I’ve become pretty proficient over the years at blowing stalks in all the normal ways. But last Friday, I discovered a whole new way to screw up a stalk. While bowhunting antelope in northcentral Montana, I was sneaking in on a nice buck. I was hustling through a strip of uncut wheat trying to get in front of him before he moved through a slight dip in the prairie. All of a sudden I found myself a bit higher than I’d been a second ago and as I slid/tripped back down onto the ground, I realized I had just stepped directly on and over a big porcupine. He managed to whack me twice and got plenty of quills in both of my boots and one pant leg. I was extremely lucky that he only got a couple quills barely into the skin on my leg that easily pulled out. I was so stunned through all of this that I completely lost track of the buck and the porcupine ambled away unscathed and pleased with himself after derailing my hunt.
A couple things I learned through this experience:
1. Sometimes it is good NOT to be belly-crawling.
2. Danner Pronghorn boots and Kryptek camo pants are surprisingly effective against porcupine quills.
3. Bear Spray companies should come out with a line of Porcupine Spray products.
4. I apparently have excellent skills at stalking porcupines.
What are some “unusual” ways you guys have messed up stalks?
A couple things I learned through this experience:
1. Sometimes it is good NOT to be belly-crawling.
2. Danner Pronghorn boots and Kryptek camo pants are surprisingly effective against porcupine quills.
3. Bear Spray companies should come out with a line of Porcupine Spray products.
4. I apparently have excellent skills at stalking porcupines.
What are some “unusual” ways you guys have messed up stalks?
