Senior Essay Numero Dos
05-01-2006 | 04:46 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 6,006
Likes: 0
From:
Senior Essay Numero Dos
I told you guys I would keep ypu posted on the essays I'm writing to finish up my senior class with, so here is the second one. I hope you enjoy it.
Ghostly Apparitions
It happens to all of us at some point, though the reasons that cause it vary. A stiff breeze, an unseen twig, even the occasional tall blade of grass can cause a bad hit on an animal. A killer would simply shrug his shoulders and get back in the stand to try again, a hunter would spend hours, sometimes days searching, hoping, praying to find the wounded creature.
Rain had soaked through all three layers of my clothing. A steady stream of water poured from the bill of my hat and splashed into the puddle forming in my lap. With my bow hung above me, I blew on my cupped hands in a feeble attempt to keep them warm. Strong gusts of wind would sometimes blow the rain sideways and into my face causing momentary blindness. With Mother Nature laughing in my face, I stared Her in the eyes and persisted, hoping that today would be my day.
Mature whitetail deer constantly amaze me with their uncanny ability to approach a hunter's stand location unnoticed and remain there until the hunter is jolted back to reality by this suddent apparition. This is how my buck haunts my dreams, a ghostly apparition appearing from no where, standing perfectly broadside at 30 yards. In my dreams I can see myself draw my bow, hold slightly high with my 30-yard pin and release. I am taken on a short flight along with my arrow as it saild towards my target - and hits high.
An arrow driven into the upper 2/3 of a deer's body canresult inone of four things; a spine hit which causes instant paralysis and death, a severed aortic artery causing massive blood loss and death, a high lung hit causing death within minutes, or a non-vital hit missing the top of the lungs, spine, and vital arteries all together.
To say that the 45 minutes follwoing my shot were a roller coaster of emotions would be a severe understatement. I went from being elated about the prospect of shooting the biggest deer of my bow hunting career to feeling like i had been kicked in the gut by a mule. I went from walking on air to not being able to feel my legs. I went from wanting to cry from sheer joy to wanting to cry from the realization that I would most likely never find this deer. I went from the highest point in my career to the lowest in a matter of minutes.
When I recovered the arrow it was coverd in light tan and grey hair. The broadhead had a small piece of meat and bits of fat intwined with twisted metal. At this sight of my arrow in the state that it was I sank to my knees, unable to move for many minutes. I'm glad that I was the only one in those woods that day, for had another hunter come upon me he would have seen the pathetic form of a once great hunter reduced to nothing more than a child with a toy bow and arrow.
Mother Nature must have thought me pathetic as well because for the first time in seven hours the rain let up and the sun shone. When I finally regained the ability to move I began a hopeless search that would take the rest of the afternoon and the better part of the next morning. This deer still haunts my dreams as the one who got away, but I am confident in the fact that he survived that brush with death to remain in those woods for another season.
Dan Watts-Messick
May 1, 2006
05-01-2006 | 05:54 PM
#2
Nontypical Buck
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 3,606
Likes: 0
From: Rhode Island
RE: Senior Essay Numero Dos
you have a real gift for writing . i think you should send articles to hunting magazines they might be interested in publishing some of your stuff
If they do that's got to get you an A for the course.
If they do that's got to get you an A for the course.
05-01-2006 | 09:05 PM
#4
Dominant Buck
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 21,199
Likes: 1
From: Blossvale, New York
RE: Senior Essay Numero Dos
Do they call that an essay or a paragraph??? Well written though to a point. You call someone who would get back in the tree and try again a killer, while a real hunter would spend days searching for the wounded animal. Personnally, you leave yourself open to question with hunting in a down pour and then taking a 30 yard shot in the down pour with wind. ME, I always avoid heavy rain. If I do hunt in the rain it's usually on a trip and I shorten my shot range to point blank. Nothing beyond 20 yards because I know there won't be a blood trail in 30 minutes. If I shoot in the rain I start tracking within minutes.
05-01-2006 | 09:09 PM
#6
Thread Starter
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 6,006
Likes: 0
From:
RE: Senior Essay Numero Dos
ORIGINAL: davidmil
Do they call that an essay or a paragraph??? Well written though.
Do they call that an essay or a paragraph??? Well written though.
I only use filler in my writing when it's for a test like the WASL or SATs.
Thanks for the replies folks. I'm glad you enjoy it.
05-01-2006 | 11:22 PM
#7
Thread Starter
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 6,006
Likes: 0
From:
RE: Senior Essay Numero Dos
ORIGINAL: davidmil
Do they call that an essay or a paragraph??? Well written though to a point. You call someone who would get back in the tree and try again a killer, while a real hunter would spend days searching for the wounded animal. Personnally, you leave yourself open to question with hunting in a down pour and then taking a 30 yard shot in the down pour with wind. ME, I always avoid heavy rain. If I do hunt in the rain it's usually on a trip and I shorten my shot range to point blank. Nothing beyond 20 yards because I know there won't be a blood trail in 30 minutes. If I shoot in the rain I start tracking within minutes.
Do they call that an essay or a paragraph??? Well written though to a point. You call someone who would get back in the tree and try again a killer, while a real hunter would spend days searching for the wounded animal. Personnally, you leave yourself open to question with hunting in a down pour and then taking a 30 yard shot in the down pour with wind. ME, I always avoid heavy rain. If I do hunt in the rain it's usually on a trip and I shorten my shot range to point blank. Nothing beyond 20 yards because I know there won't be a blood trail in 30 minutes. If I shoot in the rain I start tracking within minutes.
I was confident in my ability to take a 30 yard shot in the wind. I practice in those conditions during the summer months so that I'm aware of what my equipment will do.
The rain wasn't a constant downpour. It was an on again off again deal varying between a slight drizzle and a heavy rain.
I got down immediately after the shot and retrieved my arrow. I never saidI stayed in the tree and waited 30 minutes.
In any case, this essay was written to prove that we as hunters do make mistakes, that we do have consciouses (sp?) and that we do take responsibility for our actions.
05-02-2006 | 04:03 PM
#9
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 367
Likes: 0
From: East Texas
RE: Senior Essay Numero Dos
ORIGINAL: davidmil
Do they call that an essay or a paragraph??? Well written though to a point. You call someone who would get back in the tree and try again a killer, while a real hunter would spend days searching for the wounded animal. Personnally, you leave yourself open to question with hunting in a down pour and then taking a 30 yard shot in the down pour with wind. ME, I always avoid heavy rain. If I do hunt in the rain it's usually on a trip and I shorten my shot range to point blank. Nothing beyond 20 yards because I know there won't be a blood trail in 30 minutes. If I shoot in the rain I start tracking within minutes.
Do they call that an essay or a paragraph??? Well written though to a point. You call someone who would get back in the tree and try again a killer, while a real hunter would spend days searching for the wounded animal. Personnally, you leave yourself open to question with hunting in a down pour and then taking a 30 yard shot in the down pour with wind. ME, I always avoid heavy rain. If I do hunt in the rain it's usually on a trip and I shorten my shot range to point blank. Nothing beyond 20 yards because I know there won't be a blood trail in 30 minutes. If I shoot in the rain I start tracking within minutes.
He said that he looked for the deer and he does not say that he got back in the stand and tried again that day. Give the kid a break. He made a bad shot. Are you saying you have never made a bad shot and that you have recovered EVERY animal you have ever shot?
I thought the essay (more than one paragraph and less than 100 pages so is an essay) was well thought out and well written (could have used a little touch up work but it's not like he had a professional editor going behind him and who couldn't use one of those?) and I enjoyed reading it.
Washington, I thank you for sharing and wish you luck in the remainder of the essays.
Shannon
05-02-2006 | 09:58 PM
#10
Thread Starter
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 6,006
Likes: 0
From:
RE: Senior Essay Numero Dos
Guys, I didn't want to make this into a good shot/bad shot debate.
This was actually the first draft I wrote yesterday during class. It was unpolished and unedited. The final draft i finished today is much better. If anyone would like to read it, I would be more than happy to PM it to you.
Thanks for all the kind words folks, they are much appreciated.
This was actually the first draft I wrote yesterday during class. It was unpolished and unedited. The final draft i finished today is much better. If anyone would like to read it, I would be more than happy to PM it to you.
Thanks for all the kind words folks, they are much appreciated.