Fast Forward....I lost my PASSION for the Deer Woods during a BAD Chapter of my life...if you're interested you can read all about it @moglp.blogspot.com (Men Of GOD Living Proof) Once I got right with GOD I then began to enjoy LIFE AGAIN! To me that means ...I got back to the GOoD ol'outdoors! I was blessed to be able to hunt with my Big Brother & my Pop for a couple of years before tragedy struck and Pop died from a massive heart attack. My heart was broken and HUNTING was as close as I could get to being with Dad. It was Dad who put HUNTING in my soul and the outdoors were like Church to me. I always felt closer to GOD when I was out in nature so my PASSION for hunting grew once again.
Pop died October 13th, 2004. That year my Brother and I went on a weekend hunt in Mississippi in honor of Pop I took his Basket-Weaved Remington .30-06 Rifle...my favorite Rifle in the World. I opted to put my Brother in my best box stand and I took the stand right next to him. It was stand #18 situated on a T-shaped food plot with the stand positioned at the top/center of the T. The bottom of the T stretched the whole length of the road leading @750 yards down to where my Brother was hunting. It was a cold November evening hunt and the wind was bad, blowing right back to where the deer bed. Right when it got too dark to see down the whole lane my Brother said he was climbing down. I guess I was day-dreaming because when the radio sounded I caught movement 15 yards right UNDER MY STAND almost! My heart jumped out of my chest as I picked up Pop's rifle and to my delight ...he was a an AWESOME 8pt. BUCK! Almost too close to shoot through the scope....I filled the scope with his chest and let it rip...the .30-06 let out a ROAR....and the buck DROPPED in his tracks!
After the shot (I think I scared the CRAP out my Brother!) I noticed a fork-horned buck coming from the right but the light was gone and all I could see was his silhouette except through the scope. The Forky came an nudged the 8pt, apparently trying to get him up!?!? Or maybe he was SHOWING Dominance?!? Whatever....he was nudging the dead buck all the way UNTIL my Brother (with flashlight in his hand!) was 15 yards from them! Finally, he took off into the deer woods!
I got down out my stand to celebrate my first Wall-Hanger and to honor the passing of both the 8pt Buck and my POP! I know it was a gift from GOD to harvest that animal...I needed that hunt...I miss my POP and he left Earth a little too soon at 59 years young....but he left us a gift....a gift of the LOVE & Passion of the great outdoors....especially....Chasing the Elusive Whitetail Deer!
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Monday, June 13, 2016
Best Day in The DEER WOODS!
One of the GREATEST Days in the Deer Woods....was this...
I was still too young to shoot a rifle, probably about 7 years old, so I was hunting with my Pop! It was a COLD January day...bone-chillin'cold! It was a definitely a 3 Socker! Back then we didn't have all the great hunting gear they have nowadays...we got by on a regular ol'pair of rubber boots with 3 pairs of socks on a cold day! We doubled up with our white-cotton thermal underwear and a flannel shirt. No camo back then..this was 1974 ...long before camouflage hunting gear, we wore the thickest, warmest, red, plaid wool coat! This was one of those days. We had already hunted the morning still hunt where we had seen a bunch of deer...on the neighbors property! We were sitting in a box-stand on a huge Pipeline which cut through the entire hunting lease. That Pipeline had to be 200 yards wide! fThe good news was that because of the Pipeline the state kept the brush mowed down year round which made a great place to have food plots for the deer. So, every 700 yards or so we planted great, big food plots all along that Pipeline. Unfortunately, it kept on going to the neighbors property and the stand we were in that morning ...all the deer were on the food plot ...700 yards past the fence! Which meant, of course, there most probably wasn't a hunter hunting that plot and the deer were having a good ol'time! Well, that evening my Dad decided to get back in that box with the hopes of there being a hunter in that neighbors box stand & maybe...just maybe ... the deer would venture down to our plot!
We ate lunch at the Camp took a nap (one of my favorite things about hunting was taking a nap with my Pop! Especially when it was cold out!) Then we started our trek back to that box.
We walked a long way from where the truck dropped us off through the tall, dead grass until we finally reached the box. My Dad had a little afternoon ritual of grabbing a 6 pack of Miller ponies (yeah, not a great idea when hunting!) so he let me carry his rifle in. Carrying the ol'.30-06 made me FEEL grown-up! I really loved that rifle. When we got got the box I shouldered the rifle so I could grab the ladder with both hand & started up the ladder. I got about 2 rungs from the top & slipped..the rifle slid off my shoulder & I almost dropped it on my Dad's head..but a tree branch stopped the fall...by the scope! My Dad almost lost his temper but realized quickly that it could've been much worse...so he just helped me up into the box.
Pop started nursing that 6 pack as the evening progressed along. It was still early in the hunt, we had only been in the box for about an hour when suddenly ... my Pop said "Be STILL!" In a whisper as he grabbed my arm...which meant....Be REALLY STILL because there was a deer coming out! Way across the Pipeline field there were some deer walking just inside the treelike, apparently there was a deer trail that zig-zagged for about 30 yards perpendicular to the field edge and I could see them walking from left to right for 30 yards then turn and still be inside the tree-line about 5 yards or so and walk right to left about 25 yards then out they came! Talk about an ADRENALINE RUSH! Not ONE....not TWO....but NINE DEER! ALL Doe's! All in single file line! I can remember it like it was yesterday! They moseyed on out into the food plot and began to graze on the rye-grass. One of the prettiest sights to see in the woods & to this day I still believe that GOD made deer....just for me!
After about 10 minutes something spooked them & all 9 does ran back through that same zig-zagged trail into the big woods! Just about 15 minutes passed...and here they come again...same pattern, same path...same thing....they stayed out a little longer this time but once again...I guessed now that it was the wind shifting, but who knows...anyway back they ran in the same way the came out!
It was getting colder now as the Sun began to set, Dad was finishing the last Miller Pony when this time I saw the deer coming first! I told my Pop "here they come again Dad!" We could see the silhouettes of the deer coming down the trail about 5 yards back in the tree-line but THIS TIME...the first FOUR Deer Strutted out ...Stomping their hooves...high stepping....proud LOOKING.....with HUGE RACKS on their heads!!! ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THINGS I'VE EVER SEEN! Behind the 4 massive Bucks came the 9 doe's...they all spread out across the food plot...The LEAD BUCK was the Biggest both in body & rack! He snorted ....looked like smoke came his nostrils....stomped his hooves as he marched to the center of the field! I saw Daddy put the rifle up on the edge of the box stand aiming towards the deer. He asked which one I thought was the Biggest? We agreed that the FIRST one out was "the MAN!" The massive buck stopped & turned broadside at about 120 yards away when Dad let the Remington Rip! The Deer SPUN around with his back-end bouncing off the ground & hauled off the field ..with all the other deer clearing the field with him...all heading straight back to where they came from...
My ears were ringing so bad from the noise of the blast bouncing inside the box that hurt them. I was only 7 years old...and yes...I cried ....as my ears continued to ring...but I asked..."did you get'em?"
Well...we looked....& looked....
This was one of the finest days in the deer woods...but....once again....that Elusive Whitetail..
Won again! No blood...NO deer! Best we could tell was when I dropped the gun hit the scope...
I gave Mr. BUCK....another chance!
I was still too young to shoot a rifle, probably about 7 years old, so I was hunting with my Pop! It was a COLD January day...bone-chillin'cold! It was a definitely a 3 Socker! Back then we didn't have all the great hunting gear they have nowadays...we got by on a regular ol'pair of rubber boots with 3 pairs of socks on a cold day! We doubled up with our white-cotton thermal underwear and a flannel shirt. No camo back then..this was 1974 ...long before camouflage hunting gear, we wore the thickest, warmest, red, plaid wool coat! This was one of those days. We had already hunted the morning still hunt where we had seen a bunch of deer...on the neighbors property! We were sitting in a box-stand on a huge Pipeline which cut through the entire hunting lease. That Pipeline had to be 200 yards wide! fThe good news was that because of the Pipeline the state kept the brush mowed down year round which made a great place to have food plots for the deer. So, every 700 yards or so we planted great, big food plots all along that Pipeline. Unfortunately, it kept on going to the neighbors property and the stand we were in that morning ...all the deer were on the food plot ...700 yards past the fence! Which meant, of course, there most probably wasn't a hunter hunting that plot and the deer were having a good ol'time! Well, that evening my Dad decided to get back in that box with the hopes of there being a hunter in that neighbors box stand & maybe...just maybe ... the deer would venture down to our plot!
We ate lunch at the Camp took a nap (one of my favorite things about hunting was taking a nap with my Pop! Especially when it was cold out!) Then we started our trek back to that box.
We walked a long way from where the truck dropped us off through the tall, dead grass until we finally reached the box. My Dad had a little afternoon ritual of grabbing a 6 pack of Miller ponies (yeah, not a great idea when hunting!) so he let me carry his rifle in. Carrying the ol'.30-06 made me FEEL grown-up! I really loved that rifle. When we got got the box I shouldered the rifle so I could grab the ladder with both hand & started up the ladder. I got about 2 rungs from the top & slipped..the rifle slid off my shoulder & I almost dropped it on my Dad's head..but a tree branch stopped the fall...by the scope! My Dad almost lost his temper but realized quickly that it could've been much worse...so he just helped me up into the box.
Pop started nursing that 6 pack as the evening progressed along. It was still early in the hunt, we had only been in the box for about an hour when suddenly ... my Pop said "Be STILL!" In a whisper as he grabbed my arm...which meant....Be REALLY STILL because there was a deer coming out! Way across the Pipeline field there were some deer walking just inside the treelike, apparently there was a deer trail that zig-zagged for about 30 yards perpendicular to the field edge and I could see them walking from left to right for 30 yards then turn and still be inside the tree-line about 5 yards or so and walk right to left about 25 yards then out they came! Talk about an ADRENALINE RUSH! Not ONE....not TWO....but NINE DEER! ALL Doe's! All in single file line! I can remember it like it was yesterday! They moseyed on out into the food plot and began to graze on the rye-grass. One of the prettiest sights to see in the woods & to this day I still believe that GOD made deer....just for me!
After about 10 minutes something spooked them & all 9 does ran back through that same zig-zagged trail into the big woods! Just about 15 minutes passed...and here they come again...same pattern, same path...same thing....they stayed out a little longer this time but once again...I guessed now that it was the wind shifting, but who knows...anyway back they ran in the same way the came out!
It was getting colder now as the Sun began to set, Dad was finishing the last Miller Pony when this time I saw the deer coming first! I told my Pop "here they come again Dad!" We could see the silhouettes of the deer coming down the trail about 5 yards back in the tree-line but THIS TIME...the first FOUR Deer Strutted out ...Stomping their hooves...high stepping....proud LOOKING.....with HUGE RACKS on their heads!!! ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THINGS I'VE EVER SEEN! Behind the 4 massive Bucks came the 9 doe's...they all spread out across the food plot...The LEAD BUCK was the Biggest both in body & rack! He snorted ....looked like smoke came his nostrils....stomped his hooves as he marched to the center of the field! I saw Daddy put the rifle up on the edge of the box stand aiming towards the deer. He asked which one I thought was the Biggest? We agreed that the FIRST one out was "the MAN!" The massive buck stopped & turned broadside at about 120 yards away when Dad let the Remington Rip! The Deer SPUN around with his back-end bouncing off the ground & hauled off the field ..with all the other deer clearing the field with him...all heading straight back to where they came from...
My ears were ringing so bad from the noise of the blast bouncing inside the box that hurt them. I was only 7 years old...and yes...I cried ....as my ears continued to ring...but I asked..."did you get'em?"
Well...we looked....& looked....
This was one of the finest days in the deer woods...but....once again....that Elusive Whitetail..
Won again! No blood...NO deer! Best we could tell was when I dropped the gun hit the scope...
I gave Mr. BUCK....another chance!
Still...one of THE BEST Days
I've EVER had
in the DEER WOODS!
Sunday, June 12, 2016
My First Harvest!
Some of my fondest memories from childhood were from going Deer Hunting with my Pop! The Deer Camp was a training ground for the young boys & a great "hide-away" for the grown-ups! I can remember the long hours of driving into the night like it was yesterday. My Pop would wake us up when we got into Deer Country so we could see the deer on the side of the highway...when it was cold out...we'd see scores of deer near the TomBigbee River in the Great State of Alabama! Alabama holds a "Deer" place in my heart! It was in Linden, Alabama that our Pop took us to the Best Hunting Club on Earth! (to me at least!) Sunset Hunting Club. With over 3000 acres of prime hunting land & a ton of deer it was the GREATest Place on Earth for a young hunter! Whenever we drove up to camp we'd jump out the car & haul-butt back to the walk-in freezer to view the weeks "Kill"! There would Always be a few deer & if we were lucky there would be a couple of RACKS hanging as well! The Camp was awesome with wooden floors and triple-stacked bunk-beds! We basically had our own private room...with about 30 spots to sleep that we shared with another amazing family of hunters, which became some of my favorite people on Earth! I was only 7 years old my first year at the club so I used to sneak out my bed in the middle of the night to crawl in with Pop, I was still kinda scared of the dark, I guess. Pop would wake up and slide out to get ready while letting me sleep a little longer. I'll never forget how comfortable those last, WARM moments felt as I laid alone waiting to feel the shake from my Pop to start getting ready, long before the Sun came up! But NOTHING could've kept me from joining him in the Deer Woods! I'd put on my blue-jeans, 3 pairs of socks, my hunting boots & a plaid red coat made of wool to keep me warm! We'd pile-up in a pick-up truck & I'd snuggle up to my Pop the whole ride to the lease. We would get out the truck & start our morning March into the woods with our shotguns in our hands (mine was a BB-gun!) In the dark of the morning I'd follow right behind my Pop's footsteps, sometimes in the snow, but always directly in his steps, because I did not want to get left behind alone! Plus, it was a Cardinal Rule ...NOT to step on a stick...& to make as little noise as possible as we marched our way into the Deer Woods! The last guy in line would drop off first until it was our turn to take STAND! Slowly the Sun would creep up & like MAGIC the Deer Woods would come Alive! It was amazing how everything woke-up....first we could hear the hunting dogs striking up in the distance, then a squirrel would shimmy across the dead leaves...You wouldn't believe how LOUD a squirrel is in the still of the morning...he sounded like an elephant running through the leaves! Then, I could hear the "drivers" whooping it up to get the dog's motivated! The men that worked the hunting dogs were called "drivers" because they would "drive" the deer out of the thicket with the dogs!
The first few years I hunted with my Pop & that's where I learned to LOVE deer hunting & learned how to be a man! He taught me how to spit, how NOT to curse (in front of women!) how to make a fist for fighting & how to shoot a gun...lots of guns!
I remember one day on a dog drive my Big Brother was in the next position down the road from where Dad & I had to hunt. (I don't recommend this but...) my Dad & I got bored since there was no action & I asked my Dad if I could shoot my brother!? We had lots of clothes on & afterall...all I was shooting was a Daisy BB Gun Pump-action! So, I pumped that sucker UP with air...aimed ...& shot...missing him by about 20 ft.! Dad said "aim higher!" GAME ON! My adrenaline went berserk! I pumped it up again...aimed HIGHER...& shot....It was a HIT! Right in the butt! Stung like a BEE!! Made my day!
I'll NEVER forget the first time he let me shoot his .30-06 Browning Rifle! We were in between the early morning dog-hunt & the afternoon "still-hunt" standing on a dirt road waiting to be picked up in a truck. I got a wild hair up my butt & asked Daddy if I could shoot HIS GUN? He obliged & the LOOK on my older Bother's face should have been a warning to me...but I wanted to give it a go! I put that gun up to my shoulder, with Dad's help, held it up aiming at the target we had placed on a tree down the road...took aim....& .....BAM! It liked to knock me on my butt...I went back...whincing at the pain in my shoulder....surprised as my brother starting cracking up laughing! It was 10 years later before I tried that lil'trick again!
Finally, the year had come when I was "old" enough to shoot a deer....in our camp you had to hunt with your Dad until you killed your first deer & I was 9 years old so Pop let me shoot the Sweet-16! It was the Sweetest Shotgun we owned with a Gold-plated trigger & of course my big brother had broken it in well. That was THE BEST HUNTING Season of my LIFE! In Alabama we had a WHOLE WEEK of Doe Season! And our lease had a WHOLE BUNCH of doe's! I'm not very proud to say...I MISSED a lot of deer that year! There was one hunt where we were in the ditch on side of a road...I could hear the dogs coming...getting louder & louder...then my Dad must've seen the deer 'cause he says "don't shoot till ya see the whites of their eyes!" I thought deer don't have white eyes?!? & Suddenly, not one, not two but SIX deer coming running right at us! I waited until they were literally 10 feet from us & BOOM! I shot....3 times as they JUMPED OVER US in ALL directions!!! NOT ONE WAS HIT! That's a whole lot of BUCK shot to NOT hit a deer! They call it BUCK FEVER even though...it was ALL Doe's!
Finally, later that week the day had come! We were up on a platform stand that leaned against a big tree looking over a cut-over (that's where the timber company had cut down all the trees for harvest & the field was full of briars & limbs) We could hear the dogs coming from way-off but they were getting closer & for the first time...I saw the deer before my Dad! It was TWO deer and I pointed them out to my Pop about 800 yards from where we were in the corner of the cut-over! By some MIRACLE they turned and were coming STRAIGHT towards us! My Pop said "get ready!" I braced myself against the tree with my shotgun on my knee....& when they got about 35 yards in front of us...I SHOT! & SHOT......& SHOT...each time my Pop said "Shoot AGAIN!" Finally, the doe dropped! After 5 SHOTS! My Dad was laughing so hard he almost fell out the stand! He climbed out the stand & I directed him to where the deer fell & he had to finish the job because apparently ...even AFTER 5 SHOTS....I only managed to get ONE BUCKSHOT in her rear-end! Guess I wasn't leading her enough! I was JUST PUMPED that I finally got my FIRST DEER!
I'll NEVER forget that day! To TOP it all off....when my Uncle came to pick us up ...he had TWO 8 point Bucks in the Back of the Truck!!! I'll save that story to be told by him in another post!
Catch ya'll next time....
The first few years I hunted with my Pop & that's where I learned to LOVE deer hunting & learned how to be a man! He taught me how to spit, how NOT to curse (in front of women!) how to make a fist for fighting & how to shoot a gun...lots of guns!
I remember one day on a dog drive my Big Brother was in the next position down the road from where Dad & I had to hunt. (I don't recommend this but...) my Dad & I got bored since there was no action & I asked my Dad if I could shoot my brother!? We had lots of clothes on & afterall...all I was shooting was a Daisy BB Gun Pump-action! So, I pumped that sucker UP with air...aimed ...& shot...missing him by about 20 ft.! Dad said "aim higher!" GAME ON! My adrenaline went berserk! I pumped it up again...aimed HIGHER...& shot....It was a HIT! Right in the butt! Stung like a BEE!! Made my day!
I'll NEVER forget the first time he let me shoot his .30-06 Browning Rifle! We were in between the early morning dog-hunt & the afternoon "still-hunt" standing on a dirt road waiting to be picked up in a truck. I got a wild hair up my butt & asked Daddy if I could shoot HIS GUN? He obliged & the LOOK on my older Bother's face should have been a warning to me...but I wanted to give it a go! I put that gun up to my shoulder, with Dad's help, held it up aiming at the target we had placed on a tree down the road...took aim....& .....BAM! It liked to knock me on my butt...I went back...whincing at the pain in my shoulder....surprised as my brother starting cracking up laughing! It was 10 years later before I tried that lil'trick again!
Finally, the year had come when I was "old" enough to shoot a deer....in our camp you had to hunt with your Dad until you killed your first deer & I was 9 years old so Pop let me shoot the Sweet-16! It was the Sweetest Shotgun we owned with a Gold-plated trigger & of course my big brother had broken it in well. That was THE BEST HUNTING Season of my LIFE! In Alabama we had a WHOLE WEEK of Doe Season! And our lease had a WHOLE BUNCH of doe's! I'm not very proud to say...I MISSED a lot of deer that year! There was one hunt where we were in the ditch on side of a road...I could hear the dogs coming...getting louder & louder...then my Dad must've seen the deer 'cause he says "don't shoot till ya see the whites of their eyes!" I thought deer don't have white eyes?!? & Suddenly, not one, not two but SIX deer coming running right at us! I waited until they were literally 10 feet from us & BOOM! I shot....3 times as they JUMPED OVER US in ALL directions!!! NOT ONE WAS HIT! That's a whole lot of BUCK shot to NOT hit a deer! They call it BUCK FEVER even though...it was ALL Doe's!
Finally, later that week the day had come! We were up on a platform stand that leaned against a big tree looking over a cut-over (that's where the timber company had cut down all the trees for harvest & the field was full of briars & limbs) We could hear the dogs coming from way-off but they were getting closer & for the first time...I saw the deer before my Dad! It was TWO deer and I pointed them out to my Pop about 800 yards from where we were in the corner of the cut-over! By some MIRACLE they turned and were coming STRAIGHT towards us! My Pop said "get ready!" I braced myself against the tree with my shotgun on my knee....& when they got about 35 yards in front of us...I SHOT! & SHOT......& SHOT...each time my Pop said "Shoot AGAIN!" Finally, the doe dropped! After 5 SHOTS! My Dad was laughing so hard he almost fell out the stand! He climbed out the stand & I directed him to where the deer fell & he had to finish the job because apparently ...even AFTER 5 SHOTS....I only managed to get ONE BUCKSHOT in her rear-end! Guess I wasn't leading her enough! I was JUST PUMPED that I finally got my FIRST DEER!
I'll NEVER forget that day! To TOP it all off....when my Uncle came to pick us up ...he had TWO 8 point Bucks in the Back of the Truck!!! I'll save that story to be told by him in another post!
Catch ya'll next time....
YES...that is MY FIRST Deer!
& YES that's ME ... 9 yr. Old ME!
My Dad's knife took her life & that ol'gal
fed my family & I thank The LORD for
allowing me to hunt!
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