My year started out with Camping with the family and taking the kids on some fishing excursions. I have to admit that summer is definitely not my favorite season. I have never been a fan of the heat, and am definitely not fond of all the mosquitoes, wasps and a billion other flying and biting insects. The first big freeze here in N.E. Montana is like heaven for me, as it kills off 99.9% of the insects and signals a season change.
As that season changes from summer to fall it also signals that upland Game bird season is about to begin. I spend the summer months traveling around. Seeing the Doves, Sharp Tail Grouse and Pheasants get me to day dreaming of my shotgun becoming warm to the touch from all of the shooting I will be doing as soon as Dove season opens. We have to hunt Doves hard here first, because they will leave the area and migrate south as soon as the weather becomes too cold for them. That seems like after the second hard freeze. Once the Doves have left the area I can then turn my attention to the other fine species we have here to hunt.
In mid October I have to take a break from hunting to switch to hunting Rattlesnakes as they are beginning to den up for the winter. This fall I had an especially great Rattlesnake hunt with some very good friends. Its funny, but I will cherish that hunt for a very long time. We saw so many different kinds of snakes on that trip. We all definitely had a great time, and got some remarkable trophies for the wall.
This also is the year that I hunted a lot more with my son Jack. We hunted Upland Game birds together early in the fall, we then hunted deer together during the big game season. I had bought him a single shot .22 for him for his birthday. He had that along on most trips, and is becoming quite proficient with the open sights. I also bought a ground blind that we set up in the corner of a friend’s field. We saw a lot of deer out of that blind, and put some very good meat in the freezer in the process. I hunted Mule Deer with a good friend, had an awesome hunt and harvested a nice Mule deer buck that day. It turned out I was a little bummed that Jack wasn’t with me that day, as I think he would have really learned a lot from the experiences that day. We had intended to be out all day, covering a lot of ground, and in the past it has been too much for his 9 year old wiggly little self to take. As it turned out we saw this buck not very far out of town, and were back within a descent time.
It starts to be a slow time for me after Big Game season winds down. But, as I said, I have some great friends that won’t let me slow down too much. This is now the time that we start ice fishing and hunting Rabbits. I will be in search of some great little fishing holes, that I can also take my family to this summer as well for some camping and drowning of worms. Jack and I will most definitely get out and take after some Rabbits here in the near future as well. I hope that I will let myself relax enough for the Super Bowl though, as I also have a friend that throws the best Super Bowl party in Valley County.
I will update as this long, long (but insect free) winter progresses.
