shedmanpyro they have not run it yet, hopefully soon, if not I will call and find out when.
BOWFANATIC I thought it would take me awhile to put down why I hunt, but when you are writing from your heart it comes easily, here is why I hunt:
Why I hunt
Escape from the hustle and bustle of every day life. To walk, sit, or stalk through the woods and fields and not hear a radio, TV, car, human voice or any other man made sound is the escape I seek and find hunting. To be able to escape the sights and smells of the man made world and breath in the cool crisp air of the outdoors. To smell the stench of a skunk, the dank odor of a swamp, the aroma of freshly moved leaves exposing the soil that normally is always covered.
To regain what I feel many people have lost, the ability to be as one with nature. To simply sit in the woods and drink it all in. When I sit in the dark of the woods and slowly tune in to the world, my eyes see the outlines of trees, the brightness of the moon and the stars. I hear the breeze as it gently moves through the forest, the gurgle of a stream, sounds of an unseen animal as it moves through the woods. Slowly I tune in with my surroundings and become one with them.
Once I have become part of the natural order of things, I hear, smell, and see more than I did when I slammed the alarm clock at 4AM. In the east I see a change, I feel a slight shift in the wind and notice I hear far more activity than I did 5 minutes ago. I hear a rustling in the leaves to my left and can make out the form of a raccoon going of to his den. There is an ever so slight brightness in the eastern sky; in the distance I hear a doe bleat.
My senses awaken totally, with speed that is hard to believe unless you have seen it, the sun breaks free from the horizon and light enters the darkness. Behind me I hear a twig snap, then silence. Then I hear the honking of geese getting closer and louder, the honking eventually fills the woods and I see a flock of geese flying to an unseen pond in the distance, the honking grows weaker and eventually silence as they disappear in the distance.
My mind now tunes in on the snapping twig I heard behind me before the geese, again I hear the doe bleat, it is closer than before and in front of me. I slowly scan the woods looking for that movement, or the whiteness that screams deer. The doe bleats again and behind me I hear a grunt, then several purposeful steps in my direction. I wet a finger, hold it up and reassure myself that the wind is still blowing left to right. Suddenly I hear scratching and limbs being shaken, my eyes pick up a squirrel as it starts on its way to eat breakfast.
My ears strain for the slightest sound behind me as I scan the woods, I can tell my heart is beating a little faster and my breathing seems to be so loud I am sure it can be heard 30-40 feet away, I know it can't, but it sounds like it. I hear slow purposeful steps behind me moving my way. I am amazed how quietly an animal can move through dry leaves. Movement, in front of me I see a small white patch moving my way through the laurels, slowly I am able to make out the form of the doe through the limbs and can see her legs below the thick stuff. She straightens her neck and bleats again, a grunt behind me and to the right!
The buck is coming to her from my right, I check the wind and realize I will have one chance to outsmart this old boy. I slowly turn to my right; scanning the whole area I still do not see him. I feel he is within 20-30 yards of me, but I see nothing. The doe continues slowly moving to my left, so I know that the buck will be coming right by me to greet her. She bleats again.
I hear him break into a trot and spot him about 30 yards out to my right coming my way. I also know that eventually he will wind me, my heart pounds in my chest when I see how massive his rack is. I know my only chance is for him to enter my shooting lane before he winds me. I am kicking myself mentally for assuming he would come in from my left, even though all my scouting had said he should.
He is almost into my shooting lane, as his head disappears behind a tree I come to a full draw, my heart pounds in my ear, I can see his antlers right behind a bush as he gets ready to step into the shooting lane. He stops and throws his head high, blows, then he turns and bounds off in the direction he came from, he caught my wind. My heart is racing as I let off the fully drawn bow and watch his white flag waving to me as he crashes through the brush.
I turn my attention to the doe, my knees are shaking and I can see her nervously trying to catch a whiff of what the buck had alerted on. Except for her head she is motionless, glued to the spot she is standing in the laurels. After what seems like an eternity she decides all is not right and turns and trots off the way she came, her tail raised, but not panicked, just nervous.
As my nerves calm, I sit again; there is still the feeling of warmth in me as the adrenaline surging through my veins is slowly burnt off, the shaking in my knees slows and finally stops. The woods are dead quiet; a crow caws nearby, probably asking the buck "What's up?". I scan the woods and seeing nor hearing anything I reach into my pack and grab my coffee thermos. Unbelievable, my hands still are shaking a bit as I pour myself a cup of hot java.
I am suddenly aware that the sun has risen fully and the woods are illuminated with the full beauty of sunlight. The squirrels begin to move again and the trees become alive with small birds. The rest of the day passes peacefully, I rest and reminisce of hunts gone by, of the joy of taking that big buck in 74, the pleasure of watching three doe feed in a field right in front of me for over an hour, sometimes coming within 15 foot of where I was seated on the ground.
The shadows grow long and then they disappear, the woods are growing dark, I hear movement coming in my direction, leaves rustling, finally I see the source of the sound, my friend the raccoon is heading back out for another evening of feast. The day is done, the cycle is complete for those of us who are of the day, it is time for the creatures of the night to take over. I put my thermos away, lower my pack and bow and climb down for the stand.
I begin the walk back to the truck, the stars are starting to become visible and as I mossy down the path nearing the field I hear an explosion in the brush less than 20 feet off to my left and can see a group of white flags waving at me going through the brush. I wave, smile and whisper under my breath "Tomorrow". This is why I hunt, not for the kill, I hunt for the connection of myself with nature, for the memories, to introduce my children to the love I have for the outdoors. I hunt to live.
The Tazman