cold/wet weather days

I've had some really good experiences while hunting in cold/wet weather (mostly rainy, i must admit...I'm not one much to go out in the snow.)

we've been experiencing some rainy/wet/cold/snow as of late and it kinda triggered some thoughts and memories good to recall when sitting around the fireplace with a touch of 'snake bite' (southern comfort)

my wife asked me why i like to go in the rain. "well hon...i feel i have an extra advantage over the critters at that time as they're normally "hunkered down" and what i have to do is locate the area i think they'll be in and cover every inch with binos or good ole 'eye-ball'. the rain washes away smell, fast, it usually makes noise enough to cover any mistakes i make while stalking. it sometimes makes them make mistakes they would not normally make, too."

whether with bow, air gun or firearm it is an enlightening experience.

i recall a bowhunt in Arizona with a friend once a while back that was somewhat reminiscence of experiences overseas in monsoon rains. the biggest difference was that we were carrying bows instead of rifles.

we had walked out of camp at daybreak looking for the "ghost of the desert"; the javelina. we had spent all day stalking and glassing, glassing and stalking, but to no avail...no animals on our meat pole at the camp.

oh, sure, we had seen some and managed to get within a reasonable rifle shots distance, but made serious errors that spooked the elusive little buggers. with a bow, you gotta get within that 'magical' distance to stick 'em with an aero.

after a not-so-successful day we started our trudge back to camp. it began to rain lightly at first and then like turning on your lawn watering system, IT BEGAN TO POUR.

my friend had been a LRRP with the 196 light inf in VN and i had spent a lot of time in that part of the world, too...we just pulled our ponchos on and kept on walking to arrive back at camp just in time to light the lanterns to see with.

while neither of us had scored, it was nevertheless, a good hunt and added to memorable experiences of my life.

we had to cross a number of streams that were rising as a result of the rains and actually had to walk quite a ways in a stream to get to suitable place to get across and it was astonishing to see how much "stuff" was in the stream bed. i was actually enjoying walking along, looking and wondering, what would turn up next. among other things, i found a skull of a javelina that was already for mounting and toted it back to camp with me. there were old shards of colored glass, pieces of whiskey bottles, pieces of ceramic porcelain, old tin cans with soldered seams...keeping in mind we were many, many, miles from the nearest town, San Manuel.

(all are indicative of prior to the turn of the 20th century activity i also collect old bottles and have knowledge of bottle/glass making processes and how to date them.)

the part of Arizona, the San Pedro river valley, north of Benson and Wilcox, we were in at that time was once the haunt of the likes of Geronimo, Cochise and other notable Apache Indians and it was not uncommon for us to believe we were walking in the footsteps of one of the likes them or of a "yellow-leg" Calvary troop in search of the ever elusive Geronimo. it also happens to be the route of the Spanish conquistadors when they came thru there in the 16th century. sitting around the campfire at nite, one could almost hear the sound of Spanish armor and arms of the conquistadors winding their way thru the valley on their horses or see the warriors of a long gone war party hunkering down around a fire keeping warm

one of my friends found the remnants of an old, leather, dispatch bag with "US CAVALRY" embossed in it on a previous hunting trip there and i found an old, 45-70 brass shell casing. those things set our imaginations on fire with speculation and wonder about what had happen to cause those things to be there where we found them.

on another occasion, i found a really strange object that still defies my imagination on what it is and how it got there.

i had stopped, in the "middle of no where" and removed my canteen for a drink of water and was in the process of replacing it and was looking at the surrounding ground and a small object caught my eye. it was brightly colored and "out of place". i picked up an looked closer. it was shaped like a Hershey chocolate kiss. perfectly formed and shaped...a perfect stone, cone...obviously, man-made...interesting. i dropped it into my pocket and i still have it to this day.

my long time friend and fellow hunter has suggested it was a 'spike' that the native Americans frequently lashed onto war clubs to penetrate the skull of their enemies. of that I'm not sure...but it would certainly fit the role. how did it get there? who made it? where was it made? how old is it? was it indeed a "spike" for a war club? I'll probably never know.

one thing is certain, it is a "conversation starter"

these are but a few things that have occurred with me during wet/rainy days while out seeking adventure. it's been quite a while since I've trod the soil of the places i haunted for many years in search of the javelina and of a taste of lost history and what it could tell me, but it's still not far away in my minds eye.

i still plan on a return trip in the not to distant future to hunt once again, but this time i will probably use a firearm; probably a .44 cal single shot rifle or lever action 38/357 carbine. i think my chances to harvest an animal will be better.

while bow hunting has been a passion with me for quite a while, i still like, use, and keep up with firearms and have had for even more years than the bow.

like the saying goes..."i ain't getting older, I'm getting better"...