When hunters get together, we all have a great story, or two. or more to share. Not all the stories end well but most are funny and interesting to hear.
Some of the stories may be personal but most often involve other friends and family. Helping others write their own stories may be my favorite motivation. The events that happen during the hunt can be the best part of what we bring home. The greatest stories are a surprise and unplanned.
Here are a few stories that I share.
Pheasants Shooting my first pheasant took years. I always seemed to hunt with my brother, who was older and a more experienced hunter, and a better shot. Despite shooting box fulls of clay targets, I was always just a little slower on the trigger. When a Rooster would flush between us, I would swear that I hit the bird, as I watched my brother pull an empty shell out of his gun. Finally, while walking back to the truck, after a long day of hunting, a rooster flushed from some corn stubble. My brother and other hunting buddies were unloaded and limited out. I raised my Ithaca Model 37 and pulled the trigger! Tada, I shot my first rooster without any help or debate!
Dove My first dove hunt was using a bolt action 20-gauge shotgun. I was too young to have my own gun, so I used a hand me down. I carried 2 boxes of shells. The limit was 25 birds a day. 2 boxes should be plenty. 4 boxes of shells later, I finally bagged my limit!
Quail These small sporty birds were abundant when I was a kid. It was not uncommon to flush 40 or more birds at a time. They would flush, I would shoot, and nothing would fall. I kept shooting at the flocks and coveys. How could you miss? After a lot of missing, I finally learned to single out a single bird. I was walking back to the truck, again, with no birds. A single quail flushed and I shot. One down, finally. With a few hundred yards to go more singles flushed and I finally got my first limit.
Rabbits Hunting bunnies with a shotgun is one thing but bow hunting bunnies is another. I loved archery hunting and tried to master shooting small game with an arrow. Judo points, round hoops, and all types of ideas were tried. Some worked and some didn’t. My favorite bunny trick was climbing on top of a brush pile. I would load on an arrow and jump on top of the pile until a bunny would leave the cover. Since I was elevated, and shooting instinctively, the shot would be just in front of the rabbit running straight away. After many misses I got to the point where 2 out of 5 brush bunnies ended up in the bag, using my bow and arrows!
Deer My son’s first buck was tagged on a Sunday evening. The season had been open for weeks and he had gone with me on my hunts. For this hunt he carried a 30-30 Winchester Lever action, that I used to tag my first buck. Several other friends and family had also used this vintage rifle for their first deer. Several deer emerged from some cover. One was a small buck that was chasing the does. We ranged the deer, and it was time to shoot. The sunset made the buck’s antlers glow. My son aimed and squeezed off his shot at 100 yards. HIT! I said “stay on him.” After a short run, the buck dropped. When we got to the buck, we went through the usual blooding, and other traditions. “That was the most exciting thing I have ever done”, shouted the new deer hunter. It doesn’t get much better.
Elk Elk are huge critters. After dealing with smaller deer, getting close to an elk is wild. A huge deer may be a few hundred pounds when a big bull elk can be over 800 lbs. My buddy had several chances and had missed every time. He simply got too excited. If you don’t get excited, why go? Anyway, on this day, he missed 2 close shots at bulls that I called in. I was changing my position when I saw a bull come into range. My buddy was behind a small bush and ready to shoot but the bull was looking right at him. I called to get the bulls attention and when he looked at me, my buddy took the shot. The bull was 25 yards and presented a chest shot. The arrow hit dead center and the bull fell backwards and dropped! Victory! I would have never taken a chest on shot but it worked for my Buddy’s first bull!
Moose If elk are huge, Moose are bigger! My buddy drew a moose tag, and I was along for spotting and help. We found 3 bulls, and one was huge. All we could see of him were his massive antlers above the willows. The bull sensed us and began moving. We ran to change position a few times until we were finally in a place where there was a 30-yard opening. The running bull was in the open at 175 yards, and I yelled “shoot”. He did and the bull was down. Now the work was about to begin. We walked over to the downed bull. It looked like a T-Rex! This dinosaur was HUGE. My mind began wondering where to begin on quartering and loading this monster up. Fortunately, a fire road was just 10 yards away! Whew. My buddy had never quartered a critter, so school was in session. It took us a few hours, but we were able to tag and load the 4th largest moose ever shot in Montana!
Not all stories are about the shooting, missing, or hunting. Some may be about the camping, food, or company. Whatever your favorite stories are, keep making more. Telling the stories keeps memories alive and helps us to enjoy what we do.
Hunt hard, Hunt Harder, and tell more stories!
Montana Grant
