'Notelum' Mtn, you say?

[Sytes]

Thought it would be interesting to read the different methods of being polite while at the same time - diverting from a certain 'honey hole'.

I typically say no tell 'em - and they always seem to catch on...

How about when walking down a dirt road back to your truck or camp and a truck with a couple chaps drive by - slow up, offer a ride... So, how was it? Where you hunting around here? See anything?
Always those friendly 'intel gathering' convo's though often meant simply to pass time focused on the reason people are out hunting.

It is a dog eat dog world out there... Not in the wrong for asking - after all, you may learn some insight as to where elk, deer, gobblers, a bear may have been pushed to...
Not in the wrong for not tellin though... So it is more or less a mutual standoff? One expected though pleasantly understood?

I have on occasion shared info if I find someone fitting and would like to help out... example? Take for instance a year back - I had come out of an area, found the dirt road and managed my way along back to the truck. When I arrived from the morning hunt - a father / son couple just pulled up. They asked how the hunt went etc... If I saw anything - etc. I initially stated, no though I had a good run of cows in there... Hoping to return later that eve see if I could come across a bull...

Good kid - respectful - a father proud of taking his kid out... I finally broke and had to spill the beans... I passed on that what I originally said was not entirely true - There were a couple good groups of cows in and showed them where. The boy was excited as heck - pops was 'reserved'... The next morning, I returned to my camp after a morning hunt to find an elk quarter hanging from my pole area . ***Along with that a note written by the young one thanking me for sharing my find.

Never thought I could feel as proud for that boy as I did...
*Note: Browtine area only though for those under 14(?) it is antlerless... This was the boy's first or second hunt, I would guess.

Oh well, so much for notelum draw in the area of notelum Mtn with a good water source out of notelum drainage... Sounds like the makings for another cowboy poem... LOL!

Cheers!

 

[choc dogs]

Hell, I never kill any big game, so I tell em what I saw...sagebrush and trees. Ducks, I'll show people, especially if they don't have a dog, cause I like to watch mine work, and if they don't have one, it's fun to watch the frustration when they can't shoot birds cause the water's too deep, and they can't retrieve them.

 

[the nikster]

I did, as you say, lie, a few years back.
Then I got to thinkin, "if everyone thinks I'm lying, they'll do the opposite of what I say"
So now I feel comfortable by telling them the truth, "yes, I saw elk-but no deer" knowing fully well that the elk hunters will avoid the place like the plague.

 

[Carl]

I had a friend who would always narrow it down to 'north of town' or 'south of town'. Assuming he wasn't going to tell me where he was anyway, I liked that better than a stonewall answer, even if it didn't really give anything away.

 

[Randy11]

I try not to flat out lie about where I hunt, I just keep it very vague (i.e. the nearest big town, sometimes thirty miles from where I hunt).
If I meet people back in where I'm hunting, I'm pretty honest, as I figure if they're already that far back, they know what game's in there too.
If I meet people on the road on my way back in or out, I never let them know if I've been in anything, especially if I think they know where I hike into, I'd just as soon they stay on the roads.
I do pull out 'notelum creek' and 'secret mountain' quite a bit too, or flat out tell people to not worry about it if they ask.

Honestly though I really don't hunt any honeyholes, I just work hard enough to get my game, so people knowing where I go would probably never change anything.

 

[Moosie]

I lie my ASS off any more........

 

[sreekers]

Usually purposely vague.

Had a situation this year. I went into town, had my elk in the bed of the truck, Dad and I were hungry for some good home cooking. We fill our trucks up and a couple guys with a very deep Southern LA drawl start asking me questions. The must of seen my truck parked somewhere cause they guessed close to where I was.

I gave them my generic answer: Your best bet is to go inside this store, find a map that shows the trails and logging roads, then hike into them. Pick out a spot on that said map in relation to the trail where you see very few trails. That is where the animals are. The higher the elevation the better.

They seemed satisfied with that answer, and no hard feelings. The one "local" they were with obviously had no idea as to what he was trying to accomplish so I felt bad that their buddy/guide wasn't doing much to help their situation.