I slept reasonably
well in the front seat of my Chevy Silverado on Saturday
night. I’m
certain it was much more comfortable than had I been
sleeping in the tent, fighting the wind and the rain.
My alarm didn’t go off, but I awoke at around
5:30, and with the wind still howling and rain coming
even harder, there was not much stirring of hunters
going to the field.
I decided that if somebody came and got me, I’d
ride along, but I wasn’t going to voluntarily go out
on Sunday morning.
I’m sure somebody would have let me borrow a
vehicle, but the warmth of my truck cab sure seemed more
appealing!
I finally exited the
pickup at around 9:30.
The other hunters in camp were just now beginning
to show signs of activity, and I could tell by the
pickups left in camp that nobody else had braved the
wind and rain either. Kavin and Debi Vann invited everybody into their camper for
an awesome breakfast of bacon, sausage, eggs, biscuits
and gravy! It
was just what we all needed to lift our sagging spirits!
We stayed in the Vann’s camper telling hunting
stories for most of the rest of the morning.
The inactivity was more than I could handle
though, so I decided I would pay $3 for a shower so that
when the wind and rain let up I’d be ready to head
right out to the field. While at the Hopper’s headquarters waiting for the shower,
I asked if any cabins had opened up, and the lady
indicated that she did have one available, and it even
had a new air conditioner in it!
After the shower, I discussed it with my fellow
tent dwellers, and we figured the $40 was quite a
bargain if it would get us out of the wind.
Jason paid the $40 and we quickly moved our gear
inside the cabin, fired up the burners on the stove, and
enjoyed the warmth and shelter.
The rain and wind never gave any indication that
it would let up, but knowing that we would be able to
return to the warmth of the cabin gave extra incentive
to fight the cold wind and rain for the evening hunt.
Paul returned to his
ground blind, which would provide shelter from the rain.
Martin and I dropped Jason off at Paul’s
quadpod, and then drove another half mile to the area we
were hunting. As
we were walking in, we jumped a doe from a clearing
along the right of way on which we were walking.
It was across the right of way from the trail on
which Martin was hunting. I decided to set up my ICE Blind on the opposite end of the
clearing, just off the edge of the right of way. After setting up the blind and brushing it in, I got inside
and started situating my gear so that I would have easy
access to my bow, my backpack, rattle bag and grunt tube
while I was hunting.
As I grabbed the grunt tube from the backpack, I
made a few soft grunts on it, then put it around my
neck. I sat
back in my chair, and then realized that I couldn’t
see down the right of way to my left or right because I
had set the blind up between two clumps of vines and
brush, and that by the time I would be able to see a
deer, it would be directly in front of the blind in the
small shooting lane.
It would be difficult to get my bow, draw and get
off a shot while the deer was in the lane.
Since it was still early, I got out of the blind
and started stomping down the brush and the tall grass.
Satisfied that I would now be able to see a deer
approaching from my right before it entered the shooting
lane, I decided to do the same to the left.
Just as I stepped around the front of the ICE
Blind, I looked up and was staring face-to-face with a
big chocolate horned buck!
We stared at each other for what seemed like
hours, but was probably about 20 or 30 seconds.
He turned his head a couple of times to look back
in the brush, and when he looked away the third time, I
ducked back behind the blind.
As I did, I watched him turn and trot back away
down the right of way.
Hoping against hope, I got back inside the blind,
readied my bow, and attempted to softly grunt him back
in. It was
a futile effort, though, as the buck was not going to
have anything to do with that area again.
I saw a small forkhorn or six point later in the
evening, but he never came into range.
I’m still kicking myself over that missed
opportunity at a fine buck, but who’s to say he would
have ever come in had I not been “crashing” around
in the brush. He
obviously thought I was another buck hooking trees in
his territory and came in to investigate.
It was still a thrilling experience, one that
very few hunters, other than bowhunters, can appreciate!
Martin had a close
encounter, or two, of his own.
He had set up Casey’s Swivel Limb in a branch
of the tree across from where he had originally set his
Strong Built. He
left the Strong Built up so that he could use it as a
footrest for the Swivel Limb.
After a couple of hours in the Swivel Limb, he
became uncomfortable and decided to cross over to the
platform stand to sit for a while.
After about 30 minutes, he became uncomfortable
in the Strong Built, and decided to go back to the
Swivel Limb. Before
moving over, he glanced down the three trails that
intersected near his stand.
Satisfied that there were no deer on the trails,
he stepped across to the Swivel Limb.
As he did, he heard a ruckus below him, and when
he looked down, spotted a small buck that had apparently
snuck in behind him and was standing directly below him
when he decided to move!
The buck ran through the thick tangle of brush
behind Martin, and Martin could just watch helplessly as
the buck finally made his way into the cover.
But his excitement
for the evening didn’t end there!
He didn’t see any other deer for the rest of
the evening.
He was sitting in the Swivel Limb, and as
darkness began to fall on the refuge, Martin glanced at
his watch. It
was 7:15, and legal shooting time ended at 7:35.
He decided to give it a few more minutes before
he started gathering his gear.
Less than a minute later, he glanced down the
trail to his left, then turned to check the trail behind
him. He
rotated on the Swivel Limb to his right, and even though
he intended to stop turning when he could see the trail,
the treestand just kept right on rotating around the
tree, until it was hanging upside down on the back side
of the branch! It
dumped Martin right out of the seat, but fortunately he
was able to grab hold of the seat with his left arm,
leaving him dangling above the ground about 10 feet up!
His bow had dropped, but because he had his
release attached to the string, and the release strapped
to his wrist, the bow didn’t fall to the ground,
although the arrow popped off and fell harmlessly below.
Martin managed to pull himself back up on the
limb, avoiding injury.
As he told the story back at camp, we all laughed
along with him as he recounted the events, but the humor
was tempered by the reality of what could have happened.
It certainly speaks to the wisdom of always
wearing a safety belt when hunting from an elevated
position, something I must admit I’m guilty of more
times than not.
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The dry, warm cabin
was a welcome relief to the wet, windblown hunters as we
all returned from our Saturday evening hunt.
Paul had another opportunity to shoot a hog, but
again passed on the shot.
Shortly after our return, Kavin, Debi, Daniel,
T.J. (and his two buddies), Clayton Ardoin and his
brother, and most of Team Showboat joined Paul, Jason,
Martin, Curtis and me inside the cabin for a dinner and
celebration of Kavin’s upcoming 40th
birthday! Clayton
and his brother had prepared one of the best meals
I’ve ever had at a deer camp, or anywhere for that
matter! |
It
was a Cajun dish called Sauce Picon (sp?) that the
Ardoins fixed, and as Kavin so eloquently put it, if you
were to put it on your head, you’d end up with two
black eyes because of your tounge beating you up trying
to get to it!
Of
course, Team Showboat brought libations of their own,
and we all had a great time enjoying the food, drink and
company! |
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Paul Schwander
tells us why all hunters should take an IBEP
Course! |
Place
your own caption here! |
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