Well, turkey season is done. I ended up with three more notches in the box call and counted coup on four more gobblers––everything except dropping the hammer. That’s part and parcel to hunting for television, though. If I suspect the camera might not be seeing what I’m seeing, I have to let ‘em walk or risk wasting everyone’s time and money.
When Bill is on a TV hunt, he has to make sure the camera can see what he sees before he shoots. Would you be willing to pass up the biggest bear of your life because the cameraman needs more footage?
Despite the travel, eating away from home and the messed up sleep, the good news is I weighed in this morning to find I’m exactly where I was before turkey season – 208 pounds. The bad news is, I’m still at 208 pounds.
That’s been a plateau for a while now and I’ve got to find some new ways to move the needle. Exercise is the same, so it will probably have to come on the diet side of things.
The gun we built at TC arrived in Minnesota, and I’ve turned the keys temporarily over to a good friend who is retired from a 30-plus year career at Federal. Mike shoots at least a couple times per week and is a meticulous record keeper. He has the time to really wring the ICON out for me with a broad range of Federal Ammo, though he told me up front it will be tough to beat the .40 and .33 groups the gun shot at the factory. The first extended range session will happen today, and I can’t wait for Mike’s call tonight.
Be that as it may, I’ve got to get focused on NAH’s next taping trip. We’re headed back to Gesti-Faune at Manor Brule in Quebec to help thin the black bear population in an adjacent provincial reserve. This area has the only known, native Woodland Caribou herd outside of New Foundland and the bears are hard on them especially during calving season. As a result this is the only area in Quebec with a 2-bear limit.
Despite being less than two hour’s drive from Quebec City, this is a remote lodge that’s primarily a fishing destination. It is in some big hills that are darn near mountains, so I’ll be taking my pack and hiking (running?) every morning to offset all those hours of inactivity sitting on stand and the gourmet dinners at midnight back at the lodge. If we can also drive down the mountain to an Internet connection one day, I’ll try to update the MDS blog, too.
Shoot straight –
Bill Miller
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