HH bug got me ... Part One!

[tadpole]

Beautiful bow Swamp Yankee!!!

[Stone Knife]

A very happy Hill  

 

[stik&string]

And a very happy hunter, congrats.

[Ben Maher]

Welldone Mr Stone Knife !!!
Awesome job ... specs ? story ?
A Hill and an Arrowmaster - the best hunting rig going round !

[Stone Knife]

Big Five 66" 48@ 28" Wood arrow Hill broadhead. shot him first light wasn't sure of the hit so I waited a couple hours. He went about 150 yards hit one lung and liver. I shot him for a friend that wants a small deer because his freezer is very small.

[Nate Steen .]

Stone....

great job!  great photo, bare Hill bow and plaid,  great combination to the demise of another deer and the filling of a freezer.

We're starting to get some stories now,  methinks more are in the works

[Red Tailed Hawk]

Great job Stone!!!

That one will eat well...

[Ray_G]

Way to do it, Jim!  Keeping the tradition alive    

[Benny Nganabbarru]

Swamp Yankee: Superb bow you have! Enjoy!

Stone Knife: Congratulations!

[Aussie Stickbow Hunter]

Swamp Yankee congrats on your new bow and Stone Knife congrats on taking the deer.    

Jeff

[far rider]

Very nice Stone!

[tradlongbow]

Stone that's would be nice in anyone's fridge.  You did it without camo, way to go!  Congrats    Darren

[tradlongbow]

Roscoe we need pics, I'm glad you like your bow.     Darren

[Rob DiStefano]

two big hits in one - swamp yankee and stone knife - congrats fellers!!!

 

[sou-pawbowhunter]

Loving the Redman Swamp Yankee.
Way to go Stone Knife!

[Stone Knife]

Swamp Yankee, that's a keeper  

[Rik]

Swamp Yankee is doing good and making the rest of us look like couch sitters.

Best get off the couch and out there boys and girls! There are critters out there, just begging you to try to outsmart them!

As luck would have it, this was the opening weekend of deer season here in Idaho.

Hmmmm. . . I says to myself, should I stay on the couch this weekend, or head for the high country? THAT took about a billionth of a second to answer!

So up to the high country I went. 'Twere cold that night in the tent. Not quite warm enough to sleep, but I have that problem anyway, almost always, on the night before hunting season.

Shortly after dawn I was three hours up the mountain, looking for bucks.



It's good deer country.



However, it is early. The big boys will show up when the snow pushes them down to this low country, and the rut makes them start looking for does. Today, all I saw were 34 does and four forked horns. Ah well, back to the tent for food and sleep, and some much needed rest for my legs.

As I was to find out, today was the last day of summer.

I awoke the next morning to find that the world had changed. Summer's over. Winter is here. That snow you see will be here until mid June. If it's a cold spring, it will be here until mid-July, as it was this year.



Ah, but don't worry about your humble correspondent, he's bundled up and dressed for the weather, been here before a few times. Over the years I've even learned to blend in a bit.



At the end of the day, while on the way back down, I finally spotted a mature buck.

As you can see from this photo, there is no way to kill him with an arrow. For one thing, he is on a different mountain than I am on (LOVE the zoom lens on this camera), and for a second thing, he is bedded with the 40 MPH wind to his back, and a half-mile view in front of him, There is no way to approach him. Third, the lead doe has me spotted, from a half mile away. Derned mule deer eyesight anyway! Curses!



A few minutes later, I was reminded that this country is hard country. You have to do everything right to survive----or you don't.

This elk learned that the hard way. I spotted a raven party from a long way off, and had to investigate, as this is lion country. A raven party only means one thing. . ..



You see a lot of things while mule deer hunting. The only downside is that you have to deal with the sceneryassociated with where mule deer live. It's one of the things we poor mule deer hunters just have to learn to live with.



Well boys and girls, this brings us to the close of the first weekend of Idaho's mule deer season.

This is your humble Southwest Idaho Howard Hill Longbow correspondent signing off for now. But don't touch that dial-----with three weeks yet to go in the season, and the rut yet to come, you don't want to miss a moment. The big bucks are out there, somewhere. . .

[David Mitchell]

 Rik, thanks a million!

[Montauks]

great pics and story

[Ben Maher]

 
Nice one Mr Rik ...
Looking forward to updates , hero pics and success stories .....
Grouse still in season ?