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Why does deer season mean so much to you?

2/1/2013

3 Comments

 
Why deer hunting means so much to me!

                Deer hunting started with the Indians the Indians taught the pilgrims and it was passed down from generation to generation for centuries. My grandpa passed it on to my dad and uncle my dad passed it on to me but even before that my great grandparents were hunting in the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s and passed it onto my grandpa and was able to teach my dad some since the last time she was able to hunt was in her 70’s and still able to read the land and sign to tell my dad were the buck would be laying at mid-day and she had never been on that land before. They put meat on the table every year they passed on the traditions and heritage of deer hunting.

                My dad has passed everything he knows about deer hunting. He has taught me how to read the land, sign, weather, and moon. He has taught me why deer do what they do and every year I learn something new. Weather I shoot a doe, small buck, or a monster it means a ton to me and I’m proud of every deer I shoot because it means that I have carried on the tradition of hunting one more year. The deer I shoot means more to me when I have put in the work scouting, learned, and predicted a deer’s pattern. Everything I have learned that has been passed down was put to use and paid off. When I use what has been passed on and shot a deer I know that my great grandparents, grandparents, and dad are proud of me. My grandma bought me my first deer rifle shortly before she passed away because she knew how much deer hunting mint to my grandpa and out family.

                My goal is to pass on to brie everything I know about deer and deer hunting. I want to carry on the tradition that my family has for so long so that she can do the same to her kids. Hopefully with me being such a young dad I will be able to touch my grandkids as well. I’m taking it a step further I’m doing this with my website. I have made the website to teach others about deer hunting I can’t take everyone in the woods with me but I can write about it and pass it on that way.

                On top of all of that my grandpa died in November 1992 opening weekend of deer season of carbon monoxide poisoning in a camper parked in the same place I camp now during deer season. He hunted the same ridges and bottoms I hunt today I’m following his footsteps every time I walk through the woods. When I stop and decide to hunt an area that I normally would have over looked, follow a trail I normally would have passed, or looked a direction and saw a deer or some sign at just the right time. I feel that it is my grandpa and great grandparents telling me to do something. As I’m hunting it’s like I have my grandparents and great grandparents with me, guiding me on my hunt.

                Not only am I providing meat for my family, caring on traditions of my family, and following in the footsteps of our forefathers. I feel a connection with my family that’s no longer here. These are the reasons deer hunting means so much to me. Deer hunting is something I love and will pass on to my daughter and as many people as I can to keep the traditions alive. It’s not about the size of the deer you shoot it’s about learning what this country was funded on and pass it on.

The Hillbilly
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3 Comments
tom
3/11/2013 03:44:46 pm

When I was a youngster, growing up in the hills of southeast Missouri, I had to learn a lot of the deer hunting tactics on my own. I was fortunate to have some uncles that were great outdoorsman of the day but, my dad was a coon hunter at heart and didn't do much deer hunting. My uncles taught me some, but real knowledge about deer hunting was scarce those days.
The deer population was still quite low during the 1970s and it was considered a successful season if you just seen a deer during the rifle season. There were many myths about deer hunting back then simply because there wasn't enough hunter/deer interactions. People didn't know what a scrape was back then and the ones that did, didn't want to give up their secrets. It was such a challenge for an adult to tag a buck back in those days that many kids were not taken to the woods. Thank God times have changed!
Probably the biggest question hunters asked each other back in those days was "Do you use a Winchester or a Marlin?" I'd say that 70% of hunters used 30-30 or 35's in the lever actions. A few used slug guns and some had the pump or semi-auto Remingtons. I seen a few of the old military rifles around but, not many folks in my area could afford the pricey bolt actions of the day. Those were still considered "western hunting rifles". I took my first deer with a Stevens 16 gauge, side by side double barrel shooting a slug.
I was blessed to have some close cousins that were as eager to bag a deer as I was. We spent a lot of time in the woods learning from scratch. Mostly while pursuing squirrels and rabbits. We were sure pleased when the hunting videos began to emerge during the 1980s. We wore out several of the old Roger Raglin and Dan Fitzgerald videos. Then we started buying the Buck Master and Deer & Deer hunting magazines. We learned what scrapes were!
We then learned of an area with higher deer population that was within a couple hours drive and we started an annual bow camp on the banks of the Current river along the Rocky creek area. That area really helped us learn a lot about deer behavior and their preferred habitat. I even gave up my home range and began rifle hunting that area. About ten years of experience in that area earned us all a PHD in deer hunting and we were able to start teaching the youngsters that were eager to bag their first deer.
Now I am older, wiser and blessed with several grandkids that are all being brought up by my children with the knowledge that something has to die in order to make a cheese burger, a chicken nugget or a sausage biscut. And they are also taught the value of fresh meat that God provided for us to enjoy.
I cannot even begin to describe how it feels to take a grandchild along on a hunt, up in a buddy stand, teaching them all that I know "that took me many years to learn" while watching the woods come to life as the dawn breaks. And then to see their reaction to the first deer they see from a stand. Not to mention the extra bonuses of seeing turkey, coons, hogs, squirrels and such.
I only know of a couple of my family members that still retain the drive to want to keep learning more about this great beast and to pass on that knowledge to the kids. God knows I want them to enjoy this gift of the Whitetail as much as I have. These traditions are what binds me to many of my friends and family. Every family gathering, regardless af the time of year, entails some whitetail talk. I pray that God allows me to keep this tradition going for many more years.

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The Hillbilly
3/11/2013 05:51:08 pm

My dad tells stories about the deer populations my grandpa and great grandma hunted and how hunting was different back then. Your right about the traditions that get carried on I look forward to teaching my daughter and nephews about the outdoors and hunting.

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Josh
5/4/2013 04:48:28 pm

What deer hunting means to me. My great grandfather was half Indian and grew up hunting and fishing to provide for his family. As well as his ancestors before him. My great grandfather taught my grandfather my grandfather taught my dad my dad taught me & I am teaching my son & daughter the same culture that has been past down to me. Deer hunting isn't just about killing, there is more to it than that. It's gods creature that was put here to provide food & clothing, blankets if needed. Growing up listening to my grandfather telling me why they hunted deer and what it provided for my great grandfather and his parents and so on it made perfect science to me why my family has been hunting deer for so long. I may not shoot any thing from one year to the next but any time I see a deer even if it doesn't present a shot it is fulfilling just to get a glimpse, knowing that that great animal still lives for another day and deep down I know we will meet again. I think about deer hunting every day of the year. It's a special time of year that I can stay in contact with my roots.

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