Opening day for the Montana general archery season for deer and elk had finally arrived. I had spent the previous five months rebuilding arrows, fine-tuning my bow, and getting countless repetitions of shooting in every night. I spent most of my time practicing at 60 yards, if not a little further. If I could be accurate at 60 yards, I knew I wouldn’t have any issues shooting anything closer. The night before opening day I triple-checked my equipment, made sure everything was shooting straight, and packed my gear up for the first hunt of the year.

With my job and a family to take care of, I had a limited amount of time to hunt. I had a mid-September elk hunt approaching which most of my time off was saved for. Fortunately, I had an understanding wife and was able to get out of the house for a few hunts before my elk trip.