http://iowawor.wix.com/----
I had taken the deer from the last post on a Thursday, New Year's Eve, and had to go back to school Monday morning. I felt relieved to be able to tag a deer, but I certainly did not think I had a chance to tag a second. On Saturday my Dad and I headed back into the field knowing that this was the last day I would hunt because I was not planning on hunting Sunday. It was cold, one of the coldest of the winter at that point but my dad and I had a plan. I was going to go stand on top of a hill where he might push deer to me on the way to his sitting spot. If I did not see anything I was then going to go walk around nearly the entire property hoping to bump something to my Father. I stood at the top of the hill constantly alert for a pair of ears to break the horizon on a dead sprint towards me... that did not happen, but I did see deer, half a mile away. I saw them trotting across an empty field and down into the creek bed that I had seen the deer that I shot two days ago, only these deer were not only a long ways from that spot but on a different property. I thought that it was possible that the deer would get into the timber and funnel there way down towards either my dad, who was sitting far away on that creek bed, or that I might see them when I had waited the allotted time for my Father to get into position.
After about 30 minutes of standing there unprotected from the wind and cold I began my long journey around the property. I could not shake the idea that those deer could possibly be moving along the lengthy draw and that I might intercept them and so all of my senses were on high alert. I moved down the hill and entered the timber on the opposite side of the creek from where the deer most likely would be and sure enough the deer stood there 150 yards away unaware of my presence moving in the field opposite of me from my right. Looking back at what happened next I cannot believe how fortunate I was. I realized that the deer, four of them in total, were about to move behind a large amount of brush that stood between us, that was my opportunity. I closed the distance in half being quite loud trying to make my way through the snow-covered forest floor. The first of the deer moved past the brush and I raised my gun, she looked my way sort of suspiciously but not spooked. I moved to my right a little bit to where a tree about 10 inches in diameter stood. I could see all of the deer but only one of them provided a clear shooting lane. I rested the gun on the trunk, steadied the crosshairs directly behind deer's front shoulders and squeezed the trigger. In the moments after the smoke cleared I saw that the deer seemed to have been taken back by the force of something unnatural and she began running earlier than the other deer. These two signs made me feel confident that the deer had been hit. It is hard to explain but subtle clues such as these allow someone with just a little bit of deer hunting experience such as I, to make a well-educated guess on the shot. The part that worried me was that as the deer ran up the hill I could not distinguish the deer I had shot at from the others. None of them appeared to be injured. Then I saw it, after running about 60 yards the deer stopped and one of them fell over.
I crossed the creek and could see the deer laying motionless in the snow in the middle of the field. I followed the heavy, bright red blood trail to the deer (which indicates a lung shot) and walked up to the dead doe thankful to have been able to harvest such a great animal in an ethical way, just as the last. I took a moment to thank both this deer and the Lord for providing this animal as meat and memories. This deer was much larger than the last and so I was glad my dad was there to help get her out of here. I called my dad who was several hundred yards away and asked if I should finish the drive. He said yes and so I tagged the deer, laid my gun and coat across her chest, for I was tagged out and walked the perimeter to him. Along the way I saw two decent bucks but they did not follow the script towards my father. When I met with him I was eager to share another successful hunt with him. Although I was very thankful to have the experience of hunting alone, I was excited to share in the camaraderie of ending a hard, yet rewarding season with him. As we walked to the deer I shared the adventure with him like I remember doing so many times before. I was taken back to a time when I was a young boy recounting every moment of a hunt to him (even if he had been standing over my shoulder the whole time). Times like these can never be forgotten.
We field-dressed the deer together and took our gear to the car. We decided to check with one of the landowners if there was a closer entrance and he offered to let us use his ATV to get to the deer as we would have had to drag her up the same steep slope that I took the previous deer up two days ago. In many ways I was glad for the hard work that left me sweating in 15 degree weather but I certainly appreciated such a luxury as an ATV. Due to the fact that my father was with me and I shot this deer around noon, I was able to get pictures which would allow me to capture this special event forever. In reflecting on such a time as this I can see just how rewarding these two deer were after working so hard. To be able to share it with my Dad makes it that much more special as well. Anytime we are given a chance to take part in His creation, it should be treasured and not easily forgotten because these moments, these feelings can never be replicated and they leave us with a stronger connection of who we are as humans.
No comments:
Post a Comment