Random deer hunting thoughts

[lasttombstone]

I was just sitting here by the fire reminiscing about my earlier days of deer hunting and took a minute to look back at what was. I didn't really start deer hunting till 1985 when a group of high school buddies and some assorted friends started the Fellowship Hunt Club outside of Bunn in Franklin Co. There were only about 20 of us and just hunted around on the farms we had permission to hunt in the area with a small pack of dogs. That year we killed 21 deer total and had a ball. The hunting seemed to be secondary to spending time with the friends, breakfast every morning at the "clubhouse" which was an old service station on one of the guys property and feeling it was a productive day if someone even saw a deer. That year the total deer harvest for Franklin Co. was 481 deer. By comparison, the largest kill in the county thus far was in 2014 which recorded 3554. That is one heck of an increase. It dropped the next year to 1608 which I reckon was the year of the EHD in that area and it slowly climbed back up to 2064 last year. This year is lagging behind a little with only 1473 to date. I don't get out as much as I did 33 years ago so I'm not adding to the numbers here in Granville but it is just interesting to me to look to the past and realize how much has changed. Although my life has changed a lot since those days, as has deer hunting for me, and I have had much more success during those years, the memories of those days past are sweet and seem to have been much more enjoyable. If I never kill another deer, those will still be the best days of my hunting experience.

 

[Jrbrandt25]

I've made some good friends hunting and enjoy our time in woods,

 

[Newsome Road]

I think it's pretty common for the "glory years" of hunting, as far as "fellowshipping" goes, to be in those high school to college years. The older I get, the more hunting translates to "quiet time". There are certainly plenty of "phases" in ones hunting time, but I like to think its all circular.

 

[FishHunt]

@lasttombstone

 

[Mr.Gadget]

It is all about the time spent with friends that have a common quest. Have fun, eat, hunt deer and top it off with stories and cold beer.
Always a good time.

 

[bowhuntingrook]

Unfortunately, not everyone came from an area where hunting was a part of life. Truth is, hunting is unacceptable and frowned upon in many areas of this country. In those areas hunting phases out for that reason and without mentors, how is one to understand fellowship and comraderie? I had never heard of a hunting club or heard of a lease tell I moved hear, was all public, rare to find private and get permission Self taught individuals such as myself have other reasons for getting into hunting. Many hunters in this state aren't from areas like NC, where you can easily hunt deer for 4 months. Imagine 2 weeks rifle only, and no option for alternate weapon. Not really a way of life when it's 2 weeks long and highly regulated. I know why I do it, and I appreciate any opportunity to share it with others, wish I was in NC 30 years ago.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[lasttombstone]

^You would have fit right in and had a ball. Just wouldn't have killed as many deer, LOL. But you could have still put a good tracking dog to use.

 

[bowhuntingrook]

^You would have fit right in and had a ball. Just wouldn't have killed as many deer, LOL. But you could have still put a good tracking dog to use.

I still need some more tracks, easy or hard, I will stop what I'm doing and head that way for a track. Dogs been anxious lately.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[Part-time hunter]

Nice post about the good old days.

 

[woodmoose]

Guess I am not of that mindset,,,yes, I like people (some) but hunting to me is about the outdoors,,the quarry,,the quest,,
some hunts it's about the dog,,,
yes, I like hanging out with friends during and after the hunt, when I hunt with them,,,but if I had to give up any one aspect of my hunts, it would be the people - I can talk to people at work,,,,

and I grew up in a 9-day deer rifle season environment and I guarantee you, that red Army was just as much into deer hunting than anyone I've meet down here,,,,

the "Old man" is right,,,the memories are what make deer hunting great

 

[lasttombstone]

Wish I could help you out Rook. The only thing I have seen brown up here are the beans. I'll sure call if one gets shot.

I'll have to agree with you as well woodmoose, to a certain extent. The older I have gotten, the less of a people person I have become as far as large groups go. I guess this whole thread started from the fact that I haven't been out on a sit all year long. No sign and no sightings coupled with nasty weather has kept me in the house so I sit and think and remember.

 

[dobber]

Any bad experience i ever had while hunting included people, i love sitting in my little stand from dawn to dusk all alone.
Plenty of good times with previous hunt camps, but a few of them made me want to give up hunting, unfortunately bad experiences play a larger role in my memory than the good times. I will say though, my trips down to NC hunting had never had any bad experiences - almost one, but was averted

 

[FishHunt]

Wish I could help you out Rook. The only thing I have seen brown up here are the beans. I'll sure call if one gets shot.

I'll have to agree with you as well woodmoose, to a certain extent. The older I have gotten, the less of a people person I have become as far as large groups go. I guess this whole thread started from the fact that I haven't been out on a sit all year long. No sign and no sightings coupled with nasty weather has kept me in the house so I sit and think and remember.

Let me know if you want to make a lap for squirrels one day in Jan or Feb. I can bring a .22 or 2 to shoot also.

<>< Fish

 

[perfectroadglide]

When I was very small my father belonged to a hunt club. He took me a couple of times, and I only remember a few things. One was my father being upset that a few guys were drunk, and the other was all the cussing around the kids. I don't know if he ever went back. I prefer to hunt alone, although occasionally I'll put family or friends in a stand.

 

[took]

My brother and my cousin (squirrel assasin here on NCHF) used to hunt near the Bunn area (just down the road in Pine Ridge) back in the late 70s and used to get very excited when we saw a deer track, much less an actual deer. Used to love to go spot lighting at night to see deer. Those too were my favorite memories about hunting. Never shot deer or really saw many but sure had a lot of fun.

But we could shoot all the squirrels we could eat!

 

[timekiller13]

I'm with woodsmoose. Don't really care about the people. I enjoy hunting alone. Only person I really want to hunt with is my Dad. And there are times where I don't want my dad tagging along, due to the difficult nature of the hunt. That being said, I do have good memories from when my dad, uncle, myself and a few others hunted together in Allegheny County. But, overall, I would rather have my solitude and hunt the way I want to hunt.

 

[MtnMan]

I really miss the times I would take a week off work and spend that time camped out at Curtis Creek. I would get up and leave camp well before dawn and drive to the top of the mountain, park the truck, take my bow and spend all day just easing around in the woods all alone and having a ball. I didn't have to kill anything to have a great day.

 

[Jrbrandt25]

I've made some good friends hunting and enjoy our time in woods,

That goatbanger SM270 didnt even like my nice comment I made bout him,,,,

 

[bryguy]

It seems that I am like many here, it is more about peace and quite hunting to me now then being with a bunch of guys. We used to do permit hunts down on the Roanoke river and I enjoyed the camping and spending time with those guys. We hunted down there for almost 20 years. I have not hunted down there in at least 5 years and it just isn’t the same as it was back then. There were a whole lot of deer, and not very many hunters at all. Last times we hunted down there the numbers were way down in regards to deer and hunter numbers were way up. I honestly believe that from about 1998 to 2004 or so probably were the golden days of deer hunting around here I believe


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[oldest school]

Great thread lasttombstone, interesting to see how folks approach the sport.

 

[lasttombstone]

Things sure have changed haven't they oldest school.

 

[lasttombstone]

Let me know if you want to make a lap for squirrels one day in Jan or Feb. I can bring a .22 or 2 to shoot also.

<>< Fish

Sounds fine Travis. You know you are always welcome here. Don't know how long my lap would be but I can always make a few short ones. Just not in the snow.

 

[sky hawk]

I enjoy being alone, but I feel like I've spent too much of my time in the woods and on the water alone. Reminiscing alone doesn't hold a candle to telling stories and reminiscing with someone else about time spent hunting together. There are times when I choose to be alone, but I'm always looking for more opportunities to hunt with others. Too many of my spots for too many years have been private land where I couldn't take anyone else or risk overstepping my bounds.

Recently I've put more of a priority on who is hunting with me than hunting the absolute best spot. Mainly because the best memories are those made with others.

 

[Eric Revo]

I enjoy a mix of the quiet of the hunt and the camaraderie before and after the hunt with close friends. Both provide unique experiences and I find that when I remember one or the other it tends to be completely separate from each other.
I do have hunts that I've shared with others that are memorable and provide a mixture of the two, but those aren't nearly as numerous as the others.
The meals, card games, shooting matches, stand work, ect.. are all part of the hunting experience but I can't say that I link those to the actual hunt very often. Only when I'm sitting in a nice dry shooting house on a dismal day do I actually remember to appreciate all the hard work that goes into finding the location, clearing lanes, building the stand, ect.

 

[41magfan]

While I enjoy the solitude that hunting often affords, I also enjoy the camaraderie of doing it with like-minded companions ...... surely someone else can relate to that obvious paradox. I'm not that old but tragically, my closest hunting (and fishing) pals have passed on; all of them at an early age. It's one thing to hunt by yourself because you choose to, it's quite another to hunt alone because your best hunting buds aren't around anymore.

Hunting hasn't lost its luster for me by any stretch, but the loss of my special hunting mates sure diminishes the experience. As it is with most things in life, hindsight can be a hard teacher and if I'd know the time with my buds was going to be so short, I'd have given more attention to their companionship and the time we spent in the woods and on the water.

 

[Crappie_Hunter]

My deer hunting now consists of teaching my children "the ways of the deer woods". It's fun to see the excitement in their eyes from things I took for granted like a song bird on a limb, or a passing rabbit. I have gotten way more enjoyment out of sitting with my son and teaching him than I did killing deer by myself. Those of you that have taken new or unexperienced hunters know the challenges it presents, but that's part of the fun for me. If I don't kill another deer for a long time, that will be fine with me but I really enjoy the "phase" of hunting I'm in now.

 

[oldest school]

Things sure have changed haven't they oldest school.

oh yeah, from zero deer to expanding herd to population explosion all in really a few years.
I hunted deer for many seasons with folks giving permission thinking I had lost my mind trying to kill a deer. "You want to hunt what?'
Now it's not exactly like that.

 

[Aaron H]

I'm an old guy now and hunt almost always alone. I prefer it that way as far as the hunting goes since I like being more spontaneous and not having to "meet back here" at a certain time. BUT...... some of my best memories are of the hunts with others. I remember a rainy night at Butner, I guess the 1972 bow season. My buddy and I got rained on the last hour of the day and getting back to my old Opal, which I had driven down a woods road, we found we were unable to drive out since it was uphill and muddy. A long walk out and to a gas station (days pre-cell phone) got a guy with a Jeep and a chain to rescue us. That cost $8 back then and I recall that I was a bit disappointed in my hunting buddy not offering to pay half.

 

[TheCloudX]

I grew up with a fishing pole and firearm in my hands. My mom used to take me and my playpen to the lake and put a pole in front of me while she fished. I learned to shoot with my BB gun that I got for Christmas one year and graduated to higher powered firearms as I aged. Most holidays were scheduled around hunting, with many spent in Dodge City, KS where we'd meet up with my grandpa to do some pheasant and rabbit hunting. Our summers were spent with poles in our hands on the lake. Literally all my favorite childhood memories involve camping, fishing, and/or hunting.

Over the years, as I grew older and went off to college the stories after a hunt shifted to a phone call rather than over a campfire or dinner table. The first call would be to my parents and then to my grandpa. After mom passed, dad stopped hunting as it was their thing to do. I still call him after every hunt to talk about it, but the interest really isn't there anymore. I think we both do it because it's the thing we used to do rather than not. With grandpa passing this year, I've talked more to my Uncle - which is nice, love the man to death (he's the epitome of the crazy uncle, even at his age), but it's not the same as it once was. Most of my time in the woods is spent alone these days.

Although that may sound sad, I love the sport and will hunt until they bury me. As odd as it sounds, I feel closer to the Lord while in the woods - more so than at church. I feel closer to my family, too, while in the woods - especially those no longer with us. Maybe it's how I was raised. Not sure. Although my better half doesn't hunt, she sure likes eating it and supports it. She even pushed me to go this weekend instead of her families Christmas party. We both want to buy some land one day for us to stretch out and enjoy - especially with me hunting. There's just something about connecting with nature and shutting off the world that I can't express.

 

[oldest school]

Cloudx is touching on something that I have always thought but kinda can prove now.
The peace that I get from hunting is probably a factor in why I go but until last year it was just a mental exercise.
I started wearing a fit bit which has a heart rate function. Some of the lowest numbers I see is when I am up a tree.
It's just a calming activity for me.
Surprising to me is the lack of higher heart rate when I see or hear them. I guess I am used to them being around.

all bets on the heart rate are off when I am after turkeys. I cant even remember to check my heart rate when they are involved. LOL