2015 FUMLA Bunny Hunt

The following is transcribed from my field journal. There are typos, misspellings and editings as there would be for transcriptions of other period journals. This entry is from the 2015 FUMLA Bunny Hunt outside of Dore, ND. 2015 FUMLA Bunny Hunt

Muzzleloader Area, Dore, ND

Sunday, December 20, 2015

It was a Sunday afternoon and our party was set to meet at our usual gathering place in the Muzzleloader area outside of Dore, ND. While there was some snow on the ground it wasn't like the snow we'd had last year. Last year it was a cold, overcast day and was below freezing with a good amount of snow on the ground. This year there was but a thin layer. It was 34 degrees when I'd left home.

I hiked into the gathering place wearing my wool leggings, sky blue light capot and wolf eared cap make from blanket scrap, my .58 J. Henry trade rifle in tow. I could see by the tracks that there were at least three people who had previously been on the trail. I followed the tracks left by the sled that had presumably been brought to bring in supplies. By the time I reached the gathered party my side seam mocs were soaked through.

As I got closer to the gathering place I could see four men, all of whom I recognized, and I identified myself as I got closer. "Hello the camp!" "Hello Leif!", was the return greeting. Our party today consisted of Dave F., Dave E., Tod, Rod and myself.

The group was gathered around a small fire, with coffee on the boil and water that Tod was heating for tea. Despite the fact I was more properly prepared for the cooler weather today compared to last year, even brought along in my small haversack a small sheet iron skillet and some venison sausage my family had made several weeks prior, I forgot my tin cup yet once again. Tod just smiled and offered me the use of his kettel drink out of, yet again. I enjoyed some tea this time.

In short order Rod noticed some rustling in a large cottonwood about 20 yards away. He caught sight of movement about 30 feet up. Slowly the group began to surround the tree, with the exception of me, who had managed to not have loaded my rifle. What a fool I was, and when we heard the growl from the limbs overhead I loaded as quickly as I could.

Saying the beast was larger than what we expected would be an understatement. It was about two feet in length with a bushy tail roughly as long. Its claws looked like the talons of an eagle. Its snarl revealed teeth like a badger and it's eyes leered at us with hatred. It locked eyes with Rod, who instantly fired his .58 Derringer. The beast scurried to the other side of the large limbed, at which point Tod fired his trade gun, spraying bark towards the flurry of fur. Dave E shot next as Dave F pulled out his cap and ball pistol and aimed up at the branches. Tod fired again and the beast frantically scurred to the other side of the limb. I finally had completed loading my Henry and arrived next to Rod when he fired his second shot, hitting the ferocious animal. The beast shrieked and flailed itself to the other side of the limb just as I raised my rifle. He kept on ducking back and forth on the limb as he tried to quickly make his way to the trunk of the tree. Each time as I was about to fire it would weave to the other side of the limb. The hairy mass of hatred suddenly appeared energized as it locked eyes with Rod again, who had landed a shot into the beast, and charged. Right as this happened Tod fired, the beast screeched one final time and dropped twenty five or so feet to the ground. With determination in his eyes Tod quickly grabbed the flailing animal by the tail and quickly finished him off while the rest of us stood with knives drawn ready to unleash havoc. We all stood gasping for a long moment, trying to catch our breath and come to terms with what had just transpired...

Or...just maybe...what we experienced actually went something like this:

While we enjoyed the coffee and tea Rod took notice of a large squirrel in a cottonwood tree about 20 yards away. "I bet it's the same one you guys missed last year," quipped Dave E. That was all the prodding we needed and we headed to the tree with the exception of me, who had managed to not have loaded my rifle. What a fool I was. By the time I got to the tree Rod and fired once, Dave E. once, Tod twice and as I approached Dave F. had pulled out his pocket pistol and was taking aim as well. As I found my place in the circle of men around the tree Rod fired again, landing a shot. The squirrel barked and scurried to the other side. Each time as I was about to fire it would weave to the other side of the limb. After the third time or so of this happening Tod fired and the squirrel dropped to the ground. Tod quickly snatched the squirrel and finished him off.

I had posted a video about a month back about a quick way to skin a squirrel by make a couple incisions on the hind legs and then cutting between bones at the base of the trail, making it possible to strip the skin from the rest of the squirrel in two batches. Tod did this and we were amazed at how well it worked. As a testament as to how tough the hide was on this particular squirrel, which was fairly large for a squirrel, Tod removed the flattened .58 cal ball from the animal from when Rod had first shot it. Tod finished field dressing the animal and got to work gathering some dog wood to make an improvised spit and skewered the animal.

While Tod continued to tend to his squirrel the rest of us meandered into the woods to hopefully find rabbits or more squirrel. While my feet were cold from my mocs being soaked through, the rest of me was warm. Thank goodness my winter gear has improved since last year.

I made my haversack in January of 2015 during our Winter Camp as a result of the 2014 FUMLA Bunny Hunt. I put it into use while stalking in the woods. I gathered some kindling including some tinder fungus, punk wood, and rose hips. I was very surprised at the number of rose hips I found that were not all shriveled.

I found the bones of a cow that had apparently died a few years back and the coyotes had stripped clean. I also found a number of squirrel nests up in the trees. I kept hoping I'd see movement, but I never did. I did kick up an owl. I found several good spots to make camp if I needed too. Lots of pretty scenery. The sun came out later on while I continued walking, pausing, listening and enjoying this time in the woods.

I finally began to make a loop back toward Tod's fire. About five minute later or so I saw Dave E. and Rod and I made my way towards them. I linked up with Rod and said, "All I saw was an owl." Rod replied with,"Yeah, I kicked up a white tail. I think Tod got the only game there was." We made our way back to the fire where the roasted squirrel was ready.

Tod had lightly seasoned it with a little salt and a little pepper. I found, to me, it tasted similar to rabbit, or at least what I ate did at any rate. I pulled out the small skillet and venison sausage and fried it up for us. We talked for a bit. Tod, Rod and Dave E enjoyed some fine tobacco. I had regrettably left my pipe behind this morning.

The time came to head out. The light was beginning to fade and fog was setting in. We doused the fired and made our way back to the vehicles. We were only out several hours, but it was a good time of camaraderie, and, this time, we could actually say we'd successfully gotten an animal on our yearly Bunny Hunt.

-- Leifer