Though there are no pictures of canoes, kayaks, or waders in this post they have just about everything there is to do with the hunting that takes place from my little hunting camp every autumn. In fact, I believe there is nothing -- I mean nothing -- worth doing that can't be made better by some contraption that will get you over or through the water, even if you are just messing about, but especially if you are hunting. And, for us, hunting is just messing about and spending good quality time in the field.
Sure, as Kevin and I shoved off in the canoe and slowly bumped along the river we had hopes of big bucks walking past our stands. We knew the area well, had spent some time scouting and knew we would both be hunting good spots. As we floated the river in the misty morning darkness no less than eight beavers slapped their tails along side the canoe and we considered the hunt a success just because of it. So, when no big bucks showed up that morning it was no big deal. We rendezvoused on the river's edge and began just messing about.
The afternoon found us deerless and hungry, sitting on a log in the woods, eating a thick ham sandwich covered in mustard, talking and laughing, and trying to catch a nap during the warm Indian Summer Day. We were a little surprised to look up and see a nice buck in the middle of a heavy thicket dogging after a doe. Kevin was able to get a shot, but by all signs the buck escaped unscathed. With a little speed scouting of the area a plan was made for the following morning's hunt.
The next morning the sun was well above the horizon by the time we were in place, but it didn't matter. Kevin had just got into position when this big buck came crashing right to him. He had just enough time to turn and fire as the buck crawled through an opening in the dense thicket twenty feet from him.
It has become a custom in this camp for a person to try and kill a deer as far off the road as possible in the worst place in the world you would want to drag a deer out of. And this year it was Kevin's turn to accomplish the chore. Kevin and I did most of the grunt work in getting the deer out, but when we got the buck to the difficult stuff I went back to the house and recruited help.
My brother Ronnie and buddy Scott and his nephew Chandler had just finished breakfast when I walked through the door. "A buck is down!" I informed them. "Say no more," Ronnie replied, "I know an adventure awaits."
