Just got home from my last blacktail deer hunt of the year.  No meat for my freezer, but plenty of great, fresh air, beautiful California scenery, and plenty of miles on my boots.  And no, “my” bear didn’t make a return appearance. 

I don’t really have a play-by-play of this hunt, but a couple of things stood out that I thought I’d share. 

First, and coolest, was the opportunity to get fairly up close and personal with a mountain lion.  I’d just stopped for a snack, and was sitting under a little fir tree, and he came slinking down the same trail I was following (from the opposite direction).  Just like every other time I’ve seen a lion in the field, the cat was in full view for at least a second before my mind registered what I was seeing.  It was only as he disappeared from view that I thought about the video camera. 

He was coming toward me, but at about 100 yards he dropped into a ravine and didn’t come back out.  I gave him a couple of minutes, then grabbed the video camera out of my pack and took off to see if I could get some footage of him.  I figured he’d gone up the draw toward the oaks and manzanitas.  Hey, that’s where I’d have gone to find a deer.  If I was lucky, I would catch him working the trail in the open ground under the trees. 

When I hit the draw, I saw his tracks coming down and where he turned at the bottom, but I couldn’t see him in the open.  I glassed under the oaks, and decided he must’ve gone up and over the ridge.  I decided to go on up a little ways and if he didn’t show up, I’d go on with my hunt.  Just as I topped the hill, there was an explosion of movement from the manzanitas about 20 yards to my left… sneaky devil.  I couldn’t decide if I should aim the camera or the rifle, but of course the big kitty had no intention of waiting for me to decide as he high-tailed it in the opposite direction.  I swear he rose up and disappeared all on the same breeze.  I didn’t even have time to get the video on him… which is just as well because all I saw was a flash of tawny yellow.

Anyway, that was cool.  I know, a lot of folks are saying we really have too many lions in this state and that they’re wreaking havoc on the deer populations.  But I really wasn’t thinking about that yesterday.  I was only thinking what a cool critter it is, and how awesome they are to watch.

So, second thing of note…

ATVs.  Quads.  Four-wheelers.

They’re just machines.  They’re tools, and used properly and safely they can be really handy… beneficial even.

But lord have mercy!  How many people really think they’re going to spend the full day rumbling around on a quad and somehow sneak up on and shoot a deer?  Saturday was an absolute ATV parade, with machine after machine rolling down the road, riders in full camo and rifles cradled in gun racks.  At times, when the incessant noise wasn’t driving me buggy, it was almost humorous.  From my vantage point, I could watch them “hunting”, poking slowly down the road in broad daylight.  One would pass, then another would come along on the same trail… soon to be followed by yet another one. 

Anyway, if these guys were having fun, then far be it from me to condemn their happiness.  Hunting, as we’ve all said so many times, is about much more than just killing stuff.  Whatever works…  I just wish they would put some decent mufflers on those things. 

Finally, there’s a train of thought that came to me last night as I was sitting, shivering on the darkening hillside.  It’s the last hour of the last day of the hunt.  I’m tired and cold (and a little annoyed at the never-ending rattle of ATVs), and I suddenly found myself sort of hoping that NO big buck would show up.  If I shot him, then I’d have to dress him, break him down, and pack him back to the truck. 

It’s not the first time this has occurred to me.  How about ya’ll? 

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