Category Archives: Hunting

I Love Dove Hunting!

“Behind you over the trees,” I yelled. When seven heads within earshot swiveled and 14 pair of eyeballs scanned the trees behind them, I realized I needed to be a little more specific. That taught me to say “Uncle Adron, behind you, over the trees.”

I was on my first dove hunt in a blind by myself and was about 12 years old. After many days in the blind with daddy over several seasons, acting as a retriever, then a season in the blind with him while holding my .410, I was allowed in a blind alone while dove hunting. Boy did I feel grown-up, and I was trying real hard to do like daddy taught me.

That dove shoot was on my uncle J.D.’s field behind his house in McDuffie County. Back in the 1960s almost all dove shooting was on family or friends’ fields and you always knew everyone in the blinds around you. That has changed a lot over the years and now, unless you pay to have a field or go to a pay shoot your opportunities are limited.

Fortunately, Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) have dove shoots all around the state of Georgia. Many have managed fields that produce good dove shooting while others are open for dove shooting over areas where you might find doves, like recent clear-cuts, power lines and old fields that are not planted for dove but have natural food sources like weed seeds.

What makes a good dove field? State wildlife biologist Don McGowan works in Region 3 but specializes in dove management and is coordinating statewide dove banding and wing studies. And he loves to shoot at doves. He shared some of his thoughts on what makes a good dove field and how to select a spot to shoot.

You need a minimum of five acres to have a good dove field, and hill top and hill side fields seem better than bottom land for some reason. A nearby water source helps as does perching places like power lines and dead trees.

But the key is the food source.

“Seed available for an extended time is the main key to a good dove field,” Don said. WMA managers try to plant a variety of crops at different times so the harvest will be over as many months as possible. This keeps seed on the ground over a long time and attracts and holds doves. You should plan your field like this rather than waiting until the last minute to plant.

It takes planning and work to make a good field. Some WMA managers place a higher priority on dove fields and spend more time making sure they have good fields. If you plan on hunting a WMA dove field past history of dove shoots on the areas will help you choose one.

Once you pick a WMA to hunt, how do you decide where to place your blind on the field? Many WMAs have open hunts where anybody can shoot on any open day while others have quota hunts to keep fields from being overcrowded. Make sure of the kind the area you want to hunt has and watch the deadline on quota hunts.

“Dove flying patterns are random from field to field,” Don said. The only way to find where doves fly on a particular field is to scout it. Spend some time before season watching the field. Locate corridors where doves enter the field. It might be a head of trees, a dip in the tree line or something only the doves can see, but if you watch you will pick up the pattern.

There are no assigned blinds on WMA dove fields so arrive early to get your chosen spot. Don says hunters are very good on management hunts about spacing themselves in blinds at safe distances and they seldom have problems, but be respectful of those arriving before you. It is first come – first serve in picking out a spot for a blind.

When you find the spot where doves enter the field, set up your blind far enough from the tree line that you can spot a dove and have time to shoot it. Someone in the middle of the field is not as likely to let you know about incoming doves as we used to do when it was all family. After all, if you shoot it the dove can’t make it within their shooting range!

Many WMAs have youth/adult hunts, an excellent opportunity to take your kids to a dove shoot. Doves are the most popular game bird in the US and in Georgia. They offer fast action and younger hunters usually love dove shoots. A WMA hunt won’t be exactly like hunts of my youth where everyone on the field was a relative but with the youth/adult hunts everyone on the field will understand the importance of taking young people hunting. This is likely to make it a better experience for the younger hunters.

Take a kid dove hunting this year!

is Lion and Elephant Trophy Hunting Wrong?

Lions and Ivory
from The Fishing Wire

In life, Cecil was a popular member of the lion population of Zimbabwea’s Hwange National Park. In his suspicious killing by a noted United States hunter, he’s become a lightning rod for controversy. The hunter faces possible poaching charges, although he has maintained his innocence, blaming the professional hunters who ok’d him to shoot the lion.

And two major hunting and wildlife groups, Safari Club International and the Dallas Safari Club, wasted no time weighing in yesterday on the controversy. DSC, the first to respond, called on the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to investigate the matter, especially into possible violations of American Wildlife Laws. It also supported the Safari Operators Association of Zimbabwe’s taking actions against its members who violate wildlife laws.

“DSC abhors poaching,” their statement reads (you can both statements in their entirety in today’s news section), commends the swift action of Zimbabewan authorities and supports the prosecution of convicted poachers to the fullest extent of the law.”

Safari Club International found itself in the uncomfortable position of both the hunter and professional being SCI members. But the organization didn’t hesitate to take decisive action in regards to both or to make it clear they supported strong actions when it comes to poaching.

“SCI has imposed immediate emergency membership suspensions of both the involved hunter and his guide/professional hunter,” their statement reads, “and they will remain in place pending the outcome of an investigation.”

“Safari Club International condemns unlawful and unethical hunting practices,” their statement continues, “SCI supports only legal hunting practices and those who comply with all applicable hunting rules and regulations, and SCI believes that those who intentionally take wildlife illegally should be prosecuted and punished to the maximum extent allowed by law.”

With that, two of the major groups representing hunters – especially trophy hunters- took what was an unquestioned stance against poaching-or the appearance of impropriety, since the full details into the death of Cecil aren’t known. And their decisive actions should help reinforce the idea that hunters aren’t some sub-species of human being, intent on wiping out wildlife across the globe in search of trophy animals.

Nothing could be further to the truth when it comes to the true biological facts of trophy animals- they’re generally beyond their prime when it comes to reproduction or contributions to their species’ survival- and in some cases, like last year’s hotly-protested black rhino hunts, the elderly bulls were actually detriments to the survival of their species. Hopefully, the strong statements and action on behalf of SCI, will help open some eyes to the facts, not the emotion of the matter of hunting.

In another matter, however, it’s the action that confirms the intent. The intent of the administration is to kill the ivory trade in the United States- all of it. After delaying a proposed regulation for a year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has published their proposal for ivory in the Federal Register.

It is, in the words of Knife Rights chairman Doug Ritter, “as bad as expected.” The rule would hit legal owners of ivory- meaning knife owners, knifemakers, scrimshaw artists, and suppliers -hard making a few very narrow exceptions into what is otherwise a total ban on ivory trade -legal or otherwise.

According to the Knife Rights release (again, you can read it in today’s News Section) the ban is based on three premises- all false:

1) Elephant poaching is increasing…when CITES says poaching numbers have been falling since 2011 due to increased enforcement of anti-poaching laws.

2) Large amounts of illegal ivory are being imported into the US, driving the poaching increases…both CITES and U.S. data show that illicit ivory imports into the U.S. are insignificant- both name the Chinese as the demand fueling poaching

3) By banning American ivory trade, the Chinese consumer will abandon his cultural affinity for ivory…when the Chinese demand for illicit ivory is completely independent of the U.S. trade -or demand. The ban seeks to stop trade in decades-old, legally owned, domestic ivory.

As Knife Rights points out, USFWS Director Dan Ashe has stated the goal of the regulation is to implement a near complete ban on the domestic commercial trade of ivory. The federal government lacks the authority to stop trade in states, it seeks to stop any trade across state lines.

As Ritter explained, “there is no evidence this ban would save a single elephant in Africa, but it will take millions of dollars in value from honest Americans.”

So what can we do? Contact our Congressional delegations and tell them they should co-sponsor the African Elephant Conservation and Legal Ivory Possession Act of 2015 to protect honest U.S. ivory owners while providing additional conservation and anti-poaching efforts in Africa.

Is Big Game Trophy Hunting Wrong?

A few years ago a friend of mine from Wisconsin, Steve Huber, came for a visit in January. Steve was doing a TV show and we went to Clarks Hill to film a striper fishing show and to South Georgia to film a hog hunt. Both trips were a lot of fun.

Steve told me about going to Africa on Safari to kill some of the animals there and also about a caribou hunt in Canada. He said he was setting up some more trips and asked if I would be interested in going with him as an assistant, and have the opportunity to shoot some of the animals I had only read about.

Other than the fact I hate flying and would have to get on an airplane, I really had no desire to shoot big game like that. I have no desire to kill a lion, for example. Hunting around here for whitetail deer does not require flying, and I love venison. But I would rather be fishing than hunting.

There is a huge uproar about a dentists killing a well-known lion on Safari in Africa. There are all kinds of silly claims on the internet and news about this incident and the usual flaky anti-hunters are using it to push their agenda. Some of the things they say don’t make sense, and some are outright lies.

Although I have no desire to go on a Safari, I would never condemn those that do. I am a bass fishing fanatic and I am sure their desire and enjoyment of hunting is similar to my enjoyment of fishing. Just because I don’t want to do something is no reason for me to condemn those that do.

In Africa, game management is dependent on trophy hunting. The dentist paid $50,000 just for the license to hunt a lion and that money is supposed to go to the country he was in for management of game. He also spend many thousands more when he got there, helping the local economy.

Some folks seem to think this lion he killed was a pet. It was in a sanctuary where hunting is not allowed, but as best I can tell the lion was killed over a mile outside its borders. Some claim the lion was lured outside the sanctuary by baiting so it could be shot. As best I can tell baiting is legal in that country.

Some reports I have seen say the lion was old and not in great health. In lion prides, when the dominate male gets old he is killed by a younger, stronger lion that takes his place. That is nature. Nature is what we consider cruel, but animals don’t have emotions, that is just the way wild animals live and die.

I find it really strange that so many folks and mainstream media get their knickers in a knot about something like this but the murder of five of our military don’t seem to faze them. They go crazy about killing a lion but ignore videos showing folks cutting up babies for their parts.

For all the people condemning the dentists, put your money where your mouth and prejudices are. How much have you donated for wildlife management in Africa? How much are you willing to spend, of your own money not everyone else’s tax money, to support wildlife in Africa? Or anywhere else.

Game animals are better protected if they have a value. If locals can make money off hunters, they will protect the animals. Otherwise why would you want wild lions living near you? Lions will kill and eat people, so throughout history in Africa lions have been killed to protect the folks sharing the same habitat.

In the same vein there is a thing going around on Facebook showing a guy with a big camera taking pictures while some kind of wild feline cuddles with him. The caption says “This is how real men hunt.” Other than the fact pictures don’t taste too good no matter how you cook them, it is silly.

Hunt with a camera if you want. Cuddle with wild animals if you want. But don’t be surprised when, like the silly woman trying to take a selfie in Yellowstone Park with a bison, you get gored. And don’t whine when, like the idiot trying to take a selfie with a rattlesnake, you get bit and it costs you $150,000 in hospital bills.

Some of the pictures do reflect real life and death in nature. Like the one showing a crocodile pulling a water buffalo calf into the water for lunch. And the one showing a pride of lions attacking a baby elephant. Nature is not cruel, it is just the way it works.

I will continue to kill deer and eat them.

How To Cook Deer Liver and Heart

I love to cook, and love deer meat, even the heart and liver. And I hate to waste anything so I take care to keep the heart and liver to cook. There is an old joke that farmers use everything from a pig except the squeal. I don’t take using deer that far, but I try to use everything I can when I kill one.

Recently I shot a deer and hit it just right, blowing out the lungs without damaging the liver or heart. I try to shoot all deer like that, without damaging any meat. When I gutted the deer I carefully washed off the heart and liver and put them in a plastic bag so I could cook them.

When I got home I washed the liver and heart again, sliced both and put them in a Ziploc bag with salt water. That pulls out a lot of the blood and I think it helps give the meat a better flavor.

Saute onions until soft and browned a little

Saute onions until soft and browned a little

The next night I got the sliced meat out and dried it, then coated the half-inch thick slices with flour. I then heated olive oil and sauteed sliced onions until they started to brown. I use a lot of onions, I really like them, too!

After the meat is brown on one side, flip it and add onions back to it

After the meat is brown on one side, flip it and add onions back to it

After the onions are soft and browned I remove them and put the floured meat into the oil. When the meat is brown on one side, I flip it and put the onions back on top. The heat should be low enough to just fry the meat and brown it. Too hot and the liver will be tough.

Add warm water to cover the meat and simmer

Add warm water to cover the meat and simmer

After the meat browns on the second side I add enough warm water to cover the meat and let it simmer at very low heat. I use a spatula to make sure I scrape all the brown crust off the pan and get it mixed with the water. Again, too high heat makes the meat tough so keep it as low as possible to keep the sauce bubbling slightly. Stir it frequently.

When the meat is just barely done and the sauce a nice brown, you are ready to eat

When the meat is just barely done and the sauce a nice brown, you are ready to eat

The sauce will be white to start but brown as it simmers. I like the meat barely done, still a little pink inside. It is more tender and moist before it gets too well done.

While the meat simmers, usually for about 30 minutes, I slice potatoes and more onions and saute them in another pan until the potatoes are soft. This is a great dish with the meat. I have a salad with it – gotta get my green veggies! In the picture below the salad is all gone! I eat it first.

Fill your plate with meat and potatoes, cover all with gravy, and eat it up!

Cover the meat and potatoes with gravy and enjoy!

Cover the meat and potatoes with gravy and enjoy!

Why Should I Call My Senator About The Sportsman Act?

Urge Support for S. 405: The Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act of 2015
from The Fishing Wire

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following Action Alert was sent to its members by the National Shooting Sports Foundation. We agree that S. 405, The Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act of 2015 is an important one for all outdoor enthusiasts.

Contact your Senators at 202-224-3121 or email them and urge them to cosponsor S.405, the Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act.

This week, anti-hunting forces in an attempt to derail the Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act, sent Humane Society of the United States’ Wayne Pacelle to Capitol Hill to testify in opposition to this pro-hunting, pro-sportsmen legislation. It is imperative that your Senators hear from you in support of this bipartisan bill – the most important proactive piece of legislation to hunters and sportsmen in a generation.

In his testimony, Pacelle told the committee, “I want to be clear that the Humane Society of the United States is not opposed to hunting.” Really? Then how do you explain your quote from an article in the Associated Press? “If we could shut down all sport hunting in a moment, we would.”

But it’s not just sport hunting. Pacelle also said he would campaign against people hunting for food and HSUS has worked to restrict deer hunting in New York, wolf hunting in the Great Lakes region, bear hunting in Maine and all big-game hunting in California.

Senators from both sides of the aisle have worked together to craft a proposal that would protect the use of traditional ammunition made with lead components, increase access to public lands for hunters and other sportsmen, and increase flexibility for shooting ranges to build and maintain facilities to create more opportunities for everyone to enjoy the shooting sports.

Your Senators need to hear from our side so that radical, anti-hunting, anti-sportsmen activists don’t derail this legislation.

Call your Senators at 202-224-3121 or email them today and urge them to sign on as a cosponsor to S.405, the Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act.

Deer Processors Are Different

The only reason I deer hunt is for the venison. I try to kill three or four deer each season for the freezer, and have dozens of favorite ways to cook the meat. One of the most important things about good tasting venison is what you do after shooting the deer and the way it is processed.

I gut any deer I shoot immediately and wash it down carefully. Then I take it to a processor. I like for the deer to hang for a few days before being cut and packaged. Hanging in a cooler makes the meat more tender and flavorful.

For the past several years there was a very good processor, Done Rite, out near my farm. I was very well pleased with the way they handled my deer but they did not open this year. The three deer I shot this year were taken to three different processors with different results.

I shot a 115 pound doe opening day of season. I weigh each deer I kill and then weigh the meat I get back. I carefully gutted and skinned the deer and saved the heart and liver. Yes, I eat both and they are delicious! I also cut out the rib cages to cook.
This deer I took to a processor near my house that shall remain nameless. To be fair about the weight of meat I got back I asked if they cut out the meat from the ribs and they told me there was not enough to mess with.

I got the usual cuts, cube steak, ground meat, butterfly chops and a neck roast and the ground meat was packaged in tubes, something I like. But the rest was in the same kind of trays and wrap that you get from the grocery store. That kind of wrapping allows freezer burn too fast.

From a 115 pound deer I got 28 pounds of meat, only 25 percent of its live weight. And they charge $70 no matter what size the deer.

The second deer I shot was small, only 60 pounds live weight. I took it to Huckabys near Senoia since I had herd they charged by the size of the deer and did a very good job. They did. The meat was vacuumed packed, a very good way to protect it, and the ground meat was in tubes. I got 22 pounds of meat, over 33 percent of the live weight, and it cost me only $35.

Huckabys did not take any deer after Christmas and I shot a 110 pound buck on December 26, so I took it to York in Barnesville. They came highly recommended, too, and they did an excellent job. I got 49 pounds of meat back, almost 50 percent. And it was wrapped in butcher paper with plastic wrap on the outside, a good protection.

They charge $75 no matter what size the deer but they get every bit of the meat. And that included skinning the deer. They also told me they would rather gut it themselves, but most places charge a lot to gut a deer and I would not get the heart or liver.

Next year I will carry any small deer I shoot to Huckabys but, since York is closer to me, I will take bigger deer to them!

Wildlife Seen from A Deer Stand

You never know what you will see from a deer stand. Friday morning I was settled in my climbing tree stand before daylight, waiting on a deer to wander by. For the next couple of hours I got a show I did not expect.

At about 7:15 two squirrels came out of a hollow tree near me and went through their morning stretches then headed to the ground to look for breakfast. Every time I watch gray squirrels I am amazed at how they can climb down a tree upside down. And I remember being told there is not a gray hair on them, and searching the next one I shot. They have white, black and brown hair but no gray hair, although from a distance they look gray.

Then I saw movement to my right and eased my rifle up. A gray coyote came into sight about 60 yards away, easing along looking for his breakfast, too. I got my scope on him for a few seconds and probably should have pulled the trigger, but he was moving, I didn’t want to spook any deer that might be nearby, and he just looked too pretty to shoot.

After the coyote went out of sight I settled down again and checked my watch. It was almost 8:00. Immediately I caught a flicker of movement to my left, the direction the coyote had gone and I assumed it was him coming back. I was wrong and was amazed when a bobcat came up the ridge.

I have been in the woods a lot in the past 55 years and this is just the second bobcat I have ever seen. The first one came out onto a pipeline I was watching for deer, sitting on a stand my Uncle Adron had put me on at daylight. I was about 16 years old so it was at least 45 years ago, but I still remember thinking how big the cat looked. It was about 100 yards from me and I did not have a scope on my rifle back then, so I could not get a real good look at it.

The one Friday was about 30 yards away and I got a close look at it through my scope. It looked like it was about three feet long from the tip of its nose to the end of its stubby, short tail. The legs were long and the cat seemed to be built for speed. I thought it was about two feet high at the shoulder. The tawny brown fur had dark splotches all over it, with dark stripes on its legs.

The cat crossed the logging road I was watching then headed through the thick pines. I was still thinking about how pretty it was, and how it and the coyotes had probably killed all the rabbits I had seen on the farm over the summer when I heard a deer blow down the hill from where the bobcat had disappeared. I guess it was spooked by the cat but I got my gun ready.

A few minutes later a yearling came up the trail and crossed the road. I got a good look at it through my scope but decided it was just too small to shoot. I like killing a yearling each year and cutting it up into roasts, but I have some in the freezer so I didn’t shoot, hoping a bigger deer with more meat on its bones was following it. No such luck.

Then, about 30 minutes later, another flicker of movement to my left drew my attention. A beautiful red fox came slinking through the woods, going the opposite way the coyote had traveled earlier. I had seen the same fox a few days earlier right at dark but the red color really stood out in the brighter daylight. I watched it through my scope for a minute or so until it went out of sight.

Around 9:30 the two squirrels were back near the hollow tree. I was surprised they were still around after all the predators that like to eat them came by. Another squirrel chattered its warning cry about 100 yards down the hill and the two near me froze, hugging the tree they were in.

A red tail hawk sailed in and lit nearby. I watched its head swivel around looking for something to swoop down on. It stayed put for a couple of minutes then flew on to another hunting spot. After a few minutes the two squirrels near me started moving around again.

I love watching wildlife even if I don’t get to kill any deer while hunting. Seeing a bobcat made my year since they are nocturnal. They are not real rare around here but they mostly move and hunt at night so it is unusual to see one. I am told trappers catch them regularly.

Coyotes are not native here and are a problem. They kill a lot of wildlife, including deer fawns. A pack of them can kill a grown deer and a bobcat can kill a deer too. Foxes kill a lot of song and game birds as well as squirrels and rabbits. Bobcat, hawks and coyotes also take small game and song birds.

But all these animals, predator and prey, are part of nature, just as I am. I think they have their place and have a hard time killing them just to kill them. I would rather share the game animals and enjoy watching the other predators hunting for food, just like I am.

Why Is Hunting Allowed On Ossabaw Island and Why Did the Atlanta Constitution Push To Open It for Development

Sometimes the “news” amazes me. Ossabaw Island has been the subject of several articles recently. Most of them complain that Georgia is running the island as a hunting preserve and only allows hunters the privilege of going there. The articles say more people should be allowed to visit and vacation on this state owned island off our coast. They say it is not right that the general public can not go there for recreation.

Ossabaw Island is in the Heritage Preserve Program that limits its use, by state law, to “natural, scientific and cultural study, research and education, and environmentally sound preservation, conservation and management.” That law prevents recreation for the public. Hunting is used only as a management tool on the island.

During the past few years, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources has reduced the deer population by 20 per cent on the island, and tried to eliminate as many feral hogs as possible. Although hunting does provide recreation, it is used to keep the numbers of animals in check on the island, and that is specifically allowed in the law creating it.

I know the people who equate growth and progress would probably like this natural preserve to be built up like Panama City Beach or Myrtle Beach, but that kind of recreation is prohibited by state law. Ossabaw Island is preserved in a natural state for research and education, and allowing more public access for recreation would limit its use in these areas.

The reasons some papers like the Atlanta Constitution are pushing for more recreation on the island are unclear. They may have connections to developers standing to make lots of money from changing the island, or they may just hate hunters and everything associated with them. It is a shame their reporting can not be more balanced, though.

Why Do I Love Rabbit Hunting?

Cold, clear, crisp mornings this time of year always reminds me of rabbit hunting. One of my good friends in high school had a pack of beagles, and we would load them up almost every Saturday during season and head to the woods. January and February were prime times to hunt rabbits.

My family had an old VW bus that we had taken the seats out of so we could haul eggs in it. It was our hunting vehicle, but it rally stunk after putting 10 or 12 beagles in it and driving 20 to 30 miles. And the ride home in the afternoon was just as bad. I don’t know how we stood it!

That VW bus had high ground clearance and a low gear ratio. We thought it would go anywhere, and usually proved it would. Mud holes and slick logging roads were no problem. The only time we got it stuck, we went down a long hill and parked at the bottom. The lower part of the hill was soft sand, and when we tried to leave the tires just bogged down in it.

After a couple of hours of working to get out, we walked the two miles to the nearest house and the farmer took us back on his tractor. It easily pulled the bug bus up the hill to solid ground. He charged us $2 as I remember, not a bad price for what he did, even back in 1966!

I have many great memories of listening to the beagles “sing” as they ran rabbits and we scrambled to get in a position to shoot them when the dogs brought them around. After a few trips I learned to anticipate where the rabbit would run as it made its circle back toward its starting point.

Rabbits almost always run in circles when chased, trying to stay in familiar territory, I guess. The only exception was when we jumped a “swamp rabbit,” a bigger, darker version of the cottontails we usually found. Those rabbits were faster and would run longer before heading back. They were much harder to kill.

The first time I went rabbit hunting with my friend I carried a .22 rifle, thinking I would be sporting and give them a chance. The next time I went I had my .410 shotgun. The .22 gave them way too much of a chance. After shooting at some rabbits with the .410 I switched to a 12 gauge shotgun and finally started hitting them!

One January Saturday we had some snow on the ground. It was solid white in our yards and along the highway. We decided to leave the dogs at home and hunt without them since we thought the snow would be a problem for them. It turned out to be my best day, I killed six rabbits.

The snow in the woods was not a solid blanket, but the scattering of white made the rabbits show up much better. We went to an area where timber had been cut the year before and there were big piles of limbs along the edge of the cleared area. We would kick the brush and a rabbit would run out!

I will never forget that day. There were three of us hunting, and two would go to one side of the brushpile while the third kicked at it on the other side. When a rabbit ran out the one closest to it got the shot. We would take turns doing the dirty work of kicking, because the rabbit usually came out on the other side and the kicker seldom got a shot.

The three of us killed almost 20 rabbits that day. I don’t think we ever killed nearly that many with dogs, since finding one, letting the dogs run it and then getting it often took an hour. Without the dogs we kicked a lot of brush and shot the rabbit as soon as we saw it.

We ate a lot of fried rabbit back in those days. Cleaning the game we killed was always a part of every hunt, and we would often have the rabbits that night for supper, if we got home in time. Nothing was ever wasted, and we would not have considered hunting anything we did not plan to eat.

Rabbits are not as plentiful as they once were. I would love to hear the pack of beagles chasing them again, and feel the excitement of trying to be in the right spot to shoot. I will cherish memories of my growing up wild in Georgia for as long as I live.

Sitting In A Tree

Sitting in a tree for several hours at a time, waiting on a deer to come within range, gives you a lot of time to think. When you first settle down in the dark, watching the sky slowly lighten, all your thoughts are on deer. But when it gets light enough that you stop seeing antlers on every stump, your mind may wander a little.

For a few seconds it may linger on the problems of the world. Ebola, IRS scandals, Russia invading Ukraine, terrorists attacks on our embassies, terrorists killing people in the US and Canada and all the other top news items don’t hold your thoughts long. You may clench your teeth when you think about how hard you work to be able to hunt a day or two while the government takes chunks of your money to give to folks that don’t work, but your natural surroundings make those things pass quickly.

Your main concentration is on trying to do everything right so you don’t spook a deer, and watching for any tell-tale movement that indicates one is nearby, but you do notice many other things. You do see movement and every flicker draws hard examination, but it is almost always a squirrel or bird. Why are they called gray squirrels when they have only brown, black and white hairs? But they do look gray. Those are the kinds of thoughts that pass through your mind.

Even the trees and bushes seem sharper as the sun comes up. You can identify almost all of them from the bark, leaves and shape. That comes from years of study looking for food sources. And a falling leaf is interesting in the way it changes direction. They all have their own paths, some falling straight down, some spiraling, some fluttering like a wounded dove.

A thunking sound makes you smile. You know it is a big white oak acorn hitting a limb then the ground as it falls. After all, that is why you are set up here. White oaks dropping their acorns all around will definitely attract whitetails.

A distant train wails and you know why so many books and poems claim this is one of the most forlorn sounds. It reminds you of passing time, leaving a place you love and someone leaving you. Then a murder of crows go wild and their cawing calls bring you back to the reality of the woods.

You watch your breath in the cold morning air, noting the way it moves, knowing any scent you have that will spook a deer will go the same way. A squirrel comes out of its nests in a nearby tree, stretches and scratches, then starts barking at you. No matter how well you are camouflaged he sees you. But this is his home. He notices a new lump in a tree just like you would notice, as you came out of your bedroom, someone sitting on your couch.

And you can only hope you are high enough and well hidden enough so a deer doesn’t spot you before you can get a shot. That is why you are 50 yards from the trail you are watching. You only have a few narrow shooting lanes to it and that helps you hide, but you know you will not have long to get off an accurate shot through one of them.

And if you notice little flickers of movement from squirrels, birds and falling leaves you just know a deer will see you raise your hand to scratch your nose or if you move your head scanning around. So you make all movements very slowly, even if your nose is about to drive you crazy. Movement definitely draws the attention of a deer. Maybe that is why they seem to bed down and not feed when it is windy. There is just too much movement. And scents get blown around and are not reliable.

The sun makes interesting, changing patterns as it filters through the trees and leaves. You have set up so you won’t be looking through your scope directly into it, knowing a stray ray can blind you, and you hope you are at the right angle so it doesn’t interfere with any shot you get.

A crunch in the leaves makes you turn your head slowly to check it out, but you know before looking it has to be a squirrel. Deer can walk through the woods without making a sound. You can be looking at a spot, glance away and when you look back a deer will be standing there. It did not make a sound, it is like it popped out of the ground right there.

All these things and many more are the reasons you hunt. You can’t ever become “one with nature,” but this gets you as close as possible. Even if you don’t see a deer the time flies by and, as you climb down to the ground, you can’t wait till the next time you are up in a tree, thinking.