Part I – The Setup
Late Dinner. The meal is pan butter fried Corsican Ram harvested just yesterday. Yes….it is the middle of August. Nightime temperatures are dropping to the 60’s in Central Pennsylvania and the regular fall hunting season is still several weeks out. Listen to me ….. I avoided those crazy “high fence” hunts for years but finally broke down and said “can’t be too critical about something I don’t know that much about.” I made the decision and then watched the weekend party slowly expand to 13 archery hunters carrying both crossbows and vertical bows. In the group, there were folks from the Pennsylvania Crossbow Federation including a 11 year old young man named Stan who harvested his first huge boar. To be honest, I ended up having a great time. From Texas to Pennsylvania, these exotic hunting opportunities exist and can be very reasonable. We hunted at North Mountain Outfitters with a gent named Rocky. Granted, the discussion begins by knowing that this type of hunt is something different. But every hunt is that way. I calculated that if I was heading on this local safari — the more folks involved the better so I asked our friend Rob (pictured with his Black Hawaiian Ram) if he was interested. Rob holds the honor of being the first Kodabow owner in New Jersey. He was a believer in Kodabow in the early days. Rob said he was in and for the record, it should be noted that long before this picture was taken,Rob said he would really like to make a good shot on a Black Hawaiian Ram. I said OK …. but it sure sounded like Rob was ordering a cocktail. So I said, “I will have a White Russian and a Black Hawaiian for my friend.” All hunts have stories and enjoyable moments when we can sit around and pass time in conversation with friends. As the day progressed, there was always action as successful hunters in our group returned to the lodge and told their stories. Rob was back early. He uses a 225 Kodabow Big Rhino and confidently took a shot on the Ram in the photo at 37 yards. After the shot, the animal dropped 5 yards away. With his mobile rail setup, Rob has a steady platform and used the midpoint balance and solid trigger of his Kodabow to his full advantage. To be candid, I was struggling. Thoughts began to surface that I would not make it back to camp with an animal. I was close to some hogs all morning but never saw them in the thick cover. As the sun arced overhead and morning turned into afternoon, there was some very serious hunting going on from my viewpoint. Everyone said this was supposed to be easy. Brad (who also works at Kodabow) was having the same thoughts. We were both scoreless and not partaking in any of the good times back at base camp. Finally, I saw a group of Corsican Rams after I abandoned my stand and began a mile hike across the property. I proceeded to make a successful stalk and took the larger of the two animals. From a prone position, it was a 40 yard shot with my Koda-Express 185, Gold Tip Arrows equipped with 125 gr. large unpopular cut-on-contact broadheads —– but they sure do fly straight for me. I had a Ram on the ground. Coming soon ……. Part II The Conclusion