Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Feb 2, 2012, 11:55 am
My grandfather has a theory that hunting runs in the genes, and looking at the number of children and grandchildren of his that love hunting the same way he does it adds credibility to the theory, for sure.  I know I’m thankful that my dad and granddad frequently made an effort to get me outside ...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Jan 27, 2012, 12:54 pm
Since their introduction into Idaho in 1995, wolves have certainly been a polarizing topic for Idahoans.  Hunters and ranchers tend to hate them, animal extremists love them.  It occurred to me recently during a conversation with a friend, that I might be part of a hypocritical group that is, I am...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Jan 23, 2012, 12:05 pm
A couple of minor events this past week have provided fodder for my blog today.  First, I was watching a hunting video by the Huntin’ Fool Magazine people, and at the conclusion of a stone sheep hunt in the Northwest Territories, the hunter declared he was cold, wet, and miserable, but just exper...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Jan 13, 2012, 5:22 pm
Sometimes I’m guilty of beginning new adventures without thinking about where the new path might eventually lead, and thus, at some point of no return I begin to realize that the adventure that seemed to be nothing short of glorious does, indeed, have some downside.  A couple weeks ago, I wrote a...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Dec 6, 2011, 1:25 pm
We just returned from our annual whitetail hunt in central Idaho. This is a hunt that keeps us coming back for more even though we’ve never taken a big buck … we see the big ones but just haven’t been able to make it happen. I can’t even seem to get any video footage of the nice bucks we’v...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Nov 23, 2011, 2:51 pm
Is it so, or does it just seem like half my life I’ve been told to “grow up” and the other half of my life I’ve been told “you’re just getting old”.  Every now and then I see my sons and wife looking at me sideways , shaking their head when I pull another Norgy.  Most of the time w...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Nov 3, 2011, 6:10 pm
I grew up immersed in a hunting culture.  Some of my earliest memories include waiting by the dining room window for the headlights from my dad’s pickup to flood the driveway after his annual week-long hunting trip.  Excitement filled my young mind as I would wait up well past my normal bedtime....
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Oct 28, 2011, 11:34 pm
After spending a year in famine… ( no venison!) this is a beautiful sight! Freezer full of the good stuff!! We were finally able to put some meat in the freezer with the rifle. Gary took a nice fat cow elk with his 7mm and Tom got a deer and cow elk . Todd had the best success this year taking a...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Oct 4, 2011, 10:49 am
Archery elk season closed the 30th of September, and once again we feel so fortunate to be able to experience the awe these amazing animals inspire! We could hear them, smell them, see them ….  but to make it happen with a bow escaped us. In spite of often feeling frustrated we look  forward to ...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Sep 13, 2011, 10:09 am
It’s finally here! Bugles are begining to drift on the mountain thermals, tan bodied ghosts glide silently through the deep dark timber, and the adrenaline flows as we chase up the mountain after the majestic elk that call this mountain their home. The 2011 archery season has begun! Here’s ...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Aug 22, 2011, 3:11 pm
I’m sure I spent enough time in the Armed Forces to hear every joke and snide remark there was about having two left feet.  But five years ago we had a couple little friends born on our place that both had two left feet and when they were trying to learn how to walk it probably wasn’t a far cr...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Aug 18, 2011, 8:00 am
I looked at the calendar this morning and laughed at the cute joke someone had played on me. They had rolled the calendar so that it read “August.” Seriously, how stupid do they think I…huh? What’s that? Oh, I see. So, as I was saying, archery season begins here in Idaho in 12 days. Got tha...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Aug 5, 2011, 10:50 am
With antelope seasons fast approaching, I thought it would be appropriate that our new featured video is an antelope hunt in eastern Oregon.
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Aug 1, 2011, 12:08 am
Its always been a marvel to me how black bears can be so shy, and yet in their own way aggressively live in close proximity to humans.  I don’t know how many times I’v have seen bear while out hunting and the second they know you are around they mysteriously just disappear.  Yet they have no q...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Jul 20, 2011, 12:28 am
I’m using only the first names to protect the not-so-innocent. Brad and Johnny were headed to their favorite duck hunting spot on the river when they caught movement on the side of the road. Brad slowed down and they saw a deer that had been hit by a vehicle. It’s back legs had been broken and ...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Jul 16, 2011, 12:54 am
Just wanted to inform everyone that comments are working again. I installed a new spam blocker and didn’t realize it goofed up the comment functionality of the site. That has been corrected. Thanks to those who let me know about the problem.
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Jul 13, 2011, 11:08 am
Thirteen years ago I hunted quite a bit with my brother, Benji.  This particular fall, I was elk hunting with him while my dad came along to help us find the critters. I really don’t remember much about that day, really, but I do remember the final 20 minutes of the day quite vividly. The three o...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Jul 5, 2011, 3:46 pm
Cody Waldo with Ramey Mosman. Packing out Cody's elk. Since we lost our content from the past year, I wanted to re-post the pictures from my cousins monster Oregon bull elk from this past season. Prior to the season, their scouting had located two more bulls similar in size to this guy, but on open...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Jul 1, 2011, 10:50 am
For years when we had company over the subject always got around to “what are we dining on today”?  Usually it was deer or elk with a possible exception of Goat, Bear, Antelope or Moose depending on how lucky the draw was for us that year.  Well for the last year when I heard ‘whats for di...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Jun 29, 2011, 12:04 pm
My grandfather is 81 and is responsible, at least partly, for passing on the hunting genetics to me. Despite his love and zeal for hunting, he had never bagged a turkey, but he was looking to change that this spring. The following video is his hunt in which my mother (his daughter) filmed him on hi...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Jun 28, 2011, 2:52 pm
I posted this video a few years ago, but it bears repeating. I just finished watching it again myself and am reminded of some great blogging tips from Cory Glauner, owner of a  great outdoor blog himself.  Cory touches on some great points, and even if you’ve been doing this blog thing a while...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Jun 27, 2011, 7:08 pm
Some of you may be aware that this blog has spent nearly three months on the blink, and for the last month it had completely dissapeared into a massive black hole. A web developer I am not, but a lack of funds turned me into one. And this post is evidence that I did get our site back up and running....
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Jun 23, 2011, 2:41 pm
Progress has been made, but we’re still experiencing technical difficulties. We are sportsmen, not web developers, so please be patient as we try to resolve this issue as quickly as possible.
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - May 17, 2011, 6:56 pm
It has been brought to my attention that the last three blog posts I wrote were perhaps a bit on the cynical side. So, maybe it is time for a bright, happy sunshine post. If you prefer the cynical side of life, I suggest you turn away now. My wife is 8 months pregnant and has been jonesing for a ca...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - May 10, 2011, 9:28 pm
I try to keep this blog politics-free because – well, because nothing bores and frustrates me quite like political banter. Additionally, I don’t feel qualified to discuss politics because I purposely don’t follow them that closely. However, I do feel qualified to discuss my opinion – in fact...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Apr 29, 2011, 1:54 pm
I really could relate to this post over at Mouthful of Feathers  as the rivers and lakes near here are the not so distant relatives of the close waters he speaks of. When I tell people that the town I live in sits on the Snake River, they usually have visions of what a beautiful setting it must...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Apr 21, 2011, 8:23 am
Like any industry, the hunting industry has become full of phrases that over time, overuse, and mis-use have become hollow and, frankly, annoying. Here’s my list of cliches that I’d rather never see or hear again. And because it’s fun, I’ll add my cliche score after each cliche. The scale wo...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Apr 15, 2011, 9:11 am
Six years ago, while on a back country bow hunt, we ran into a couple engaging guys packing camera equipment and bows. They told us their story and invited us to watch their forthcoming video that would be a product of that year’s hunt. We obliged, and were quickly won over. I bring this up now be...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Apr 6, 2011, 12:31 pm
First, allow me to clarify that, contrary to rumors spreading that I had become a vegan and champion of all animal causes, I actually have just been busy trying to figure out the age old question of ‘What do I want to be when I grow up?’ Thus, a lack of posts from my end has stretched from a sho...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Feb 18, 2011, 7:42 pm
 Mr. John Martin over at The Western Wanderer has been on this subject ever since I’ve been reading his blogs.  He is a runner and I have no doubt when hunting season rolls around, he is physically ready.  I have always led a fairly active life so have never really felt a need to pounding the p...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Feb 3, 2011, 7:00 am
It was time for our annual archery winter deer hunt in the Salmon River region of Idaho, and the weather didn’t look very promising! The forecast was for COLD… and MORE cold! My 81 year old Dad was game for it anyway and so Gary and I, Dad and our son Todd headed for the hills along the breaks o...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Jan 18, 2011, 1:34 pm
      I have been doing this hunting thing so long now that I didn’t think anything could come along and make me feel squirmy or uncomfortable.  I distinctly remember the first time I put a knife to an animal and watched the steam rise from the carcass and felt the warmth of its insides on ...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Jan 6, 2011, 4:05 pm
I have never been a blind hunter but with age I have found it has its redeeming virtues now and then.  It still drives me nuts to sit that long in one setting but its an option that extends my season and anything that does that is good.  I’ve used a blind the last three year at times, never shot...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Dec 15, 2010, 7:00 am
by Sue Sorenson Well it’s that time of year when you sit back by a cozy fire and reflect back on the past hunting season.  Ours has been a interesting one. We searched high and low and in between for those elusive elk. We tried a little of everything from hiking all over the mountain to sitting...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Dec 6, 2010, 7:48 am
by Tom Sorenson Cody's 2010 bull with the amazing scenery in the background There is an area my family has hunted for many many years that has created more memories for us than perhaps any other place. There have been years when it has produced elk for us and years when it hasn’t, but the scener...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Dec 1, 2010, 7:00 am
by Suzee Sorenson It’s always fun to hear someones first hunting story and we had the privilege of getting the story first hand from all the participants involved! While Gary was pursuing the elusive moose we had the pleasure of meeting another moose hunter, Greta and her hunting partner Steve...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Nov 22, 2010, 8:11 pm
By Gary Sorenson   Life in the shooting lane does not always come up steaks and roasts, and many times comes up humble pie.  In 2oo7 I was fortunate to draw a moose tag and after 18 days of flailing around in the brush trying to find one of these critters, I bowed to defeat.  That winter we fe...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Nov 17, 2010, 12:16 pm
As I’ve gathered experience filming and editing hunts, I’ve learned some valuable lessons. Some of the lessons will seem like no brainers to many of you, but these are all lessons I have learned through experiences filming hunts in the Western United States and I hope they will help you in your...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Nov 5, 2010, 8:00 am
We had the privelege of taking a 12 year old young man Zach,  on his first deer hunt a couple weeks ago. It was an experience that was refreshing and rewarding!  Here’s the video of Zach’s first deer hunt!
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Nov 4, 2010, 8:00 am
Terry over at Women’s Hunting Journal has been having quite a dilema  trying to find quality waders for her waterfowl hunting. She has decided to bring this problem that women hunters face in many areas of gear and clothes to the forefront and is asking other women hunters to join her in making o...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Oct 29, 2010, 9:20 am
When you hear of a father , daughter hunt it usually evokes a picture of a young father taking his little girl out on her first deer hunt…  well this hunt is a 80 year old father with his three ”fiftysomething” daughters! Now you men can sympathize with my dad… I’m sure it’s challenge ...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Oct 26, 2010, 8:34 am
A week ago, it became apparent that my season was over unless I went for an evening hunt that night after work. In somewhat of a panic, I began mid-day to begin to figure out where I could go for an evening hunt when it would be dark just 2 1/2 hours after I got home from work. It helped that I was ...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Oct 21, 2010, 10:56 am
During the  final week of the season, my dad and I sat in our spot overlooking the little meadow as we had done earlier in the season. My sister Mari  sat with us then and we had the incredible encounter with the bear. This time my sister Christy came along… it was such a special time together.�...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Oct 18, 2010, 6:44 pm
Perhaps there is hope for our deer, elk and moose… The Governor of Idaho informed  Secretary Ken Salazar that Idaho will no longer act as the federal governments “designated agent” for managing “your wolves”.   Otter indicated  that withdrawing  from the  federal wolf management prog...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Oct 3, 2010, 8:36 am

Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Sep 24, 2010, 2:59 pm
  Week One Gary had an Oregon Antelope tag, so on August 28th we headed out to the desert.   We had a blind set up over a little water seep that in years past has had lots of animals frequent it. We had several nice bucks come within 100 yards, but just couldnt get any to close the distance. ...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Sep 21, 2010, 8:00 am
by Sue Sorenson (Jump to the video) I have a Elk tag in my pocket and my dad has a deer tag, so we thought it would be fun to do a little hunting together. Dad has shot many big mule deer and elk with his rifle, but now at the age of 80 he wants to try something new. So he’s taken up archery hu...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Sep 14, 2010, 10:54 am
by Tom Sorenson Saturday was full of excitement. For good reason, too. I was hunting new country that I’d found this summer, and it would be the first time I would dedicate the hunt entirely to finding a big buck, knowing I had a freezer full of meat already. I’ve made no apologies for having s...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Sep 8, 2010, 11:04 am
by gary sorenson Monday started off early with great expectations and very few plans.  Sue and I were headed for the hills to do some bow hunting for elk and we wanted to get there before day light and it was an hour drive so the alarm clock had a hard time getting our attention at 4:30 AM.  The ...
Comment - Like

Tom S. posted an article on Base Camp Legends - Aug 19, 2010, 10:10 pm
Four months out of the year I have hunting stories to tell, but it seems like the other eight months in the year I’m telling ‘morning walk’ stories.  Sometimes I think I see more wildlife on these morning walks then I do when I’m hunting.  But then again, all the animals I ...
Comment - Like