Topic: More to it than a bang
swoledaddy's photo
Sun 11/16/08 05:57 PM
Edited by swoledaddy on Sun 11/16/08 05:58 PM
Got bored before class the other day and here's what came out.

More to it than a bang

It makes my heart swell with pride when I think about the days tasks as I'm rolling out of bed and into my camouflage just before daybreak. After about 20 minutes of getting dressed and scarfing down some hastily cooked breakfast, I fill my pockets with jolly ranchers and beef jerky, grab my jacket and my can of skoal, and head out the door. The ride to my deerstand is often a difficult task as I usually fumble with the gate locks for about 3-4 minutes each due to the bitter cold metal biting at my fingers. I park my four wheeler on the farthest corner of the field and begin the walk to my stand. My heart is already beating rapidly in anticipation of what I might see today. I sling my gun over my shoulder and fumble awkwardly up the ladder (as it is still quite cold and the metal ladder does not help the situation) and situate myself comfortably for the hours to come. About an hour later the first signs of daylight appear and my grogginess is finally beginning to wear away. As I sit there, 30 feet in the air, I notice that the birds and squirrels in the tree I am occupying seem to take little or no notice to the fact that I am even there, life for them goes on as normal. It seems as though nothing can offset their harmonious way of life. It gets a little brighter and a few of natures other creatures begin to show themselves, a possum makes his way along the ground, a family of raccoons seem to be searching for their next meal, and there is a young buck standing beside his mother under an Oak tree about 60 yards away, watching attentively as he snacks on the acorns at their feet. You can almost get lost in the euphoric feeling of being a part of nature, even if your part is just a predator that sits in a tree, and the time passes more quickly than you realize. Before long, I look behind me and see a monstrous creature in the distance. I grab my binoculars to confirm my first thoughts. I see a large muscular frame with a small, twitching, white tail. I wait until the creature faces me and then I count 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 points atop the creatures noble crown. My heart is almost beating out of my chest as I wait for the buck to position himself a bit closer to me that I may actually have a chance at this magnificent beast. He trudges slowly along, stopping about 70 yards off and begins to graze. Almost immediately, I begin to slowly and quietly raise my gun. I have a tingling sensation over my whole body as I pick out my spot, just behind that massive front shoulder, and click the safety switch off. I wait for another 10 seconds or so to make sure that the beast is unaware of what I have done. BOOM. My direct hit echoes through the woods and all of nature seems to pause for a moment as the animal bucks wildly for a second and then lays still. By this point my heart is so sporadic that I can hardly breathe but I seem to make my way to the beast. I arrive on the scene and sit in admiration of the animal for a time before I retrieve my ATV and load the animal up. The ride home takes a good bit longer, as I stop by every familiar house to show off my new possession. Once I arrived, I hung the deer by his back legs in the barn and began to skin it with the thought of how happy I was about to make a certain family. No, this deer is not for me, it is a gift to a family of 5 that is going through some hard times and could use the meat alot more than me. After dressing the carcass, I carefully cut and wrap every ounce of meat, barely leaving any scraps for the dogs. About an hour later, I arrived at the run down house only to be greeted by two dirty little girls asking me if I would like to have one of their mud pies (real mud, mind you). After graciously accepting my gift, I asked them if their father was awake yet. They quickly retrieved him and I sit discussing the hunt for another 20 minutes. He is unaware of the cargo my old rusty Ford contains. I tell him that I had better get going and ask him if he wants to look at my kill, he nods accordingly and follows me around as I let the tailgate down. He doesn't know I saw it, but there was a slight mist in his eyes as I opened the 2 large blue coolers and told him it was all his. He looked me firmly in the eye and shook my hand. He didn't have to say anything. He vanished into his house and reappeared with his wife, who unlike him, felt the need to thank me about a hundred times or so as I help them unload the meat. I ride off down that red dirt road watching them wave in my rear view knowing that I can't conceivably understand the level of joy my deed had brought them. It made my heart swell with pride when I thought about the days tasks that I had completed.

no photo
Sun 11/16/08 06:09 PM

Got bored before class the other day and here's what came out.

More to it than a bang

It makes my heart swell with pride when I think about the days tasks as I'm rolling out of bed and into my camouflage just before daybreak. After about 20 minutes of getting dressed and scarfing down some hastily cooked breakfast, I fill my pockets with jolly ranchers and beef jerky, grab my jacket and my can of skoal, and head out the door. The ride to my deerstand is often a difficult task as I usually fumble with the gate locks for about 3-4 minutes each due to the bitter cold metal biting at my fingers. I park my four wheeler on the farthest corner of the field and begin the walk to my stand. My heart is already beating rapidly in anticipation of what I might see today. I sling my gun over my shoulder and fumble awkwardly up the ladder (as it is still quite cold and the metal ladder does not help the situation) and situate myself comfortably for the hours to come. About an hour later the first signs of daylight appear and my grogginess is finally beginning to wear away. As I sit there, 30 feet in the air, I notice that the birds and squirrels in the tree I am occupying seem to take little or no notice to the fact that I am even there, life for them goes on as normal. It seems as though nothing can offset their harmonious way of life. It gets a little brighter and a few of natures other creatures begin to show themselves, a possum makes his way along the ground, a family of raccoons seem to be searching for their next meal, and there is a young buck standing beside his mother under an Oak tree about 60 yards away, watching attentively as he snacks on the acorns at their feet. You can almost get lost in the euphoric feeling of being a part of nature, even if your part is just a predator that sits in a tree, and the time passes more quickly than you realize. Before long, I look behind me and see a monstrous creature in the distance. I grab my binoculars to confirm my first thoughts. I see a large muscular frame with a small, twitching, white tail. I wait until the creature faces me and then I count 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 points atop the creatures noble crown. My heart is almost beating out of my chest as I wait for the buck to position himself a bit closer to me that I may actually have a chance at this magnificent beast. He trudges slowly along, stopping about 70 yards off and begins to graze. Almost immediately, I begin to slowly and quietly raise my gun. I have a tingling sensation over my whole body as I pick out my spot, just behind that massive front shoulder, and click the safety switch off. I wait for another 10 seconds or so to make sure that the beast is unaware of what I have done. BOOM. My direct hit echoes through the woods and all of nature seems to pause for a moment as the animal bucks wildly for a second and then lays still. By this point my heart is so sporadic that I can hardly breathe but I seem to make my way to the beast. I arrive on the scene and sit in admiration of the animal for a time before I retrieve my ATV and load the animal up. The ride home takes a good bit longer, as I stop by every familiar house to show off my new possession. Once I arrived, I hung the deer by his back legs in the barn and began to skin it with the thought of how happy I was about to make a certain family. No, this deer is not for me, it is a gift to a family of 5 that is going through some hard times and could use the meat alot more than me. After dressing the carcass, I carefully cut and wrap every ounce of meat, barely leaving any scraps for the dogs. About an hour later, I arrived at the run down house only to be greeted by two dirty little girls asking me if I would like to have one of their mud pies (real mud, mind you). After graciously accepting my gift, I asked them if their father was awake yet. They quickly retrieved him and I sit discussing the hunt for another 20 minutes. He is unaware of the cargo my old rusty Ford contains. I tell him that I had better get going and ask him if he wants to look at my kill, he nods accordingly and follows me around as I let the tailgate down. He doesn't know I saw it, but there was a slight mist in his eyes as I opened the 2 large blue coolers and told him it was all his. He looked me firmly in the eye and shook my hand. He didn't have to say anything. He vanished into his house and reappeared with his wife, who unlike him, felt the need to thank me about a hundred times or so as I help them unload the meat. I ride off down that red dirt road watching them wave in my rear view knowing that I can't conceivably understand the level of joy my deed had brought them. It made my heart swell with pride when I thought about the days tasks that I had completed.



I'm going to guess that this "magnificent beast" you mercilessly slaughtered would have far more appreciated you giving up the cost of the hunting license you had to purchase to murder him, your camo, your ammo, your pricey rifle and your cute little perch and invested in a nice gift card to Safeway instead.

swoledaddy's photo
Sun 11/16/08 06:25 PM
Lol I figured the replies I'd get would be like that, think I'll pick a less controversial topic next time O.o

no photo
Mon 11/17/08 09:31 AM
we don't all have to agree:smile:

welcome to the forum and thanks for postingbigsmile flowerforyou flowerforyou