Russ,
The tell me the horses killed as many as the Yankees during the War of Norther Aggression.

FarRight,
We are scheduled into Bozeman on the 14th of December. We gonna' have snow? Gosh, we love Montana. This will be our fourth trip (I tore my ACL up out there in 1999) and tried in again in 2000, but haven't been there since. My brother and his family have been out every year since 96. We couldn't stand it, so we will all be there this year, but I won't be doing any skiing. (I am about to have to have surgery on the other knee.) Big Sky and Montana is just wonderful. Ku-dude

Move over Patrick McManus ! Great story Russ !

Sometimes you get your trophies, sometimes you don't. If you enjoy the trip regardless, you're hunting for the right reasons.

Way to keep your chin up.

Russell,

I sympathize -- seems like the real excitement is always the first day.

The last 2 years I've hunted deer in northernmost Maine -- the first day last year, I got lost in the woods, the first day this year we threw a tire chain and I walked a mile and a half after dark looking for it on logging roads.

As for horses -- a friend who grew up on a ranch in NM says, "I've had horses do everything except try to f*** me ... oh, wait, one tried to do that once, too." He was riding a mare when a horny stallion tried to jump her and was almost crushed ...

John

John Frazer,
I'd like to hear more of your recent hunts in Northern Maine. It's been a while and I'm missing it.

Great story Russ!

Here are a few observations from someone who grew up around horses and lived in and hunted Montana for six years (and Nebraska for ten):

1) With horses, it's not a matter of if you'll get hurt, it's a matter of when and how bad.

2) You will ALWAYS be too early or too late for the migration.

3) The scenery in Montana is unmatched anywhere else in the world.

4) You CAN hunt the elk rut in Montana - backcountry rifle season opens the first week of Sep.

5) There is NOTHING like having a rutting bull elk screaming at you from 15 feet away in the dark!

6) Go to the Missouri River Breaks or the Badlands in the SE for BIG bucks, both whitetail and mulies.

7) Truly BIG mulies are as smart and sneaky as any whitetail.