Bears!

Last Saturday I headed up to a local mountain area to do some predator calling with my neighbor, Dan. He's has never been calling before so on the ride there I explained the basics to him. We head to a dry tank area where I have called in a couple of foxes in the past, hoping for some similar action today. I had him sit down near some small oak trees on a the side of a hill overlooking the tank, and I headed to the edge of the tank and snuggled into a small bunch of oaks. I started my calling with a hitch-pitched but raspy distress sound, and about 5 minutes into the stand I catch movement out of the corner of my eye. I turn my head ever so slightly and to my surprise I spot some black bears - a big mama bear with a nice cinnamon color and two cubs in tow. They begin to circle around me so I keep on eye on them as I continue to call. I start to fidget with my pocket closures, trying to be sly enough to get my camera out but not so quick that I spook the bears off. But they were coming in fast, much faster than I was working to get my camera out! Finally I abandoned the camera idea and continued calling as they closed the distance. When they got to about the 20 foot mark I decided that was close enough and moved around a little to spook her. She locked up and stared right at me, then made a 'Grrrrruph' sound, turned and trotted off - her two cubs following right on mama's heels. I look up at Dan and he is staring right at the bears. I call for a few more minutes, but nothing else shows so I end the stand. I walked over to Dan and he was pretty excited as those were the first bears he has ever seen in the wild, and he got a spectacular view of them!

Because I failed in the camera department, I drew up the experience in MSPaint with my fantastic artistic ability. You'll need to click the picture to enlarge it - oh yeah, I can draw.

Boy Scouts of America

The Boy Scouts of America is probably one of the best organizations you can get your son involved in. Given that you find a good Troop with good leaders, of course. I am the Scoutmaster for Troop 95 and I love it! I have the great opportunity to help these young men find confidence and develop real world skills in an exciting and enjoyable environment. Check out our blog! http://redriders.blogspot.com/














(that's me on the far left)

New blog, new book, new experiences!

I spend a lot of time outdoors. I camp, hike, hunt, fish, explore, and generally traverse the landscape in one way or another. I decided to start this blog to talk about my love for the outdoors and to share some of my experiences with whomever may read this.

I also want to talk about my new book, Ready For Anything - A guide to predator hunting. In the book I cover the basics of predator hunting, which includes the pursuit of coyotes, bobcats, foxes, mountain lions, bears, badgers, and anything else that preys upon another animal. I cover advanced tactics for those who are already accomplished predator hunters but are looking to get better. There are full color pictures and some great personal stories - I know you won't be disappointed! You can see a full description and order a copy here: https://www.createspace.com/3394954. You can also contact me via email if you'd like a personalized copy - rizzoisready@gmail.com

Every week I will post about an experience in the outdoors that happened to me recently. Please feel free to email me if you'd like to discuss hunting or hiking or anything else that I cover in this blog.

Remember to get your kids outside!