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Jmsmithy wrote: Well…
In Northern Maine the drenching has stopped but the incessant, swirling, at times gale force, wind has really kept the local bruin population anywhere but out and about!
Hope the weather turns around for you, JM!!
Man, what a morning – I wasn’t 20 minutes up the hill in the dark and had bulls bugling. One was on my left, down in thick aspens/undergrowth that experience has shown me they never seem to be lured out of, no matter how seductively you call, and that it’s impossible to stalk them in.
The other was in a drainage down on my right, sounding like a bigger bull in the full throes of pre-rut madness, so I opted to chase him instead. A steady wind was coming down the drainage, so I maneuvered below him, while he was screaming his head off. Suddenly, I hear a second bull respond from the hillside above, and shortly after, I see him coming down the hillside to join the first bull. And before I know it, I’m in between the two of them and just slightly downwind, while they bellow back and forth, at times each of them no more than 100 feet away from me. But the vegetation in the bottom of the drainage was so thick, I still couldn’t get close enough.
Even though I know they didn’t wind me, something might have made them suspicious because eventually they clammed up and moved farther up the drainage. I continued working my way up, and discovered an excellent series of recently-used wallows that I hadn’t known about before.
All in all, a fine morning with some adrenaline-filled moments, and some new info for the map. Gonna head back out this afternoon and sit above that wallow…
Great idea for a thread.
Here’s my “cold shot” this morning, @ 18 yards, #57 Tomahawk, 645 gr. arrow:
2nd and 3rd shots, @ 20 yards, were much better:
Alas, 2nd & 3rd shots don’t count…
coastalbendbows wrote: Yes I need a new target.
What? Plenty of life left in that one!
Took the Kanati Single out for a spin today:
I think this could grow on me. One arrow at the ready and the rest out of the way unless I need them.
Had a bugling bull right off the bat this morning, but he was on a mission and I couldn’t get on him. Still, it was a good sign – the bulls are turning on.
It rained hard for most of the day yesterday, and last night. After a very dry August, it was great to see the wet forest in early morning light:
I was having such a great morning out there, with no one else around, and nowhere else to be, that I just decided to spend the whole day up on the mountain today. Once things warmed up and it was clear that the elk were bedded down, I did a little more scouting and looking for fresh bear sign, and built a few ad-hoc blinds along some well-used game trails. And then it was time for the glorious mid-day nap:
It got pretty hot again this afternoon, and it was clear that there wouldn’t be much action, but I didn’t feel like hiking out, just to hike back in again in the evening, so I settled in for a little reading:
Some cool lichen I came across:
And my bow up against a big old tree:
By 7pm this evening (usually just about the time the bugling kicks in again) there was an ominous wall of darkness on the horizon, and nearly continuous thunder and lightning, moving my way. I got out of there just in time, as all heck broke loose shortly after I reached the truck.
Already looking forward to tomorrow….
