Archery season is winding down and we'll soon be calling it a season at Camp See No Deer, the little woodlot where a few of us have permission to bowhunt.
We could have done jumping jacks all season and not spooked a buck or doe since opening day back in September. Judging from our field reports, not one of the boys has bagged a deer at Camp See No Deer, a fitting name for our woodland hunting paradise this season.
Not that we haven't been putting in the time. Daniel is the most hard-core of the four of us who show up each season. He makes his own longbows and arrows, sometimes hunts from dawn to dark. Even Daniel hasn't fired an arrow. Your faithful outdoors reporter has logged 20 hours of bowhunting at Camp See No Deer. Total number of deer seen? Two.
Could be there are so many acorns that deer don't have to roam for a meal. We were ankle deep in acorns this year at Camp See No Deer. Sneaking through the woods was like walking on marbles, the acorns were so thick. Persimmons fell to the ground like hail.
Technology wasn't one iota of help. This season the landowner let two new boys hunt at Camp See No Deer. We were surprised when they set up modern pop-up ground blinds and corn feeders to up their chances.
This taste of 21st century bowhunting was a fresh twist. The new boys said we could hunt out of their blinds whenever they weren't using them. So one day we did.
Sitting in the nylon blind was like hunting from the living room. There was carpet on the ground and an easy chair with arm rests and a padded seat. Windows unzipped for shooting. Only thing lacking was a 'fridge and microwave. Ten yards away, feeders spewed out pounds of corn for the deer.
Hi-tech didn't work. By Christmas the new boys had packed their blinds and feeders, evidently to try more promising locales.
If none us put any venison in the freezer this season, maybe we'll bring home some bacon. Word from the landowner is that neighbors have seen a wild hog roaming the wilds of Camp See No Deer. That'd be a first. Squirrels, armadillos and the property-owner's house cats are the usual critters we've seen this season.
The best part of bowhunting is being out there to see wildlife go about their business, thinking no one's around. We've seen raccoons emerge from a hollow tree at sunset, ready for their nightly rounds. When you sit still in the woods, birds land close enough to touch. We've seen a fawn and squirrel fight over an acorn.
There's three weeks of hunting left in Arkansas' long five-month archery season. Whether or not we draw a bow, we'll all be back next season for opening day at Camp See No Deer.
Flip Putthoff can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAFlip
Sports on 02/05/2015