taken
many animals, and until this last year, none had been
what I would categorize as trophy in the statistical sense.
Any animal is a trophy in terms of the whole experience, and
starting in the fall of 2013 and spilling over into the spring and
fall of 2014 was the year for me. I was able to harvest an elk,
a moose, a Black bear, and a Mule deer in a 4-for-4 succession
of hunts. Like many successful endeavors, teamwork can
generate more success than the individual. In each case, I
was teamed up with someone who made a difference in the
outcome of the hunt.
LUKE & STEVEN WITH
STEVEN’S WASHINGTON ELK
Starting in September of 2013 with my Washington archery
elk hunt, I was ecstatic to receive my “Successful” notification
for one of the quality bull hunts located on the eastern slopes
of the Cascade Mountains. Getting the tag was only the first
challenge, but knowing exactly where to go was the bigger
challenge. This was where my friend, Luke Carrick, entered
the picture. Sometimes serendipity leads you in the right
direction. A mutual acquaintance suggested I contact Luke
for some help on my elk hunt. What a difference he made
in the outcome. The area we focused on was a place an old
timer had shared with Luke a few years ago. What a honey
hole it turned out to be!
Opening morning was a little shaky after staying awake
most of the night listening to bulls bugling around our
STEVEN WITH HIS
IDAHO MOOSE
camp. We couldn’t make anything happen in the morning
hunt, which helped me regain my composure as a dry run
for the afternoon. As we set up at the edge of a meadow,
a spike bugle sounded off on one side. Within moments, a
reply from the opposite direction came in a much raspier
voice. At this point, nature took over. We remained silent
as the big guy kept moving our way, responding to his
smaller echo. As he stepped into the opening, I was in a
zen-like state, completely calm. The arrow flew true and
completely passed through at 42 yards. The following
day, we packed out the horns and our camp and set into
motion with help from two friends, Faye Bradford and
Shannon Newby, who we had prearranged to help with
pack horses if we were successful. We couldn’t have
made the 11-mile pack out without their help. Faye said
helping us pack out the meat that day was the highlight of
her summer!
My next hunt in early November for moose came in quick
succession. My friend, Scott Morgan, and I were ready
opening morning in northern Idaho in the vicinity of Priest
Lake. After talking to numerous referrals from Huntin’ Fool,
we had a plan in place. The general consensus was that the
bulls would still be up on the highest peaks in the rockslides
and alder thickets. On the fourth morning, from over 1 mile
away, we spotted four moose on the side of the mountain,
and it was clear at least one was a bull. We hightailed it in my
jeep around the backside of the mountain, chaining all fours
to get as much elevation as possible. We hiked the final 500
yards to a rock outcropping on the summit, and as the fog
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BOB & ROB WITH
STEVEN’S ALASKA BLACK BEAR
parted, a bull walked below us at 175 yards. The first shot
rang true with an unmistakable thump, but a second shot was
made to be sure. Even a young bull moose is a huge, tough
animal. Scott and I spent the remainder of that day and all the
next day quartering and deboning the meat and backpacking
multiple loads the short, but steep, snowy route back
to the jeep.
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Now for Act 3. After the New Year, I received a phone call
from my longtime buddy, Bob Homier, asking me what hunts
I might be considering for the upcoming year. To make a
long story short, he talked me into joining him on a guided
Brown bear cancellation hunt in Alaska with Rob Hardy.
Bob took first right of refusal for a Brownie, and I took first
rights for Black bear. This was to be my first bear hunt of any
kind, whereas Bob had harvested Black bears in the past but
wanted a chance at a Brown bear.
At the end of the hunt, on the eighth day, we had seen no
Brown bears at all, only one set of tracks. We had made
unsuccessful attempts on two Blackies the day before,
which was exciting, but the wind had busted us twice.
Disappointment was setting in like a blanket of Alaska fog,
but we tried to remain positive nonetheless.
After lunch on that last day, I had resigned myself to
going home empty-handed, but that was about to change.
At 3:00 that afternoon, my binoculars were drawn to a
STEVEN WITH HIS
WASHINGTON MULE DEER
“Suddenly, we saw movement in
the clump of trees where the bear
had obviously been napping.”
we saw movement in the clump of trees where the bear
had obviously been napping. It seemed to take forever
before he showed himself, and when he did, I was on him
in an instant with the .338 mag. Fortunately, he tumbled
downhill, cutting some of the distance to reach him. Rob
expertly skinned and quartered the big boar, and all three
of us finally trudged back into camp just after midnight
with our packs heavy laden.
black spot almost 2 miles away. We put ourselves into
action and covered the distance quickly. After sneaking
through the alder thickets and going uphill toward the
bear, it seemed like he had disappeared. So this was how
the hunt was going to end, I thought to myself! Suddenly,
I can see another trip to Alaska in my future. What a
magnificent, game-rich landscape. I will never forget
the “Boone and Crockett” porcupine we spotted on the
riverbed. Even from a distance we thought he was a
bear cub. Mountain goats and Black bears were in sight
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STEVEN & LUKE WITH STEVEN’S
WASHINGTON MULE DEER
every day, which made glassing for Brown bears much
more engaging. With that much time together, I learned
a few things about my friend, Bob, that I didn’t know
before and got to know Rob as our awesome guide and
wildlife expert.
When the Washington 2014 draw results came out in June,
I had finally drawn a Mule deer buck rut hunt after 15 years
of trying. For my final hunt of the 2014 season, I had lined
myself up to hunt the rugged Wenaha area, again teamed
up with my friend, Luke Carrick. The challenge of this hunt
was the steepness of the country. If you are not going up,
you are going down and then back up again. A 400 yard
shot is the average in that country, and there is a lot of
glassing across big canyons.
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Expecting a lot of action during another 8-day hunt, on
opening morning I passed on what would turn out to be
the biggest buck we would see the entire week. During the
middle of the hunt, I was kicking myself for making that
decision on day one. Finally, on day six, I connected
with a nice 4-point. In the end, I was happy for
the whole experience, including howling
wolves one night 300 yards from our
tent and watching a giant 7x7 bull elk
catch our scent and grab ground for
cover, all of which I would have missed
had I taken “Mr. Big” on day one.
My biggest “trophy,” really bragging
rights, was when Luke informed me we
had covered 56 miles hiking those 6
days as recorded on his GPS. Not
bad, I thought, for a 62 year old
desk jockey. I realized I could
not have and probably would
not have attempted a hunt
like this on my own, so my
toast to Luke on that last
evening back at camp was, “Here’s
to following Sasquatch around the
mountain for the last 6 days!” That’s
what friends are for!