Your Shortest hunt

Opening day this year I was running late by about 15 minuets. Five minuets after I was hiking it was legal shooting light. Less than 10 minuets later before I reached my glossing spot I walked into this buck at 25 yards.

Before I could nock an arrow he had feed out of site. I kept angling up the hill when I spotted him behind a small tree at 15 yards. Just before he stepped out I drew. He spotted me and stopped and it was too late for him as I was at full draw.

From the time I started walking in to a bloody arrow, fifteen minuets or less.

My wife's 2nd hunt together. I'd seen a decent muley a few days before. This was my first chance to take her out that year. I parked the truck and showed her what we were going to do. She says that doesn't make much sense. I said, well that's what we're doing. We hiked maybe 10 minutes into the wind. I pulled up the binos and said there's your buck. Buck down in 15 minutes.

10 minute hunt for elk 0.15 miles from a highway. Had pulled over to glass for moose in the river bottom with willows. Did see a small bull moose and cow but also saw a TON of elk piling off a high dollar hunt private property onto state land. Still wearing street clothes and teva sandals since I drove there straight from work except pulled on a camo shirt, grabbed my bow and day pack at last light and 10 minutes later standing over a bull elk punching my tag I had bought literally one hour prior on a whim when buying gas. He came running across a river and parked broadside at 17 yards after I called hin in with cow call and raking dead willows.

6 years later, same exact spot, SAME THING HAPPENED. only it was by friend with a recurve who was arrowing a bull not 100 feet from where I arrowed mine. In this case we were again scouting for my moose only to find a pile of elk at last light.

These were the two fastest, a couple others in less than 2 hours....to go with 10-day marathons where did not fill bow tag. On average it does not happen fast but take an easy elk when handed one.

There was the archery bear that came in right as I was arriving at my tree stand. Guess it was not 'fast' in that I had set the stand on my elk gut pile and came back after 3 days to arrow the bear in no time at all.

I had a deer standing and looking at me on my way from the truck to a hunting spot a few years back. I stopped, looked it, put the scope on it, and decided, ok, I'll shoot that.

My fastest was my first hunt ever. Eastern Montana Mulie doe in 2003. Must have been -25 (or less) that morning late in November. The older guys I was hunting with probably wanted me to get my tag filled asap, and they did a damn good job of it! I tagged out something like 20 minutes into the hunt. Could NOT have been happier even if it were a big buck! I cant wait to get to hunt in that cold weather again if the opportunity arises... There's just something different about hunting mulies when its that cold.

The fastest hunt I have been on was my wife's turkey hunt this past spring. We got out of the truck, walked up a trail to a field that always has turkeys hanging out in it. I made a few yelps and there was a jake walking up the log road toward us. Boom, game over. Less than 15 minutes from the time we left the truck, and I had one happy girl on my hands.

My personal quickest hunt was probably last years mule deer hunt in Montana. Minus the 1.5 hour hike in to the spot we wanted to sit on, it took less than 5 minutes before I was tagged out. We climbed the mountain, I went to my "rock" to sit for the morning. It was the only place I had cell service so I decided to call my wife. Literally just got her on the phone, said "here comes a buck", threw the phone down, got on the deer at 162 yards and dropped him in his tracks. My wife was freaking out because all she heard was a little of my voice and then a shot. She thought I got attacked by a bear or something