THE FLIP SIDE Season Typical At Camp
DEER GET BEST OF HUNTERS
Posted: November 26, 2009 at 4:05 a.m.
We’re almost two weeks into another deer season.
Time to file a report from our happy hunting ground, Camp See No Deer.
It’s been hunting as usual for our merry band of hunters here at Camp See No Deer. Not one hair on the chinny-chin-chin of a single deer has been ruffled.
The land baron who owns Camp See No Deer has been sympathetic. “Hey, the season’s only been open six days. You’ll get a deer, maybe,” he says.
We remind him that we’ve been bowhunting on his place since Oct. 1. Gun season doesn’t exactly up our odds.
It’s our landowner who makes Camp See No Deer truly unique. He’s vegetarian, but welcome us each season. “Fewer deer to eat my flowers,” the land czar says.
A name change may be in order at Camp See No Deer.
We’re seeing lots of deer, tons of deer. A bowhunt two days before gun season proves the point.
I steered the pickup into our little parking nook at Camp See No Deer. There’s one other truck in the lot.
That means only one thing.
Another hunter is playing hooky from work.
Two does stand in the middle of the gravel lane right behind the bed of the Ford. I swear they’ve dropped the tailgate and are swapping human stories.
The trusty recurve bow is in hand as I creep, creep into the forest where a herd of deer are using my tree stand for shade. A buck leans against the ladder, picking his teeth with a twig.
Instead of sprinting away like normal white-tails, these deer at Camp See No Deer form a conga line and wiggle their white hineys until they disappear into the woods.
No, these aren’t your average does or bucks.
They’re in the gifted and talented program for deer.
They know math.
It’s amazing how these deer have calculated a 15-yard radius from my tree stand, knowing I won’t let a cedar arrow fly beyond that. They taunt me mercilessly 16 yards out.
These deer can tell time.
This time of year it’s too dark to shoot by 5 p.m., thanks to our return to Central Darkness Time.
At precisely 5:01, deer sprint from behind every tree in their game of hide and seek. I can hear them yell “free” as their leathery hooves slap the trunk of mytree-stand oak.
That’s how it’s been at Camp See No Deer, where white-tails rule and the hunters eat bologna.
Outdoor, Pages 7 on 11/26/2009
(Advertisement)
« Previous Story
Hunters Beware Of Tree Stands
One of the most useful tools in deer hunting can also be the most dangerous. Read »
Next Story »
THE FLIP SIDE: Deer Comes Easy
Gun deer season closes on Sunday in these parts, but David Lee already has his buck and he never fired a shot. Read »
Comments
To report abuse or misuse of this area please hit the "Suggest Removal" link in the comment to alert our online managers. Please read our comment policy.
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Registration is required to make comments. Click here to LOGIN.
You can register for FREE to post comments and receive alerts.