As a child I was raised in South Dakota, a state that takes it's hunting very seriously. Best known for it's Pheasant season, kids are raised from an early age with an appreciation for firearms, hunting & fishing, and nature in general. Fishing seemed to be my Dad's favorite pasttime and we traveled to many of the lakes in the state as well as Minnesota but we never hunted together.
A couple of times I was taken out to Rueben Glanzer's (a family friend) farm by my uncles Jim and Bob to shoot and hunt. I recall practicing shooting with a 410 as well as a .22 and trailing my uncles while walking a corn field hunting pheasants. This adventure was most memorable for my uncle Bob teaching me how to whistle with my fingers rather than getting to shoot at birds.
Once I became of age to actually hunt and shoot larger guns we moved away from South Dakota and the natural progression of a hunter stalled out.
Recently I've had an urge to pick the sport back up. While the longer version of why might cause me to be tagged as a "loony" and sent off to a local psych ward for "evaluation" the shorter version is a desire to be better prepared and more self sufficient in the event of some type of emergency. The fact that my Brother-in-law George is an avid hunter and has asked me out several times made the urge that much stronger.
I had decided to buy a firearm of each type (rifle, shotgun, and handgun) and the order was generally going to be based on usage. Because George has access to land in Alabama he almost exclusivly hunts white tailed deer. This decision led me to the purchase of a deer rifle. Specifically I purchased a .270 caliber Savage Arms Centerfire.
George and I took the rifle down to Eufaula, AL right before Thanksgiving and we sighted in the rifle. This gave me a few practice shots with it and got me prepared for the "hunt." I also had a chance to shoot a .30-06 lever action that George brought down, which was very fun to shoot.
Notice the spread after firing the Savage. See how everything seems to be to the right of center? It turns out that I am considered "cross dominant" which means that while I am right handed, my left eye is the dominant eye! Shooting with the left eye closed tends to cause things to end up to the right of "true". I tested for this after the trip and decided from that point that I would shoot left handed to ensure that my left eye was on the scope and especially for when I go bird hunting with a shot gun.
On that particular trip, we saw a lot of sign, but very few deer. I did have a chance to shoot at a deer on the last day that we were there. We were hunting some private property that George's cousin Adam helped manage. We sat in a deer stand overlooking a greenfield through the morning hours and didn't have any luck. As we were driving through the property we saw a couple of deer hanging out on a greenfield that was located under some large powerlines. We had to struggle through some brush to get under 300 yards and because the deer were alerted I had to take a shot at about 275 yards using Adam's beanfield. I missed, only grazing the doe as there was a little bit of hair and no blood.
George and I decided to take Grant down prior to Christmas. This time the goal was for me to hunt using a deer stand up in a tree. The morning of the first day we went out and saw no deer, however there were scrapes, scratches, and tracks a plenty. In fact, we saw a doe hoof print over our boot mark, suggesting that they had circled behind us while we were hunting.
After we got back I received a lesson in deer stand ascending and descending and we took the opportunity to place the deer stand prior to our evening hunt. Again we saw plenty of sign, but no deer either on the placement or the hunt later that day. The temperature was in the 80's and we were hoping that a cold front that was coming would move in that evening and get the deer up and walking about.
When we woke for the morning hunt, we determined that the cold front had indeed come in and our hopes were high. The biggest issue was that it had brough rain with it. I trudged out to the deer stand and got situated while it was pitch black. The sun began to rise and my hopes of seeing a deer "right there for the taking" disappeared. Instead it started to rain and I decided that it might have been real nice to have a poncho.
After one or two rain spells and quite possibly a nap, I looked out saw a deer! There should not have been one there as it was directly in the center of my firing range and I had thought that I would see/hear the deer long before it reached that particular point! The wind and rain and obviously done a good job masking his approach. I looked at saw that he was a small buck with 4 points, which is the legal limit for most of Alabama. Figuring that I wasn't going to see anything better in the next hour and the fact that I had a "first timers" trigger finger I decided to take the shot. He was only perhaps 50-60 yards from me and had squared to me nicely. I shot (left handed now) and saw him jump and run.
I was scared that he was only wounded and watched him run perhaps another 30 to 40 yards before he fell. I clambered down from the stand, remembering to release the safety harness and verified that the deer was dead, a perfect shot right through the vitals. George and I had discussed coming out at 9AM or if we heard a shot. I figured I'd hike back to where I was dropped off and wait for them. It turns out that they had left their stand when the rain had started and hadn't heard the shot! When I motioned to George to get out of the car he yelled "Get One?" I said "Sure did!".
Dragging the deer out was not a bit fun. The last time we were hunting we had the 4-wheeler and didn't get anything. Of course this time we needed it and didn't have it! We took him back to the house and I experienced my first lesson in processing a deer.
I want to thank George a bunch for taking me on the hunt and giving me some of the lessons necessary to ensure that I'll make this a lifetime sport!
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