Just got to thinkin’ about an old hunt and the shot that was not taken.
Think that it was about 8 years back. I was sitting in a deer blind with my daughter who was 9 years old at that time. I was taking her on her 2nd bonafide deer hunt. We were strictly hunting for meat and did not care about horns. Always have told her you can’t eat them horns and she is convinced that a doe does indeed taste better than a buck.
Anyway, we were out on a lease that was operated by a buddy of mine. It was one of those “business expense” type leases that a large company has to entertain clients and to keep good will—and business flowing their way. Just so happened that there were not any clients being entertained this particular weekend so the invite came and we jumped on it. The set up for the place was purty easy to get around on. There were 5 different ground blinds available that offered total cover. The corn was out in a clearing at this particular blind at about 75 yards. Now I am not talking high tech on this particular blind. 3 plywood walls with open windows and a roof and door. Two metal folding chairs inside with barely enough room for us to get in together.
We got dropped off in the area of the blind about an hour before sunrise. We got situated inside after a liberal dose of “no-stink” was applied and proceeded to be patient. It was pitch black, cold and damp but she never made a complaint and did not get figetdy. This girl had nothing but hunting on her mind. Was about 20 minutes before shooting light we heard a noise coming from behind us where we could not see as the door did not have a window. Sure enough a young doe appeared walking around us to our right at less than 10 yards. We sat motionless as she stopped and appeared to be staring directly at us for a moment. She then proceeded to take her sweet time heading towards the corn. We were so focused on this doe that we did not notice that 5 more does had come out of somewhere and were now at the corn. As my daughter watched the group feeding, I seemed to have more fun watching her watching them. She was intently watching them in binoculars and deciding which one she would take as it was getting lighter and lighter.
It had gotten light enough by now to legally take a shot. As she was about to reach for her rifle, suddenly two of the does started fighting. As she had never seen this before, she was just amazed at the sight as there was a battle between the two largest does. When the does got up on their hind legs and began boxing each other, the excitement level from her sky-rocketed. And I in turn got excited over her being so excited.
Carolyn never did take a shot this outing. We just sat there together freezing and watching the deer. She did her best to contain her excitement. Her face and eyes were so bright with joy that I did not want the moment to end so I kept my rifle down and did not say a word. Every once in a while , I would hear a low whisper of “oh dad” or a “look at that” as they fought. She offered to share the binoculars with me but I just let her keep using them---I was not paying attention to the deer. I had already found what I wanted to see…………..
The deer eventually wandered off after a short while and we began talking about what had happened. Matter of fact it was the topic of conversation for the rest of the week.
Not wanting to make this sappy or anything like that, but to my way of thinking, this was one of the most successful hunts I have ever been on---and not a shot was ever fired.
Think that it was about 8 years back. I was sitting in a deer blind with my daughter who was 9 years old at that time. I was taking her on her 2nd bonafide deer hunt. We were strictly hunting for meat and did not care about horns. Always have told her you can’t eat them horns and she is convinced that a doe does indeed taste better than a buck.
Anyway, we were out on a lease that was operated by a buddy of mine. It was one of those “business expense” type leases that a large company has to entertain clients and to keep good will—and business flowing their way. Just so happened that there were not any clients being entertained this particular weekend so the invite came and we jumped on it. The set up for the place was purty easy to get around on. There were 5 different ground blinds available that offered total cover. The corn was out in a clearing at this particular blind at about 75 yards. Now I am not talking high tech on this particular blind. 3 plywood walls with open windows and a roof and door. Two metal folding chairs inside with barely enough room for us to get in together.
We got dropped off in the area of the blind about an hour before sunrise. We got situated inside after a liberal dose of “no-stink” was applied and proceeded to be patient. It was pitch black, cold and damp but she never made a complaint and did not get figetdy. This girl had nothing but hunting on her mind. Was about 20 minutes before shooting light we heard a noise coming from behind us where we could not see as the door did not have a window. Sure enough a young doe appeared walking around us to our right at less than 10 yards. We sat motionless as she stopped and appeared to be staring directly at us for a moment. She then proceeded to take her sweet time heading towards the corn. We were so focused on this doe that we did not notice that 5 more does had come out of somewhere and were now at the corn. As my daughter watched the group feeding, I seemed to have more fun watching her watching them. She was intently watching them in binoculars and deciding which one she would take as it was getting lighter and lighter.
It had gotten light enough by now to legally take a shot. As she was about to reach for her rifle, suddenly two of the does started fighting. As she had never seen this before, she was just amazed at the sight as there was a battle between the two largest does. When the does got up on their hind legs and began boxing each other, the excitement level from her sky-rocketed. And I in turn got excited over her being so excited.
Carolyn never did take a shot this outing. We just sat there together freezing and watching the deer. She did her best to contain her excitement. Her face and eyes were so bright with joy that I did not want the moment to end so I kept my rifle down and did not say a word. Every once in a while , I would hear a low whisper of “oh dad” or a “look at that” as they fought. She offered to share the binoculars with me but I just let her keep using them---I was not paying attention to the deer. I had already found what I wanted to see…………..
The deer eventually wandered off after a short while and we began talking about what had happened. Matter of fact it was the topic of conversation for the rest of the week.
Not wanting to make this sappy or anything like that, but to my way of thinking, this was one of the most successful hunts I have ever been on---and not a shot was ever fired.
...that's a golden one...thanks for sharing with us...I think it'd sell if you submit it to a hunting magazine...that's what it's all about and a great example of the reason we hunt...
