It’s that time of the year again.  Yes, the heat of the summer is fading and soon the trees will be changing their color. Fall is around the corner and that means one other season is upon us:  hunting season!

In fact, bow season for elk and deer has already begun.  For the last few years, I have been bow hunting deer and just scouting for elk. I like to save my elk tag for rifle season. However, I have called in quite a few elk the last couple of years during bow season just to observe them.  Last year, in particular, I had several 6 pt bulls within range, but I wasn’t going to shoot them because I am not a poacher.  It’s just not right, and it is definitely not worth it.

So this year I decided to get a bow tag.  The season is much longer than rifle season,and the elk are in rut, which means they are breeding.  It is during this time that they will come into your calls. 

Here’s the catch 22 with elk hunting.  You can get a bow tag when the elk are less nervous and come into your calls, but you have to use a bow, which is obviously much harder to kill with than a rifle is. You need the animal to stand still just 20-30 yards away. Or you can wait until rifle season when you can kill an elk hundreds of yards away from you. The draw back, however, is that the elk have heard many shots by then and they are much harder to find, and they have stopped talking and coming into calls. So which one do you choose?

For the next few years I am choosing a bow tag to see what happens.  I do know this for certain:  no matter if I fill my tag or not, I will have an awesome time hunting. That’s the thing non-hunters do not understand.  They think if we don’t fill our tag, it’s been a bad year.  That is simply not true for most hunters.  We love the thrill of the hunt, the amazing sunrises and sunsets we see, the wildlife we encounter, and the peace of mind that being in Mother Nature brings you.

I’ll be blogging from time to time throughout the season,and adding pictures when our new blog site will handle them.  And I will be day dreaming of the day and retire and I can hunt every single day instead of Friday night through Sunday night.  It’s my favorite thing to do if I am not on a golf course.  You see,while my wife kicks my butt golfing, hunting is a different story.  It’s the only place where my handicap is lower than Penny’s!