August 2001 Newsletter
Howdy guys and gals,
Jonesy here with another report on Wyoming hunting and our ongoing
and continuing battle with the tree-huggers, lion-lovers, coyote-cuddlers,
buffalo-buffs, wolf-wierdos, and other assorted animal activists.
I have a confession to make. I am also an animal activist.
Whenever I am in the presence of an animal, particularly one of trophy
proportions, my actions in coveting its headgear cause it to become active,
even hyper-active. I also belong to PETA (People Eating Tasty Animals).
Awards for My Guides and Hunters!
I was just informed by the Wyoming Outfitters and Guides Association
that my hunters will win some of the coveted plaques at our Awards Ceremony
in December for some of the biggest bucks killed in the state. Justin
Giangrasso guided by Steve Clonts won #1 Typical Mule Deer. Rich
Giangrasso guided by Sparky Wallace and myself will take 2nd place Typical
Mule Deer. Ray Miller guided by Sparky Wallace will take the #3 Non-Typical
Mule Deer award. These awards will be presented at our annual meeting
in December. Congratulations to you guys!!
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Ray Miller killed this great non-typical with a
good 370 yard shot. His first buck!! 8 x 9, heavy, high, 30 5/8 inches wide Click here to view full size. |
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Rich Giangrasso and his 31 inch typical. A quick snap-shot brought
down the running buck.
Click here to view full size. |
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Justin Giangrasso, 34 inch spread, massive typical in full
velvet.
Click here to view full size. |
Elk/Bison Management Meetings
We continue to have meetings on the Environmental Impact Study (EIS)
on the National Elk Refuge feeding of elk and bison (buffalo, for us purists).
We had a meeting just with outfitters and conservation/preservationist
groups to try and come to some agreement on common ground. It was
somewhat productive as we identified a great deal of common ground, but
as they say, the devil is in the details. We all agreed;
1) Overall health of herds is paramount. 2) Reduction of disease
is important. 3) The EIS process must be done so the results are
defensible in court. 4) Improve habitat. 5) Maintain livestock
producers in Jackson Hole.
A lot of discussion ensued about reduction of disease and habitat improvement.
Many of the conservation groups honestly feel that concentrating animals
on feedgrounds is the major cause of disease and that with proper habitat
improvement we can disperse the herds and wont have to feed elk and buffalo.
Of course we outfitters disagree. Many of those conservationists
havent lived through a severe winter in Jackson Hole. No matter
how much you improve habitat, when the snow is 4 feet deep and it is 40
below zero you either feed or they die. As far as feedgrounds concentrating
herds and spreading disease, elk are herd animals anyway and tend to congregate
in the winter. Granted, the natural herds are 50 or so instead of
a thousand, but the disease will still spread through the herd unit, albeit
somewhat slower. Our criticism regarding disease is that the National
Elk Refuge doesnt vaccinate calf elk or bison as the State feedgrounds
do. Brucellosis (Bangs Disease) only infects about 12% of the state
vaccinated herds as opposed to 40% of the unvaccinated Refuge herd. Brucellosis
is the disease most prevalent in the herd and causes a cow elk to abort
her first calf. Only about 5% of the cows become sterile, with the
other 95% having subsequent calves. Other than that Brucellosis is
a rather benign disease. The animal doesnt get sick or die from
it, people dont get sick from eating diseased elk, and it is not highly
contagious. It is spread by another elk licking the aborted fetus.
Anyway, the disease does not warrant a drastic change in the way we manage
our elk herds. The Outfitters Association official position is that
we have the largest elk herd in the world and the best elk hunting in the
world so DONT MESS WITH IT! We started feeding elk in 1911 and because
of our feeding program we repopulated the west with elk from the Jackson
Hole herd.
FIRE!
I was driving up the Greys River Road in mid-June to take a group on
an all day trail ride and I was surprised to see a column of smoke.
That lightning-caused forest fire was right next to my hunting camp, just
to the south of it across the river. I stopped and told the fire
fighters to let it burn. That mountain needs a good fire. It
is so tangled with blow-downs you cant even walk through it, let alone
ride a horse there. The firefighters thanked me politely but said
that if they didnt put it out the public would scream for their heads.
We are so ingrained with the Smoky Bear mentality that most of us dont
realize that fire is good for the forest. It rejuvenates the undergrowth
and opens up the forest canopy to let a little sunlight in. Logging
and fire are the two best ways to improve wildlife habitat. We had
a ring-side seat to watch the slurry bombers hit the fire. Really
spectacular. Anyway, it happened to rain that night and helped put out
the fire. Only burned a couple hundred acres. Darn!
We are definitely concerned about the fire
danger this summer. It is extremely hot and dry. If we dont
get some rain we could have some major fires in September which could interfere
with our hunt. Pray for rain. Because of the drought the price
of hay has gone up from its normal $70 to $110 per ton, if you can get
it. I go through about 80 tons of hay per year.
Inside Outside Upside Down
Horses dont do well when they are inside a horse trailer, which is
upside down outside the roadway. My nephew, Andrew, and my daughter,
Katie, were going up Greys River to meet some guests for an all day trail
ride. They came over a hill and the water truck of a construction
outfit was passing on a curve. Andy hit the brakes but they had just
graded the road and it was all loose gravel, so the suburban slid off the
road and hit some small trees and the horse trailer tipped over.
4 horses were upside down in the top of the trailer and to get them out
they had to hook on the top of my brand new trailer (I had just licensed
it the day before) with the road grader and a chain and rip the top off.
Horses being horses, as soon as they got out they started eating, even
though they were bleeding profusely. Between the 4 horses they had
about 300 stitches. Two horses werent hurt too badly, just a few
stitches over an eye and minor cuts, but Shiek was out for 5 weeks and
Duke (one of my two favorites) will be out for at least 3 months.
He was cut so badly around his hind hoofs that he may be crippled for life.
He did it to himself as he continually kicked hard through a break in the
trailer, even though the vet tried to sedate him. Even then the knothead
took off running across the pasture the next day, stitches and all, as
soon as he was turned loose. That set him back a month or so.
Shadow was supposed to go on that trail ride but fortunately he had a cut
on his knee that morning so they left him in the corral.
Bears! On one overnight pack trip we saw a mama bear and three
cubs, right near camp. The mama was chocolate colored, two of the
cubs were coal black, and one cub was as blonde as vanilla pudding.
We watched them for 15 minutes as they made their way up a mountainside.
Fortunately I dont have grizzly bears in the area, just black bears.
Somethings Fishy
Weve had non-stop family visiting this summer, which is one of the
perks of living in beautiful country. Two of my brothers and I went
fishing in Greys River. This is worthy of note only because I never
get to play. Ive got abrasions on my nose from the grindstone.
Anyway, we were spin-casting from the bank, but it wasnt long until I
used my cowboy waders to pursue the slimy fish. My attire cause some
mirth among some fly-fishing purists with whom we shared a hole.
Youd think theyd never seen a guy with cowboy hat and boots flailing
away with a Zebco 202. We caught and released 20 or more
fish each. The largest actually hauled in to the bank was about 17
inches, but you should have seen the one I got away from! Im going
back there and try to recover my Mepps spinner from that 42 inch 18 pound
trout. (My fish often grow after escaping, but my bucks never do.)
A rifle! A Bronze! Enter Now!
The response to the Wyoming Outfitters and Guides Association rifle
raffle was very good. I really appreciate those who contributed to
our ongoing efforts to get a preference point system in place and also
to appeal the lawsuit to get guaranteed licenses for our clients.
The appeal is progressing, but you know how slow the justice system is.
Tickets for the .338 Win Mag rifle are just $10 each, 5 for $40, or 10
for $80. Someone will get a nice rifle and the donation is to a good
cause. Drawing Dec. 7.
In addition to the rifle, we are raffling off a tremendous bronze,
donated by outfitter Bob Skinner. He made the bronze called The
Last Hunt. It depicts a mountain man on a horse shooting a running
buffalo and being dragged off a cliff by the buffalos horn being hooked
in the rein of the hunters horse. It is set on a revolving solid
oak base, is 2 feet 2 inches high, 2 feet long and 18 inches wide and it
weighs a ton (not really, just feels like it). Value is $9,500.
Tickets are $25 each or 5 for $100. A real work of art and of course
the proceeds are to help our causes. Please buy a ticket if you can.
Check made out to WYOGA; send to me.
Cowboy Jonesy: I started out as a child, and it wasnt long before
I decided to either grow up or do something foolish to get killed.
You see, I found that by being hurt, the women in my life would feel sorry
for me and cuddle me and kiss me better. Ah-hah! My diabolical
little brain concocted a plan to get sympathy. If I was really really
hurt, then I would have it made with the girls. The problem was,
it just seemed that every method I tried to get hurt ended up making people
either laugh or pity a poor fool that would do something so foolish.
For example, I tried falling out of a window on the back of my head,
but just got a bald spot with stitches. No life-threatening injuries
and hardly the kind of thing that girls wanted to kiss better. I
tried walking a pipe across a deep ravine, imitating (I thought) the high-wire
walker who went across Niagra Falls. He had lots of women going ga-ga
over him. Again, just stitches. I tried hitting my sisty-ugler
cause she poured hot water down my back. Got a broken knuckle and
a cast for my efforts, which was better, I thought, but actually was an
object of ridicule when the whole story was told, and unfortunately it
was told often and loudly. Trying again to make it big in the sympathy
department, I hit my cousin because he threw my basketball in the weeds.
Since his chin was way too high for my short fists to reach I aimed for
his gut, expecting him to double over in pain. He didnt play fair,
putting his elbow out in front of him to ward off the crushing blow.
Do you have any idea how hard an elbow is? Again, a broken hand,
another cast, and excessive mirth among my peers, especially the gals.
I then thought I would try novel approaches to the art of self-destruction.
In the shower after gym class I dropped a brand new bar of soap on my foot.
Another cast and humiliation. Try again. I was a tennis star (really!
Most Valuable Player 1964) and one day while pursuing an errant tennis
ball I stopped too quickly and the end of my rotted tennis shoe ripped
out and left my great toe to test the hardness of the concrete. Another
cast and a great deal of pity, but no hugs and kisses from the cheerleaders.
This self-destruction thing wasnt working out like I thought it would.
I was voted Most Likely To Fall Apart Before Age 20. Then I discovered
horses. Eureka!! A great way to get fame, fortune, and sympathy.
I fantasized about a gorgeous blonde Rodeo Queen picking me up out of the
dirt, holding my bleeding head to her bosom, and kissing me gently before
they put me in the ambulance. Yep! A horse is the way to get
that sympathy. I found that before actually riding in a rodeo a cowboy
has to have the proper attire and also has to practice. I bought
a nice new shiny pair of boots and a straw cowboy hat from K-Mart, put
on my best 501 Levis and went to a local riding stable. In what
I hoped was the proper cowboy drawl I asked for a horse they might
be having a little trouble with. By the stable-hands reactions I
could see they were pleased with my request. A rather short, yellowish-colored
pony was dragged out of the corral and the guy said, Trigger here has
been a bit spoiled lately. Needs someone to teach him who is boss.
Trigger! Had to be a good horse with a name like that. Just
a bit spoiled? I can handle that. I had visions of making Roy
Rogers proud. Maybe Dale Evans, or her look-alike, would be the one
to clutch me to her ample bosom and kiss me better for trying to discipline
Trigger. We learned in a hurry who was boss, but unfortunately,
I just acquired some bruises on my bum and a high tenor voice from landing
on the saddle horn. No visible heroic damages. With the laughter
of the wranglers ringing in my ears I retired in humiliation.
On several other occasions I tried the horse route to sympathy, empathy,
and comfort at the bosom of a beautiful blonde rodeo queen, but without
success. Now I carry a permanent grudge against horses. They
can sense it, as they are always stepping on my toes in front of female
guests and grinning as I scream at them and beat on them with my fists
to get them off.
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