HH bug got me ... Part One!

[Red Tailed Hawk]

Must of cut himself on one of those branches he made the ground blind out of!!!

[Okie man]

C'mon Rik, you're killing me with all of the suspense! Give us the story.

[Rik]

The trip to North Carolina and Virginia was more fun than I thought it would be. As a resident of the last of the 50 states to be colonized, I thought Virginia and North Carolina would feel tame and too civilized, as they were colonized by Europeans over 500 years ago, but I was wrong.

There is plenty of good hunting country there. Granted, it is all privately owned, but if you know someone who owns property, the hunting can be pretty good from what I saw. Luckily for me, my old neighbor who moved to North Carolina has a friend who owns property in both North Carolina and Virginia, and he took pity on a wayward fellow bowhunter from Idaho and let me hunt on a couple of his farms.

Not only did he let me hunt deer, but we took his mountain feists out for a couple of squirrel hunts. THAT is something I could get seriously hooked on.

The first photo below shows his dogs Jake and Gizmo with a squirrel up a tree. The second photo shows his six-month old mountain feist/mountain cur pup. She is going to be an exceptional squirrel dog. Actually, she already is!





We had a lot of rain, so one evening I hunted from a very short Double Bull blind at the edge of a meadow. My Howard Hill Big Five is 66 inches long, so I had to kneel way down and cant it severely to keep the upper limb from hitting the roof, which meant that my lower limb tip was dangerously close to the side of the blind.

Tough shooting that way to say the least, but I managed to shoot a doe and a buck just before dark. Perfect 25-yards shots. The best part of the whole thing is that the property owner was sitting right beside me in the blind. He hunts with a compound, and was amazed at what a good longbow can do. 'Ol Howard would have been proud of those two shots, and even prouder that the accuracy of a longbow was put on display before the eyes of a non-believer. I had to chuckle as I heard him excitedly telling friends via cell phone about those two shots. He was both surprised and impressed.



On another evening, I was sitting in a make-shift ground blind (the one in the previous photo that shows the arrow). The trees were showing their full-blazing fall glory, and the deer were moving.

I passed on a few shots, but then about a half hour before dark I decided to shoot the small buck feeding 10 yards in front of me. He caught the last six inches of my draw and whipped his head up, staring right at me from 10 yards away. The only problem was that he stopped walking one step before his chest was in the open for me to shoot, so I leaned way to the right and slipped an arrow right around the small pine tree branch that was in front of his chest.

I did not know whitetail could run that fast! He made it into the timber at warp speed and I heard a huge crash. It was a nice way to end a perfect evening. I had seen five bucks, two does, and the Howard Hill Big Five had once again sang its sweet song.



I learned a lot on this hunt. For one thing, squirrel hunting is an absolute blast! I was also surprised to learn that whitetail do not spot humans as well as mule deer. Don't get me wrong, whitetails won't let you make a mistake, but I can guarantee mule deer would have spotted me in most of the ground blinds I was in, but the whitetail looked right at me and did not see me. MAN is THAT fun!

The other thing that I learned is that southern hospitality is alive and well. There are some really nice people in Old Dixie. Oh------and LOTS of deer!

[shick]

Rik, always luv your story telling(shades of instinctive archer). Pictures are great. Hunting with those dogs must have been a blast.  Thanks
Shick

[bayoulongbowman]

Feist dogs are awesome , sometimes ya dont need a bow              best squrriel dawgs...cool pics Rik, thanks for sharing...marco ps ...you are great story tell, sir!!! one of the best!!!A person has not lived , till you squrriel hunt with dogs...love it!!!!

[Molson]

Outstanding hunting Rik!!    

What are the specs on your Big Five?

[Ron Roehrick]

Yes Howard Hill bug has bitten me also,I hope this works,trying add photos and disciption.

[Mudd]

Awesome Rik!

I'm glad to know you got the great experience of hunting with a good squirrel dog.

Feists are some good dogs but I put all my eggs in the O.M.C.B.A. basket.

Original Mountain Curs are some of the most versatile hunting buddies a man could ask for and loyal to a "T".

I happen to own one of the best.

Trouble with the Truth aka "Liar" is one that will go down in the record books



God bless,Mudd

[Ron Roehrick]

Mudd, great looking dog. Would somebody on this site please post a photo for me, I will send photo to your email address, Try as I might I cant seem to make it work. Thanks, Ron.

[Kelly]

Hi Ron;

Send the picture to me and I'll post it. arrowskp@mchsi.com

[Rik]

Molson, my bow is a 66-inch Big Five, 75 pounds at 28 inches. I was shooting 750-grain ash arrows tipped with shaving-sharp Snuffers.

[Swamp Yankee]

Okay, somewhere around page 350 of this epic novel I caved in and ordered a Redman from Greg.  After watching the UPS truck drive by the house again this afternoon, I started wondering about what page of this thread everyone thinks that bow might be deliverd?

[GRS]

Rik, great story and pics. Thanks for sharing. Congrats on your whitetail hunt. You made it look easy! Apparently your shooting without an attached bowquiver has improved. Lessons from the wife?

Gerald

[bicster]

Great story Rik! Also a big congrats on your bow kills.

[Kelly]

Here is a picture of Ron Roehrick's Hill style stable.

[Benny Nganabbarru]

Good stuff, Ron!

[Rik]

Dibs on the top bow!

[Okie man]

Great job Rik! Some folks are just super predators and you sir are at the top of that category. I had a spike buck at 15' on the ground today. I was still hunting making my way around a fair sized pond and saw him coming to the bank for a drink.  I eased up behind a cedar and watched him mosey by at 20yds and walk to the pond, drink and then turn away as if he would head away from me into the wind. The little fellow (probably 120lbs on the hoof)wandered back and forth along the bank for a bit and then headed back the way he came. He went back to my right and I could still see his legs through the brush. He must have been confused for some reason and turned back and took a heading to pass right in front of me and the cedar I was hiding behind. I could see him through the branches just on the other side of the only cover I had. My tree was on a sidehill that falls down to the bank of the pond so I am kneeling on the hill and if he gets to my left side I decide I will have to reverse cant the bow to keep the bottom limb from hitting the ground behind me or I can try to get an arrow through a small opening in the branches in front. He is 2 steps from the opening directly in front of me when a wind gust hits me square in the face. It must have swirled against the face of the hill but the little buck wheeled and ran. I had my bow arm up and tension on the string but never had a chance. Not more than a minute later my cellphone buzzes and my wife tells me my new Sunset Hill longbow arrived in the mail.

[Shinken]

WAY TO GO Rik!

Now that's puttin' that BIG 5 to work!

         

Enjoy the feast!

Shoot straight, Shinken

 

[Okie man]

My new Sunset Hill is hands down the most beautiful longbow I have ever seen. Straight grip, white glass belly and caramelized bamboo back with an antique finish. I was shooting it and amazed at the smooth draw when Nate called to make sure it got here OK. Nate is a top shelf nice guy who really knows how to make a Hill style bow. Pics coming as soon as I get my camera back from my son. You guys won't believe this bow.