I'm out west on the cast near the CA/OR border for the moment. A good buddy called last night wanting to know if I was up for the last bear hunt of the season. We hunted deer and bear several times this fall, mostly driving with rifles. We saw a lot of track and sign, a bunch of yearlings and does, but not bucks.
One spot got hot and 7 were taken the same day within about 10 acres of land. We saw none of that. I tracked a bear for several hundred yards in an area where rain had been quite recent, say several hours. The trail started heading to where my buddy couldn't go as he's 69 and still recovering from a broken hip.
I'm not actually hunting, I'm the muscle so to speak, and I promised his wife he won't go in the woods alone. She goes with him but is still working so I'm the back up. I enjoy spending time with my good friend of 30 years. We've raised kids together, raised hell together, caught Salmon, Ling Cod, Snapper, and other species in the ocean, killed duck on the little lake near his house. Hopefully tomorrow a Bear.
It is CA after all, cast boolits are out of the question since July 1, this year. We sighted in rifles for solid copper bullets last spring and he is confident in his load. I'll just have to use my cast boolits in CO. Sure, I have some 'CA approved' loads I could use but the cost of license and tags for residents in CA is more than non-resident license and tags in CO. I can't wait to plant a big Mule Deer with a cast boolit. Hopefully tomorrow a bruin will get planted with hand loaded premium ammo, albeit not cast.