JACT Hunting

For our first hunting season together in 2010, we planned a few weekend hunts for deer to see if we were compatible hunting partners. We never tagged a deer but had fun together & laughed at our luck at finding moose!

In 2011 we hunted at Sullivan Lake WA for elk season. With a foot of fresh snow on opening day we never saw a single track but we did leave with good memories of Uncle Johnny Mattila cooking us steak & shrimp for dinner with cheesecake for desert!

We discovered in 2012 that James had family hunting elk in central wa every year at “true elk camp” & so we join them. We bought the cabelas alaknak cabin tent with a wood stove so that James’ dad & brother (Jim & Pat) could stay with us. We saw a few cows but could only shoot spike bulls.

In 2013 we decided to hunt off of our horses so we outfitted them in hunter orange & rode out from camp each day. We saw a lot of new area but discovered “The Boyz” needed more backcountry training to be effective for hunting.

We attempted taking Duke & Elvis one more year for the 2014 elk season but this time one thru a shoe, so they just hung out at camp. We ultimately decided this was their last year hunting. Nobody tagged an elk this year but we all felt blessed for the time spent with James’ dad, as it turned out to be his last camp. Jim was the patriarch of the True family & whose hunting stories included great alaskan adventures harvesting more caribou & moose than the rest of the family combined. RIP Jim True

In 2015 James’ cousin Jeff tagged his first bull elk. The area we hunt you have to enter a drawing each year for bull & cow tags, ohterwise you can shoot spike elk only. Each year you are not drawn, you earn a point for an additional chance to be drawn the next year. On average it takes a WA hunter 13 years (points) to get drawn for a big bull.

Jeff was also drawn for a special off season hunt in 2016. He tagged another bull elk this year before the rest of us even set up camp. Nobody else had any bull or cow tags but Vance tagged a spike this year.

2017 was the big year for Cara True who was drawn for a cow tag. At the age of 47 she finally had the opportunity to pull the trigger & with a single shot at 220 yards she makes her first kill. one for one!

In 2018 Vance was drawn for his first big bull with 11 points and on his last day to hunt tagged his bull!

James true - why do you hunt?

I hunt for a few reasons, the first & foremost is because of my dad. I grew up watching him hunt in Alaska where his passion for the outdoors was instilled into me. Looking back at that time (1970’s), my dad would leave for a couple of weeks with his buddies to hunt the Alaskan bush. They would all return, tags filled & coolers full of meat. Our garage would become a small meat processing plant & no part of the animal was wasted. I realize now this was a way for my dad to stretch our budget… with the cut & wrapped meat filling the freezer for the year. This was an important addition to providing for the family on top of his career.

Ever since I can remember, I’ve loved being in the woods & hunting. It’s a connection to my dad & It also has a way of inspiring my senses… the coffee tastes better & what should feel like hard work isn’t hard at all. Hunting is something we enjoyed doing together and is now a way for me to remember him.

Another reason I hunt is for the challenge. It tests your skills & hardiness & allows you to push yourself in ways that most people aren’t pushed. If it was easy, everyone would do it.

The final reason is the chance it gives me to relax. It’s not always about the harvest but getting away, listening to the sounds in the woods or watching the sun come up over a mountain. Most people haven’t seen the forest come alive in the morning… It’s therapy for me after working 60 plus hours a week in the real world.

To sum it up I hunt because it’s a connection to my dad & growing up, it’s a challenge above my normal day to day existence & it’s an outlet for the stress of work. I need Hunting & the outdoors.

Cara True - why do you hunt?

I was not raised in a hunting home, in fact quite the opposite. My parents did not own guns & could never kill an animal. They did love to camp & spend time outdoors which were my favorite childhood memories. I was probably 10 years old when someone on one of those camping trips taught me to handle & fire a gun… I don’t recall who, but I remember hitting the target & feeling proud.

As a teenager I quietly took in all of my uncles buck trophies, bear rugs, duck & goose decoys while listening to the exciting, animated hunting stories they told & I started to wonder about these great adventures.

In 1993 my first job after college landed me in Kellogg ID where hunting was a way of life.. my boyfriend started teaching me about game laws while cooking dinners with elk & venison stocked in his freezer.

Work led me away from Kellogg before I could pursue hunting further & it wasn’t until I settled down in 1998 that i took it on seriously. I bought a compound bow & some dvds on deer hunting to learn about game trails, rubs, beds & the kill zone. I was a good shot but could only pull about 40lbs so decided to pursue firearm hunting instead.

Unfortunately I did not have a good partner & after years of verbal abuse I was ready to give up hunting forever by 2003. Thankfully in 2010 James Jack True renewed my dream to hunt. I bought my 300 Winchester short mag in 2013 & together we prepared for the day I could tag an elk.

That day came on Nov 1st 2017 - opening day of cow season. The night before was calm… with a double ring glowing around the moon. At 4am we were up & drinking coffee, preparing to walk out to his cousin Jeff’s blind when we saw multiple shooting stars streak across the sky… the planets were lining up!

Shortly after 8am James spotted 3 cows on the hill across from us. Jeff whispered “the cow in the middle is the largest”. I sighted in & pulled the trigger for my first kill at 220 yards. She flinched & disappeared in the dense trees but we found her down within about 30 minutes. we cleaned & quartered her then “TEAM CARA” helped me pack & cart it out. It was a great day! One for one! Cara

HUNTING BUCKETLIST:

Harvest a Bull Elk

Hunting trip in Alaska

Backcountry Hunting in Frank Church Wilderness- CHECKED OFF Oct 27th, 2019 (See BLOG titled “Our First Backcountry Hunt”