Rifle Season Report: Yep, The Fat Lady Has Sung…
I recently headed for the hills looking for some mule deer, and while I wasn’t able to find any trophy-caliber bucks, I was able to enjoy one of the best sunrise scenes I’ve seen in a long time, and I glassed some incredible country from a lofty position. It also happened to be the last day of the general rifle season in my state. By this time of the year a lot of people have either already filled their tags or thrown in the towel, but I’ve seen enough eleventh-hour miracles to know it’s not over until the fat lady sings.
It wasn’t until I was hiking down from a ridgeline that I really started seeing some sign—five or six sets of fresh tracks heading straight downhill. I followed them and carefully eased over each crease on the mountainside trying not to spook what I was stalking. At one point I became so focused on the footprints, I neglected to look up, and when I did, five wide-eyed does stared back at me. Before I could even raise my binoculars to see if a buck was hanging nearby, they spun around, dashed up a neighboring hillside, and disappeared.
After that little incident, was convinced the fat lady was officially singing. There’s still other seasons left (including my favorite—muzzleloader), so stay tuned. —Ben
Rifle season starts Sunday up here. Unfortunately I won’t be able to go up because I have to rake leaves and do various other odd jobs to earn some money. I want to go duck hunting next yeat, so I need it for the call and the boat and the gun, etc. What I really need is someone to show me the ropes. I’m just so clueless on duck hunting that I probably won’t shoot anything my first year. Of course, I thought that about fly fishing, but I was slightly successful in that.
November 13th, 2009 at 11:45 am