Nikon Hunting the Canyons

[Red Rabbit]

8 gigs of fresh ammo were put in the Nikon and I strapped on the pack to "hunt" a couple of canyons on the reservations north of Flagstaff this past weekend. The Nikon had a new 16-35 scope recently mounted, so this would be a good field test under low light conditions of dawn and dusk. Preliminary Internet scouting and looking at TPE and topo maps revealed that the sun was going to be at an optimum angle this past weekend for shooting. Hopefully the canyon critters would be out and about.

 

Early the first evening, a couple of hoodoos stuck their necks up, but they turned out to be skinheaded does.

 

As dusk came, I was at a point that afforded a wide view of the canyon and a good game trail below. Alas, nary even a bovine was seen stirring. Took a few practice shots at some distant rocks to check the Nikon's accuracy and called the evening's hunt over. THe new scope decent light gathereing ability and appears sharper than the cheaper "kit" scope that came with the D90.

 

With little game spotted, I packed up and moved camp to another canyon close by. As the crow flies it is close, but required almost an hour of washboarded road. Morning broke and when I crawled from the comfort of the mummy bag, these peppermint creatures were seen standing just outside of camp. Wonder how they snuck in so quietly without even alerting my hunting dog Rica.

 

I explored some nooks and crannies, seeing some deer tracks in the soft sand, but not the living cervids that made them. I ran into a couple of other hunters armed with Canons. They had done some hunting under the stars and were quite successful as I saw when they showed me there captures.

 

Perhaps the horses of these Black Knights spooked the canyon critters away away.

 

After many practice shots at rocks and half my ammo gone, I holstered the Nikon and headed home. Even though no tag was wrapped around an antler, it was a successful "hunt", as is any time spent in the outdoors.

 

Doug~RR

[Browning'sCustomMeat]

Absolutely Beautiful Doug. Love the tale as well. Thanks for sharing!

[AZBob]

Wow, that first shot looks 3-D even without the funny glasses! Stunning!

[azmetalman]

Doug thanks for sharing the trip, story and photos.

Nicely done.

[tjhunt2]

Thanks for taking us on your hunt. Awesome as always.

 

TJ

[AZLance]

more calendar material,,, Awesome shooting.