The Final Hunt of the Season
01-18-2021, 04:22 PM
#1
Giant Nontypical
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Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 9,230
The Final Hunt of the Season
17-18 DEC 2020
It is time for winter break at the high school I work at. We are all done at noon and are free to go. At the appropriate time I quickly head to the door and depart before the powers to be can change their minds. I am anxious to go because I have a deer hunt arranged. A couple of months ago I put out feelers for a hunt for a couple of does and a gentleman named Billy Wheeler told me he could accommodate me. So off I go.
My destination is Shamrock, TX, a place I have never been to before. According to my map it lies approximately 90 miles northeast of Amarillo and is very close to the border with OK. The drive is uneventful and passes quickly. Along the route I pass by Lake McClellan. Very interesting looking place. I need to research it to see if any hunting is allowed there. Shamrock is a small town, and my directions tell me to go north and then head west until I come to a small red cabin. The directions are spot on and the cabin sits exactly where it should, and I arrive at about 1430. As I pull up Mr. Wheeler came outside, and the appropriate introductions are made. He seems a very nice guy, which puts me at ease because hunting with someone for the first time can be a little intimidating.
Although my hunt is not supposed to start until the morning of the 18th, Mr. Wheeler told me to go ahead and stow my gear and we would squeeze in an afternoon hunt. The cabin is comfortable and has electricity, running water and a bathroom. Fancier than my accommodations on my usual hunts. I pick a bunk in the back, change out of my driving clothes and grab my gear. I am carrying my old faithful 7mm Mag. I have just bought a Thompson Center Compass in 308 Winchester but have not scoped it or bought ammo yet. It will have to wait until next year to take any game which is good because that will give me time to get used to it and to handload some shells.
We get into Mr. Wheeler’s truck and he drives me out to a stand with a box blind that overlooks a winter wheat field and some brush. Mr. Wheeler informs me that the deer will leave the brush and enter the field in the last half hour of light and tells me the ranges to locations I can see. I can literally shoot in any direction and Mr. Wheeler leaves to go sit in another location. I settle in to wait and in less than 20 minutes the first deer shows, a small yearling doe. She begins to feed at a range of about 60 yards and I enjoy watching her through my Leica binoculars. She is soon joined by 3 bucks, 2 of which are small 8 points and the other is a spike. The deer form a quartet and feed contentedly. I am not hunting bucks and the doe is too small, so they have nothing to fear. Other deer trickle into the field and before long I have a total of 8 bucks in from of me including a really nice 8 point. For a doe hunt, I am seeing lot of bucks which is something I am not used to, and I take advantage of the situation to study the behavior of the deer and note their body language. I have found you can learn a lot about game if you take the time to observe them. More deer arrive at the far end of the field. While they are well within my range, I am in no hurry to shoot and will wait for a closer shot. This is a meat hunt and I want to place my shots carefully and kill cleanly.
The bigger buck sees something off to my left and locks onto it with is eyes. I follow his gaze and see 3 good sized does and 5 yearlings walk out in the open. These deer interest me because the does are good sized and the range is about 80 yards. I decide I will take one of these does if possible. The problem is they stay bunched and I know if I shoot one the bullet will pass through her and possibly hit a deer behind her. I watch and wait and one of the adult does finally clears the group and has about 15 feet of free space around her. She feeds facing straight at me and I settle the crosshairs on her and wait for her to turn broadside. Nearly 10 minutes pass before she turns and in that time the sun continues to drop, and the shadows get longer. I move slightly and steady the crosshairs for a high shoulder shot to ensure she drops when the bullet hits and take the 7mm off safe. Finger on the trigger I begin the squeeze when one of the yearling’s head comes into view. I know that I cannot stop the trigger squeeze, so I jerk the rifle to the right and the bullet hits the earth in front of the deer. In an instant the field is covered with flashing white tails and the deer head for cover. I know the shot is a clean miss, but I still go look for blood. Nothing. My first chance does not bear fruit.
I return to the blind and wait to see if anything else shows up. In another field about 500 yards away I see deer feeding as well as a big bunch of wild pigs. I would love to put a stalk on the pigs but do not know if I am allowed to hunt that field so I must content myself simply watching them. Just at last light deer begin to show up in front of my blind but I consider it too dark to shoot since it would be easy to mistake a small buck for a doe. Mr. Wheeler shows up a half hour later and tells me the field the pigs were in is huntable. But that information is too late. For a short 2 hour hunt, this looks very promising. Mr. Wheeler suggests getting dinner and we head to a local diner. Dinner is very good, and we return to the cabin and talk. My first impression of Mr. Wheeler is spot on, a really nice guy with some interesting stories. It is soon time for bed. I am tired and sleep comes quickly.
0530. My slumber is shattered by an alarm clock. I have slept well and enjoy the warmth of the cabin and my sleeping bag. It is cold this morning. 30 degrees. In many parts of the country 30 degrees would not be considered cold but this is TX. 30 degrees is cold here. I want to stay in my sleeping bag but there is hot coffee on the other side of the cabin and my desire for a cup is stronger than the desire for warmth and I get up. It is hard to properly describe the simple joy of a hot cup of coffee in the morning. One of life’s simple pleasures. Mr. Wheeler is also up, and we get ready for the hunt. He is taking me to another location that is on the state line. A simple dirt road separates TX from OK and Mr. Wheeler has set a blind on the edge of a winter wheat field. He tells me that the deer will be in the winter wheat and will move past the blind at dawn to bed in the brush on the OK side of the road. He leaves to go sit on another field about a mile away. As darkness loses its grip on the land, I can see the ghostly shapes of deer in the field. Already they head to the bedding area. It is too early to shoot and at least 12 deer have melted away. But I see more in the field and I feel confident that at least one will stay until legal shooting time.
8 deer slowly head out of the field along the left hand side. It is nearly legal shooting time, and I can see that the route they are on will bring them within 100 yards of me. I place the 7mm on a shooting rest in the blind and watch as they close the distance. Suddenly a distant shot rings out and I know that Mr. Wheeler has tried to fill one of his doe tags. All the doe tags for this property are Managed Land Deer (MLD) permits and the ranch has been given 64 of them. A hunter can shoot as many does as they want to but only one buck per hunter is allowed in the county. Mr. Wheeler told me he is very selective about which buck he shoots so I am certain a doe has fallen to him. The deer in front of me pay no attention to the far away shot and continue on. Light has improved and I clearly note a really good buck, heavy of horn and wide, walking alongside a big doe. Of the deer walking by, they will pass the closest. I decide to try for the doe if she stops and presents a shot.
Almost on cue the doe stops to feed on something, giving me a perfect broadside shot. The crosshair is steady behind her shoulder, 1/3rd of the way up. My finger applies pressure to the trigger and the bullet leaves the barrel at 3100 feet per second. I see the doe drop to the shot without a quiver. Hunter and prey.
The buck stands and looks at the fallen doe. It seems as though he is curious at what has happened. He does not spook, he does not run, he simply turns and continues to follow his path. Behind him 2 mores does continue on. They follow the same route the buck and fallen doe were on. I can take 2 does today so I switch my attention to them. As they draw alongside the fallen doe one of them stops and sniffs her still form. Once more my finger applies pressure and once more the deadly projectile leaps forward. I hear the bullet hit. I see the doe stagger. But she does not fall. Instead, she runs, but only for a short distance and then stands there. It is obvious she is hit hard but I will not wait for the bullet to do its deadly work, I fire another round and as it hits, she drops, never to rise again. Hunter and prey.
I unload the rifle and set it aside. There is no need of it now as I walk to the deer. The second deer is slightly bigger of body than the first one. As soon as I get to her, I see the location of the second hit. Heart shot. The first bullet hit less than 2 inches higher than the second. I do not know why she did not drop. Nature designs her creatures to be tough and often they can withstand devastating wounds and not show any reaction. I place a small piece of browse in the mouth of the 2nd doe as an offering for a last meal and drag her to a place where the truck can safely drive and then I walk to the first doe. Following my same routine, I place browse in her mouth and drag her to the same place I put the other deer. When I have completed that I spend a moment thanking God for the gifts he gave me and for making my aim true. Hunter and prey.
As I sit enjoying the feel of the morning sun on my cheek, I send a text message to Mr. Wheeler and tell him that I have 2 deer down. He replies saying he also has a deer down and will soon be there. It has been a good morning and we have been in the blinds for less than an hour. It is a glorious morning. And after a few minutes I see Mr. Wheeler’s truck approach. We load the 2 does into the back of the truck and then head over to load Mr. Wheeler’s deer. Sadly, it isn’t the doe he wanted but instead was a small buck, with spikes less than an inch long. In the early morning shadows, he did not see the tiny antlers and in TX if a deer has any visible antler above the skin it must be tagged as a buck. Knowing that Mr. Wheeler is holding out for a big buck, and that he is only allowed one buck in this county, I offer to tag the spike for him since I have a valid buck tag as well. He is very grateful for that. I am hunting meat, not antlers and will put the buck to use.
We now have work to do. Mr. Wheeler has a cleaning station at the cabin, and we take the deer there. We decide that Mr. Wheeler will do the gutting and I will do the skinning and quartering. We hang 2 of the deer and Mr. Wheelers guts one while I skin the other. Then we switch and I skin the gutted deer and Mr. Wheeler guts the skinned deer and then as soon as one is quartered and in coolers Mr. Wheeler begin gutting the 3rd deer while I quarter the 2nd. Working this was allows 2 hunters to work on the game without getting in each other’s way. By 1000 all three deer have been taken care of and we can clean up. Mr. Wheeler suggests going to town to get breakfast and that sounds like a fine idea. After breakfast I begin loading my gear for the return trip to Amarillo. Mr. Wheeler has a father and daughter coming the next day and I am sure they will be successful for this area seems to have many deer and Mr. Wheeler knows his stuff.
My drive to Amarillo goes smoothly and when I arrive, I begin to get organized. The next morning, I will drive 8 hours to Athens, TX and it is there that I will do the final butchering and packaging of the sacred flesh of the prey. But tonight, I will have a feast. A hunter’s feast. Fresh deer heart, beans and candied jalapenos. Tonight, I will fully connect with the beast of the field in the way only a hunter does. We will become one. Hunter and Prey.
I arrive in Athens, TX on the afternoon of the 20th. As soon as I park, I take care of the meat, hanging it in the shade behind my 5th wheel. It is supposed to drop into the 30s tonight so the meat will chill properly. I will be busy the next two days taking care of nature’s gift. The prey will feed us for a year. Roasts, steaks, sausage, burger and jerky. Natural protein. Chemical free and healthy. Meat as it is supposed to be. The meat of the prey for the table of the hunter. The eternal cycle of life played out once more. My season is over. Long live the beast.
Peace to all, Animosity to none.
The Chief
It is time for winter break at the high school I work at. We are all done at noon and are free to go. At the appropriate time I quickly head to the door and depart before the powers to be can change their minds. I am anxious to go because I have a deer hunt arranged. A couple of months ago I put out feelers for a hunt for a couple of does and a gentleman named Billy Wheeler told me he could accommodate me. So off I go.
My destination is Shamrock, TX, a place I have never been to before. According to my map it lies approximately 90 miles northeast of Amarillo and is very close to the border with OK. The drive is uneventful and passes quickly. Along the route I pass by Lake McClellan. Very interesting looking place. I need to research it to see if any hunting is allowed there. Shamrock is a small town, and my directions tell me to go north and then head west until I come to a small red cabin. The directions are spot on and the cabin sits exactly where it should, and I arrive at about 1430. As I pull up Mr. Wheeler came outside, and the appropriate introductions are made. He seems a very nice guy, which puts me at ease because hunting with someone for the first time can be a little intimidating.
Although my hunt is not supposed to start until the morning of the 18th, Mr. Wheeler told me to go ahead and stow my gear and we would squeeze in an afternoon hunt. The cabin is comfortable and has electricity, running water and a bathroom. Fancier than my accommodations on my usual hunts. I pick a bunk in the back, change out of my driving clothes and grab my gear. I am carrying my old faithful 7mm Mag. I have just bought a Thompson Center Compass in 308 Winchester but have not scoped it or bought ammo yet. It will have to wait until next year to take any game which is good because that will give me time to get used to it and to handload some shells.
We get into Mr. Wheeler’s truck and he drives me out to a stand with a box blind that overlooks a winter wheat field and some brush. Mr. Wheeler informs me that the deer will leave the brush and enter the field in the last half hour of light and tells me the ranges to locations I can see. I can literally shoot in any direction and Mr. Wheeler leaves to go sit in another location. I settle in to wait and in less than 20 minutes the first deer shows, a small yearling doe. She begins to feed at a range of about 60 yards and I enjoy watching her through my Leica binoculars. She is soon joined by 3 bucks, 2 of which are small 8 points and the other is a spike. The deer form a quartet and feed contentedly. I am not hunting bucks and the doe is too small, so they have nothing to fear. Other deer trickle into the field and before long I have a total of 8 bucks in from of me including a really nice 8 point. For a doe hunt, I am seeing lot of bucks which is something I am not used to, and I take advantage of the situation to study the behavior of the deer and note their body language. I have found you can learn a lot about game if you take the time to observe them. More deer arrive at the far end of the field. While they are well within my range, I am in no hurry to shoot and will wait for a closer shot. This is a meat hunt and I want to place my shots carefully and kill cleanly.
The bigger buck sees something off to my left and locks onto it with is eyes. I follow his gaze and see 3 good sized does and 5 yearlings walk out in the open. These deer interest me because the does are good sized and the range is about 80 yards. I decide I will take one of these does if possible. The problem is they stay bunched and I know if I shoot one the bullet will pass through her and possibly hit a deer behind her. I watch and wait and one of the adult does finally clears the group and has about 15 feet of free space around her. She feeds facing straight at me and I settle the crosshairs on her and wait for her to turn broadside. Nearly 10 minutes pass before she turns and in that time the sun continues to drop, and the shadows get longer. I move slightly and steady the crosshairs for a high shoulder shot to ensure she drops when the bullet hits and take the 7mm off safe. Finger on the trigger I begin the squeeze when one of the yearling’s head comes into view. I know that I cannot stop the trigger squeeze, so I jerk the rifle to the right and the bullet hits the earth in front of the deer. In an instant the field is covered with flashing white tails and the deer head for cover. I know the shot is a clean miss, but I still go look for blood. Nothing. My first chance does not bear fruit.
I return to the blind and wait to see if anything else shows up. In another field about 500 yards away I see deer feeding as well as a big bunch of wild pigs. I would love to put a stalk on the pigs but do not know if I am allowed to hunt that field so I must content myself simply watching them. Just at last light deer begin to show up in front of my blind but I consider it too dark to shoot since it would be easy to mistake a small buck for a doe. Mr. Wheeler shows up a half hour later and tells me the field the pigs were in is huntable. But that information is too late. For a short 2 hour hunt, this looks very promising. Mr. Wheeler suggests getting dinner and we head to a local diner. Dinner is very good, and we return to the cabin and talk. My first impression of Mr. Wheeler is spot on, a really nice guy with some interesting stories. It is soon time for bed. I am tired and sleep comes quickly.
0530. My slumber is shattered by an alarm clock. I have slept well and enjoy the warmth of the cabin and my sleeping bag. It is cold this morning. 30 degrees. In many parts of the country 30 degrees would not be considered cold but this is TX. 30 degrees is cold here. I want to stay in my sleeping bag but there is hot coffee on the other side of the cabin and my desire for a cup is stronger than the desire for warmth and I get up. It is hard to properly describe the simple joy of a hot cup of coffee in the morning. One of life’s simple pleasures. Mr. Wheeler is also up, and we get ready for the hunt. He is taking me to another location that is on the state line. A simple dirt road separates TX from OK and Mr. Wheeler has set a blind on the edge of a winter wheat field. He tells me that the deer will be in the winter wheat and will move past the blind at dawn to bed in the brush on the OK side of the road. He leaves to go sit on another field about a mile away. As darkness loses its grip on the land, I can see the ghostly shapes of deer in the field. Already they head to the bedding area. It is too early to shoot and at least 12 deer have melted away. But I see more in the field and I feel confident that at least one will stay until legal shooting time.
8 deer slowly head out of the field along the left hand side. It is nearly legal shooting time, and I can see that the route they are on will bring them within 100 yards of me. I place the 7mm on a shooting rest in the blind and watch as they close the distance. Suddenly a distant shot rings out and I know that Mr. Wheeler has tried to fill one of his doe tags. All the doe tags for this property are Managed Land Deer (MLD) permits and the ranch has been given 64 of them. A hunter can shoot as many does as they want to but only one buck per hunter is allowed in the county. Mr. Wheeler told me he is very selective about which buck he shoots so I am certain a doe has fallen to him. The deer in front of me pay no attention to the far away shot and continue on. Light has improved and I clearly note a really good buck, heavy of horn and wide, walking alongside a big doe. Of the deer walking by, they will pass the closest. I decide to try for the doe if she stops and presents a shot.
Almost on cue the doe stops to feed on something, giving me a perfect broadside shot. The crosshair is steady behind her shoulder, 1/3rd of the way up. My finger applies pressure to the trigger and the bullet leaves the barrel at 3100 feet per second. I see the doe drop to the shot without a quiver. Hunter and prey.
The buck stands and looks at the fallen doe. It seems as though he is curious at what has happened. He does not spook, he does not run, he simply turns and continues to follow his path. Behind him 2 mores does continue on. They follow the same route the buck and fallen doe were on. I can take 2 does today so I switch my attention to them. As they draw alongside the fallen doe one of them stops and sniffs her still form. Once more my finger applies pressure and once more the deadly projectile leaps forward. I hear the bullet hit. I see the doe stagger. But she does not fall. Instead, she runs, but only for a short distance and then stands there. It is obvious she is hit hard but I will not wait for the bullet to do its deadly work, I fire another round and as it hits, she drops, never to rise again. Hunter and prey.
I unload the rifle and set it aside. There is no need of it now as I walk to the deer. The second deer is slightly bigger of body than the first one. As soon as I get to her, I see the location of the second hit. Heart shot. The first bullet hit less than 2 inches higher than the second. I do not know why she did not drop. Nature designs her creatures to be tough and often they can withstand devastating wounds and not show any reaction. I place a small piece of browse in the mouth of the 2nd doe as an offering for a last meal and drag her to a place where the truck can safely drive and then I walk to the first doe. Following my same routine, I place browse in her mouth and drag her to the same place I put the other deer. When I have completed that I spend a moment thanking God for the gifts he gave me and for making my aim true. Hunter and prey.
As I sit enjoying the feel of the morning sun on my cheek, I send a text message to Mr. Wheeler and tell him that I have 2 deer down. He replies saying he also has a deer down and will soon be there. It has been a good morning and we have been in the blinds for less than an hour. It is a glorious morning. And after a few minutes I see Mr. Wheeler’s truck approach. We load the 2 does into the back of the truck and then head over to load Mr. Wheeler’s deer. Sadly, it isn’t the doe he wanted but instead was a small buck, with spikes less than an inch long. In the early morning shadows, he did not see the tiny antlers and in TX if a deer has any visible antler above the skin it must be tagged as a buck. Knowing that Mr. Wheeler is holding out for a big buck, and that he is only allowed one buck in this county, I offer to tag the spike for him since I have a valid buck tag as well. He is very grateful for that. I am hunting meat, not antlers and will put the buck to use.
We now have work to do. Mr. Wheeler has a cleaning station at the cabin, and we take the deer there. We decide that Mr. Wheeler will do the gutting and I will do the skinning and quartering. We hang 2 of the deer and Mr. Wheelers guts one while I skin the other. Then we switch and I skin the gutted deer and Mr. Wheeler guts the skinned deer and then as soon as one is quartered and in coolers Mr. Wheeler begin gutting the 3rd deer while I quarter the 2nd. Working this was allows 2 hunters to work on the game without getting in each other’s way. By 1000 all three deer have been taken care of and we can clean up. Mr. Wheeler suggests going to town to get breakfast and that sounds like a fine idea. After breakfast I begin loading my gear for the return trip to Amarillo. Mr. Wheeler has a father and daughter coming the next day and I am sure they will be successful for this area seems to have many deer and Mr. Wheeler knows his stuff.
My drive to Amarillo goes smoothly and when I arrive, I begin to get organized. The next morning, I will drive 8 hours to Athens, TX and it is there that I will do the final butchering and packaging of the sacred flesh of the prey. But tonight, I will have a feast. A hunter’s feast. Fresh deer heart, beans and candied jalapenos. Tonight, I will fully connect with the beast of the field in the way only a hunter does. We will become one. Hunter and Prey.
I arrive in Athens, TX on the afternoon of the 20th. As soon as I park, I take care of the meat, hanging it in the shade behind my 5th wheel. It is supposed to drop into the 30s tonight so the meat will chill properly. I will be busy the next two days taking care of nature’s gift. The prey will feed us for a year. Roasts, steaks, sausage, burger and jerky. Natural protein. Chemical free and healthy. Meat as it is supposed to be. The meat of the prey for the table of the hunter. The eternal cycle of life played out once more. My season is over. Long live the beast.
Peace to all, Animosity to none.
The Chief
