lighthorseman
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- May 18, 2016
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I have enjoyed reading the various hunting stories from all of you this season. Like most I had high hopes before the season started. Trying to hunt between shoulder surgeries, I figured Oct was the only window I had as my right shoulder replacement was scheduled for the 7th of November.......but as it turned out the surgery was delayed until two weeks ago and so I had all the deer rut to hunt.
I have two places to hunt, here on our 36 ac. and 30 minutes from here on "the ranch" which has about 1,800 acres. Hunting with my smooth rifle, success was more likely here at home rather than the wide open spaces of the ranch. Choosing to hunt for mature bucks and bulls, I was once again limiting myself, however I had decided early on that by the last couple of days of the deer season, had I not taken a buck yet, I'd "Baptize" my new smooth rifle with a doe. Elk season was a bust with the local herd not showing up during the season here at home and too many guns blazing at the ranch slaughtering nearly ten spikes...which I refuse to kill. But this year even deer season saw few nice bucks.....few bucks period and certainly none I wanted......stranger yet, fewer doe than normal on the ranch, though we still had the 15 or so doe and fawn hanging around on our 36 ac. Add to that a very wet Oct. (6" of rain for the month) and wet as well in November, hunting was pretty awful. December 1rst finally arrived which is the end of regular rifle season with fresh snow on the ground I had decided to head out to my blind a couple hundred yds from the house and sit for the evening.
Preparing to leave, I looked out the back kitchen window and saw 20 yds from the back door eight or so doe browsing in the woods........a few years back I was standing washing dishes when I noticed a nice buck chasing a doe, no more than 30 yds from the house. Grabbing my Sharps, I dispatched the biggest whitetail buck to date at 40 yds, while using the the door post to steady on. This would have been the same shot only closer with my smooth rifle and I would finally made meat with my new flinter........but standing there I remember the full freezer next to me and how a patient had brought fresh caught salmon from Alaska to Clair and now the freezer was filled to the brim. Watching the most obvious target broadside, I realized how easily it would be to fill my deer tag. But standing there I realized right then there was nothing in me that wanted to pull the trigger on the peacefully browsing doe.......not an issue of conscience but rather simply no desire....not even any bragging rights to finally killing a deer with a smooth bore flintlock.......more of a peace that my season was over and I was okay with that. A lot different than 30 years ago when "getting skunked" would have left me feeling a bit hollow. Having some venison jerky right now would be nice, but letting that doe who hopefully was covered this year throw a nice little buck next spring....who will hopefully mature into a nice mature buck, just seemed this year to make more sense.
Congratulations to y'all who made meat this year or will do before it's over......especially those who killed their first muzzle loading deer or elk.........never let the "getting" become more important than the "hunting".
Be Blessed! :hats off:
Doug
I have two places to hunt, here on our 36 ac. and 30 minutes from here on "the ranch" which has about 1,800 acres. Hunting with my smooth rifle, success was more likely here at home rather than the wide open spaces of the ranch. Choosing to hunt for mature bucks and bulls, I was once again limiting myself, however I had decided early on that by the last couple of days of the deer season, had I not taken a buck yet, I'd "Baptize" my new smooth rifle with a doe. Elk season was a bust with the local herd not showing up during the season here at home and too many guns blazing at the ranch slaughtering nearly ten spikes...which I refuse to kill. But this year even deer season saw few nice bucks.....few bucks period and certainly none I wanted......stranger yet, fewer doe than normal on the ranch, though we still had the 15 or so doe and fawn hanging around on our 36 ac. Add to that a very wet Oct. (6" of rain for the month) and wet as well in November, hunting was pretty awful. December 1rst finally arrived which is the end of regular rifle season with fresh snow on the ground I had decided to head out to my blind a couple hundred yds from the house and sit for the evening.
Preparing to leave, I looked out the back kitchen window and saw 20 yds from the back door eight or so doe browsing in the woods........a few years back I was standing washing dishes when I noticed a nice buck chasing a doe, no more than 30 yds from the house. Grabbing my Sharps, I dispatched the biggest whitetail buck to date at 40 yds, while using the the door post to steady on. This would have been the same shot only closer with my smooth rifle and I would finally made meat with my new flinter........but standing there I remember the full freezer next to me and how a patient had brought fresh caught salmon from Alaska to Clair and now the freezer was filled to the brim. Watching the most obvious target broadside, I realized how easily it would be to fill my deer tag. But standing there I realized right then there was nothing in me that wanted to pull the trigger on the peacefully browsing doe.......not an issue of conscience but rather simply no desire....not even any bragging rights to finally killing a deer with a smooth bore flintlock.......more of a peace that my season was over and I was okay with that. A lot different than 30 years ago when "getting skunked" would have left me feeling a bit hollow. Having some venison jerky right now would be nice, but letting that doe who hopefully was covered this year throw a nice little buck next spring....who will hopefully mature into a nice mature buck, just seemed this year to make more sense.
Congratulations to y'all who made meat this year or will do before it's over......especially those who killed their first muzzle loading deer or elk.........never let the "getting" become more important than the "hunting".
Be Blessed! :hats off:
Doug
