My 2019 Experience

Better late than never, given that this is a reflection of 2019 coming in April 2020.  Since I've got some time, I thought I'd write about some thoughts I had during the close of last deer season.  As many of you can tell, I didn't write much during 2019.  During 2019, I was going to school full time, working 2 part time part time jobs, got engaged to start the year, married in August 2019, and have a baby on the way due May!
Needless to say, I didn't have much time to be an outdoorsy person.  That's not to say I wasn't outdoors.  I still went fishing, hunting, hiking, just not as much.  I went with some close friends to Hanging Rock State Park and had a blast, hiking and dipping into waterfalls to cool off.  I took a day trip with my family to a park up in Virginia where it rained cats and dogs on us halfway through a 3 mile trail.  My honeymoon in Ashe County, NC, and my wife and I hiked and fished at sites like Mount Jefferson State Park and New River State Park.
During the fall months, if I wasn't working, I was at school.  Sometimes, I was working at school as a tutor for my community college.  My first hunt didn't come till October during fall break.  I got my first deer of the year on November 17th, my youngest brothers 7th birthday.  Ironically, I think every deer I've ever shot, save maybe one, has come during or after mid November.  That story can be read here.
I had one evening where I had 5 or so deer in front of me three different times while I was hunting on the ground, sitting by a tree.  They got to within 20 feet of me several times.  Sadly most weren't big enough to shoot, and those that were, came when there were too many eyes close by for me to comfortably move.  Sitting so still never took so much effort.
My last hunt of the year was on the closing day of the season.  I had some luck, saw a few deer to start, then nothing.  After some still hunting, I came upon some does near the corner of a field, and one caught my eye.  A nice doe, perfect.  I stood up to shoot, the problem facing me, was that I was having to be offhand, nothing to rest on.  As I put the crosshairs on the deer, a good 75 yards from me, I paused.
And I thought of everything surrounding that moment.  I thought of the adventures I had that year.  Exploring parks with friends and family, having my siblings come over and help me with retrieving a deer from the woods.  Starting a new life with my wife and being on our own, yet still being close to family.  The experiences I had with my few hunting trips during the year, the crazy things that happened.  Sitting beside the fireplace on winter evenings and feeling content.  It's amazing what can happen in split seconds, all the emotions you can feel, even when looking down a scope at your target.
I was been blessed beyond belief that year.  God was good to me.  A man once said there is "a time to kill, and a time to heal."  This deer would live.  Sure, I had an offhand shot that  wasn't easy, and I could make it, but that wasn't the point.  Sometimes, it just doesn't feel right.  Sometimes, the right thing to do, is just to enjoy the moment and reflect.  Not every shot has to be fired. 

Montana, Part 2

Up from Yellowstone and Wade Lake we went, to the wilderness of Glacier National Park.  Unlike Yellowstone, which has a great system for handling high traffic, Glacier is packed in the places you can park, not to mention there's only one main road in the park.  That is, one road that stretches all the way across it, there are other roads that cut into the park but they do not connect.  And for good reason:

                           

Good luck getting a few connecting roads through that...but beautiful scenery.  Don't let the parking scare you away, if I had to choose, I would go back to Glacier over Yellowstone in a heart beat, believe it or not.

The park has, if I recall, 700 miles of trails in it.  Fishing the the mountain creeks and lakes, glacier overlooks, and enough hiking to last you till your feet came off!  The first day in Glacier, we went to Avalanche Lake, supposedly a two mile hike.  What felt like 10 miles later, we made it to the lake.

The lake is mostly inhabited by cutthroat trout.  It's shallow for the first couple feet and then drops to 40 feet (as I was told), very quickly.  The water is so clear and blue, surrounded by mountains, it was fantastic.  However, me and my floating line were presented a problem.  How to I get my flies to sink?  Turns out one trout made sure I didn't have to worry, as he kept coming up for bugs on the surface.  I made a perfect cast to where he had been feeding and put a beetle right in front of him.  Side note, if you've seen The Lego Movie where Batman tries to hit the button with his batarangs, and tries about a 100 times, that was me attempting the perfect cast.  Not gonna lie.  Might have taken me 10 attempts, not sure.  Anyway, he took the beetle, and I was able to bring him in, a trout from a high mountain lake in Glacier National Park:

That's a Captain America shirt, not Cowboys

If you want to fish surrounded by great scenery, Glacier, in my experience, second to no one.  Behind me are cold mountains with snow on them...in August.  In front of me, behind the camera, is a cliff face with waterfalls that are feeding into the lake.  It's such a majestic place.

We spent a couple more days in and around Glacier and Whitefish, but sadly, we had to leave.  There was so much more to explore, I merely got a taste of what's there, and I want to go back.  There's a small lodge on top of a ridge that makes a for a good place to take a break on a 7 mile hike, only to walk the last 4 miles almost all downhill for a total of an 11 mile hike. That was a rough last 4 miles.  But there was so much to see and explore, pull off trails leading to Glacier overlooks, Two Medicine Lakes, Many Glacier, so much to see, so little time.  It was sad moment for me as we lifted off from Bozeman airport.

Until next time Montana.

On the banks of the Missouri River

Happy Birthday SCO!

Snow Camp Outdoors has been up and running for 6 years!  It's crazy to see how far things have come since I first started writing.  Back then, I wrote about anything from hunting techniques and equipment to survival, a lot of which I honestly never used myself!  Deer drives, Dakota firehole, minnow traps, and so on.  Ok, I did try the Dakota firehole, once.  Now I try to stick more to stories or some tips and strategies...that I actually use.  When I first started writing in 2011, I had yet to shoot a deer.  I had gone squirrel hunting before, but I would not shoot a deer until 2014.  I found out writing this that I don't think I posted a pic of the deer, or even a story about it, so, here's the pic:

If you want to hear the story of my first deer, let me know in comments!  Afterwards, I got deer each year, but I wouldn't shoot a big buck till 2016.  If you want to see that story, go here.

This year, I tagged another big buck, named Prince.  So far that's been a highlight of mine for the year, other things include fly fishing fairly often in the spring and summer, and having my blog post, "A Six Year Wait" put on the RMEF web page.  You can see that here, along with a lot of other cool stories! 

Here's to another great year!

A Prince of the Forest, Part 3

Where had he gone?  How could he?  Did I just miss somehow and get a flesh wound?  Nothing made sense.  A few hours before, I was so happy to get Prince.  Now, after two hours of searching and nothing much to show for it, the guys; Justin, Caleb, and I headed home.  I would return in the morning and look some.

I planned to get up fairly early Thursday because I had somewhere to be later in the morning, so getting an early start was imperative.  I had planned to wake up a bit before 7, but restlessness woke me an hour before my alarm, I couldn't go back to sleep.  It was just impossible.

I went out that morning, expecting to find him in a particular area where we had heard crashing the night before.  Unfortunately, though I found blood, I didn't find him.  The trail stopped, and I didn't know where to search.  After an hour and a half, I headed out of the woods.  That afternoon, the guys dad, Mark, came out to help me look some more, still nothing.  There was one last area to look at before I called it quits, the woods across the field from where I shot him.  However, it was going to be Saturday afternoon before I got the chance.  Who knows what could have happened to him by then?  Can I even find him?  The answer from the search that afternoon was no.  I couldn't find him.

Now is when questions and replays of the encounter start going through your mind.  Was my shooting technique bad?  Was I not holding steady on the shoulder?  I told myself: "I know I got buck fever, but I've dropped deer before, I'm not a bad shot."  Did coyotes get him?  And this sounds weird, but is he still alive?  Who knows if he's still alive? The camera will have to tell me. 

Heavy hearted, I grabbed the SD card from my funnel camera and headed back home.  As I pulled out of my grandparents driveway and pulled into mine (we live next door), my grandpa's tractor came out from behind me and headed towards my cousins cow pasture.  Hmm, he doesn't head that way often, whatever.  I got home and started checking photos.  Nothing.  Is this really how it was going to end?  A huge deer just, wasted?  Sure, the meats bad by now, but having some token that said "you shot this deer" would be nice.  But he had just vanished.

Then mom gets a phone call, it's from Grandpa.  He had gone to help with something in the cow pasture, and my cousins son, who was with him, had spotted him while in the tractor.  This deer had ran well over 300 yards from where I shot him. 

Finally, the search was over.  I could see him up close, look at his size, hold his antlers.  All the questions, while still largely unanswered, didn't matter anymore.  All I wanted to do was savor the moment.  We got his antlers off, thanks to my cousin.  Could I have mounted him?  Yes, but my last buck mount was my Christmas present last year.  Kinda wanted something different this year, not to mention limited wall space, haha!  But, I think an antler mount might be in order. 

This buck give me a lot of twists and turns, highs and lows, but in the end, it was worth it.

The End of a Season

On January 2nd, the 2016-2017 deer season ended in North Carolina.  With that, I had a few thoughts looking back on it.  Not to mention personal records :) Always have to have those.

• Record: I harvested my biggest buck to date, a nice 8 point.  You can see details here
• Record: I harvested two does in one night, one may have been my biggest ever.
• Record: All three of the deer I shot this season were during Thanksgiving week, does on Tuesday, buck on Saturday.
• Lesson: I learned that you should never shoot from a position your not comfortable with.  I should have already known that, but I know now.  I was crouching in a weird way, not sure exactly how I was positioned.  It cost me another doe, whom I missed...twice.  I was 3 for 3 before that night, now I hit 3 of 5 shots...ouch.
• Lesson: Never give up.  The buck I got is the first big one I got after six years of hunting.  Six years!  You will get one if you hunt long enough and try hard enough.  
• LIFE TIP!! I should also mention that prayer helps tremendously.  I prayed for that buck that evening, and he came.  No, not every single one of my prayers are answered, but without prayer, I don't think I could have shot that deer.  Why, you ask?  I had never seen that deer before, in person or on camera.  It was a gift from God Himself.  When He gives you a gift (whatever it may be, even a deer), thank Him for it.

Hope you all enjoyed this, and enjoy what's left of the North Carolina snow!

A Six Year Wait

     On the evening of November 26th, 2016, it was chilly and windy.  I was in my stand at 4pm, and planned to be there until around dark.  Once I got settled in, I prayed "Lord, please let me get a deer tonight.  I would love a buck. Please Lord, let me get one.  I've never gotten a big buck.  I've had so many close calls, so many hunts, so many times seeing big bucks on camera and never in person.  Please Lord.  Amen."
     After sitting in the stand for close to an hour, I heard something almost directly behind me to my left side.  My stand is positioned on the edge of a field, the field being on my right side, I have a funnel directly in front, and the woods on my left. At first, I thought it was a squirrel, but it sounded too heavy. When I looked back, I spotted a small doe. I looked to my right, and saw a head sticking out out the brush at the edge of the field.  It stepped out, and it was a small buck.  The doe I spotted came out the same spot soon after. Then I heard more rustling.  Another doe came out.  All of these deer were too small to shoot.  "Well," I thought, "at least they'll be fun to watch."  Then I looked back where they had come out.  I saw a much larger body through the brush.  Then some antlers.  Big antlers.  This was a nice buck, one I had never seen before, not even on camera.  No matter, I was going to take him. I slowly swung my gun around and "bing!" My gun barrel had hit the metal of the stand.  My heart sank.  I knew I had just blown my first chance at a big buck.  There was now no way they would not be able to look in the direction of the sound, spot me, and run, and me having to watch this majestic animal bound away.  The deer all looked around, but thankfully, none of them seemed too alarmed.  I breathed a sigh of relief as the smaller ones went back to eating.  But the buck still stayed put, he wasn't coming out until he was sure it was safe.  After taking another look, he thought everything was ok and stepped out.  I aimed, the shot rang out.
     I've been hunting since I was 12.  I started with squirrel hunting, and even did a little deer hunting. Since then I've taken multiple deer and a couple small bucks, but no buck of decent size.  I've seen nice bucks on camera, sometimes seeing fair ones in the field, but no big ones.  This has been the case for 6 years.  Seeing plenty of does, maybe a couple of bucks, if any during some years, and never getting a shot at a nice one.  For 6 years.
   Finally, the 6 year wait and longing for a great buck ended in an instant.  He dropped.  God had answered my prayer.  With a nice tall tined 8 point.  And you know what?  To celebrate, it's headed to the wall.

November Double Stike

Since my last post, things have been roughly the same, cold and some wind thrown in.  I have seen deer, just none close enough.  Two does came close, but then walked away.  It's gun season, so they we're in range, but it was a risky shot.  Then Tuesday, Nov 22, came.  I went out to the stand at a normal time of 4 o' clock.  I prayed that God would grant me a deer tonight after so many close calls.  Around 5, there was a doe behind me in a field.  It wasn't a great posture to shoot from, with the tree stand harness restricting some movement, not to mention my stand is on the edge, so branches still block some shooting lanes.  But she came closer.  I waited.  She looked back, and another doe entered the field.  Their feeding led them in my direction, I told myself I would take whichever one gave me the first shot.  One stepped to where she gave a good view "Bang!"  She dropped.  I quickly cocked my Winchester for another shot if needed, while the second doe ran to the other side of the field. She stopped and took a look at what had just happened "Bang!"  She dropped as well.  2 shots, 2 deer, no trailing needed.  After the shot, I was shaking all over, not from cold, but from excitement!  God had answered, not with one, but two great does (one may have been the biggest I've ever shot).

What makes it worth the trouble, sometimes not seeing deer, other times not getting a shot, or when cutting up the deer, doing all the work to get the meat processed?  Good question.  I'm not sure of the answer. Other than the experience of the whole endeavor.  The expectation of a deer showing up out of thin air.  The adrenaline rush before and after the shot.  Holding steady aim when you're shaking all over.  The blast of the shot.  The reward of success.

What's next for me?  Well, I hope to get another one before the season's over!  And a certain buck I'm getting pictures of is on the list of "next ups" as well.

The End of a Season: Reflections

On January 2nd of this year, I had to cope with a realization...deer season was over.  Yes, there are other seasons going on and it will come again this fall, but still.  It's over.
This year was a year of firsts. It was the first season that I got more than one deer (at least, more than one recovered deer).  It was the first season I shot a deer with a bow.  It was the first season where mom went on a hunt with me to witness food from field to table.
Mixed with the firsts were the usual things. Some near misses, and shot-but-can't-finds.  This year I went without tagging a big buck, but then again, I never have.
Animal sightings were a plus this year.  I saw coyotes at close range, and fawns playing with their friends and mothers.
As always, deer vs. you staring contests are always fun, especially when you realize during the contest that you haven't hardly breathed since it started seemingly an hour ago.

Yes, this was a good season.

An Early December Evening

     The doe stared in my direction.  She had seen something, something in the field moved.  I was on my belly crawling across a field to get a shot at a doe, when things got crazy and a smaller doe headed in my direction.  To make matters all the more interesting, there were 5 more deer feeding nearby, making any other movement than crawling nearly impossible.
      I was hunting a double field that evening of December 5th.  Why do I call it double?  It's two fields separated by a thin line of trees, with enough branches in the way to only give me one or two shooting windows into the back field.  My hopes for this hunt and the other hunts I've had there is that the deer would come to the field directly in front of me, giving an easier shot (which has happened once, when I wasn't there and only observing from 100 yards away).  I had been there the night before, seeing 6 deer all at once and never getting a shot.  That wasn't the first time something like that had happened.  I've always seen at least 3 deer there at once (it has become apparent to me that I'm dealing with a doe group).  Tired of not getting a shot while having plenty of deer in front of me, I decided that that was the night I would shoot at something.
     I set up around 4:20 p.m. in such a position so that I could crawl into the field easily, if needed.  Not long into my hunt, I had 3 deer in the field.  Then that number increased as not one, not two, but three does jumped a fence to join the does already in the field.  After watching them feed for a few minutes, with the deer appearing to be slowly moving away to my right, I decided it was time to move.
     My crawl started well, only having to stop for short instances when a doe in the back field looked in my direction.  Just as it seemed I would get a shot at a good doe, the smaller doe mentioned above entered the field I was in.  Trying to sneak up on a deer in a field is not an easy task by any means, never mind the fact that there are SIX deer that could look at any moment and spot me.  While she fed/stared at me, I turned around and head to a tree that was on my left since the does had changed directions. I made it to the tree, which I was able to hide behind and look for a shooting window, which I found.  Once the deer passed into it, I aimed for the biggest doe.  BANG!!!  The shot missed.  All the does scattered from the field, though two doe fawns were reluctant to leave and wanted to see what shot at them.  After they eventually left, I went home empty handed, but willing to come back for a second chance.

One Special Evening

This evening was one where God again made things fall into place.  I was able to harvest my third deer of the season, a small doe (who looks even smaller because of picture angle).  The shot, my longest ever made, was 100 yards (it's NC woods okay!) with my .30-30 Winchester 94.

And while getting a deer is a blessing, this is not the main reason that this night was special.  It was that this was the first hunt my mom had ever done with me.  She was mostly there to observe, but it made no difference to me whether she's shooting or not.  She was there with me, and that's all that mattered.  

She apparently came at the right time too.  We had been in the stand for around 30 minutes and we saw a doe feeding off the opposite side of the field we were next too.  We watched her for five minutes, and she went away.  Only a couple minutes later, 3 more does came into the field, this time closer to us.  While they did not present a shot from the stand, I was able to climb down and shoot while she watched the action from above.  She's now experienced the thrill of the hunt, and I hope she'll come back for more.