Stories

Mike Massey crouched in the low brush of the Yukon Territories, over 3,000 miles from his home in Florida, and panic began to set in. The bull and cow caribou rested in a bed of yellow and orange shrubs only 30 yards in front of him when he felt the wind move from his face to the back of his neck. It was only a matter of time before they winded him.

Montanans wearing designer camouflage jackets, sweatshirts, blue jeans, boots and hats with antler embroidery milled around, talking and laughing. Rainier, Miller Lite and Coors cans cracked open, emptied and were tossed into truck beds, as a tattered American flag, zip tied to a wooden stake, waved in the back of a grey Silverado.

After my first archery antelope success last year, fellow onX Hunt pro staffer, Amanda Caldwell and I immediately began planning for round two in Montana this year. As the hunt was approaching, we’d chat about locations, gear, and of course who was going to take the first shot opportunity.

The bull was over 500 yards away, trailing a small herd of cows. Too far for my rifle. I swapped rifles with Dylan, knowing his 7mm would get the job done. I pulled the bipod legs out and laid prone in the dirt.

I’ve always been a bear hunting fanatic…and it’s always been a dream of mine to hunt those big beautiful bears in Alaska. I was offered a cancellation hunt through an outfitter, after a client backed out, and had very little time to plan such a massive hunt.

It’s three o’clock outside an elementary school in Missoula, Montana. An armada of trucks, cars, SUVs and vans wait for the bell to signify an oncoming horde of children, free from the confines of their classrooms. Nine-year-old Briger Peterson is among the masses being shuffled off from school to some kind of after-school activity.