From: brianh@tvnews.tv.tek.com (Brian Heifner)
Newsgroups: rec.hunting
Subject: Hunting Story
Date: 26 Aug 92 14:25:47 GMT
Organization: Tektronix TV Measurement Systems, Beaverton, OR
Originator: hunting@osnome.che.wisc.edu


Hello All.

Up until now I have been remaing calm. Making my lists, checking them
twice.  But that last story about hunting adventures in the orchard
has really set me off.

How dare that person (whom I can't remember his name) post such a
disgusting horrid story.  ;-) Sounds like he took more shots at game
in one evening than I have in three years. Me thinks me must be doing
something wrong.

Anyway I thought I would tell a story that seems funny to me, I just
hope it doesn't get lost in the telling.

Opening morning of last year my hunting partner and I were carrying
both elk and deer tags. Our dreams were filled with pope and young elk
the prior evening. We were hunting down an old logging road and had
almost made it to the end.  The road split off to the left and went a
few hundred yards then ended. We went down this side road and got no
more than fifty yards when we heard an animal(s) breaking brush and
crossing the main road.  We went running back to the main road and
split up. Next thing I know and there is this godawful screech, and
then again and again. I realize it is my buddy trying (miserably) to
sound like an elk with his call. All the while I can hear this animal
running through the woods away from us. After the (ahem) calls the
sound changes course and it sounds like it is coming straight at me.

This animal sounded like a bull elephant coming through the trees. The
louder it got the less brave this wee hunter felt. My little old
arrows didn't look powerfull enough to stop this behomoth coming at me
breaking timber all the way. I started thinking that it must be a bull
elk coming back for a piece of (my) ass. I was frozen for a while and
then decided that it looked as if I was standing in the middle of the
path of this monster. Before I could locate a place to hide I see the
trees shaking directly in front of me. In the few seconds it took, I
was fully expecting an elephant to come out of the forest.  Next thing
I know the trees directly in front of me start to part and out bounds
this little ol' black tailed doe. Not a monster, really only medium in
size. While she was in mid air our eyes locked into each others. She
came down with a thud and stared at me. I was only slightly
bewildered. I couldn't draw back so I waited. Then comes that
horrendus screech from my partner.  The doe whips her head towards him
and I've got my chance. I draw back quickly and let my arrow fly and
it misses her by a football field. She was to have no more of this and
heads back into the forest snorting all the way.

I waited a few minutes and started thinking about explaining this to
my hunting buddy. Turning red I start off to collect my arrow.
Suddenly up bounds the explanation of this whole story. No more than
fifteen yards in front of me were two smaller deer. They had lost
almost all of their spots, but they weren't very big. Right after that
my partner comes running up. For the longest time he would not belive
that it was a little ol' doe and not the king of all the forest.

I figure that that terrible excuse of an elk call sounded to that doe
like one of her kids was being torn limb from limb. I believe all the
noise she made was to frighten off the attackers. Well it pretty much
worked for her :-)

Brian Heifner.