Note: To get to the good stuff in this story, you have to go through a little bit of fluff, as with most of my stories. Trust me, it's well worth it. More coming soon!
Open Season
Another beautiful mountain day in Montana.
I had decided to come up again for deer season. I had spent enough money getting my out of state license for elk season, I figured I should make use of it. So I bought some deer tags, and drove up from San Diego, where I'm stationed, in my Chevy Colorado, to my cousin's place in Billings, MT.
My girlfriend, Lindsay, again was again accompanying me on this trip. But this time she wasn't just gonna sit around while I was out in the weeds. I got her a rifle for Christmas the previous year, a Ruger M77 Mark II bolt-action, in .25-06Rem caliber, with a Bushnell Banner 3-9x40 scope. I had been teaching her how to shoot, and she was getting pretty good. So I went half on her out of state license and tags. So we decided to go with my cousin and his buddy Mike out into the weeds and shoot us some deer.
Before I get too far into this, I guess I should give some background. I'm in the Navy, an Intelligence Specialist 2nd Class, and I'm stationed in San Diego, California. I'm 5'11", and weigh 180lbs. I'd put on some more muscle since the last hunting trip. I have brown hair with a natural blond highlight, and grey eyes. I have 3 tattoos, one of my family crest on my left shoulder, my Navy tattoo on my right shoulder, and a soldier's cross on the back of my right calf. And the Southern California sun had been very kind to my skin, as I was so tan that I looked Sicilian. Lindsay is about 5'6" and weighs 125lbs. She has dyed strawberry blond hair (naturally blond), and ice blue eyes, 34C, a 24 inch waist, and 34 inch hips. She has 3 tattoos as well, one on her ankle, lower back, and one between her shoulder blades. She was also blessed by the sun, since every time I went to the beach, she came with me.
We left on Thursday morning, and between the two of us, we made the drive from San Diego in a day. (It was 5 a.m. when we left, and we arrived in Billings late that night).
We stayed in the same hotel as we did on the last hunting trip, and actually, come to think of it, it was the same room, too. Funny coincidence, I dunno if Lindsay noticed.
Friday morning we got up at the ass crack of dawn, and put on our gear. We grabbed our rifle cases and a box of ammo a piece and went out to the truck. As we loaded the cases into the back of the truck, I noticed the look on her face.
"What?" I asked.
"Nothin'. Isn't it funny that we're in the same room as last time?" she asked with a sly grin.
"I didn't think you noticed. But yeah, it is. We'll see how it goes, maybe it'll be just as good as it was the last time."
"Maybe.." she grinned at me again as she bit her bottom lip. I could tell she was thinking about our wild nights from our last trip.
I tried to get her mind off of it, or neither one of us would be able to concentrate on hunting, much less the actual action of shooting something.
"You looking forward to going out? You've been talking about it since I got you your rifle." I asked, really trying not to think back on the events myself.
"Yeah, I am. I wish we could be in the same place, but you're not too far away."
"No, and Frank is gonna be near where you are. He's already got our blinds set up. I'm in the same one I was in during elk season. You'll be about a mile away from me. And the truck will be about halfway between us." I said with a grunt as I loaded the case containing my rifle, a Weatherby Vanguard bolt action .308Win with the same scope as hers. I closed the tailgate, and put the cover down.
I handed her a walkie-talkie and we got in the truck and drove to Frank's house to meet up with him and Mike. We got there a little earlier than we were supposed to, and Frank wasn't ready yet, so we went and had breakfast at the little pancake house down the street. It was good food, and it was cheap, so I left a good tip.
After breakfast we went back to Frank's house, and Mike had arrived while we were gone, his 1993 Chevy Suburban was parked out front, and when I walked inside to get them, I found myself looking down the barrel of a rifle.
"Oh, sorry 'bout that," Mike said as he lowered the rifle. It was a nice one too.
"New rifle there, Mike?" I asked, admiring the fine piece of hardware he had in his hands.
"No, not really," he said as he handed it to me.
It really was a nice piece of equipment. A Steyr SBS in .280Rem with a Leupold VX-III 3.5-10x50 scope. It was just about giving me a hard-on holding it.
"That's a hell of a nice rifle, where'd you get it?" I asked him.
"I don't remember. But it shoots like a honey."
Frank came up from his basement with his Remington 700 .30-06, and greeted me.
"How's it goin', bud? Ready to go kill something?" he asked. A rhetorical question.
"Yep, me and Lindsay both." I replied.
"Alright then, let's go," he said as he put his rifle in a soft case.
Mike, Frank, and I walked out of the house, I didn't bother locking the door, since my cousin Jodie was still at the house. (Frank isn't actually my cousin, he's married to my cousin, Jodie, so for convenience, he's my cousin.)
Frank and Mike got into Frank's Ford F-350 diesel, and I got back into my Chevy, where Lindsay was leaning against the window, and looked asleep.
"You asleep, honey?" I asked, not expecting an answer.
"Not anymore" She said. Her eyes were still closed as she stretched. It was funny, even in full hunting garb she still was the sexiest thing I had ever laid eyes on. I couldn't tell you how I got so lucky.
I leaned over and kissed her on the cheek as Frank was pulling out of his driveway. I had parked on the street.
I put the truck in gear and we followed him out to his spot. We all got out of our respective vehicles.
"You guys just wanna meet up later? Same place?" I asked.
"Yeah, that sounds good. Mike?"
"Yeah, we can do that." Mike said.
"Alright then. What frequency are you guys on?" I asked as I pulled the walkie-talkie out of my pocket.
"Channel 8." Frank told me.
"Roger that. I'll see y'all later, hopefully we'll all have something to show off." I said.
"Don't give me that shit, Jon, you already have something to show off," Mike said as he looked at Lindsay.
"Yeah, I know. Isn't she a beaut?" I said as I looked at her and smiled.
She gave me a little grin and started back to the truck.
"Alright guys, see you back here later." I started back to my truck.
"See you then." Frank and Mike both said.
I got back in the truck and started to drive to about halfway between mine and Lindsay's blinds, when she reached over and started to stroke my cheek.
"What's a matter babe?" I asked.
"Nothin. Just the way you brag about me... I kinda like it." she said with a grin.
"Good, cause I won't ever stop" I said with a grin of my own.
We drove the rest of the way in silence. Finally we got to the spot, and I stopped the truck and turned it off. We got out and retrieved our rifles from the bed of the truck, and loaded them up. I personally prefer the 5+1 capacity (5 in the magazine, 1 in the chamber), whereas she just takes 5. We both took our boxes of ammo and stuck them in our rucksacks, and off we went. I kissed her one last time before heading out, and we went our separate ways.
I got to my blind and looked around a little bit. I set my rifle in the corner of the blind (it's 3 sided), and took off my rucksack. I started rummaging around in my pack for the Tink's doe in heat urine and the cotton balls I had for bait. I started tying the cotton balls to some strings and then tying the strings to trees around my blind. I think the furthest away I put one was about a hundred yards. I had my scope set for 200 yards, so I would be okay at a hundred, just aim a little low. After I had done that, I got out the antlers I had in my pack and started making noise with them, hoping that a buck would come along.
I then picked up my rifle from the corner and sat down on the 5-gallon bucket with a pad on top that I used as a seat. I put the high-powered firearm across my lap. I learned from elk season that the safety being flicked off of a weapon was enough to spook an animal, so I had the safety off.
I took out the pair of binoculars that I had in my pocket and started looking around. I didn't see anything. So I decided to call Lindsay on the radio.
"Lindsay, Jon"
"Hey, honey, whatcha need?"
"Go to channel 3."
"Okay."
I switched my radio over.
"Lindsay?"
"I'm here."
"Good, cause I wanted to tell you something. I'll make a deal with you. If you get a bigger deer than me, we'll go back to the room tonight, and do whatever you want."
"Oh, is that how it is, huh? Well what if I was gonna say the same thing?"
"Okay then, deal?"
"Deal. I'm going back over to the other frequency."
"Alright."
I switched my radio back over, and went back to playing with the antlers. Hoping to bring a buck closer, since the scent bombs weren't doing much good, even though there was a nice faint breeze blowing.
BANG!! From the direction of Mike and Frank I heard a shot. I couldn't tell who it was, so I got on the horn.
"Mike, that you?"
"Nope, that was Frank," came Mikes response.