My Scariest Bow Hunt!
If I had to pick on moment in time that I was the most scared and alive at the same time it would have to be this moment. It was back in 1979 and I was on delayed enlistment with the U.S. Air Force. After graduating high school I had enlisted but want one last hunting season before entering the Air Force so I went delayed until 4 January 1980. I worked hard all summer and saved money so that I could hunt all of October through December.
I had gotten up early to make the trek to where we hunted on the Massanutten Mountain in Virginia for an early October bow hunt. For those of you that might have read my book you will know the spot I am talking about. It is the area where the main character builds his cabin and also does his hunting. I had just turned 19 and as with most teenagers was in great shape, and ten foot tall and bullet proof. That ten foot tall and bullet proof would all change later this day.
The morning hunt had been very uneventful, though I had seen deer; I had been unable to put on a good stalk on any of them. I was pretty good at stalking back in those days, and rarely hunted a stand. As the morning was ending I decided to head home and get a bite to eat and return in the early afternoon for another hunt and scouting trip. Once I had gotten something to eat I packed a backpack and headed back to the mountain. I didn’t have a 4x4 so I couldn’t drive the old fire road up to where we normally started to hunt. This place was the better part of 2 miles from the main road, but heck I was young and in good shape in those days and didn’t even break a sweat.
Once I was up above the huge bramble briar thicket, I moved over to the small spring at the base of the first main rise of the mountain. At the spring I filled my canteen for the upward trek ahead. My goal for the afternoon was to go to the top of the mountain and cross over to the divide that joined 1st and 2nd mountains. This divide is a very large flat area between the tops of the two mountains and at times held large numbers of deer. Few people ever hunted this area because of the effort it would take to get a deer out after a kill. Again I was 19 and figured I was tough enough to get a deer out of there if I was lucky to make a kill.
Up the mountain I headed, with my backpack and bow. The bow I was using in those days was a Bear 76er take down recurve that was 50lb draw at 28 inches. I was really good with a bow as I practiced all the time. I shot instinctive without sights just as I do today with my longbow. I only wish I could shoot as well as I did back in my teens. The arrows I used were your standard Bear Cedar arrows that you bought with broadheads already attached. The were not cut or custom to me in the least bit, but with them and that bow I could hit a rabbit up to 30 yards without blinking. To this day I don’t know what happened to that ole bow after I joined the Air Force.
As most of you know you can’t go straight up a mountain, so I started moving along ridges, picking my spots for the easiest travel I could find. About half way up to the top I ran across a very well worn trail that had many tracks and decided to follow it for a while as it was heading up the mountain. Game know the easiest way from point A to point B so I though why not, and if I was quite I might even get a shot at a deer.
As I moved along the trail, it came to a place where the mountain laurels were very thick. These laurels were about 4 to 6 feet tall and looked to be complete impenetrable, but the trail lead into them. By bending down and walking along in a crouch, I continued to follow the trail. The trail continues on through the laurels for what seemed to be forever, and just as I was thinking of turning around I saw the opening just up ahead.
As I exit from the laurels and straighten up, I see a small flattish clearing that is totally surrounded by laurels, but more importantly the other thing I see in this clearing was a very large and sleeping black bear. The bear was lying on the other side of the clearing in a spot that was being warmed by the sun. It was just lying there and was not moving, other than the big breathes it was taking. As I was moving through the laurels I was not able to have an arrow nocked, so at that moment I felt that was my first priority. This however was a mistake, what I should of done was let sleeping bears lie and backed outer of there, but no I was ten foot tall and bullet proof.
I pull and arrow from my quiver, but I was watching the bear more than what I was doing with my arrow nocking. Some of you might remember the old Bear 76ers had a metal riser that the two fiberglass limbs inserted into. Well you also might guess what I did while not paying enough attention to nocking my arrow. If your answer was hit the metal riser with the metal broadhead then you are right. At that moment in time, things started to move in slow motion for me, on the other hand the bear moved with lightening speed. The big boar was up and staring at me in a flash and within another flash was standing on his hind legs. He was huge and by far the biggest bear I had ever seen much less been up close and personal with.
As he was only about twenty yards from me, I knew I could plant an arrow in his chest as he stood there, but I was unsure if the arrow would break his breast bone. So half way through my draw I went from ten foot tall and bullet proof to scared rabbit in beat of my heart. I basically dropped the arrow that was nocked, turned on my heals and was quickly running. No I didn’t crouch down to run back down the trail, I ran down through those laurels upright and as fast as my legs would carry me.
I could hear that the big bear was following me as he was growling and tearing up the laurels as he followed. It still seemed as if I was moving in slow motion, but the bear was at full speed, and I knew he was catching me. Finally I broke from the laurels and turned quickly to the right and ran straight down the ridge. At that point I just ran and really don’t remember if I could still hear the bear behind me or not. I expected him to grab me with one of his big claws at any moment, but all I could do was to keep running and run I did, as I ran all the way out to where my car was parked. I almost just kept running when I got to the car, heck it was only another mile down to the house.
I did stop and get my car. Once in the car I just sat there for a while and caught my breath. At the time I don’t think it occurred to me just how scared I actually was, all I knew was that I was safe and very winded. Needless to say I never return to that little clearing to get the arrow I dropped and the truth be known of the many times I have returned to hunt that mountain, I have never even come within a hundred yards of that laurel thicket.
Last edited by bountyhunter; 09-25-2007 at 09:14 AM..
|
Linear Mode
