Hey guys....its that time of year again. Yes, the time to BOWHUNT and help kids with homework and do reports. Since I have a wonderful daughter who is an avid bowhuntress, I have been elected to help her with an expository writing. What does she pick to write about??? You guessed it...BOWHUNTING!!!!! Not just any type of bowhunting, but how she and I do it here in South Alabama. Part of this writing will be in her assignment, but the teacher wants to be able to look it up for reference, so here goes.
I will leave out all the details about practicing all year long in the back yard, hanging stands, preparing plots, scouting and putting out trail cams. (I think you all have the hang of that.lol) and will start with when we arrive at the camp.
Once we turn off the highway and travel a little ways down a dirt raod we arrive at the gate. To the right of the gate stands an old pole barn that my grandad buit in the 1960's and still houses our spare jeep parts and our tractors. As you pass through the gate and slightly turn left down the sloping hill there is the pond. Its still, black water is reflecting the afternoon sky and a the few rays of the setting sun shining through the large and majestic water oaks. As we come around the edge of the pond and the road straightens out, you can see the camp to the left and a large greenfield to right that is usually full of deer when we arrive. PERFECT!!!! The deer have ran out of the field and that will buy us just enough time to pull the truck along side of the camp, grab our camo and bows and rush to the front porch to get dressed and spray down with scent killer. As we are making our way from the camp down to the field, we have to walk along the pond edge. After an intense walk to the field we scale our tree, tie up the harnesses and pull up the bows. I should note here that i have 2 lok-ons in trees right beside each other. With a few giggles and goodlucks, it's time for the old waiting game. This is the most peaceful time of the hunt for me. I get to sit in a tree beside my daughter and just listen to nature the way I think GOD intended me to hear it. From my tree I can hear the bass stiking in the pond, the owls hooting in the swamp behind us, the kids back up at the highway playing and the dogs barking when their owner Ed comes in from work. Then I snap back to reality....the dogs barking??? Ed is home, that means it's 4:30 pm. I need to pay attention...the deer will soon be here. Just as I process all of this, I look over at Courtlynne and she's looking at me like, you big dummy, I have been trying to tell you I see deer in the back of the field.
I see them....all does and fawns. I think to myself we have some good bucks here, but where are they??? Oh well, it's show time bucks or no bucks. Now deer are pouring into the field from everywhere and we can hear deer walking in the woods to our left. I give Courtlynne the nod to go ahead and stand up. As she slowly rises with bow in hand, she turns to me and says "can I shoot a doe?" I say yes, but try to shoot one with no spotted fawns. She winks as if she has already spotted one. Ah, yes, I see her!!! A doe heading our way, no fawns and nice and fat, the steam whistle blows at the local sawmill. I think to myself, 5:00pm....quitting time at the mill. The woods are becoming dark as the light is now fading fast. The doe is feeding through the woods to the field edge. The deer stops at 20 yards to survey the field to see who all has shown up for dinner. Courtlynne draws, finds her 20 yard pin, picks a spot behind the shoulder and all of the sudden, all of the deer in the field are blowing and running right for us and Courtlynne's big doe. Well, as luck would have it, the big doe spooks and runs off back to the safety of the deeper woods, but not to worry. All of the deer from the field, all 13 does, fawns and yearlings stop right under us. I whisper to Courtlynne to pick one that's not a fawn and shoot it. She draws again and lets the thunderhead eat. WHACK!!!!! As I watch the direction her deer took, I see it pile up after about a 20 yard sprint into the woods. We scale down the tree and retrieve her arrow. Good blood. I point the direction to her and lag behind as she takes up the blood trail. Then I hear....her he is, I got him daddy!!!! She sounds as if she just walked up on a P&Y buck. As I get to her, she is the proud owner of a nice, fat, spike. Courltynne's first buck! As we make our way back out into the field to head back to the camp, As I breath in the cold North wind deep into my lungs, I am once again lost in the beauty of the orange and blue hues from the west reflecting off the pond . As I breath out, and think about what just happened, the peaceful feeling I had earlier in the tree stand returns to my soul.
Thank you GOD for this hunt and the wonderful daughter and hunting partner you have given me and thank you for the brave men and women serving this country, so moments like this can happen. Be with them, guide and protect them and keep them from harms way. Amen
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