Friday, January 14, 2011

Deer hunting story

As some of you know, I've been trying to shoot a few does in the late rifle season here in Nebraska.... I succeeded in getting one about a week ago, but have had no success since. So this evening I went out to try it again.

I suppose I should preface this by saying that last evening I was out, and sat for several hours without seeing anything remotely connected to deer (except a few tracks). After trudging wearily back to my truck, I headed home. About a mile and a half from home I looked out into a field and what did my wondering eyes behold but about a dozen deer! Since it was too dark by then to hunt, and since I had no permission to hunt there I continued home.

This afternoon, having secured the prerequisite consent of the appropriate person, I embarked again upon my mission. Having determined from Google Earth the exact lay of the land the evening before (they have a distance tool that will give you yardages between any two points you choose, talk about handy), and determining my strategy beforehand, I proceeded. As I walked into where I was headed (that sounds enlightening, doesn't it?) I noticed a dark something against the snowy cornstalks. Thinking it was a coon or something, I put my binocs on it, and there stood a little bambi deer. It was feeding, and there was another next to it. They were about 200 yards out, give or take. Google Earth hadn't been consulted on that one, and my range finder couldn't seem to hit them due to the fact that I was crouching down in the cornstalks and there was too much interference.

Since they were just little guys, I hated to try shooting them, when I was sure that there would be bigger deer lurking nearby. So I waited. After a little bit, the one wandered off toward the trees and disappeared. Soon the other one was looking off to where the first had gone with a puzzled if not worried expression on its head (they don't really have faces). As I contemplated attempting to change the puzzled/worried look for one of mortal shock, the deer began wandering towards the trees as well. I chose to wait it out, since there was about two hours of hunting time left. The deer disappeared into the trees....

The End.

What, you thought this was going to be a success story, that I'd actually get something? Actually, I did. I got cold feet, wet, snowy coveralls, a runny nose, and a two day extension of my cough. And frankly, I'm not sure it was worth it.

~GB

2 comments:

Arla said...

Yes, I bit. Would you like to join our writer's workshop by snail mail? You'd be good at it.

Francis Cross said...

How discouraging, very nicely written though.

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