With the talk recently about people being shot at and being mistook for game, I thought of this.

Several years ago, when I was guiding hunts in Northrn B.C., I shared a camp with this crazy ass guide. We stayed in a cabin owned by the Outfitter in good elk country. It was located in a small meadow. a well used game trail and horse trail ran past by the cabin in the timber about 100 or so away.
Resident hunters would sometimes use the trail. If they rode past the cabin we could not see them for the timber but you could slightly see the cabin on the meadow's edge from the trail. The resident hunters trying to be funny, had a bad habit of blowing an elk bugle as they quietly rode by.(We could not see them in the timber) I quess they got a good laugh because one of our guys bugled back thinking it was a real bull and of coarse we got all quiet at the cabin. Then we realized that we had been had. Days later, the jokers do the elk bugle trick again as they passed by. This crazy ass guide I was with, grabs his rifle and yells, "I think I see him!" and fires a shot in the air in a safe direction.(pretending he has seen the elk that made the bugle.) Well, the jokers in the timber started scream'n and yell'n.

We all had a pretty hard laugh. I laughed for a long time and I still chuckle when I think about it. I am damn glad that they didn't shoot, thinking self defence.

Really, it was a bad joke on our part.

I don't think that was in bad taste at all! Bet they don't do that anymore! LOL!

I am sure some people would think that was dangerous, or find some other reason to be critical, but I think that was damn funny. I guess the risk would be that the original bugler might start shooting back, but I think 999/1000 guys would get the point.

Really, too many people mess around actually trying to bugle other hunters in. Good way to get yourself shot if you ask me.

Thanks for the story, Daryl. Wish I'd been there!

Canuck