Author: Gary Lewis

PacWest Outdoors: Hunting Carp with a Shoulder-Fired Trident

PacWest Outdoors: Hunting Carp with a Shoulder-Fired Trident

Posted by | May 2, 2019 | , , | 0 |

Straight out of the Victorian era – the kick, clobber, and fury of a vintage harpoon gun. Story and Photos by Gary Lewis Perhaps the main quarry for a shoulder-fired harpoon would have been pinnipeds: sea lions, walrus, fur seals and hair seals. The two main families are Otariidae (eared seals) and Phocidae (earless seals). Seals are used for oily meat, their fat and their pelts. The fat was, and is, used for fuel, lubricants, soaps, paint, cooking oil and for processing leather. The fat was also used as the raw material for an igloo window. For the Inuit,...

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PacWest Outdoors: Small Camp Security

PacWest Outdoors: Small Camp Security

Posted by | Mar 5, 2019 | , , | 0 |

Who is watching when you’re not watching? By Gary Lewis It might be a sleeping bag in a lean-to with a small warming fire at the entrance. It could be a wall tent with five or six hunters high in the backcountry. It might be a recreational vehicle parked at the end of a road. It might be a hiker’s bivouac on the shore of an alpine lake or a place to run to in the event of a natural disaster or unrest in the big city. Whatever the reason for the camp, chances are the camper or campers...

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PacWest Outdoors: An Honest Black Bear

PacWest Outdoors: An Honest Black Bear

Posted by | Feb 8, 2019 | , | 0 |

You think a bear loses weight fast in its winter den? Try putting it on a scale! Story and Photos By Gary Lewis Does your scale go to 500 pounds?” It was September, in Minnesota, and the season was open. Brian Bachman outfits bear hunts on public lands in the Superior National Forest. When a group of public land hunters brought a bear into the local sporting goods store, the owner suggested they call Bachman and see if he would weigh the bruin. “Are you sure you want me to weigh it?” Brian asked. “Right now your bear weighs...

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PacWest Outdoors: 6 Steps to Break in to Chukar Hunting

PacWest Outdoors: 6 Steps to Break in to Chukar Hunting

Posted by | Jan 14, 2019 | , | 0 |

It’s the tension, three-toed tracks by the waterhole and a bird hidden in the bunchgrass. It’s the ache you feel in your muscles, a blur of wings and the thump of the gun. By Gary Lewis Seth O’Hare, 32-years-old, was on the first bird hunt of his life. In one hand he held a borrowed Remington 870 and in the other he held a bird aloft. He had just made a beautiful shot on a towering rooster pheasant. “Can you do this without a dog?” “You can, but it’s a lot harder.” On the other side of a strip...

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PacWest Outdoors: Deer Hunting: A Trip Back To The Start Of The Oregon Trail

PacWest Outdoors: Deer Hunting: A Trip Back To The Start Of The Oregon Trail

Posted by | Dec 7, 2018 | , , | 0 |

The Oregon Trail ended for some at Oregon City, and for others in Eugene. It started in Missouri when pioneers pulled up stakes in search of a new start. By Gary Lewis Growing up in what used to be called Oregon Territory, first in southwest Washington, thence to Oregon City and then to Central Oregon, it is easy to think of the Oregon Trail in terms of its terminus at The Dalles and Willamette Falls. When we hunted Missouri, my mind’s eye conjured images of Missourians lining out in Conestogas and Studebaker wagons – headed to Oregon. The Oregon...

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