The Mason Boys

What a wonderful week in Montana for the Mason family! Memories were made and good times had by all. The weather was great, just what you would expect for a fall trip to Montana, a little brisk at times but, big blue skies for a majority of the trip! 

Ryan posing after making a 321 yard shot with his Kimber 270 WSM!!!

Montana and Alaska hunting and fishing has given me and my family much joy over the years. Both fishing and hunting bring about almost every emotion that a person can experience out at some time or another. There are the obvious happy moments when one is successful and lands that king salmon or harvests an elk to put in the freezer. The emotions that most don’t talk about are those moments when your lungs are burning from the thin air high in the mountains where the critters live hoping not to be bothered by us or when your toes are frozen from standing in glacial fed rivers for hours casting over and over hoping a fish of some sort will tug on the end of your line. These moments bring out a little frustration and pain at times. However, when your successful it is all worth it!

Nice shot, the first of a double.

The thing that keeps me hunting and fishing though is not the success or failure it is the experiences and memories that happen when you are out in the field with family and friends. When you are on the rivers in a raft chasing fish or hiking along the continental divide hunting elk in high mountain meadows you see things that most only dream about or read about and when those things happen they are talked about and lied about in camp or on the river for years to come.

All the way from Alaska to finish up the second half of the Double!

For example, this last weekend my brother stuck his truck in a muddy creek bottom, my daughter shot a 22 rifle for the first time, my nephew scoped himself when he harvested his elk, my other nephew learned why you should not eat a giant cinnamon roll and drink a huge glass of chocolate milk at 5 AM on OPENING DAY, Ryan had a monster smile on his face after getting his buck, Erik had a moment of fear when we got a double while elk hunting and he realized that we had to pack them both out on our backs, mom cooked us amazingly good food and lots of it, Jeni wanted to unleash her feary on us every morning when we woke her up at 5 AM eating breakfast, dad was there to bounce our ideas off and shake his head at us when we did foolish things that he taught us not to do, such as shoot a double when you know it is coming out on your back. The list could go on forever, those are just the ones that come to mind to right now. 

Next year we will return to the same hunting and fishing grounds and embellish the stories from the years past even though they usually don’t need any embellishment. We will make new memories and hopefully the tradition will continue on for many years to come. 

Never seen anything like this before!

I will blog about individual memories, experiences, and adventures in the coming months but, for now enjoy the photos from the opening weekend in Montana. 

The kiss of a 270 WSM is not as delicate as Lexi's kiss! 

Don’t forget to visit a2rphotos.com for more photos. 

Love it when things work out!

Remember get outside and make some memories.

Justin

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