Not a Hopper, but a trophy nonetheless...

I haven't been on AT for a while, but now I'm back... With a story!

It was a quiet morning on August 2 in Central Oregon. Wildfires had been on the rise in recent weeks and the air was a bit smokey. I didn't get up terribly early that morning. It was almost 9 AM and I was going about my business, always alert for the next hunting opportunity. I was standing there talking with a buddy and he stops and points. "I think he will go 17! Look at the skull!" I turned around and there he was. Probably the biggest fly i've ever seen. I quickly grabbed my Maverick Rev-6 made by Nerf, it was the only thing i had on hand. I usually use this for Hoppers, but I knew this would do the job. I quickly loaded up and squeezed off a shot. Perfect hit. The fly went down. I hit him again with my second shot and waited. He kept moving and buzzing about, I shot him 2 more times. Then i went in to examine my trophy... I touched the wing and he came ALIVE! He flew right out from under me.

At this point my heart was heavy. I had not only lost a trophy fly, but i had left a wounded game animal in the field... We decided to wait a bit longer and then try to track... He didn't go too far. We found him a couple of windows down. We slowly raised the blind and I took careful aim. One partial hit and two full hits and he was down. Time to rejoice! He wasn't getting up. We took our pictures and then loaded him up. Wow, what a hunt....

Here is a couple of the pics...


Me with the trophy and the equipment


Close up of the Trophy...


Where he laid...


Lastly i'd like to thank NWSoftball for spotting this animal. He was also instrumental in getting me close enough for a good shot! Thanks.

Well, i'm off to the Taxidermist...

Austin