Well, I guess it's gettin late everywhere else and I just got in.
What a great day we had. Started out with a little practice at the bale this morning and a trip to the closest store for a few supplies.
Once we were squared away we headed back into the mountains to look over elk huntin country.
I find it interesting that when Vance and I hunted together years ago it was in the Wind River mountains.
I started hunting the mountains we visited today while I still lived here. During the time that Vance and I lost touch, he also adopted this mountain range as his own and lives virtually in the middle of it.
Needless to say, I'm picking his brain for every bit of information he can give... That seems to be considerable.
So we looked over favored places from both our files and I liked what we found.
This afternoon we took off to try and way lay one of the countless trouble making beavers that make the ranch home.
It's obvious from the sign... damns, slides, cut brush, etc.... that there are a bunch of them and their common goal seems to be to turn this valley into a lake.
As it turns out, we didn't see so much as a single beaver hair, but I did play ring around the sage brush with one of the local jackrabbits.
I spotted him hopping along through the sage and was able to ease up within 30 yards before he started getting goosey.
That's not surprising since I was wearing a jet black jacket... not exactly the best camo.
I shot a Magnus blunt right past him and watched him wind his way off through the sage. Usually they'll take off like a scalded dog and don't stop until they are hundreds of yards away. This one didn't seem all that upset. I shadowed him for another 50 yards until he stopped under a large sage bush.
It wasn't a much better opportunity than the first shot, but it was a shot, so I sent a Magnus I his way.
I knew from the moment I slid into anchor that he was mine and so I held there just a second before releasing.
The broad blade slipped through him like butter and he dropped immediately.
Perfect shoulder shot at around 30 yards ain't all that bad in my book and I'll take those confidence builders any time.