The September Slump
The Freezer is Empty
It has been one hard month of hunting the elusive wapiti in the mountains of Southwest Montana. The worst part is, I have nothing to show for it and my freezer is bone dry.
Opening weekend, I thought for sure we would get a bull elk down on the ground. The first evening walking around the mountains, we came across a few bulls and a cow grazing in a meadow. Unfortunately, it took us an hour to get to them and were running out of daylight. We put a quick stalk on them and made it to 100 yards but the wind changed and they were never to be seen again. The next morning we were slipping through the woods on a ridge line and bumped a nice bull. We never had a chance; so the rest of the afternoon was a great time to catch up on some sleep.
It turned into a grouse hunt
The next week, my buddies and I had the whole week to hunt, and from everything I read and was told, the elk rut would be in full swing. I ran out of breath bugling to the mountains with no response. We tried 3 different areas and hiked over 60 miles with the same outcome. The most exciting part of the trip was chasing around a grouse for the better part of a day, and as it turns out, the grouse was even able to outsmart us. The worst part about it all is seeing giant bulls in the bed of trucks coming home on the interstate. It’s almost like their rubbing my face in it.
So, if this past month of hunting has shown me anything, it’s that I sure am getting good at taking my bow for a walk…
RECOMMENDED RENTAL GEAR FOR THIS ADVENTURE
