EVO and I went stumpin' and grizzly huntin' this evening. We had a great time. Shot a lot and am getting real comfortable with EVO. Made some good shots... missed some easy ones (always that way for me it seems).
As we headed up the hill toward the ridge I noticed a redtailed hawk sailing on a path that would bring it directly overhead. In the warm blue early evening sky the chipmunk hanging from his talons was easy to spot at 20 yards straight overhead. If I could only be so lucky this evening.
A few steps further and spots erupted from a nearby stand of low thick shumac... a fawn headed straight down the bank to my right... blowing a high pitched alarm. Two seconds later a second fawn busted from a thick stand of horse weeds on my left... straight UP the bank to my left. Somewhere nearby (probably downwind) was Momma. It is hard to get "into the zone" after a rough day on the job. I reminded myself that I needed to take a deep breath and slow down. I'll not meet up with a wily eastern groundhog at this pace.
I shot at a bare spot 30 yards or so ahead and on the left side of the trail, then an anthill on the opposite side of the trail a few yards closer. I'm not sure how many arrows I stuffed into the back quiver before leaving the house. I purposely didn't count them... that way I won't remember how many I lost during my hike.
I find pleasure in the simplest of things in "nature"... Like the intricate design of lichen on a large sandstone atop the ridge...
or the translucent flowers with heads bowed for the evening on the damp forest floor. They were white, but you could see through them.
Before long I spotted a doe and fawn about 50 yards ahead of me as they entered the overgrown pasture field on top the ridge from the greenbrier thicket to my left (and quartering upwind of me). This was a chance to do a practice stalk. I actually got within 25 yards or so when I noticed a second fawn in the tall weeds to her left.
I followed them carefully down the ridge. I knew where they were headed... down off the ridge to the lush hayfield of timothy and clover in the bottom.
After snapping a few pictures from 25 yards, I noticed a deer to my left. At first I passed it off as the second fawn.. then realized that it didn't have spots. Closer examination (with my naked eye as I did not carry field glasses with me) revealed a decent rack for this area. Probably 14... maybe 16 inches wide. Unfortunately his antlers were not clear in the picture... that was the picture I took just before the doe blew and they all "disappeared" from view in a flash of white tails.
The stalk on the doe and fawn reminded me that I have put a lot of hunting under my belt in the past 40 some years. I can't "crouch" like I used to... it hurts too much. I was reminded of the time that my late brother (gone some 16 years now) and I had "duck walked" for 45 minutes up Lion's Head mountain in the gravelly range of Montana... trying to keep up with a magnificent 6X bull elk that only stopped every so often to bugle a challenge to any nearby rivals. The chase ended in my first close encounter with a bull (just out of position for my anticipated shot) and a missed shot by my brother just down the bank from me.
That reminded me that it's not just the kill... that makes memories. My brother died in an airplane crash at the young age (by my standards now anyway) of 45. We had hunted Black Bear in Ontario, elk in Colorado and Montana and whitetails in West Virginia and a few other eastern states. I sure do miss him. And every short hike afield... like this one, reminds me of him.
Next I noticed a gray squirrel on a limb about 10 feet from the ground, curled up in a ball that reminded me of a bullseye.
Where was he last fall or early winter when this would have been a shot I couldn't pass up? 10 yards away. To bad season is not in.
We finally slipped down to the bottom, next to the old barn where I spotted three "whistle pigs" the other day.
It was too late for them by now... Groundhogs must go to den early as I seldom see one after the sun reaches the top of the hill to the west. Another small herd of deer fed along 100 yards to the east, one sported a decent 14 - 16 inch wide rack. Two decent bucks today... the future looks OK.
EVO and I are real happy about our hike this evening. We enjoyed seeing the 32 deer, the squirrel, the hawk with the chipmunk... and all the other sights, as well as the sounds and smells that make the outdoor adventure what it is. And the memories... ESPECIALLY the memories. Sometimes you make memories... and sometimes you just enjoy them, we did a little of both this evening.
EVO feels like an old friend. We still have time to get some action in the upcoming week or so.
I'll send in another update ASAP.
Thanks again Larry for helping the kids and giving us older ones some memories...
Topic: evo's adventure has come full circle (Read 27205 times)
