king' s outdoor world - Index

king' s outdoor world - Hunting Illustrated April/May 2008 - Index

64
HUNT
LIKE A
YES, I DO
I
have bowhunted in New Mexico
for fi fteen years and, like so many
hunters, I live for the elk hunt
every year. The 2007 season looked
promising for harvesting a nice bull
thanks to the record amounts of
moisture the state had received over
the previous winter and spring. As
the draw date approached, I prayed
fervently for success.
June 15th fi nally arrived
and, like a child on Christmas
morning, I sprang out of bed and
went directly to the computer to
discover what gifts we had received.
All of my fellow hunters must have
been just as anxious because I was
unable to access the draw results
on the New Mexico Department of
Game and Fish website until late
that evening. It was worth the wait
though. My husband and I, along
with our elkaholic hunting buddies,
had pulled the coveted Quality/High
HUNTING ILLUSTRATED.com
Girl
Demand bowhunt from September 19th
to the 24th in our favorite unit.
In our group’s repository of
good hunting spots, we had a waterhole
that was everyone’s favorite to hunt in the
evenings and, with half a dozen hunters,
each one of us had just one opportunity
to sit in that tree stand. Mine turn fell on
day two. On that afternoon, my spirits
were high as I made the twenty-minute
drive to a location that, through the years,
has become an old friend and memorymaker,
but I had never bagged an elk out
of it. The weather couldn’t have been
better; it was hot, dry and calm. I was
feeling lucky as the magic hour neared,
at twilight when the elk materialize out
of the woods, but in spite of the good
conditions and earnest prayers, nothing
happened.
Darkness settled in and I sat
there bummed that my best chance at a big
elk was gone. I lumbered to the ground
and immediately saw a camo-clad fi gure
BY DEBRA JAMESON
hastily exit the woods from behind the
tree stand, where the elk should have
been. I stood quietly at the base of the
tree watching the unknown hunter for
several minutes. None of my guys
would have been in the area - we
respected each other’s space. Even on
the outside chance that this dude was
from my camp, he would have come
over and accompanied me back to my
vehicle.
Slowly, I began the trek to
the alligator juniper where my Ranger
was parked. I began to worry when
I realized that he was on the same
heading. What made it worse was
that I never heard another vehicle
drive up. Pausing at a respectable
distance, I contemplated the situation
as the beam from his fl ashlight
searched for who-knows-what around
my vehicle. It was dark and all I had
to defend myself with was a bow and
some arrows. As a woman, I had to