This deer season started earlier (for me) than last. I had problems with tendonitis in my right arm last year and this prevented me from practicing with my compound bow. Meat is not so scarce in our house that I have to add to the risk of wounding an animal in the early season by running out into the woods unprepared.
That problem (tendonitis) didn’t exist by the time hunting season rolled around this year though. “Sticks and stones” might do the job but without some practice you’re likely to hurt more animals than you actually take home. This summer I was able to pull out my target and let some arrows go over a few weeks and got what I felt was a satisfactory result. There’s certainly a direct correlation between accuracy, confidence and your personal ability to harvest the animals you shoot at in as humane a manner as is possible. Hunting is not about wounding your intended prey and leaving them out to die a slow miserable death. Quick clean kills and use of the meat are a hunter’s way of demonstrating respect for the animals they take.
The preseason preparations included gathering and organizing supplies. Light ropes and cords to secure all my gear, and batteries (and spares) for flashlights or GPS devices. Laundry chores also make the list, which usually require some attention to scents (or de-scenting) of clothes and other items. Guns, boots and little knapsacks are cleaned and checked. It’s amazing how much “stuff” you collect as the years go by.
As luck would have it I had more vacation days to spend in the woods this year than in years past. Not that all of these vacation days would be spent in the woods because chores at home usually don’t go away by themselves but once the majority of my family responsibilities were taken care of, the free time to “get away”, or to sit down in a quiet place and watch the world go by in the woods had now presented itself.
Hunting is a relative term I guess. For some hunters it’s a more aggressive activity because they actively stalk or chase their prey (sometimes with dogs) towards situations where they can harvest the deer or whatever animal they happen to be hunting. I’ve engaged in a more passive and solitary form of hunting in recent years called “still hunting” where you create an ambush of sorts and wait for an unsuspecting animal to come within range before you take it. Some hunters become adept at both forms and are very opinionated on what is most effective and when to switch tactics. Hunting is an “art form” that literally goes back to the cave man. Maybe that’s what makes it so attractive for so many?
I’ve never understood how some persons conclude that you “catch” a deer. Catch is a word you might use if you were hunting bare handed or maybe with a knife. I prefer the term “harvest” over kill because the objective is not just to kill but to cull only a portion of a renewable resource or herd. Recreational hunters today don’t “need” the meat but hunt wildlife to experience the out of doors and to see the non-game animals as much as bring home a trophy. During the off season lots of hunters transform into hikers and birdwatchers. This hunting season I became more aware of other persons in the woods and the concept of sharing game management areas with them. Most of this was unplanned and more serious than picking up the usual candy bar wrappers or soda bottle or two.
During bow season I woke one morning before daylight and got set up in my climbing stand as if on queue. Everything seemed to have gone well and for once I’d not left anything important behind at home, in my truck or on the path to my stand. My first lesson for the day was that instead of carrying a flashlight in my hand that a headlamp would be a worthwhile purchase. I saw deer staring back at me in the dark just a few yards from where I parked and it was too dark to see a bowstring and get one so I had to let them go. I don’t usually consider it to be a bad thing to see and not get anything on a hunt. The main reward of hunting for me is in being out in the woods in the first place.
I sat up in my first “bow season stand” for the best part of the morning and saw very little in terms of wildlife. The weather was warm so I didn’t get to see frost melt off the bark on the sunny side the trees like I did so many times last year. A lot of “season” was left for that though. At about 10:30 or so in the morning I heard a human voice down on game-land trail and saw a hiker coming with his unleashed Labrador mix. Both walked by without looking up or seeing me, the tree cover was still fairly thick and bow hunters aren’t required to wear orange so this is no real big deal. The hiker wasn’t talking to his dog though. He was almost completely focused on his cell phone conversation as he made his way through the woods.
I doubt that the hiker saw much more of the woods than what was immediately underneath his feet that day. The dog probably enjoyed the walk more than he did. The hiker returned about a half hour later still oblivious of me and the rest of his surroundings. I just shook my head from 20 feet above and wondered why he even bothered to come to the woods that day, he’d obviously never (mentally) left work or home even though he was physically on a path somewhere in the North Carolina game-lands. He was out of sight soon enough. After all this I figured my hunting was “over” for that morning so I packed up my gear and headed back to the truck. Maybe next time I should set up further out from the “masses”? This guy would never know how many people (or animals) he was sharing the woods with. After seeing this guy, I know where all the little pieces of paper and other human (and nonhuman) detritus in the woods come from.
The next week I decided to set up in another area. I’d only been in this new place once before so rather than risk being lost or spooking game out of the area I entered early in the afternoon with the hopes of getting something before dark. I tried to bring in a pull cart just in case I actually got something. Each of these experiences is a little different and comes with its own lessons. Today I learned how difficult it is to drag these game carts in (unassisted) and how noisy they are when you have narrow or nonexistent trails or bad footing.
The season had progressed and along with it comes an increasing availability to use more “modern” technology. Instead of hunting with a bow I’d brought my black powder gun. Sticks and stones had been replaced with things that go “boom”. I went as far as I dared into the woods and found a place where the cover looked interesting. I set up my climbing stand a few notches too big and re-learned a lesson from seasons before.
If you don’t get things right at the base of the tree, they are only going to get worse as you climb higher. This is also true about a lot of other things in real life. I toughed out this stand setup for as long as I could and have to say that it kept me awake for the entire time. The words uncomfortable and scary come to mind. If memory serves me right it was more of the former… less of the latter. No regrets though, at least I got to see a fox walk underneath me but not before it cried back at me. I just “let it go” on its way because I was taught in the school where “if you aren’t going to eat it, you don’t shoot it”. These animals (foxes) might be hell on things like rabbits and small turkeys but I saved my powder for another day.
Modern weapons or “gun season” kicked in and we had company come in from the western part of the state to hunt with. I didn’t have any special place in mind to set up my stand for opening day so I settled for being about a half mile from where the rest of the crew went into the woods. I found a pine tree that offered minimal cover. It was next to a small poplar which tends to keep its leaves longer though. On the way towards my stand I spooked a doe. All I could do is watch its “white flag” disappear in a pine thicket. The word “busted” comes to mind. But the morning wasn’t over.
Anticipation had kept me awake the night before so I was a bit groggy that morning. Pileated woodpeckers couldn’t keep me awake on that stand and the squirrel noises all started to sound the same as the morning went on. The “sleep monster” caught me and I nodded off until I heard a crack behind me that sounded a little louder than all the others. By the time I turned around a small spike had spotted me. I was surprised enough that I didn’t think to whistle or grunt to make it stop long enough for me to take a shot. Sometimes you just have shrug things like this off. I wasn’t going to get too upset about missing a chance to take a “scrub buck” home on that day. You just can’t get them all can you?
So far most of my adventures in the local game lands have been solitary. On occasion I hunt with other people but I enjoy solitude and the quiet. It’s a break from corporate rat races and family drama. When you’re alone you have the opportunity to sort out the rest of what’s going on in your life or take your own “mental pulse”. Hunting can be the exact opposite of a team building exercise if you hunt alone. I prefer to think we should always feel like we’re in good company when alone (or something is wrong). If think things through, do a few things right and you’re lucky, you take home a lot more than the occasional game animal.
