I’m late this season. I’ve had a lot on my mind and didn’t feel like going through the pain in the ass DNR website. But I finally got around to ordering my deer license. Got a buck tag and a doe tag. I hope to get this monster buck this year. He’s shown himself on my ground at least a couple times.
Today we celebrated my great nephew Ezra’s first birthday. It was just a small gathering at Mom and Dad’s. I got Ezra’s a real baseball. I know he’s a bit young to play baseball, but I thought if I put a baseball in his hands early, he might come to love the game.
I had put the ball down on the table at my mom and dad’s and moved on. I guess someone handed it to Ezra, because a few minutes later they’re telling me, “He loves it, Robert. He’s smiling.”
I looked over. Anthony was holding Ezra. Ezra had the ball in one hand and he was holding it out toward me. I didn’t know he would have such a good one-hand grip on it yet. I hope he doesn’t start throwing fastballs around the house before he’s two.
Ezra unwrapped some presents, and then my dad and I watched the Lions. The Lions won and they are now one tie and two wins into the season. After the game, I went out to my hunting ground to look at my tower.
The blind on my tower was torn to pieces. So, I took the top part of the tower off. This year I’ll hunt with nothing over my head. I’ll hang camouflage netting from the rails of the tower, but that’ll be it.
I wasn’t sure it would come this year. My mind has been on different things and I didn’t have much thought about hunting. But just a little while ago, the passion came back. Bow season starts in a little over a month and now it’s all I can think about.
Baiting is outlawed this year, so I’m going to try calls. A cousin recommended antlers to rattle and doe bleats in a can. I’m seeing a can of bleats and a pair of antlers on Cabelas.com, so I’ll order those and maybe another call as well.
I didn’t get a deer, so I got a box of meat from the Brower Farms in Brown City. It’s chicken breast, porkchops, hamburger patties, ground beef and New York strips.
I heard that next deer season, baiting won’t be allowed. So, maybe I should try deer calls. I used to think learning to use calls would be like learning to play a harmonica, and I’m a very shitty harmonica player. But last year, during the spring turkey season, I successfully called in a turkey with a push button call and a gobbler shaker.
So, now I think it’s not quite so hard to make the right sounds and rhymes to draw in a wild animal. The only reason I didn’t get that turkey is I was thinking too much about how well they see. Though its back was to me for a minute or more, I took too long to pick up my gun. The turkey changed its direction and walked through some trees.
Maybe I could’ve gone after it, but I thought another turkey might come along. Also, I’m not sure how fast turkey run or how well they hear. I just know they have amazing eyesight and no sense of smell. I didn’t get another chance because I only made it out once that season.
I might go out for the next turkey season, we’ll see. But my passion is deer hunting. I have not experimented with deer calls yet. If you have any recommendations on which deer calls I should try, drop a comment.
It’s January 1, the first day of 2019. I always launch a new work plan on Jan 1 and this year is no exception.
I finished my deer hunting season yesterday. It was unsuccessful. I saw four deer in the entire season, from Oct 1 to Dec 31. I didn’t get a shot at any of them. The fourth deer, I saw yesterday, and by the time I noticed it was there, it was already running away.
I’m bummed about not getting a deer. I had a three year streak. I’d gotten a deer every year for three years. In those three years, I had seen a lot of deer. What did I do wrong in 2018?
Because I didn’t get a deer, I’m going to take the money I was saving to cover the processing costs and use it to buy a supply of meat from the Brower Farms in Brown City. They have good deals for beef, pork and chicken. I’ll probably choose one of their bundle options.
I had the appraisal for my house yesterday. I should have the results in a few days. I’m a little nervous. The appraisal will need to show that the house is worth the price that my landlord and I agreed on or there will be problems and I might not be able to buy it.
Everyone else involved seems confident that everything will be fine. So, I’m trying to not worry too much. I just really don’t want to lose my house.
My brother made side by side Before/After pictures of the house. I’m going to post them here. It makes it easier to see how different the house is after the work.
I blogged about this buck Saturday night. Adele commented on Facebook, saying “Yes, he’s a beautiful animal. Why not let him live?”
Peggy explained that the buck could feed me for a year, and if I or someone else doesn’t get him, he will die anyway.
That is one reason, but there’s more to it than that. I’d just come off a nine hour hunt and I was too tired to write last night. Since my answer is long, I’m going to make it a blog entry.
“Why not let him live?”
Yes, one reason I hunt is for the meat. I love venison. I’m not saying I wouldn’t eat store-bought deer meat, but I find that hunting saves me money.
Now that buck in the picture, he’s huge. He would yield a lot of meat. He might feed me for a year, or six months or three months, depending on how much of him I eat each day. Yes, he is a beautiful animal. He’s magnificent and majestic. I’m betting he’s the king of deer in my area. He probably has respect from all the deer for miles. I’m thrilled that he even set foot on my hunting ground. But if I ever have the opportunity to shoot him, I’m not going to pass it up.
I appreciate the vote of confidence that I might actually shoot this majestic buck. That buck in the picture, he didn’t get that big by being a fool. He’s been dodging hunters his whole life. Every hunter dreams of shooting a buck like that. Very few ever accomplish that feat. Most of us are lucky if we ever get a buck at all. If the best hunters haven’t shot that buck yet, what are the odds that I would shoot him?
I’m not an expert hunter. I still think of myself as a beginner. I’ve killed three antlerless deer.
Peggy is right. If I or someone else doesn’t get that buck, he’ll die anyway. I reckon that’s what will happen. He’ll kneel over and die of old age, and will probably feed the coyote when he does.
But is there any deer that you wouldn’t say is a beautiful animal and suggest I let live? I can’t help thinking that the better question would be “Why do you hunt?” To that, I don’t have a satisfying answer. I can’t really explain to myself why I love hunting.
I can tell you that deer hunting is one of my passions. I look forward to deer season all year and I get excited when it finally arrives. I enjoy deer hunting so much that I often don’t want to come in when hunting hours are over, no matter how cold it is. I wish I could hunt all night.
I can tell you what I like about hunting. Getting a supply of meat at a lower cost is one benefit. But it’s more than that. I guess the thing I like most is the challenge. Outsmarting a wild animal is not easy.
If I ever get a buck, it would be a glorious day for me. I would proudly display its rack on my wall, like an accomplishment trophy. As I said, most of us never get a buck. Even a two-point buck is a big accomplishment for most hunters.
If I ever got a buck like the one in the picture, I would be amazed that I managed to do that. That buck is a wise one. He doesn’t slip up much.
I only had an hour and a half to hunt today, but I went out anyway. I endured the high winds and the cold, and I finally saw some deer. They walked off before I could get my gun on them, but my faith in the season is restored.