I very well remember the excitement. It was a doe and I shot her in the last light of the day on my trek back to the cabin in Arkansas. She was in the meadow below the cabin and she ran up the hill, past the cabin, turned and came back down the hill. She expired just a few yards after her turn. Perfect for me, as it put her on the same plane with the cabin and not 100 yds to drag. Field dressed and hung, and off to bed awaiting the morning hunt. A bitter cold morning with no success, and back to the cabin to warm up and lunch. I fell asleep with my feet propped by the wood stove and woke quite some time later sick as a dog. I spent the next few days at moms house as it was just a mile away. Completely incoherent with fever. She nursed me through the fever with Mommas good cookin. lol Then we butchered the doe and she canned her portion.
Ahhh what a good time, lol even with the cold.
Would I trade the knowledge I have today for that feeling again? Not on your life. Having worked in the industry for over 10 yrs now, I have learned so much about more about deer than I knew then. It has given me the opportunity to be up close and personal with some of the biggest bucks. Scouting, tracking, patterning the big boys of the mid-west has been an experience of a lifetime, that many will never know and is hard to put it all into words that would suffice to tell the tale. When I do go hunting now, it is generally early season with the bow. Or I will wait until we are done with all hunters and go doe hunting for the freezer. I still get the same feeling of elation I got back on that 1st hunt, just minus the fever, as I have better gear now. lol At this point in my life, I am not concerned if I get horns on the ground, as long as I put meat in the freezer. I get enough satisfaction at seeing the joy of the hunters that I guide to success, and others in camp. When they get a good buck, I am as proud as if it had been my own. Because I know that it has been my hard work and my fellow workers, doing our field work, scouting and patterning the deer, and above all the Hand Of The Almighty at work.