Hunting

By Alan Barthelmess           

            The leaves are changing color the air is becoming brisk; this can only mean winter is right around the corner. With winter coming that also means one of a true outdoorsmen’s favorite recreational activities is nearing, hunting that is.

Sure skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, ice fishing, sledding, ice skating, building snowmen, snowball fights, all come with winter too but who wants to partake in any of that when you can feel the thrill of the hunt! There is no other feeling like it, letting your predator instincts take over as you stalk your prey waiting for the right moment to strike.

            For right now bow season started a little while ago and rifle season is just around the corner. Antelope are in season very soon and many students will be headed out this weekend with only the intent to stock their freezers high with antelope meat. My personal favorite game to hunt is white tail deer. I developed a taste for it when I was young and loved it ever since. In recent years I’ve tried a few different ways to hunt, one of which was a very fun memorable experience I highly encourage everyone to try if you have not. Instead of a hike through rough mountain terrain try block hunting on farm/ranch land. You must go to each farm/ranch you wish to hunt on sign up and review the rules and regulations. Out by Fort Benton is endless fields of grain and the farmers highly encourage hunters to help rid them of the outrageous doe population that’s been eating away at their crop. The experience of hunting in those fields will bring you back for more with the first chance you get. With so little to hide yourself it brings a whole new challenge to sneaking up on your deer. Stealthily moving from gully to gully by crawling on your stomach for a few hundred yards, having your rifle at the ready at all times. It is all more than worth it when you find your crosshairs sitting over a trophy buck.