I started late on
setting up the hunting land this season.
Between bowfishing, writing, and work, I just haven’t had the time I can
normally dedicate to prepping. So this
last weekend, I put together a couple of gravity feeders and set them up in a couple
of locations that in the past has been productive. I also set the trail cameras and did some
brief scouting around the perimeters.
Even though I have been
hunting recently for feral hogs, I have not practiced shooting as much as I
usually do. In fact, I only took 3 shots
with the bow prior to the hog hunt to make sure my sights were still where they
needed to be. So I also made time to
take a few practice shots after work one afternoon.
I put out the target
and placed a small piece of paper near the center to represent the
bullseye. I paced off 20 yards. Then I shot twice, laid down the bow and
retrieved the arrows. While I was cycling
between reps of shooting twice and retrieving, I thought about the locations I
selected for the feeders. I thought
about the monsters that were on the trail cams last year just prior to the
opening of bow season.
I shot some more and
retrieved some more.
I visually ran through
the coming opening day on how I would hunt it.
Early in the season, especially if I have both nocturnal deer and ones
that are hitting the feeders just after sunrise, I like to get out in the stand
early. By early, I mean I have been know
to be walking to the stand at 3:30am.
Some say it is overkill. I
believe if I head out and scare off a few deer, once I have settled down in the
stand the deer will be back out before day break. I’m not getting the opportunity to skirt a
field and get a shot at 200 yards. My targets
have to be within 40 yards. 20 yards
preferably.
Hence the next 2 shots
at the target from 20 yards. I retrieved
the arrows once again.
I thought back to some
of the misses I have had. Yes, I have
missed before. Unless we are face to
face, then I have NEVER missed! But I am
human, and I do miss. Just not often.
I focused on where I
would need to be looking and where the deer usually would enter the field in
the morning and evening.
I shot a couple of more
arrows at the target. I retrieved them.
Throughout all the
thoughts and planning, I was completely at peace. No distractions, no thoughts of work, no
stress. I was just pulling back the
string and releasing it. Two times each
time. Then I would retrieve the
arrows. I would often re-start a thought
as I walked to the target. I found
myself thinking about the hunt while pulling back the bow and centering the
bullseye.
After a little while my
target paper resembled the stars on the bb gun targets at the state fair. More holes than paper. I reached down and grabbed a green leaf and
put it up where the paper had been. A
fresh new bullseye.
I went back to my 20
yard mark and began the cycle again. I
noticed the green from the leaf blended in with the black and blue target
backdrop. It reminded me of how a deer
blends in with the ground and soil just before shooting light escapes the
horizon at the end of the day. A few
years ago I landed a shot on a deer some 40 yards away at the last possible
legal moment to shoot. I could not tell
where the shot landed but I did see the deer disappear some hundred yards away
in the field.
After coming down from
the climber I went and searched for blood.
I could not find any. After a few
minutes of searching I did spot my intact arrow. It was covered in red. I had to postpone the search that
evening. The next morning I again could
not find any blood near the impact zone.
But I did spot a rather large pool of blood 125 yards away from where
the deer was hit. It took less than 10
minutes to find the deer about 20 yards in the tree line after that.
I shot at the leaf; I
retrieved the arrows.
I thought about the
killing involved with hunting. It seems
heinous for someone to want to take a life.
That is before we dig into the matter a little more. I wanted to focus more on this thought as I
shot, trying to think in an anti-hunter’s point of view. But as I tried, I pulled a couple of more
arrows out of the leaf.
My thoughts moved to
the premise that an animal is just as important as a human. I do not believe this. I believe God granted humans stewardship over
this earth and its creatures. Animals
kill other animals. We do not chastise
them for this activity. It is what they
are and how they survive. The same can
be reasoned for us. We were hunters long
before we were contractors, technicians, doctors, lawyers, and accountants. It is who we are and how we survive.
And if one can reason
animals are as valuable as humans, then why are plants not of an equal basis as
well? They are living creatures. Their life scale is just on a much different
pace.
After retrieving the
two arrows once again I pulled back and realized it was just too dark to keep
shooting. I then realized I had shot a
LOT more than I have shot in any practice or competition. The best I could count I had released the
arrow over 60 times. Maybe much more,
but it was hard to count many of the holes.
I also noticed that I had very few misses. In fact, I only saw 3 shots outside of a 2
inch radius. I was relaxed and at
ease. I was lost in the hunt, and the
thoughts of the hunt. I had a hard time
recalling individual shots, yet I turned in one of the best practices I have
ever had.
I was at peace with myself.
I'm happy for blogs like this to give a better understanding of hunters. I'm speaking from my own point of view. Coming from CA and not knowing anyone truly from the south until I moved here. My impression of hunters in the south were guys in trucker hats and flannels with a cigarrette half hanging out of their mouth and budweiser in one hand. They'd shoot a deer as easily as shooting a street sign from the back of a pick up truck. Then I actually met what I call "true" hunters and read blogs such as yours. I have gained a new respect for these people and found they cherish nature and animal life as much as any conservationalist. Yes there is fatality in what hunters do and I think it is tarnished by people labeling it sport. It really down plays what hunting actually is. There is a lot more too it. Fortunately there are people out there writing about how they interprit the act of hunting and explaining why they do it. It's not just to kill things. It's a different kind of bond with nature and just being a human being that can be linked back as far as civlization has existed. I hope I don't sound too hokey.
ReplyDeleteYou don't sound hokey at all Kevin. Thanks for he comment. A lot of people see hunting by the caracatures of 'the hunter'. Same can be said of an angler. If you fish, you are just as much of a liar as lawyers and used car salesman, only you are not hurting anyone in the process. But that is entirely not true. Perception always becomes reality though. Unfortunately.
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