September Failure / Blizzard Bull

Bow season is over and I’ve dawned my rifle numerous times looking for elk but it’s just not the same.  Not even close.  After the rut died down, I couldn’t stop thinking about my missed opportunities and my one misguided arrow that missed what would have been my first bull elk with my bow.  I blew an amazing opportunity and don’t think I’ll get over it until I start hearing the bugles of 2014, but then again, it’s still hunting season.  I keep thinking of this bow season as a failure, as I never got the bull that I had desperately wanted.  But looking back on the season now, was it really a failure?

Shawn's bull

 My good friend and fellow Stalk and Spooker Shawn T Norris got a bull on the exact same day as he did the year prior.  We didn’t realize it until later, but it made us laugh.  Must be his lucky day…he should have probably bought a Powerball ticket that day as well.  We couldn't have been happier for him.  We probably were  as excited as he was that a bull was finally down.  We could have cared less who got it.  

After that, we got into multiple bulls almost every night and became so familiar with them that we named a couple based on their bugles.  I was full draw multiple times on different bulls but never quite got it done. 

I passed on a cow that had a calf that walked at 20 yards past me without a worry in the world.  The cow and her calf were continually talking throughout their adventure through the forest something about that family relationship made me drop my bow.  Had she not had a calf, maybe my season story would be a little different, but had I shot her, I don’t think I could look back at the kill and be happy about it. 

Bow season?

Having some fresh elk in the freezer is nice, but thinking about the wandering calf calling for her mother for the next couple days just made me uneasy.  Some people would say shoot, some wouldn’t, but I just did what I felt was right.  I’m definitely not saying it would have been wrong to take that animal, as it was perfectly legal, but I think it’s the intimate part of bowhunting that allows us to make those choices.  Being that close to an animal allows you to look at the whole picture, the herd and family mentality, and allows you to make choices and restrictions with hunting in ways that rifle hunting may not.  I guess that’s what makes bowhunters a little different.  We choose to bowhunt not because it’s easy, or a more efficient way to fill the freezer, but we do it because of the challenge, the adventure, the memories, the bugles, and knowing that it is one of the most pure and honest ways to take down a game animal.  It’s truly a hunt.  The ethics that bowhunters (as well as many rifle hunters) have don’t lie directly in the black print of the FWP hunting regulations, but expand far beyond that.  Not only is bowhunting difficult and at times exhausting, our personal ethics and restrictions that we put on ourselves can make it that much harder.  Try to convince someone who’s never bowhunted before to come out with you and they may say yes right away, but first let them know that you have a slim to nothing chance of getting something, if you see something you’re lucky, and if you actually get close to an animal it’ll be one of your best hunting days of the year. I don’t know many people that would gladly sign up for that, but for some reason us bowhunters can’t get enough of it.  Maybe some bowhunters won't agree with that, but we're normal guys with jobs constantly hunting public land, so I shouldn’t speak for all bowhunters on this, as I don’t know every bowhunter out there, but I’m guessing a lot of them feel the same way I do, especially those I hunt with.  
But really...was this season a failure? 

For two weeks I got two hunt with 2 of the best guys I know.  Four days into the season I was full draw on a nice bull, basically 2 more steps and could have had a bull.  Kirk and I did get to see the BIGGEST SMILE we’ve ever seen on our close friend Shawn T Norris during one of the worst September snow storms we’ve ever been in!

The September Blizzard Bull

We saw and heard more elk and had more opportunities on bulls this past year than we ever had before, and we got to spend two weeks hiking and camping around the beautiful state of Montana during the fall.  You can’t really beat that.

I guess I can’t call it a failure.  It was definitely a season full of Stalk and Spook success. 

One of my favorite times after a Stalk and Spook Failure... 

Getting the job done

Spoon and Sprocket Antelope Buck

A couple months ago, my buddy Kirk and I decided mid-September was too far away and we needed to try our luck with the Montana antelope 900 tag before the mayhem of September started.  We decided to set out to the mountains for a chance at some early season antelope this past weekend.  Neither of us have ever arrowed an antelope before, and with our number of Stalk and Spook antelope hunts mounting, we felt this short trip may give us the best chance possible.  Bow hunting antelope in August is something most people don't know you can do, let alone actually be successful at, but it's exactly what we headed out to do.  

Antelope are amazing animals.  They are the fastest land animal in North America, have supposedly eight times the vision humans have, and combine it with an extremely wide field of vision that gives us bow hunters little chance on sneaking up on them in a spot and stalk situation. It's actually been said that the only person ever known to run one down in full sprint was Chuck Norris.  Sitting in a blind all day in 90 degree weather can be really fun if you can't afford a sauna, but with this land and terrain, spot and stalk was our hunting style of choice.  

It's amazing how these antelope vary in areas that they live.  We spotted a herd at the top of a mountain range, guessing somewhere around 9,000 feet, and also spotted a few of them several thousand feet lower on the open meadows and river bottoms.  My good friend Shawn T Norris was bear hunting the snowline at around 7,000-9,000 feet elevation this past spring and ran into them up there, just acting like they belonged.  They are definitely Montana's version of an antelope...tough, rugged, and will make any situation a favorable one.  It's an extremely unique situation and I've never seen anything like it anywhere else I've seen antelope.  We were truly hunting Montana mountain antelope.   

Our first night, we met up at camp and made a campfire and discussed plans for the morning. The next morning started off with mountain closures due to forest fires, and we had to alter our plans dramatically due to the changing of conditions.  We headed back up the road and found a spot to gain some elevation to start our spotting.  It worked out.  We found a herd of about 20 speed goats up on the hill side and decided to put a stalk on.  There was one giant buck with a ton of does sitting in a field surround by hundreds of yards of open grass land.  After closing the distance to the final tree, there was no more cover and we just had to sit and watch these animals hang out and leave without us having a chance on them.  We packed up and headed back down the mountain, which actually turned in to a lucky turn of events.   

Heading back towards camp, my fellow Stalk and Spooker noted some interesting white spots on the side hill of the road.  We pulled over and glassed and it was exactly what we were looking for...antelope.  Not only 2 bucks, but 2 young bucks in an area where a stalking position would be possible.  We grabbed our bows and headed out on another stalk.

This stalk was perfect.  We had cover the whole way by trees on a river bottom and by walking up the river side, the constant noise of flowing water covered our noise from the dry grass and branches crunching under our boots.  The wind was minimal and the antelope were grazing some of the only green grass we'd seen.  As we crawled up the river bank to get a shot, I noticed the first buck heading down river right behind a tree.  I took this chance to set up and get ready to draw back and wait for him to pop back out so I could get a shot.  Kirk ranged my buck at 36 yards and I waited.  As I was waiting, Kirk whispered over to me, "I've got a shot on the second buck...Should I take it!?" Obviously, I told him of course and Kirk drew back and released...all I remember is the classic "thwack" and we had an antelope down.  It won't be breaking any record books and we joked it was more "Spoon and Sprocket" than Boone and Crocket, but its a trophy in our eyes.  A great end to a great weekend.

I'm still thinking about it...this was a buck completely unaware of our presence, chomping down on delicious grass, making his way towards water and still jumped the string of Kirk's bow without even seeing him release his arrow.  I  am amazed by their quickness and ability to try and avoid oncoming arrows.  We had a friend last week that missed a buck at 45 yards due a a string jump.  They are quick little critters and have evolved into a bow hunters nightmare.  With cooling temps, I'll be tempted to sit in a blind the rest of the year, but this hunt was awesome and a great warmup to the coming elk season.  Is it September yet?

Morning view from camp while drinking coffee.  Can't beat a beautiful Montana morning

A Bear of a Tale

By: Dave Cronk  

     Certain endeavors require years of dedication and unchecked motivation.  Hunting  Montana  Black  Bears  “Spot  and  Stalk”  style  with  traditional  archery  equipment  requires  these  traits  and  then  some.  I  spent  three  years  hunting  bears  all  over  Montana  with  a  good  buddy  of  mine  Matt  Arkins.  In  the  beginning,  we  set  out  with  very  little  knowledge  about  bears  and  big  dreams  of  killing  bears  with  our  superior  ninja-like  skills.  We  were  both  good  deer  hunters  with  Matt  holding  a  World  Record  Mule  Deer  so,  “How  hard  could  hunting  bears  be?”  we asked  ourselves.  Well,  without  saying  much  more  about  specific  encounters,  we  spent  the  next  three  years  spotting,  stalking  and  spooking  many  bears.  We  spent  thousands  of  dollars  in  gas  and  put  hundreds  of  miles  on  our  boots.  By  the  end  of  third  spring  bear  season,  we  were  beat  down,  and  although  we  enjoyed  the  time  in  the  mountains  during  the  spring,  we  decided  to  hang  up  the  desire  to  kill  a  bear  with  traditional  archery  gear  and  focus  on  hunting  Deer  and  Elk  with  our  stick  bows  during  the  fall.  

     September  had  arrived  in  the  very  same  year  and  we  had  found  a  new  zone  to  hunt  for  elk.  One  afternoon  I  went  up  in  by  myself  hoping  to  do  a  bit  of  scouting  and  possibly  run  into  some  elk  later  in  the  day.  While  creeping  through  the  woods  I  came  across  a  beautiful  wallow  I  had  never  seen.  Being  a  gorgeous  day,  I  decided  to  sit  down  in  shade  above  the  wallow  and  have  some  lunch.  I  had  cell  service  there  so  I  gave  Matt  a  call  to  tell  him  about  the  wallow  I  had  just  found.  Mid  conversation  I  heard  a  twig  snap  and  a  bit  of  grunting  down  below  me,  and  with  a  quick,  “Dude!  I got to go!”  I  hung  up  the  phone  and  slowly  stood  up  so  I  could  see  clearly  over  the  brush  between  the  ravine  bottom  and  me.  To  my  surprise  I  saw  a  black  animal  moving  up  through  the  brush  toward  the  wallow.  At  first  I  thought  it  might  be  one  of  the  cattle  roaming  up  from  the  fields  below,  but  it  was  not  a  cow  at  all…  It was a big beautiful Black Bear sow!  I could hardly believe it.  After  all  the  hard  work  I  had  put  in  over  the  last  three  years,  by  chance  alone,  I  was  standing  15  yards  from  a  big  bear.  This was awesome!  I  watched  and  waited  for  a  painstakingly  amount  of  time  making  sure  she  didn’t  have  any  cubs  and  just  as  I  decided  to  shoot,  she  got  up  out  of  the  mud  and  walked  up  the  bank  of  the  ravine  directly  towards  me.  The  situation  was  changing  quickly  and  with  all  the  brush  in  the  way  I  had  no  real  shot.  For  a  brief  moment  I  thought  about  my  pistol,  but  it  was  holstered  on  my  pack  and  my  pack  was  on  the  ground  behind  me…  so  much  for  carrying  a  pistol  for  bear  protection.  Within  seconds  the  bear  poked  her  head  out  of  the  brush  less  than  10  feet  in  front  of  me.  At  this  distance  having  the  wind  didn’t  really  matter  anymore.  She  smelled  me,  and  with  one  quick  move  she  bolted  back  down  the  ravine,  through  the  wallow  and  up  the  other  bank.  In  that  split  second,  I  thought  to  myself,  “Well…  #%@*!  Another blown opportunity on a bear.”  And  then…  she  stopped  and  turned  around  to  see  what  the  hell  it  was  she  ran  into.  I  said  to  myself,  “Ahh,  you  can’t  do  that  darling” and sent  the  arrow  on  its  way.  There  is  no  tracking  story  to  tell  as  the  bear  ended  up  rolling  back  down  ravine  and  into  the  wallow.  I  gave  the  bear  some  time  and  called  Matt  back.  He  couldn’t  believe  it  when  I  told  him  I  had  just  killed  a  nice  bear.  Actually,  I  think  I  was  saying  something  like,  “Bear  Down!  Bear Down!”  I  don’t  really  remember  because  I  was  still  in  a  bit  shock  over  the  whole  situation.  I  think  Matt  was  as  stoked  as  I  was,  and  he  was  nice  enough  to  drop  what  he  was  doing  and  come  up  and  help  me  get  the  bear  out  of  the  mountains.  

     After  careful  reflection  on  the  encounter,  following  the  years  of  toil  and  continuous  failures,  I  could  come  up  with  only  one  conclusion;  “Sometimes  hard  work  and  dedication  don’t  mean  a  damn  thing.  Sometimes,  it’s  just  dumb  luck  that  puts  you  in  the  right  place  at  the  right  time.”

Dave's bear (Matthew Arkins Photography) 

Special thanks to Matt Arkins (http://matthewarkinsphotography.viewbook.com/) for taking this awesome photo.

See more of Matt's (Camera man) and Dave's (Co-Producer) work

with the short film they helped make 'Into High Country.'

http://vimeo.com/filmhuntsltd/intohighcountry