Hunter's Remorse and Reward

I had a successful opening day of bow season. After changing stands a couple of times during the day I set up in the stand I had determined would be the best one for the evening hunt. The stand was a lock-on stand placed roughly 25 feet up the tree and only accessible by the climbing sticks attached to the trunk. The first limbs were just a few feet above my head allowing for a place to hang my bow and quiver along with the small pack I use when hunting from a stand.

Right at sunset, between five minutes prior to five minutes after I spotted the first deer I had seen all day. She exited the tree line of the swamp within a few feet of where I thought she would. She entered the natural clover opening and turned to her left. I noticed a slight limp in her stride. I had my bow in hand but did not risk notice of any movement until I could determine exactly where she was headed. She had a steady walk, somewhere between “I know exactly where I am going” to “I wonder where everybody is.” Since she was going from my left to right and I knew she would go by my stand I waited to draw when the tree I was in was between the two of us. Her pace was quick enough I did not have to hold the 70 pound pull of the Ben Pearson Stealth II but a few seconds before she was in a clear line of sight. I previously marked yardages with the rangefinder and decided if she did not slow down I would take the shot at the 20 yard mark while she moved.

As the thought was processed through my mind she hung a quick right, still passing by the stand. I made a small grunt and she paused, her front left foot still dangling in the air as she didn’t finish her step. I dropped the 10 yard pin from the Spot Hogg sight onto her middle right shoulder. Thwack.

Thirty minutes later I climbed down the stand and started the tracking. My two nephews helped in the process and it was not long before we found her some 50 yards in the swamp.

To say hunters have no heart or soul is a major misunderstanding. Upon finding her we noticed her left side was devoid of hair on about 25 percent of her body. While one nephew wondered if she may have had something like mange or some other disease, I recognized she had likely been hit by a car within the last couple of months. What she had was road rash. Her limp was also a result of the collision.

One thinks of the hard life she must have had. She was old enough where she had given birth before but there were no signs of fawns with her at this point. She was likely a 2 or 3 year old doe. And here I was the one that had ended her life.

I also understand as a hunter that in ending her life I have given her purpose. If she would not have survived the car collision she would have been left for flies and maggots and vultures. Instead she now provides food for a greater good. Instead of perishing from disease, starvation, or coyote attack because of her lack of mobility, she was laid down quickly and ethically.

Yes, we hunters do understand the cycle of life and death and predator and prey.

Deer Season is Here!

The time is here. Ever since January hunters have anticipated this day. Whether it followed a successful season in which the freezer was filled and the rewards of the chess game against the buck of a lifetime are now hanging from the wall or if the season ended in disappointment as the prey out gamed the predator and all that was gained was a few glimpses and encounters that ended with the buck walking away, the feelings are the same.

The spring and summer were spent planting food plots and preparing stand locations. Trail cameras were hung and moved and checked to find out who made it and who did not. Occasionally one is recognized from the year before. There is a sense of almost fatherly pride as the small fork horn from last season is now endowed with the body of a Kentucky Derby racehorse with a main frame eight in velvet towering above. Yes, there it is, a small kicker off the right G2 to make it that much more unique.

Your sweat, blood and tears (usually the tears are a result of the blood) have been poured into all the preparation needed to invite these habitual trespassers onto the land.

When not in the field, equipment was cleaned and tended. Countless hours of practice were spent in order to perfect the killing shot. Visualization of the deer’s approach and the location of the vitals were used to make the shot and calm the nerves. The sights were adjusted, and adjusted, and adjusted. Perfection became calling. Nothing else mattered.

And here it is. All of this time, all of this preparation for just the opportunity to make the shot. Perhaps the camera’s results showed the deer coming to the food plot at 4:00 am. That is fine. You are a hunter. You will get there early and wait. There is nothing wrong with a short nap from 20 feet in a tree. The sun’s cresting of the treetops makes a scenic alarm clock. The cool morning air soothes the lungs that have endured months of hard work, humid hot summer air. Your body not only welcomes the change from being indoors, it encompasses the outdoors.

As you wake you hear the crunching of corn kernels. A slight musk mixed with the scent of wet vegetation reminds you that you are in Heaven. You are conscious of your movements. Just as a chameleon blends in with its environment and only moves it eyes, you do the same. One wrong move will mean the end to these months of preparation. All the correct moves will mean months of true organic food.

You observe the way the prey are protecting themselves. One eats, one looks. They alternate. Every few seconds or so you spot the ears turning away from you toward the field. The one eating lifts his head and scans around. They do not realize you are there.

Your breath begins to quicken as you prepare to make your move. The left hand slowly edges toward the weapon. “Got to control myself,” you think. You breathe in deeply through your nose. You exhale slowly and quietly through pierced but open lips. Much better.

Your hand grips the handle. White knuckles. No, relax. Your right hand slowly draws back. You don’t even notice the 70 pounds at this point. It is purely off instinct and muscle memory. The grip hand is no longer holding, it is just there to keep the bow in place. The sight pin is focused through the small peep hole in the string. It settles just behind the shoulder of the deer.

This is your story. Get out there and finish it.

Dove Hunting Lessons

Labor Day. The last of two holidays that mark the summer. Labor Day comes in and white clothing becomes a faux pas. Shorts are no longer allowed at work. Swimming pools close.

And hunting season arrives in all its glory.

The first of the many hunting seasons is dove season. Usually it arrives the Saturday before Labor Day, however this year with the month of August still hanging around during the weekend, we get a Labor Day Monday opening day. Dove season has always been a special time for me. Doves were the hunt of choice as a kid.

The abundant game bird taught me a lot about hunting and the outdoors. They were responsible for me learning how to shoot for one. Action is constant and frantic at times. It is funny how the childhood mind can wander. With a combination of patience and observation, I remember catching sight of a small flight of birds just over the horizon laden treetops. I would picture myself as a soldier manning the artillery as enemy planes headed my way. “I have to bring them down,” I would think.

I would count my shotgun shells; I used 9 shot back then, and try to keep up with my efficiency. I still do. My father was one of the best wing shooters I have ever seen, often taking his limit in under a box. That was my goal, to shoot as well as him. I never out shot him. He is a marksman for both his skill and his patience. He would pick his shots, never taking one at a bird too far, too fast, or at the wrong angle. Seldom would he ever take two shots, unless he was going for a double. If the first shot missed, he figured the bird had an even greater advantage on the second.

I learned how to clean game animals from dove hunting. Doves are relatively easy to clean. No gory mess left behind; just clean breast meat with a bunch of feathers. In fact, if done right, the breast meat is clean enough for my wife not to refuse to touch. She even enjoys playing with the recipes.

The dove hunts taught me how to be a safe and courteous hunter. I observed where other hunters were located to know where not to shoot as well as to notify them when a bird was headed their way. On a downed bird, we would watch where it would land in order to help the successful shooter find his quarry, or help in the search if necessary.

I learned an appreciation for the animal. I watched the flight patterns. I studied its tendencies in where they would land. One of my most proud moments in the dove field was when I left the cover of the wood line one year and marched right to the middle of the field. The birds were funneled to me from the shooters on either side and rather than having them land in the fields, I was able to keep them in flight as well as get my limit early.

When a bird was not killed immediately, I learned to dispatch the animal ethically and quickly. Many think a common oxymoron is hunters having a heart, but contrary to this belief we care for the game.

The hunts also gave us a sense of tradition and family. Whether hunting with my father and grandfather, or hunting with my friends, or hunting with my son, father, nephew, and brother-in-law as I do now, it provides a bond that has lasting effects.

It is no wonder that dove hunting means so much.

 

A Picture is Worth...

 

This photo I set-up using a timer
won a photography award.

    The saying goes ‘a picture is worth a thousand words.’ Many of us have learned to take a camera whenever we are out on our hunting and fishing trips so as to not miss that golden photo that will memorialize a great adventure. Especially with not only the advent of cameras embedded in our cell phones, but cameras and software on our cell phones that can exceed even professional equipment from just a few years back, we all have the opportunity to enhance the memories of our excursions.

 

BowAmerica Magazine January 2012

     Last year I came across a photo of Emily Anderson of Colorado after a successful out of state deer hunt. The image consisted of the deer in sharp focus in the foreground with Emily slightly blurred and standing several yards away with her hands and bow outstretched above her head. That image said everything. It had the deer stand out as the main subject. It also captured Emily’s exhilaration yet showed she was not the main focus of the photo.

     Bill Kohls, of Bill Kohls Media in Winston-Salem, has a penchant for catching some of these types of moments. I spoke with Bill bout some tips he could share so we could put together a shot of a lifetime for that shot of a lifetime. Here are a few he pointed out:

Unique point of view:

Courtesy Bill Kohls Media

    The number one mistake I see new photographers make is they always take their shots from a standing, straight on position. This is boring and brings nothing new to the eye of the viewer. I am always moving around in the boat or yak to get a cool angle that you don't normally see.

Angles:

    This can be a huge friend to me in the field. By trying a few different angles you may be able to show the trophy off in size. Another tip for angles is always having something in your photos to show the size of the subject relative to something smaller. This will exaggerate the size of the trophy. For example, if I have an angler with a large fish I try to focus on the fishes larger features like its poked out eyes, wide mouth or gut. For a large animal I would aim at its rack, shoulders or tail. Something that would set the animal apart from the average ones. Also, put something else in the photo like the lure or the gun to show the size of the animal.

Time of Day:

    If you can help it shoot your photos during lower light times of the day. Sunrise-11:00 am/3:00 pm-Sunset. This is the best light for natural light photography. Shooting during lunch time can be hard due to the intense light rays.

Courtesy Bill Kohls Media

Poses:

    Everyone knows the ‘hold the fish out as far as you can trick’. Instead of having the same pose as everyone out there hold the fish different. Use two hands and hold the fish with its mouth open at the camera, or have the angler be down on one knee. Anything to set the photo apart.

Sun:

    Use the sun to light your subject. Always have your back to the sun when photographing a trophy to catch all the detail. 

  

Courtesy Bill Kohls Media

   By following these tips you can take a photo from ‘that’s a nice fish’ comment to a ‘Wow!’ reaction. After all, once the season begins and you bring down that trophy of a lifetime, your epic photo will look great along with the story I submit to the editor. You can reach Bill at bill@billkohlsmedia.com or on facebook by searching Bill Kohls Media.