A day in the life of a "hunter". As told by Petey

[petey]

The air is cold and brisk and stings my lungs as I take in a breath. It may be just me, but it always seems the coldest right before the sun peeks over the tree tops. I stand to test my video camera and make sure everything is working properly. I’d rather find out something is wrong now, then when I have a buck walking towards me. It’s still too dark to video and the display tells me to remove the lens cap, but it’s not the case, it’s just too dark but the camera thinks it’s pretty smart. Silly electronics these days anyhow.

I take a seat and grab for my bow. With my arrow knocked, I draw and test my range of motion, making sure I know the limits that I can shoot in this position. I rarely if ever shoot a deer sitting, but it’s something I like to check just in case I’m forced to. My bow is placed back on its hanger and I’m now in a fine state of alertness. As each minute passes, the woods begin to get lighter and I scan for any movement or sound that seems out of place. I reach for my binoculars and view areas I can not yet see with my naked eye. The little creatures of the woods begin to wake up and make more noise. I hear what sounds like a deer walking my way, but as my eyes focus I notice it’s just a large fox squirrel bouncing along. He leaps every two or three feet which makes a sound very similar to the quarry I’m hunting. A very graceful animal in all it’s innocence. He hops up on an old stump that used to be a nice hardwood cherry not more than 6 months ago. I’m hunting a piece of property that is owned by a timber company and they did a select cut on large veneer cherry and maple this past spring. It opened the woods up considerably from my view of 20 feet, but on the ground is a maze of tree tops left over from their harvest. I ponder if it has changed the deer’s travel patterns at all, but from the sign I’ve found and the deer I’ve seen so far, my guess is no. I find the squirrel in my binoculars and watch him chew on what’s left of a white oak acorn. The speed and efficiency of which this animal can strip a nut’s outer shell to its soft inner piece is amazing. As my stomach growls I think to myself, “at least someone is enjoying breakfast”. I should have grabbed a bowl of cereal this morning, but with the excitement of the day’s hunt I totally forgot. No worries though, I know I packed a couple small candy bars, some crackers and an apple in my backpack the night before. Still, I enjoy watching animals in their natural state and I crack a smile as the squirrel leaps away out of sight.

The woods are completely light by this point and I can see the sun poking through the tops of the trees to my left. Still no sight or sound of a deer is to be had. I reach for my grunt tube hanging on my treepod adapter behind me and place it gently on my lips. Blowing softly I start with a long grunt that changes tone by how I have my hands cupped around the end of the grunt tube. A couple quicker short grunts and another long one, I let go of the call and let it dangle from its hook. If my wife could see me now, I know she’d laugh. She always seems to find enjoyment in making fun of me when I’m practicing a call around the house. Whether it is an elk, turkey, duck, goose or deer call, she will make some comment she thinks is funny. Maybe I annoy her with all my squawking around the house, or it’s just her way of supporting me? She may understand hunting, but I wonder if she truly understands my passion for being here? Sometimes it’s hard to explain to a non-hunter, but most hunters who are true outdoorsman know the passion and love we have for the outdoors and just being there. It’s more about than just a kill to me now. It’s the experience of it all, plain and simple. She’s still wonderful in my eyes, and whatever her reason, doesn’t complain much when I’m gone.


(Chapter 3 – First Sightings)