2008 elk season
as many of you know i have wasted most of my life throwing sticks at the mighty wapiti. 2008 was a very tough season for old sparko. i had booked my vacation for elk hunting in the last two weeks of september, this i thought would allow me time to scout on my free time up till then and let me find where mr. bull is hanging out. my zones were 332 for archery and 330 for rifle. i would have lots of time and hopefully lots of chances.
well, the best laid plans of mice and men...no one told me the average temprature would +30! this was a very bad thing. the elk shut down all rutting activities and try as i might i could not find any receptive bulls. i would head out every day 2 hours before dawn and walk for miles listening for a bugle. by the time i would get back to camp for lunch i could literally wring sweat out of my camo like i had been in a downpour! all hope seemed lost when on the last day i headed up a very high hill with plans of hunting the ridge top. the climb was cause for the sweat glands to kick in to overdrive so i decided to disrobe at the bottom of the hill and make the walk wearing just my boots and undies... (not a pretty sight) i made it to the top with an hour left in the day and even being basicly "au natural" i was still soaked with sweat. i sat along the fenceline for a while to let myself dry off and put togather a plan of attack, then off to my left about a hundred yards away the bush erupted with a chorus of bugles!
first thing i do is grab my bow and jump to my feet, then i remembered i was bare-arsed (eek!!) a quick change and i was up and running. i made my way along the fence listening to this bevy of grunts and chuckles untill i figured the wind was just right. i let loose with a bunch of cow calls and it sounded like the woods were being torn apart! this boy was coming in fast!
i could see the top of his antlers coming through the brush i had an arrow knocked the release was on and ready when two more bulls bugled straight down the fenceline! my boy stopped turned around and ran like a bugger right to them! all three of them came out in the open and threw a bunch of insults at each other and there i was bugling like hell trying to get them to "come on down!" in a flash they lit out on a dead run chasing each other down the other side of the ridge. i toyed around with the idea of going after them but by now it was damned near dark. as i walked slowly back down the hill in the dark i said to myself "well, at least you aint sweaty.."
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