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Author
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Topic: Once in a Lifetime?
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Lonny
PANTS ON THE GROUND
Member # 19
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posted July 03, 2003 04:16 PM
I'd like to hear about something unusual you have found or seen when hunting or when your out spending time in the great outdoors. Something unique that your not likely to see or find again. One of those rare occurences that made that day memorable.
Here's an example: Last fall while elk hunting I was out on a knife edged ridge that allowed me to glass a bunch of country. A storm was moving in from the west and it looked like snow was in the forcast. A cold wind drove me off the ridge top and down to the base of some rocky bluffs just off the top of the ridge. The rocks blocked the wind very well and I still had a commanding view of the country I wanted to glass. I kicked away some rocks and other debris to make myself a more comfortable place to sit. As I was sitting there I wondered if I could be the first human to ever sit in that exact spot. Low and behold when I looked where I had scraped the rocks and dirt aside I noticed a obsidian arrowhead. I picked it up and the tip was broken off but otherwise it looked like the owner had just chipped it out yesterday. Kinda neat thinking that hundreds or thousands of years before another hunter, with much more at stake than I was also at this same spot doing the same thing.
What's your story?
[ July 03, 2003, 04:18 PM: Message edited by: Lonny ]
Posts: 1209 | From: Lewiston, Idaho USA | Registered: Jan 2003
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Cdog911
"There are some ideas so absurd only an intellectual could believe them."--George Orwell.
Member # 7
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posted July 03, 2003 04:33 PM
Lonny,
Cool story. Reminds me of a similar event that happened early this past season. A friend and I had spotted a coyote running into a field of standing milo, so we opted to call another spot, then make our approach from the backside of that field and set up after giving the coyote time to forget us. Long story less long, no coyote. But, my partner came off his stand with a fist-sized rock, all smooth and worn over. He asked me what I thought it was, and it appeared to be a rudimentary axe head from its shape. Closer examination revealed marks from when it had been napped, or whatever you'd call it. Pretty cool to find what looked like a river rock on top of a hill eight miles from the closest river. Very, very cool to pick up something that you know hasn't been held by another human hand for thousands of years possibly, and then, by only one other guy. Makes you feel kinda connected in a way. As far as once in a lifetime stories, hell, each hunt seems to offer something new. I guess that's what I like about calling coyotes. Every time you blow, you're hoping for a memory that will stand out above all the rest. And sometimes, your wish comes true.
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I am only one. But still, I am one. I cannot do everything, but still, I can do something; and, because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.
Posts: 5440 | From: The gun-lovin', gun-friendly wild, wild west | Registered: Jan 2003
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Leonard
HMFIC
Member # 2
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posted July 03, 2003 06:58 PM
Lonny, I can relate to your story, almost scary.
I was mule deer hunting, and had gone up the ridge, all the way to the top, but not quite. There was another small peak, what looked like a pile of rocks, and I decided to get up there and have a look.
What I found was a depressed granite bowl right at the top, with a ledge all the way around that might have been two feet high. I could have stood off an army from that position. I happened to notice a small stunted pine tree growing from a crack in the wall and pondered that for a bit before deciding a bird must have dropped the seed, since I was generally above the treeline anyway. Could have been a rodent, but it doesn't matter, bird sounded better, at the time.
Now guess what? As I was leaving, I noticed something small and shiny black, on the ground. No, it wasn't up on top, but back where I had decided to make the final assent. An obsidian arrowhead, with the point broken! I looked it up a while later, and it's relatively rare, since it's "basally" notched, meaning that it has a single notch at the rear, instead of two, one on either side. Kinda like a "Clovis" point, if you know what that looks like? And, it is probably a true arrowhead, instead of a projectle, or spear point, since it is only about 5/8" x 1". Additionally, it is (sunlight) oxidized on the up side, meaning that it probably layed there for a few centuries, at least.
I still have it. Vicinity, Mono Lake, CA.
Good hunting. LB
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EL BEE Knows It All and Done It All.
Don't piss me off!
Posts: 32366 | From: Upland, CA | Registered: Jan 2003
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Lonny
PANTS ON THE GROUND
Member # 19
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posted July 03, 2003 09:38 PM
Interesting stuff guys. C-dog, I can relate to what you were saying about the nearest river rocks being eight miles away from where your buddy picked up his find. After talking to some rock hounds I found the nearest obsidian source was to be found at least 100 miles away from where I found the arrowhead on the ridge.
Leonard, The point I found is about 1" long and has two notches in it. Once when I was a kid, Dad had me shoveling manure out of the barn. The barn had a dirt floor and when I had shoveled down to good dirt I noticed something white. I picked up a almost perfect snow white point. Made my day!
Posts: 1209 | From: Lewiston, Idaho USA | Registered: Jan 2003
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Rob
Knows what it's all about
Member # 75
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posted July 03, 2003 11:26 PM
My brother found an arrowhead while digging for worms, he was just a kid maybe ten. Whenever we needed worms for fishing we went back to same spot but never found one again. He's crowding 50 now and still has it.
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"Where did all these #$%^&* Indians come from?" Gen. George Armstrong Custer
Posts: 224 | From: Clancy Montana | Registered: Feb 2003
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Bryan J
Cap and Trade Weenie
Member # 106
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posted July 04, 2003 02:30 PM
I guess this might fit as a rare occurrence.
It was a cold crisp December morning, the kind that the slightest sound seems to echo off the canyon walls forever. My buddy and I were making our way up a narrow canyon in my little worn out Ranger. He had scouted the area and pointed out where he wanted me to park. I brought my truck to a stop and started to gather my equipment. I took the keys out of the ignition and set them on the tunnel ahead of the gear shift. I eased the door open just to hear the chime of my Ranger reminding me to turn off my lights. ![[Mad]](mad.gif) I quickly turned my lights off, but it was too late the damage had been done. My buddy shot a glare my way that could have dropped me where I sat. We decided to continue as planned. I reached for my rifle that I had tucked between the 60/40 split bench seat and in the process bumped the horn. This time I got a look of disgust and frustration. We decided to give it a try anyway, really what more could go wrong. ![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
We made our way to the calling site. My buddy was not feeling confident in his calls yet so the calling was up to me. After a couple of minutes we had ravens circling, I caught the movement to my left. A coyote trotted 20 yards from my position, and stopped 40 yards away up wind. He looked away and I raised my rifle. I think my eyeballs were throbbing. I struggled to acquire my target, 14X at 40 yards can do that sometimes , and finally I saw fur in the scope and jerked the trigger. Needless to say he got away , but I could see him make his escape clearly.
This particular coyote was the pure exception to every rule of thumb I was aware of. Not only the noise we made during our approach, but he made his approach from down wind and eventually ended up up-wind. He would have had to have passed in close proximity to the truck, not to mention we had to have driven past him on the way in.
I hope to experience a coyote approach this way again, but I hope I don’t repeat the mistakes I made again. Maybe I should start pulling fuses to insure that this was truely a once in a lifetime experience. LOL
Posts: 599 | From: Utah | Registered: Feb 2003
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Lone Howl
Free Trial Platinum Member & part-time language police
Member # 29
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posted July 04, 2003 03:15 PM
The old arrowhead story. I got one to.
About 5 or 6 years ago me and a buddy were calling out around my"Interstate 5" area.If you ever drive Interstate 5 this area is from Corcoran to Wasco and beyond. Hiway 46 is my main hangout here.A lot of indians lived and passed thru the area. Tulare Lake bottoms on the map.
We walked out to a stand I had picked out the day before.We stopped and my partner sat down. I looked down and there was a beige colored arrow or small spearhead laying on top of the ground like someone had just put it there.Perfect condition, no breaks, not a speck of dirt on it.
I have found a few before but not this clean.
Something I hope I never see while hunting here: ghosts and skeletons.
This whole area has a lot of indian stuff. People will wait till it rains then come out and walk the vast ag fields to see what turns up.
I personally watched a large ag company break some new ground with earthmovers and scrapers, getting ready to use the land to plant crops.They were digging and moving dirt all day when one of the earthmovers paddled up numerous skeletons from the indians buried in the area.It was obviously a burial ground. They were shut down.
Kinda spooky out here when the Tule fog sets in and all that stuff runs thru your mind while your calling alone.
I worked at a John Deere dealer at the time and when some of the farmers come in they would always tell me of the horse mounted indian and the "blue lady" indian women that would come out of the fields while they were picking cotton at night in this area. They had a lot of guys quit after swearing they saw it.Some just shut the machine down and ran out of the field,quitting on the spot.
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When tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty.
Posts: 2083 | From: Texas | Registered: Jan 2003
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onecoyote
Knows what it's all about
Member # 129
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posted July 04, 2003 07:05 PM
I have a few stories I could tell, but one that comes to mind first was when I was surf fishing about 500 miles down in Baja. We always had to go pick up fire wood, I went up on the hill behind our camp one day looking around and found a human jaw bone with a silver filling in it. I'm guessing it was a Mexican fisherman that died at sea and got washed up and maybe a coyote took it up on the top of the hill. I'm good at finding dead things, I found a dead body out here in our local desert a couple years ago. Down on the ranch in New Mexico, I have found arrow heads and places where the Indians ground up corn or grain in the rocks also Indian rock art, can't spell the name for it, but you know what I mean lol. Another one that comes to mind was a beach maybe 400 miles down in Baja that was loaded with Gray whale bones, I'm talking the whole whale and hundreds of them. If I could have brought back a truck load of them I'd be rich. I got more...but I'll give you guys a break lol, Good Hunting.
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Great minds discuss ideas.....Average minds discuss events.....Small minds discuss people.....Eleanor Roosevelt.
Posts: 893 | From: Walker Lake Nevada. | Registered: Feb 2003
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sporterweight
Knows what it's all about
Member # 189
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posted July 04, 2003 09:17 PM
I worked for a farmer for summmer spending money,near Ft.Ancient Ohio where I grew up.He had an old mobile home with all the indian artifacts he found over the years farming in glass cases.I would find an an odd or end and give it to him for his collection.I stood and looked at the stuff arrowheads,spearheads,tools,etc.and thought about the fact that a man in a very different world had held them.Not only held them but had spent many hours making them.He found some ceremonial stuff that he believed pertained to their religion.When I was out in his fields groundhog hunting I wondered what it was like back then.No houses,roads or anything,just the need to find something for you and the family to eat.
Anyway long story short,the Ohio dept.of something?interior-confiscated all of it from him-somehow!!Seemed very unfair but they did!!
You guy's stories were great,they brought back memories of my younger days spent outdoors-wouldn't trade it for nothing..thanks.ME
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You got space invaders ?-No
You got pac-man ?-No
You got asteroids ?-No -but dad does -can hardly sit on the toilet somedays.
Posts: 91 | From: Meridian ,Idaho | Registered: Apr 2003
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