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Hunts etched on your memory

Hunting is a process where you intend to kill an animal . For me It is a way to bring meat home for the family to consume over the winter. As my hunting beard resembles the underside of a deer's tail each year I have adjusted my attitude. Now a hunt has to include the chance to take game. It is not hunting unless you do. Hunting is more than that. I want to share a vivid memory where I came home empty handed but felt truly successful. I had parked in my mentor's yard well before daylight and had hunted several spots during the day. As evening started it's beautiful transition I drifted into an ancient apple orchard. As I got comfortable for the evening sit I noticed my mentor was also there. He smiled and motioned for me to sit down. Soon a doe and fawn started to feed on apples . We both watched as more deer filtered in. No antlered bucks arrived. When it was full dark my mentor turned his flashlight on then off. I dis the same. We walked out of the woods for a while soundlessly. Once on the road we talked about the events of the day. This same man helped me drag bucks out of the woods and I helped him as well. Our last hunt together consisted of walking into the woods and building a fire to keep him warm. My current hunting partner sat with John, our mentor while I pushed the woodlot hoping to send a deer his way. The deer did not cooperate so at 10:00 in the morning we toasted our lunch over the wood fire and took John home. He talked about that hunt for weeks after season. I hope you all build such memories. Bob

This past season... nephew 43 yrs old ask me, uncle Eric can you teach me hunting? Told him Nick, watch some videos, sight in your dads dad's shotgun and be here opening morning... I go in for a nice hot cup of coffee, I hear boom and watch this novice track and retrieve his first Whitetail after 2 hrs of his first hunt... priceless!

Thank you guys The best thing we can do is let unenlightened folks know how important nature is. Some of the critters hunters help are animals we choose not to hunt. It upsets to see folks giving money to organizations that only attack hunters But do nothing for the animals they seem to ant to protect

The link will take you to the story of my father in laws last deer. We lost him this past January. I'm proud to have been able to get him out to enjoy the woods a few times near the end of his life.

One of the nicest guys you will ever meet and a friend of all friends - I shared his last hunt this past fall. Here is a brief story...

I met "Walt" several years ago doing a welfare check - we immediately hit it off and became best of friends. He had a great sense of humor (little foreshadowing here). About 5 years ago he asked if I would like to hunt his land (about 80 acres of the most beautiful white tail woods you can possibly imagine). I knew he had family and friends that hunted it so out of respect I "just never asked".

I told him I appreciated the offer but didn't want to intrude on his family and friends hunting area. To my surprise non of them had been hunting there for the past couple years - they just lost interest. His son-in-law would hunt it one or two days a year. No archery, just rifle.

Walt, due to some medical issues, no longer hunted, he had a difficult time walking.

Every year Walt would tell me about this giant 10 point - every once in a while a monster 12 point. I spent many, many days hunting there (bow and rifle) and saw all the deer he would tell me about, except "the big ones". He would see them out his back window, either just after I left or on the afternoons I wasn't there hunting.

Every time I hunted there I would "have to" stop in and tell him the stories of all the wildlife I saw - deer, coyotes, ducks, geese, bear, fox, etc..

I told him to get a license and if he ever had the chance to shoot a deer I would come over and take care of it for him whether I was there hunting or not - just call and I would be right over. He said he couldn't due to not being able to walk and he could no longer handle the cold. I told him that since he was seeing all these deer in his back yard to just shoot it out his porch window. This last year he finally purchased a license.

This past November, I was a few hundred yards back in the woods and heard him shoot. My phone rang - "BOB, YOUR NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS BUT I JUST SHOT THAT BIG 10 POINT I'VE BEEN TELLING YOU ABOUT" he was so excited his voice was shaking.

Of course I hustled right in - he met me by his tool shed and pointed to the edge of his pines. "RIGHT OVER THERE BOB, RIGHT THERE" He had the biggest smile I have ever seen, when I looked and there laid the most perfect fork horn you ever laid eyes on.

When I looked at him he just smiled and winked at me and said - that's the big 10 I've been telling you about.

Walt passed away a couple months ago just after his 90th birthday. Every time I stopped it to visit, he always greeted me with a big hug and smile. I miss him every day.

Some of the best hunt’s I’ve ever had were watching sunsets without an arrow slung.

Oh So many in my 64 years of bowhunting. Joining a club in 1956 & buying my 1st real bow. Missing 4 shots the first ever Deer season in Illinois in 1957. Tagging my 1st Deer opening weekend in 1958 (a yearling Doe). So many adventures with my son as he grew up & watching him tag his 1st Deer 20 years ago & 1st Antelope last year. Being with my Daughter & G-son when they missed their 1st shot at a Deer. Being with them when they made their first kill too. Rattling in a Buck for the first time (many now). My first win in a State Championship. My 1st 300 with a recurve & fingers long ago. Meeting Fred Bear, OK Smathers, Si Grahm, Tom Jennings & many others. Competing against Pete Shepley with recurves b/4 he was PSE in Illinois. So many firsts. One thing most of us remember are those friends made, chatting, laughing & story telling around a campfire. Kills will be forgotten but memories of campfire friends will last forever. Pic is that 1st Deer in 1958.

Nice thread. scentman

Great thread. I have so many great memories. But here is one that I talked about just this week.

I was invited by a dear friend to hunt a bowhunting only club along the Mississippi river. I had heard about this place but could never afford to hunt there. We drove up on Thursday and he told me all the rules and we looked at maps. Well he put me in a ladder stand on the edge of a dried lake bottom that was full of cockleburr. Between the lake bottom and the ladder stand I was in there was a thin willow tree line, I was in an oak flat on the edge of cutover. It as quite cold that morning as there was a light fog coming off the river making it colder than it actually was. At about 8am I saw a huge buck about 75 yds starting to cut across the dry lake bottom. Not knowing what to do I grunted and he stopped on a dime. Grunted again softly and he was heading my way. He was walking in the willow like and when he hit a little opening I made a noise and he stopped. I was already at full draw and all I kept saying was put the pin behind the shoulder, well I did and as I watched the arrow fly it went right under the deer and right behind the front leg. I had pre ranged everything and forgot that was 26 yds and not 20. I about cried as he crossed the lake bottom blowing with that white flag up.

Later when we met up at camp I told him the story we laughed and he gave me hell. What I did not know is he watched the whole thing play out through his binos. My dear friend is in his mid 70's now and we laughed about it again 25 years later. I was able to buy his Bronco that he always hunted out of this year so it gets to continue to hunt on.

Oh and about the deer I miss a chip shot on. Two weeks later someone killed it and scored 163. Would have been my biggest ever but the shameful laughs are all worth it.

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