Josh's Bragg Blog

Best Day Shed Hunting this Year!

2011-05-22T14:07:00.004-06:00

Started hiking at 10 am. and found this winterkill 20 feet off the road. You can see the road below the trees in the photo. I found the set of sheds off this same bull last year. It's too bad that he died, but I'm glad to have found him.

I decided to keep hiking. After finding the winterkill I didn't know if hiking more would be worth it since this was the biggest find of my shed hunting trips ever. It didn't take long and I found a this small 5 point with some velvet still attached.
I then spotted the biggest 6 point antler I ever seen. It is HUGE!

I then began the search for the other side and found this year old, heavy 7 point antler.
Finally, several hours later I found the match to the big 6.

My pack was fully loaded...
...and so was my car.

Trip to Jackson Hole

2011-03-06T10:05:00.007-07:00

Kerri and I decided it would be fun to go to Jackson Hole and visit my old boss Jim Webb. We drove up on a Saturday walked around a few of the shops in town and then had dinner at Jim's house and spent the night there. He made us shrimp and sausage gumbo that was really good. Kerrilyn even ate all her shrimp (the first time she's ever tried it). Sunday we went out for breakfast at Bubba's and then went to the National Wildlife Art Museum. The kids really like it. There was a separate area where the kids could color, do a puppet show, and put on animal costumes. Easton took a long nap there too while we were able to enjoy all the artwork. We then drove home and got to see elk near the road on a feed ground in Alpine. It was a long drive but a very enjoyable trip for all of us.
Jim and Me

The kids and Kerrilyn looking at an elk display.

The girls holding up a big 7 point elk shed.

The girls coloring at the art museum.

Doing a puppet show for mom and dad

Dressed up in animal costumes.

Easton taking a nap.

Elk on the feedgrounds near Alpine.

First Weeks of Shed Hunting

2011-03-06T09:11:00.018-07:00

I finally got a few antlers the past few weeks. Here's some of the highlights.
Some scenery pictures:

February 28th I found my first antler of the year.

The sunset was awesome.

Colter and his family visited us the next weekend, so Colter and I went out for a hike and found a few more. There was a lot of snow still, so we didn't have as much luck as we hoped for, but we had a lot of fun and got some much needed exercise.

Here are a few more I found over the next few days as more snow melted.

Kerri, the kids, and I then went up to Idaho and stayed with her family for the weekend. I got to go for hike on Saturday by myself and found a few antlers, however, they were all old. The one in the video was the only one I kept.

The next weekend we went to Idaho again. This time Jeramy went with me to the same area I hiked the last weekend. We ended up finding 19 antlers including my best antler yet!

Christmas Day Buck

2010-12-25T11:18:00.001-07:00

This buck was a little further away so it's harder to see how big he is, but you can tell it's a buck.

Christmas Eve Bucks

2010-12-24T19:28:00.003-07:00

I checked the hill in front of our house for deer this evening and found a few.
The first buck was bedded under a juniper tree with a doe.

This buck was also hiding under another juniper and decided to come out and feed.

Last Trip for the Year

2010-06-15T00:24:00.003-06:00

Well, this past Saturday I got one more trip in. The weather stayed wet and cool, so the undergrowth and mosquitos have been held back, allowing me to do more hiking. Colter went with me this time also. We hiked into an area we had not been in this year yet, however, after several hours of hiking, we had not found a single antler. So we hiked back up out of that canyon and headed for another area. Right away I found a fresh 4-point antler. Not much further away I located a matching 4x5 set of antlers laying close to each other. It was soon getting late into the afternoon, so we decided head home and call it a year. It was a beautiful day and enjoyed the wonderful scenery.
A few scenery pictures.

A mule deer hiding in the brush.

A fresh 4-point.

A fresh matching set close together.

My pile for the year: 30+ elk sheds, 50+ deer sheds.

Another Great Trip!

2010-06-07T20:45:00.003-06:00

This past Saturday I went hiking with my friend Matt into an area we had thought might have a few antlers. It was somewhat of a new area for both of us too. We started hikind around 7 am. It had rained a lot the day and night before so the ground was very saturated and the new vegetation soaked our clothing quickly. But that would not deter us or the few expected showers during the day. After a muddy short 4-wheeler ride, we started hiking. Matt soon found a nice fresh 6-point elk antler and the hunt began. Matt continued to find a few more antlers, however, they were spread out and we hadn't found any matches yet. We knew other people had already been up in this area previously this year and had found a lot of antlers so we were happy that we were finding antlers still. We hiked further up the mountains and I soon spotted a fresh antler on an open ridge I was hiking down. I wasn't sure how big it was at first, but quickly realized after I picked it up it was the biggest antler I had found this year. After I radioed Matt, he quickly joined me in the search for its match. He soon found a few year old antlers, one being a nice 6-point and from the same bull as my big antler. We continued to look even though doubt was slowly creeping in that we would not find it. I decided to look in the timber a little further and soon spotted a big fresh 6-point antler. I thought it was the match, but discovered it was the same side. New energy filled me knowing there were two big sides to find now. As I picked up the antler and continued down a trail I spotted the match to the recent antler. I was thrilled! It is great being able to find a matching set. Matt and I continued to look for the match to the first big antler in the timber. Within a few minutes I spotted a familiar dark shape tucked behind some pines and instantly knew it was the match. I could not believe it. I felt like the luckiest guy in the world at that time! Two big matching sets on the same hill within a short time. I told Matt, "ok, I'm done now, I can go home." I don't think he could believe what I just found, but he definately was excited as much as I was. What a great guy to hike with! We soon ate our lunch and headed into another new area. After what seemed like a dry spell compared to the morning, we again began finding more antlers. I found a spike, a few older raghorns, and a nice fresh 6-point. On our way back to the 4-wheeler, Matt again found a few more antlers too. By the end of the day we brought back 16 antlers. I had seven and Matt had nine. It was a great trip.
My first find of the day, a big fresh 6-point.

How's this for perspective?

A nice 6-point in the timber.

The other side in the timber.

The set.

Another angle.

The match to the first big 6-point tucked behind some pines

The big set reunited.

A good time for lunch.

It's just one for the mountain to keep.

A weird spike.

A partially eaten year old raghorn.

A fresh 6-point on a trail in the brush.

Another one for the hill to keep.

Matt carrying out his load.

My load.

A successful day!

A good day in the snow

2010-05-17T23:34:00.002-06:00

I took the day off from work this past Thursday and took Bruce back to where I had been finding elk antlers. We got up at 2 am to drive to this area so we would be able to start hiking at sunrise. The snow, however, was a little bit of a surprize.

The first antler, a fresh 6 point

Soon, Bruce spotted his first antler, a fresh 5 point

Bruce hiking.

Another fresh 5 point

Bruce finding the match.

A year old 4 point.

Another year old 4 point

Two fresh antlers, but not a match

A few yards away I spotted this.

A nice fresh 6 point.

Can you find the antler?

A fresh 6 point, however, the fifth point was broken some time ago.

Later on in the day it started to snow pretty good, so we called it a day and ended up with 10 antlers.

On the hike back, we spotted some elk through the fog up on a hill. Here's a few pictures of them. In the binoculars we could see a few of them were bulls and had already had at least 2 feet of antlers growing!

My best solo trip ever

2010-05-09T20:15:00.002-06:00

Some of the awesome scenery

A nice year old 6 point, however, the rodents had their share first.

A better shot of the same antler and the surrounding scenery.

Can you see the antler?

A little closer

This gives a better perspective of the size of this awesome fresh 6-point

The match was nearby in the trees.

The set together.

A year old 6 point

The match in the trees, however, the rodents found it too.

An older deer antler

Another fresh 6 point

A little closer

One for the mountain to keep

A fresh 5 point

A fresh 7-point

The match nearby

A couple of pictures of the set together

By now, this is what my pile of antlers looked like. It's always a good problem to have when you're not sure how you're going to carry them all out.

On my way out I found another fresh 5 point.

A closer shot

And an older 6 point with a broken brow tine.

An elk up on the mountain

I now knew I could not carry my antlers all the way back so I built a make-shift travois.

A long walk out

Finally, five hours later, I made it back to the Jeep.

A good day for a hike

2010-05-02T12:51:00.001-06:00

I got to go hiking again this Saturday with Jeramy. We were not sure of where the best place to go would be, but decided to try a new area in Wyoming. The weather started out mild in the morning, however, we had snow showers on and off all day. One moment the sun would be out and within minutes we would be wearing coats and gloves again. Despite the crazy weather, we had an awesome day finding antlers. We found lots of elk and deer sign, but only found mule deer antlers. Jeramy spotted the first antler with his binoculars, a real nice 7-point. When we started to go retrieve it, he found another nice 4-point on the way. Then he found another fresh 4-point antler. As I hiked back toward him, I found the match to his first 7-point side. This was the biggest set of deer antlers Jeramy and I had found together. We ended up finding three matching sets and fifteen antlers by the end of our hike. It was a great day!

Snow at the top.

The first two antlers Jeramy picked up, including a big 7-point

The other side as I found it.

What an amazing set and symmetrical!

More antlers.

Another matched set.

Some of the hills were a little steep.

One of many snow showers during the day.

A good day for antlers.

Here's a few pictures from my drive home. This is outside of Cokeville.

And only a couple miles past Cokeville the snow was gone. I love living out west.

More hiking

2010-04-17T19:30:00.004-06:00

Well, it's been a while since my last post. I have been doing a little hiking when I can but, I've been staying at home with Kerrilyn, the girls and the new baby boy as much as I can without going crazy thinking about all the antlers laying on the mountain still. The first trip since the baby was born was a good one. I found a couple of deer antlers and nice 5x7 set of elk antlers. Then I went to a spot where I found a lot deer antlers last year only to find lots of foot tracks from someone who beat me to the antlers. I hiked a lot, but found an old, big 5-point, an old 3-point, and a fresh 5-point. Disappointed with that area, I decided to make a trip up to Idaho. Jeramy and I went to some of our favorite spots but ended up just getting a lot of exercise, a lot of fresh air, and only one old 4-point elk antler. We did see a ruffed grouse doing a display to a female grouse. Jeramy also spotted a dead spike elk, only to have it jump up and run away before we walked up to it. I guess my luck has been running out lately but I know there are a lot of antlers out there somewhere.

A couple of fresh deer antlers.

A fresh 5x7 elk set

A good friend, Matt, found a nice big 5-point from his horse.

A big, old, 5-point in the oak brush

An old 3-point

A fresh 5-point

Some pictures from the drive up to Idaho (this one's a little crooked)

Jeramy

Me

A cool ruffed grouse

A spike elk (almost dead)

An old 4-point elk antler

Daddy's Girl

2010-03-20T18:56:00.000-06:00

Today I woke up and saw the front lawn covered with 1" of snow. I was a little disappointed, but it was a really nice day and by 11 o'clock it was gone. So I asked the girls who wanted to go for a hike with me. Alma said she didn't want to go for a hike, but Saralyn said she did. So Saralyn and I went for a hike. The snow was still frozen enough to walk on with snow shoes most of the day which was very nice. It was still a tough hike for me since I carried Saralyn in the backpack carrier all day(she weighs about 27 pounds). I like to think of it as training for elk antler season.

We hiked about 5 miles and found only one little fresh-brown antler. I let Saralyn find it of course. She was so happy she found one!

Despite the long hike and very sore shouldlers now, it was a good trip for both of us. Saralyn sang songs, took a long nap, and didn't complain one bit the whole trip. Hopefully we'll go again and find more.

2010-03-13T18:26:00.002-07:00

Got out for a 6 1/2 hour hike today and found 14 antlers, not including two old ones I left behind. Unfortunately most of the antlers were white ones I missed last year. And I didn't find any matches. However, I did find a large 3-point antler and I know its match and several other nice 4-point sides should still be out there for the next trip. Daylight savings time changes tomorrow which will give me an extra hour of daylight after work also. Hopefully, I will make a trip after work this week. (Only the nicer antlers are in the pictures below)

A pleasant, cool day.

An old 4-point

A fresh-brown 5-point

The big fresh-brown 3-point

A hidden 4-point from last year

A 3-point from last year

A fresh-brown 2-point

A 3-point from last year

A 4-point from last year

Another 4-point from last year

A big fresh-brown 5-point

A beautiful day!

2010-03-07T18:39:00.001-07:00

I got to do a little more hiking this past Saturday. I got up at 6 am and was on the top of the mountain by 7:15 am. You could say I was determined. It was a beautiful clear day. My first priority was to find the matches to the other two big 5 points. I started combing the areas where I thought they most likely would be, but after an hour I still had not found anything. I was getting a little unsure if I would even find them, especially since there was still enough snow for them to be buried. Finally, I found a fresh little two point antler that got my hopes up. Soon after I found the match to one of my five points. I could barely see it since the antlers blended so well in with the shadows, sagebrush, and ground. I felt much better after that. That set, however, was at least 500 or more yards apart. I hoped the other side to the other five point would be closer. And it was! Not even 50 feet, but again very well hidden and hard to see. Finally I felt like I acomplished what I came to do and now could enjoy finding antlers and not having to search for missing sides.I hiked until 1:00 and then had to head home. By the days end I found 15 antlers!

The sunrise lighting up the mountains.

The other reason I love antler hunting...the awesome scenery.

Frost-covered barbed wire.

The first antler of the day, a fresh-brown little 2-point.

An old broken antler.

The first match to one of the big 5-points.

The match other one the big five points.

A big fresh-brown 3-point.

A little 2-point from last year.

A little set of fresh-brown 2-points laying on top of each other!

A fresh-brown 2 point.

A long spike from last year.

A fresh-brown 3-point.

A nice fresh-brown 4-point...now I have to go back and find its match!

My biggest antler ever! And I missed it last year laying in the open!!!

The match to an antler I found last year, not sure how I missed this one either.

The match to one of the little three points I found earlier.

Antler fever sets in

2010-03-03T22:57:00.001-07:00

I couldn't wait to get out again, and the only time I have to hike is after work, leaving me with only one hour of daylight to actually look for antlers. So, after work I went hiking, but this time I brought snow shoes and ski poles which made the going a little easier. I still had to hurry and pretty much ran through the sage brush looking for antlers but managed to find two 2-points and a 5-point.

A 2-point I missed last year

A fresh-brown 2-point

A nice fresh-brown 5-point (I also found the set of this buck last year)

First Antlers of 2010

2010-03-02T20:39:00.003-07:00

I finally got out the other day for a hike by myself. The snow was deeper than in January when I took Melody with me to look at the deer that were wintering. Every step seemed to sink into the snow up to my knees. It felt like wading upstream against a heavy current. I kept thinking the whole time, I hope this pays off with some nice antlers to take home. The snow was still six inches deep on the south facing slopes with a few patches of bare ground. I began my search the same place I did last year and found a nice 5 point. I barely saw it with the snow everywhere. Later on I glassed a bare peice of red ground with my binoculars and saw a familiar brown colored object. Further observing proved it to be an antler. I hurried down the hill and found the other side laying just below it. It ended up being a beautiful evening out with three antlers in the backpack and a good start antler hunting this year.

The big 5 point

The matching 3x4 point set

Bullwinkle

2009-11-10T18:41:00.001-07:00

Here's the moose I did for our doctor.

And another Crocodile

2009-06-28T18:55:00.000-06:00

Here are a few of the many animals I've completed recently.
Bushbuck and Nyala

Stone Sheep

Crocodile

North American Sheep

2009-06-02T20:14:00.000-06:00

Last week I mounted all four species of North American Sheep, the Dall, Stone, Rocky Mtn Bighorn and Desert/California Bighorn. Here are the pictures of the Dall and Stone Sheep, the others have not had the finishing work done yet.

There's more antlers laying out there...

2009-05-31T11:50:00.000-06:00

Well, I got up at 3 am Saturday morning and headed up to the valley for one more trip. It was a beautiful day and I started hiking about 6:30 am. As soon as I got to the first clearing it happened. No, not an antler, but billions of mosquitos! I was swarmed and had no repellant. I did not retreat though. I had just forced myself to get up early and drive 3 1/2 hrs to get here and I was not leaving. So I endured the attack but had to put my t-shirt sleeve over my head, my hat on and my sweater with the hood on and constantly wave my map to keep the mosquitos off my face. Talk about determination! It got up to around 70 degrees and with little or no wind the mosquitos and heat were my constant companion. I hiked over three ridges to my planned destination and managed to find 3 brown elk horns along the way. I had hoped to look for sheds longer, but the heat and mosquitos kept getting worse through the day so I had to head back even though I had plenty of time to look. On the hike back I took a different path so I wouldn't cover the same ground twice, but instead of an easier hike I ended up going through lots of downfalls in the timber. Despite my pants being ripped up by the trees, I made it out in one piece and I managed to find two more sheds, a big older elk horn (that the chizzlers also found) and the remains of a moose shed. I made it back to car around 2:30pm and got everything into the car as fast as possible so the mosquitos couldn't get in. And even after I was in the car and driving they were still swarming all around the outside of my car. Although this was a very physically challenging hike it was the most mentally challenging hike ever because of the mosquitos. I also found 5 ticks on me while hiking but that didn't bother me like the mosquitos. All I can say is that I'm glad I was able to find some antlers, but there are plently still on the ground and I hate leaving horns behind. Next year I will have to plan my trips before the mosquitos hatch.

Here's what I looked like:

Utah Taxidermy Competition

2009-05-17T20:54:00.001-06:00

I got a second place in the professional division with an elk. This was my first time ever competing and I enjoyed seeing other taxidermists work and meeting them.
At Cabelas:

At Kerri's uncles house (although it is Kerri's grandfathers elk from 2007).

A good day for elk sheds

2009-05-12T22:46:00.000-06:00

This past weekend I was able to go to the valley again. Here's a few photos from the hike.

First Trip to the Valley

2009-05-12T22:24:00.000-06:00

Jeramy and I hiked for six hours the other day and had not found single shed. It was a beautiful day, everywhere smelled like elk and we had already watched three smaller bulls still packing antlers. Finally Jeramy found a fresh six-point elk shed. What a thrill and relief! We weren't skunked! We countined looking around a starting finding shed all over this little hillside. Within an hour Jeramy had found 7 sheds, but unfortunately had to head home. I stayed a little longer and by the end of the day had found 9 sheds. It was a brutally long hike out, but worth every step.

A cool droptine elk shed.

A really old deer shed

2009-05-12T22:06:00.000-06:00

David, Sarah, and Zach came out to visit us, so I had the great idea of taking everyone for a hike to find antlers. Everyone did great, and they all made it to the top of the mountain, but we needed to go down a canyon to where we would find the sheds. Well, it was pretty cold and Sarah, Zach, Kerri and the girls were freezing and tired. So they decided to go back to the car and head to Jackson for the rest of the day while David and I went to look for antlers. David and I found a few antlers including a year old elk set and a fresh moose paddle. Later we watched a herd of elk feeding in a meadow. It turned out to be a nice day and everyone had fun.

Some of the latest finds...

2009-04-23T20:43:00.000-06:00

27 Antler Day

2009-04-12T19:55:00.001-06:00

This Saturday was awesome! Jeramy and Colter came down and, because it was Jeramy's birthday, we went hiking. We found a bunch of antlers, mostly fresh brown deer and a nice 5x6 elk set! It was a long hike but well worth the effort. Thank you Colter and Jeramy for making the trip down!

More antler pictures

2009-04-05T00:50:00.000-06:00

Here's the seven antlers I found the other week by myself.

20 Horn Day!!!

2009-04-05T00:43:00.001-06:00

Colter and I went hiking this afternoon. Found 20 antlers, with 5 matching sets and a droptine club! Colter found a huge 3-point set too. Five antlers were this years. It was the best day this year yet!

2009-03-15T09:15:00.000-06:00

Well I couldn't wait to get back to the honey hole and went out again last evening. I found 13 this time, left another old one again, so I only brought home 12. The first find was a big fresh 5-point, which I haven't matched up yet. I found 4 more fresh antlers including a nice 5x5 set laying next to each other. I was able to spot them with my binoculars several hundred yards away laying on the hillside.

Can it get any better?

2009-03-14T11:11:00.000-06:00

I went hiking yesterday afternoon to the same area Kerri, and girls and I went the evening before, but this time I went alone. I found 12 antlers all together and only left one of them there because it was really old and falling apart. So I only brought back 11 of them. The first find was a fresh matching set of 4x5 antlers laying less than ten feet apart. Most of the rest were very nice antlers from last year except for a fresh 5 point and 3 point which I have not matched up yet. Needless to say I'll be going back there soon.

Best days of antler hunting this year yet

2009-03-14T10:53:00.000-06:00

Kerrilyn, Alma, Saralyn and I went out Thursday evening after I got off work to go hiking. We hiked through a lot of snow and finally found a place where the deer would winter. After a short hike on the first bare hillside Alma found her first antler. We also found a fresh 2-point and a big 4-point from last year. The hike back was very cold, and Kerrilyn held Alma on her back most of way and I carried Saralyn in the backpack carrier. We finally made it back to the car at dark and were very tired. As soon as we got home we warmed up Saralyn because her feet were very cold and Alma took a warm bath and we had sausage, eggs, and hashbrowns for dinner. This definately was a hard hike, but a memorable experience for all of us. Alma and Saralyn are very proud of their finds (and so am I!).

More Antlers

2009-03-07T20:54:00.000-07:00

Here's a few more antlers that I found this past week. The first one was barely visible beneath a sagebrush bush. Kerrilyn spotted the two point skull from the road! So far I've found 9 antlers this year.

Saturday's Hike

2009-02-24T20:43:00.000-07:00

Went for a hike with Colter and Jeramy. I found the spike and two-point. Colter found a fresh four-point and a two-point and Jeramy found the rest (what an antler magnet!). It was a beautiful day and we saw some awesome country.

Some work from last week

2009-02-24T20:37:00.001-07:00

Fighting Black Bears

Mountain Goat

Zebra

Cape Buffalo

Alma and Saralyn at the shop

2009-01-25T02:20:00.000-07:00

Kerrilyn brought the girls into work the other day. I really enjoy watching them see me at work and their reactions to the animals.

Elk Pedestal Mount

2009-01-25T02:10:00.001-07:00

Here's an elk mount I finished this past week.

And the Season Begins...

2009-01-13T20:34:00.000-07:00

The first antler I found this year. I didn't have to hike too far to find it because I saw it on the side of the road as I drove to work!

Recent Mounts

2009-01-07T20:33:00.000-07:00

Here are some mounts that we have been working on recently.

Antler Chandelier

2009-01-07T20:16:00.001-07:00

This is a chandelier I made for a guy here in town. I think it turned out pretty good and they were happy with it.