CZ93X62
Official forum enigma
Tomorrow (Mon. 8/19) will be a road trip day. Up the local mountains after breakfast at Arthur's (a local eatery that isn't afraid to feed you) and then a run up SR 38, the back way to Big Bear Lake. Once up top, we want to run down Forest Road #3N14, which was the first road to Bear Valley cut in 1862 to provide cartage access to Holcomb and Bear Valleys and the gold strike located by Billy Holcomb in late 1860. The local E Clampus Vitus chapter bears his name, and he might have been an OK guy--I dunno. He was a contemporary of my 2nd great-grandfather Murrell Paine that landed in the area in late 1865. Genealogical records are not specific as to that, but the demeanor of a number of the later generations of that bunch leave a lot to be desired--like character and credibility.
But I digress. If you have ever seen the opening and closing scenes of the film "Paint Your Wagon" where the wagon train is pulled across a dry grassy plain, then you have seen the Holcomb Valley as we will see it tomorrow, in late summer uniform. Drat the luck--I sat on my aspirations for too long, and the D-14 tags that cover this area sold out before I put in my bid. That didn't used to happen, so I looked into it a bit. DANG--14% to 18% tag-fill rates for the last few seasons! 3%-5% was the norm from 2000-2010. Amazing, what a few wet years can do for critters and their food sources.
I have been visiting this part of the mountains for much of my life. In my high school and college years I took a couple bucks out of this area, but in 1980 they opened portions of it to OHV usage, and deer have been Gonzo Moretti since then. That portion of 3N14 (the upper third) is still nice to see, but hunting is mostly varmints--coyotes don't give a rip about dirt bikes and ATVs. I loaded up 20 rounds of 223 with Barnes 50 grain copper javelins, and we will see how they shoot from the Mini-14 if a rat or song dog offers itself as test media.
Once outside Dirt Bike Central, the country is pretty wild and few people are present during the week. One area about halfway down the road is Coxey Meadows, which is a rich riparian pocket with constant water and tons of deer sign every time I have visited. Season on or not, I can't recall ever seeing a buck in 50+ years of visits. Does and fawns, sure. It looks so darn good, you can't help but give it a try at least once a season. But no joy, so far. In Spring it can be crazy with ground squirrels atop rocks, and most years you can get up the road and into Coxey from the Apple Valley side. I have strafed a whole bunch of diggers out of here over the years. I imagine most of those are already underground now, I'll have to content myself with coyotes and hope for the best. We should be wrapped up and in Apple Valley by nightfall, and will head home down I-15 in the much-lighter southbound evening traffic.
But I digress. If you have ever seen the opening and closing scenes of the film "Paint Your Wagon" where the wagon train is pulled across a dry grassy plain, then you have seen the Holcomb Valley as we will see it tomorrow, in late summer uniform. Drat the luck--I sat on my aspirations for too long, and the D-14 tags that cover this area sold out before I put in my bid. That didn't used to happen, so I looked into it a bit. DANG--14% to 18% tag-fill rates for the last few seasons! 3%-5% was the norm from 2000-2010. Amazing, what a few wet years can do for critters and their food sources.
I have been visiting this part of the mountains for much of my life. In my high school and college years I took a couple bucks out of this area, but in 1980 they opened portions of it to OHV usage, and deer have been Gonzo Moretti since then. That portion of 3N14 (the upper third) is still nice to see, but hunting is mostly varmints--coyotes don't give a rip about dirt bikes and ATVs. I loaded up 20 rounds of 223 with Barnes 50 grain copper javelins, and we will see how they shoot from the Mini-14 if a rat or song dog offers itself as test media.
Once outside Dirt Bike Central, the country is pretty wild and few people are present during the week. One area about halfway down the road is Coxey Meadows, which is a rich riparian pocket with constant water and tons of deer sign every time I have visited. Season on or not, I can't recall ever seeing a buck in 50+ years of visits. Does and fawns, sure. It looks so darn good, you can't help but give it a try at least once a season. But no joy, so far. In Spring it can be crazy with ground squirrels atop rocks, and most years you can get up the road and into Coxey from the Apple Valley side. I have strafed a whole bunch of diggers out of here over the years. I imagine most of those are already underground now, I'll have to content myself with coyotes and hope for the best. We should be wrapped up and in Apple Valley by nightfall, and will head home down I-15 in the much-lighter southbound evening traffic.
