I'm looking forward to my annual hunt in Osage county NW of Tulsa. This is not a trophy hunt, and I am not a trophy hunter. I love to be in the woods, to take deer, process the meat myself, and cook great gourmet meals with the venison. I will leave work mid-afternoon Friday and begin driving up from my home just north of Dallas, Texas. I'll have my truck packed tonight, excepting my several guns that I pack at the last minute. I am carrying .22 LR and 12 gauge in the event I also have opportunity to do some squirrel and duck hunting after taking my deer.

A special treat this year, I am bringing my 10 year old daughter along to observer. Last year she came out into my sister-ini-law's backyard and wanted to watch me skin and cut-up my doe. I figured that would last about two minutes until she got grossed out. Au contraire! She was fascinated, watched the whole thing closely, and wanted to participate in the butchering inside the house. I let her write the identifying information on the packaged meat. Anyway, the plan is for her to sit with me while I hunt. I'm taking a sleeping bag for her to pull up over her torso to keep warm in the mornings. I'm taking ear plugs and the "ear muff" hearing protection devices: I don't imagine she will be happy to get blasted by the report of a deer rifle, so she needs hearing protection (I use hearing protection at the range but not while hunting). I also hope to have her take a book or two which she can read if she gets bored with just sitting and watching. I hunt from improvised ground blinds and generally stay on stand about 3 to 4 hours. For example, opening morning I'll plan to be walking to my appointed position at 5:30 AM, with legal shooting light being about 6:30 AM. I'll stay in this position until 9:30, maybe 10 AM. In the afternoon I'll try to get into position about 2:30 PM, and last shooting light is about 5:45 PM. Between the morning and afternoon I drive back to my sister-in-laws house. This works for me. I take a deer every year; last year I took both a doe and a buck following this routine.

Anyway, yes, the excitement is building.