GG,
You haven't hunted until you use a bow. It is HUNTING! Heart pounding, intimate hunting.
Another bugle rings out. Suddenly you are no longer cold. They're close! Less than one hundred yards. You motion your partner to stay and creep up ten more yards. It's dark in the big pines, and there's frost on the few wisps of grass.
You stop next to a huge pine you couldn't wrap your arms around. Your partner lets out a soft whine behind you and three bulls blast back. Your heart pounds heavily. You know they're coming. Please don't let the wind swirl! A loud crash makes you jump. They've gone. No! They're fighting over who gets to come to your partners calls. Antlers flash in the trees as a tawny battle unfolds. The heavy bull pushes the other down the hill in a cascade of dirt and pine needles. He chases him a short distance then whirls back towards you. Steam explodes upward as he bugles in victory. You draw as he passes behind some brush at fourty yards. He steps into the open, stopping to look for the cows. He's facing you head on. You watch through your peep, wondering if he'll give you the broadside shot you need. An hour or two pass as he looks around.
Slowly he eases down a path to your left. At twenty yards, the big pine blocks him from your view. Inch by enormous inch you lean back and bring your bow around for a down hill shot. Please don't let the wind swirl! A step brings his head and neck into view at ten feet. His bugle almost makes you flinch as it echoes through your chest. Just one step! Steam rises from his back and nostrils and gently drifts toward you. He lifts his left front foot and slides forward a foot. The top pin settles behind the shoulder like a bright golf ball in a sand trap. Your brain is screaming NOW! But still you watch in disbelief.
The fletchings flash bright against his hide as it opens to let them in. You note a tiny spot of blood running down his side as he whirls downhill. The arrow flips out the other side as he crashes down the mountain. Suddenly it's quiet.
Your partner comes down the hill and clasps your hand. Yes! Your hands start to shake as you reach for your water. Slowly you sit down. Best to give him a bit....
You'll come around. Maybe when you learn to ride horses. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif