Life has been busy and I have finally gotten the chance to sit down and rest, and tell of the hunting trip that a couple friends and I recently took to the national forest. Our trip began back in October on the second weekend of our muzzleloading season. Last year fellow co worker and forum member Turkhunter and I had a very successful hunt and although I had no expectations of repeating that success , the result were near as exciting. This year we had another hunter attend as he had been wanting to hunt traditional, and after seeing the results of last years hunt , had been bitten by the bug. This year we left on Thursday morning after breakfast and started our 2 hour drive down some of Arkansas most beautiful, and winding roads. The fall color was just starting and were having temp high in high 60s. We set up camp that morning and got ready for the evenings hunt.
We went out that evening and we all encountered fresh sign as in scrapes and rubs. Travis chose to hunt just north of camp as it was an area that he had not seen before and he was wanting to familiar him self with this area as he was planning on returning in a few weeks for the rifle season. I was heading down to an area that I had hunted last year and Bob our newest member chose to hunt closer to camp until he got more familiar with the area. We had not been out long when I heard the report of Travis's 50 cal mountain rifle. I waited till dark and returned to camp to find Bob and Travis skinning a nice doe that Travis had killed earlier that evening.
That night a light rain came in and softened the leaves just enough that when we left that morning we could slip through the woods being undetected.
I again went to tha same area that I hunted last year and Bob chose to hunt an old logging road he had seen the previous evening. That morning I jumped a deer but could not tell what it was and also saw more sign and beautiful country. About 10 I started heading back to camp as it was about a mile walk when I heard a shot from Bob's rifle. Bob was using a great plans rifle he had recently acquired and I hoped for the best as he is a good shot but we had had little time to work up a load or get much range time before the hunt. We all arrived back at camp about the same time and Bob informed us that he had made a great shot on a nice 10 point buck and was now needing help in the tiresome drag back to the truck.
. That evening we all ate well in fresh cuts from the tinder loin and potatoes all cooked over the fire.
. After a good meal we all went out for an evening hunt. I saw a spike and watched him for quite some time as he ate on acorns and some small brush before quietly slipping off into the woods. Give him about 3 or 4 years and maybe we will cross paths again. Later that night we all sat around the fire swaping stories and just enjoying the chance to get away from the modern world and all of its concerns. It dropped a few degrees that night and I think we all slep a little better breathing the cool air in our open shelter. Unfortunitally all good things must come to an end and we had to pack up camp and leave mid day saturday morning. I was the only one in our party who did. not make meat on the trip, but the scenery and companionship on the trip was so enjoyable that I left feeling that the trip couldn't have been better. I was gald to see my two friends have such a successful hunt and I had killed a nice buck earlier in the week with my smoothie so meat for me was t a necessity. But that is another story that I'll have to save for another night.
