2024 Deer Hunt - The Ethics of No Guts No Glory

The last six weeks have felt like a lurching scramble as I tried to get fall chores done when the weather was still mostly summer.  I reluctantly parked the motorcycles, but realistically only lost a day or two of mediocre commuting.  Final lawn mowing was late and hopefully late enough.

Work has been lurching from one issue to the next as well – yet every issue is also the same.  Amor Fati.

 With a pig in the freezer keeping my bear company, there isn’t that much room.  I was borderline about even going out for deer (the warm weather hasn’t helped).  Then Mike told me a neighbor was planning on hunting near the 2 creeks and his property line.  Ugh…

But I have the time off and even if Opening Day mayhem is not my favorite, it would not be fall without deer hunting; I would miss it.

So Friday after work I squeaked out of work a few minutes early.  After stopping at home to let the dogs out, I headed out to Mike's to put up my stand.  The recent rains had made the creeks hard to get through, but I found a way.  I didn't see the blinds on the neighbor's property, and where they were I decided would be almost a non-factor for me.  As usually happens, just walking back to put my stand up made me a bit more excited about hunting.

Saturday morning came and I woke up at my usual way-too-early hour.  I gave myself the luxury of a single cup of coffee as I watched TV with the dogs for a while.  "Hunting Tech" was on Modern Marvels which seemed only fitting.  Based on what it showed, it was probably at least 20 years old (I subsequently looked it up:  2002).  It was so nice just sitting with my older dog in my chair; she was absolutely content just snoozing under a blanket.  I almost didn't want to leave, but time eventually demanded it.

I was out the door right at 5:45 and made my way to Mike's.  Temperatures were warm for November in the mid-40's but were expected to change little through the day with clouds and only light wind.  Overall - I'll take it.  I hoofed it down to my stand and got set up easily enough.  Sitting there in the dark listening to ... nothing - it was almost magical.

Right near legal shooting I heard Mike's neighbor on his 4-wheeler going to his stand.  I don't think he hunted the last few years, at least not while I was there.

Since I'm nearly out of space in the freezer, I had decided that I was only going to shoot a nice deer or maybe if an absolute gimme walks in front of me.

Morning came slowly with the clouds but it was nice just being out there.  The squirrels were overactive, also taking advantage of the nice day before the cold front a few days in the future.

Mike's neighbor shot around 9:30.  It was LOUD; I almost jumped out of my skin.  Normally he climbs right on his 4-wheeler and noisily drags his deer away, but I didn't hear that this time.  It was one of the only shots I heard on opening morning - a far cry from some previous years when WWIII is happening in Eastern Indiana.

About a half hour later I saw a small buck in the ravine.  It plopped down on the ground after milling around a bit.  I thought, "I guess it might be bedding down, but that is just not normal."  A short time later I heard Mike's neighbor on the 4-wheeler - coming from Mike's property.  The buck got up and scooted toward the east, but not fast.  "Hmmmmm," I thought.  "I'd bet a paycheck Mike's neighbor did a poor shot."  Best thing for him to do would be to leave it alone.  I thought about what I could do, but decided there was really nothing I could do at that point.

After annoyingly buzzing around for a while, Mike's neighbor left.  I wondered what actually happened.  Did he do his best to track for a bit and the 4-wheeler was just a last ditch effort?  Was it just a half-assed attempt to find his deer from the start?  Poor shots happen - no question.  But I couldn't help being a little judgey about his roaring around and hoping.  I felt really bad for the deer.  It will probably hole up and die a painful death or the coyotes might get him.

The morning progressed into afternoon.  I was enjoying the time in the stand.  With the nice weather I had dressed old-school in some of my ancient hunting clothes; this just always feels right with deer.  But I did desperately wish I had my neck gator.  With even light wind catching my coat, I felt a brutal chill.  It was sitting on the seat in my truck and I almost went to get it, but decided to tough it out (real old school).

Around 2:00 I caught the glimpse of a big deer way at the south end of the property.  It looked to be a small-rack, large-bodied deer.  I could only see bits and pieces through the brush, but it was nice to see.  About a half hour later a small buck came in to my left.  I watched it as it milled around toward me.  It finally made it about 15 yards away - about as much of a "gimme" as I was going to get.  But I chose not to shoot and just snapped a few pictures.  Watching animals in a totally natural environment is one of the best things about hunting.

About an hour later I saw a deer in the ravine.  When it plopped on the ground, I (almost) knew it was the deer the neighbor had shot.  I watched it get up, move a few yards and bed down a few times, "Gosh that thing looks like it is in pain."  Then I saw the exit wound...

What are the ethics here?  I have almost no shot due to the distance and brush, but that animal is obviously in pain.  It also is not the deer that I "want."  No ... if it gives me the shot, I HAVE to try.

I watched it for another 10 minutes until it stood up with what looked like a clear lane to the vitals.  The last thing I wanted to do is shoot and wound further, "Make this count, Beagle."  The gun went off almost without me thinking about it.  The deer ran and I heard a crash.  It was likely the longest shot I've ever had on a whitetail.  So if my original plan was a nice deer or a gimme, this was neither.

I walked my climber down the tree and went over to the ravine.  The buck only ran about 15 yards.  Sometimes I do things and instantly know it was a poor decision - any introspective person does this.  This time I instantly knew it was the right thing.  Nope - a small six isn't what I "wanted" and I wasn't desperate for meat, but six hours of misery was already too much.  And yet, I won't claim it to be a righteous or courageous ... hopefully principled.

I packed out my stand and came back with my knives and sled.  I had tons of daylight to gut the deer and get it out.  That crappy sled makes hauling deer out so much easier.  In all fairness to Mike's neighbor, the shot wasn't terrible but not good enough.

I stopped in to talk to Mike and Mary for a few minutes before heading home.  It took a bit to get the deer strung up in the barn and things put away enough for the night.  Sunday would come with much work left to do.

________________________

I took the dogs out early Sunday thinking about the previous day.  It was a gorgeous morning and I was a bit wistful that I would not be hunting.  But a stunning moon halo told me that nature is its own gift, even without a rifle in hand. The stillness of the morning, the soft glow of the halo, and the energy of the dogs reminded me that the outdoors always holds something magical, whether I'm hunting or simply taking it all in.

2024 SC Deer Hunt Day 7 - The Week Ends

I was up early, packed and on the road by 3:30.  I felt bad that I woke Kevin up, but he's an early riser as well.  I hope to be back in camp with him again some time.

I worked my way north on 2-lane roads - happy Mr. Google would point me to all the turns.  Eventually I got routed onto 4-lane divided and I could relax a little more.

I was listening to Trail of the Lost by Andrea Lankford.  It was a reasonably good book about searching for people who go missing on the Pacific Coast Trail.  It kept me entertained for the entire drive home.  The book did jump around a lot without any theme to the jumps which made following any one story impossible; it might have been different if I was reading the book instead of listening to it.  The book also spent too much time on the whole idea of psychic phenomenon finding lost people.  It didn't exactly give credence to it, but it took credibility away from the overall theme.  I suppose for the families involved, grasping at any straw might be worth it.  I would have really liked it if the book could have ended with at least one of the main stories resulted in a found hiker (even if deceased).  But maybe that is the point ... these people go missing and many are never found.

I'm genetically predisposed to hate tolls, so the West Virginia tollpike made my skin crawl a little bit.  Even though the cost is insanely higher than the one Illinois toll I pay going up to Canada, at least the view along much of the road is quite pretty.

Eventually I started heading west.  Traffic all day was tolerable.  Once home, SO was mowing the lawn when I got there (she is still wonderful).  I thought about taking over from her, but I had much unpacking to do, some major clean-up and a hog to get in the freezer as soon as possible.

The dogs were thrilled I was home and after a long day, I tried to relive the week in my head as I went to sleep that night.  But sleep came easy.

2024 SC Deer Hunt Day 6 - Under The Banner of Darkness

Kevin and I were up early for a thermal scope crash course.  I was using Rick's 7mm-08.  I had used this in 2021, so I was privileged to use it again.  We talked a brief plan and Rick dropped me off at the stand I had missed the hog on last year.

I made my way down the dirt road and toward the "front stand."  The plan was to scan a few areas using the scope to see if any pigs were in the area and make my own plan if there were.  The front stand was empty, although thinking later, I wasn't 100% sure I was in the right place.  

I made my way around to the other stand.  I got to the edge of the field and saw a deer bedded down nearby.  I paused, trying to think of what to do.  I just didn't have many options.  I tried sneaking around, but (of course) this failed miserably and the deer huffed and took off.  I was hopeful this was far enough away from any pigs.

I started to slowly work down the field and scanned a few more times.  When I got near the actual box blind, I scanned the first corn pile, but it was empty.  Thinking this whole thing might be a bust, I scanned the other pile and it was wrecked with pigs.

Now what???

I thought about shooting from the blind, but I wanted the stability of the tripod.  And setting up the tripod in the dark would be really noisy in the blind.  I left my pack at the shooting blind.

I made my way around the blind and down a bit, inline with the hogs.  I set up the tripod and scanned to find the hogs.  There were several pretty big ones, a bunch of little ones, and many of them were bedded right in the corn pile.  My heart was racing; I had to back up and just take a few seconds to calm down, "Calm down idiot, you've done this 500 times before...."

I stepped forward and watched the pigs.  There was a pretty big one on the left, I waited for it to get away from the other pigs.  Boom!

Recoil was minimal, but I still couldn't see anything after the shot.  I heard pigs scurrying away everywhere.  I scanned the area - no pig.  I!  Could!  Not!  Have!  Missed!

More scanning and remembering to unzoom the scope showed a white hot pig doing the 100-yard dash on the ground.  I watched it for a bit to make sure it was really done.

I didn't want to bugger up the stand more than needed, so I grabbed the gun and tripod, and headed back to the stand.  It took me a few minutes to get everything set up to hunt for deer in the morning.  I was absolutely drenched in sweat at this point.  Looking through the scope, I triple check that my hog is really - really-really dead.

Morning light came slowly.  It was another beautiful morning with much less humidity.  I didn't figure I'd see much early with all the commotion, so I just sat back and watched.  Hunting mornings are even more magical with a pig down.

Shortly after daylight, some turkeys came out to the pile.  They did not want to come out with the hog there.  One brave turkey did but only for a few minutes.

Hogs always look so small once they are on the ground.  And this hog was deer colored.  I had a lot of second-guessing myself as the morning wore on.

Not much else was moving that morning.  I did catch a glimpse of two bucks running the back treeline.  One was mildly interesting, but neither one was a shooter.  Temperatures stayed cool and with the wind picking up, it was almost cold at times.  I still enjoyed the morning.

Rick came and got me a short time later.  I watched Kevin and him load up my hog while I packed up.  They picked me up and we headed back to the lodge.  Apparently a neighbor had heard me shoot and called the game warden about someone poaching deer at 5:15AM in the dark (note, shooting hogs at night is 100% legal in SC).  I thought this was quite funny, but am also glad that people care enough about wildlife to do this.

My hog was a really nice eater - 150 pound sow - with spots!  It was in the cooler on ice shortly after 11:00.

Breakfast was homemade donuts, eggs and bacon.  I was glad I had the chance to stay another day.  Well worth it.  And still one more chance at a buck for the trip.

After a last great breakfast we had a lot of downtime.  A few of us took the opportunity to walk down to the river.  The level had risen a lot.

Soon enough it was time to head out for the last sit.  I was on the White Trash / Washtub stand.  The box blind had seen better days, and there was a very active wasp nest in the corner.  I had a quick conversation with the wasps, "I'll leave you alone and you leave me alone."  The truce lasted the evening.

It took a few minutes to get settled, but once so it was quite comfortable.  This isn't always the case after spending so much time on the stand.

At least there are interesting things to watch.

Does filtered in and out of the area all evening.  I kept hoping something more interesting would show up, or that hogs would come out and push everything else away, but that didn't happen.  

The area had clouded up considerably and darkness came early.  I met Rick on the road and we picked up everyone else.  Everyone had seen deer, but nobody saw any shooters.

Back at the lodge we had a final meal.  I packed up most of my stuff to prepare for leaving in the morning.

2024 SC Deer Hunt Day 5 - One Sock Too Many

We met early again and left on an absolutely stunning morning.  Temperatures were cool with clear skies and almost no wind.  The day felt right.

Rick dropped me off and told me there could be a huge bar hog on my stand.  I snuck in as quietly as I could but didn't hear anything.

Waiting for it to get light my mind wandered to all the fall chores waiting for me when I got home.  At least I wasn't thinking about work.

As it started to get light, I started scanning to see if there was a bar hog there.  I saw a few black blobs, but they ended up being just dark weeds.  A bunny squeaked by me.

As it started to get light, the magic of the morning continued with light fog and heavy dew.

I finally saw movement on the corn as I saw a small deer.  It was a pretty 4-point.  So no shooting, but it was still fun to watch.

The 4-point only stuck around for a few minutes before it left.  A 3-point popped out right in front of me shortly after.  It looked nervously across the lane for a bit before snorting and running away.  I was hopeful something more interesting was over that way, but nothing showed.

The sun was rising and temperatures were as well.  A few spikes meandered around for a while.  Two of them did make their way to the corn and did some light sparring while eating.  Seeing the fake fighting was fun, even if it was just spikes.

With one last spike on the corn, I heard Rick's truck come in as the spike left.

Kevin had seen just a few deer, Lisa had seen a few does and Mike was lonely.

Back at the lodge, we had French toast followed by some needed down time.

At 2:30, we were once again on to road to hunt deer.  Chad from Florida had come in.  One guy was still on his way.

I was dropped off on the Nelson Green middle stand.  It initially looked a little exposed, but once settled, it felt like a hog stand; I just had to see hogs...

Shortly after getting settled, I heard rustling.  Much like the previous morning, it didn't really sound like a deer or a hog.  But after a few minutes, a deer did pop out, but it was walking very oddly.  Looking closely, it only had three legs.  I'm almost positive this is the same deer we saw that I called "clumsy."

A while after this deer left, two more came out.  One of them was a spotted fawn.  So I'm quit sure the three deer I had seen were the same from the previous morning.

I had a long time where not much was happening, but I was able to let my mind wander and enjoy the time.  A third deer stepped out and this was a totally different deer - at least different from the small doe and fawn.  Looking through the binoculars I saw what initially looked like an 8-point with antlers right at its ear.  It ended up being a 7-point.  I tried to size it up and took a few pictures to get Rick's opinion ... Right on the Edge.  

On edge or not, I'm sure it met the criteria.  I still hemmed and hawed for a bit, but eventually passed.  After all the deer left, I was definitely second guessing myself.  And I wondered if it was a clean 8-point if I would have shot it?  I had decided to stay another day, so what would I have done if it was still my last day?  Too much navel noodling after so much time in the stand.

Right at almost-too-dark a doe popped out.  I was hoping something else would, but that was it.

Everyone had seen deer that night.  Chad had shot (I heard him shoot twice), but it ended up being a clean miss.

Dinner was cube steak and beans n' rice before turning in early.

2024 SC Deer Hunt Day 4 - Game of Minutes

After another early morning, we all met at the truck.  Lisa was also joining to hunt, although not staying in camp since she was house sitting for her sister.

The morning was pleasant but cool and very humid.  But it felt like a hunting morning.

I was dropped off at Nelson Green Hunting with Lucy stand.  I carefully made my way back since Rick said there was likely to be hogs nearby, if not on the corn.  As I got close, I heard hogs so I slowed way down and was as quiet as I could be.  I felt a little bit like my dog.  When she sees a squirrel or something she thinks she can stalk, she goes into beagle-stalk mode, but her tags are jingling and her nails make noise on the road.  Every step I took sounded much, much louder than it was to the hogs more intent on their food than anything else.

I managed to get into the stand quietly enough that the hogs were still there.  I carefully got situated and waited for daylight. There were two piles of corn and both had hogs on them.

The stand needed some work, it was tilted at enough of an angle to be a little uncomfortable until I found a good way to set.  The Lucy board was on the last of its lifetime.

Right around the time it started to get light enough that I could probably see shapes in the binoculars, I no longer heard the hogs, they must be able to tell time; they were gone.

The gods damn that man who first discovered the hours. - Titus Maccius

I enjoyed the morning partially because it was the first one where my headache was completely gone.  I also like cloudy cool days.  But apparently the deer and hogs did not.

As the morning wore on, I heard some noise right next to me.  It did not sound like deer, hogs or squirrels.  Slowly looking over the treestand, I saw a very small doe right next to it.  Apparently it was just a very clumsy deer.  It heard me shuffle and ran a few feet away looking around - only a little nervous.  Then it made its way slowly away.

As it got close to the time to get picked up, I think the same deer came out and walked in front of me.  This was followed by a spotted fawn chasing it to the left.

Everyone had seen something, but no shots.  

Breakfast was some of the best cinnamon rolls I've ever had. 

Rick and I fed a bunch more stand before getting a huge load of corn.  Feed them pigs!!!!  Nothing is ever easy here, but we got one and a half hoppers full of corn - at least enough for the few days I have left.

After corn duty, it was just a few minutes before we had to pile into the truck to take off again.  I sat on the stand where I missed the hog last year.  I really like the stand, even if I did have a shirt tail at it.

It was easy to get comfortably situated.  I hadn't been sitting too long when a few turkeys came out.  I was semi-dozing before I saw them and in that first glance, I thought they were baby hogs.  I ain't hunting turkeys!  

I caught a fleeting glimpse of a deer on the far treeline.  All I could really see was that it was a deer, probably a small buck, definitely running.  I recall deer walking this same line from the previous year.

The afternoon wore on and a very well defined edge of the clouds rolled overhead as the area suddenly got very sunny.  This was actually kind of nice since it was almost (almost!) cool in just a T-shirt.  The sun picked my spirits up a notch.  Although it was not the nice serene hunting evening that I enjoy so much.  The house(s) nearby was painfully noisy with kids screaming, dogs barking, ATV buzzing, lawn mowing.  And I think the sound echoed in such a way to make it sound even worse than it really was.  I was somewhat annoyed at times.

Around 6:00 I heard a shot that I figured had to be Mike who was sitting on another stand on the same farm.  I didn't hear anything more, so I was hopeful for him.

The rest of my evening passed quietly.  I did glimpse another fleeting few minutes of two does along the far treeline, but that was it for me.

At dark, I met Mike at the meeting spot.  We talked quietly while waiting to get picked up.  It was a beautiful night.  Once Rick came, we headed back to the lodge to get Dixie.  Kevin hadn't seen much.  Lisa had seen many deer, but no shooters; she headed back to her house.

The rest of us went to go to find Mike's deer.  Rick turned Dixie loose after making sure the GPS was working.  We found no blood and it was looking hopeless until Dixie went on point.  We made our way to Dixie and found Mike's deer, barely visible in the water.  Mike was looking elsewhere so I pulled it out, soaking my shoes in the process (water shoes thankfully).  It was a fairly nice 9-point with one broken tine.  Mike's shot was a bit far back, probably hitting liver and exiting the gut.  It likely would never have been recovered without letting it lay and without Dixie.  Watching Dixie do her work was impressive as was her excitement after finding the deer.

Rick and Mike got a few pictures before loading up to go to the processors.  Then it was back to the lodge.  I couldn't decide whether food was the right thing to do at the late hour, but I was really hungry.  So I had a quick bowl of chili before turning in on one of the latest nights I've had in a very long time (actually not true - a few bear hunting nights were pretty late...).

One more day to go...

2024 SC Deer Hunt Day 3 - Game of Inches

We were out the door again around 5:15.  Tom and Joe left around the same time.

Rick dropped Kevin off at a farm a ways away, then looped back and dropped me at the Powell farm.  Instructions to the blind were simple enough.  I walked past a deer on the way there and it didn't blow out until I was well past it.  Odd...

The stand was a raised box blind.  As it got light I could see a small deer on the pile.  At first I thought it was a doe, but with a bit more light I could see spikes on its head.  It stayed for around a half hour before sauntering off.

Shortly after it left, a doe stepped out right in front of the blind.  It went into and out of the trees for a bit before disappearing forever.

Shortly after it left, I saw more movement by the pile as two deer, then a third made their way in to the corn pile.  Two of the deer were small, a small spike and a rather tall spike.  The third was more interesting.  When I originally saw it, it was facing away from me and its rack went out past its ears - just barely, but it was past its ears.  I spent quite a bit of time looking at it.  I convinced myself it was good enough and had the safety off while looking through the scope, waiting for it to turn broadside.  When it did turn broadside, I wasn't sure I was looking at the same deer, the antlers looked small.  I put the safety back and and just watched.  It was a wide but not huge (and young).  I passed and texted Rick a picture.  

The three deer stayed for quite a while.  They moved in and out a few times.  It was a bit hard to keep seeing that wide rack every time it faced away or towards me.

Other than a brief showing by the tall spike, they left just a few minutes before Rick texted to say he was on the way.

It took a while to get picked up.  Thankfully the mosquitoes had chilled out since I had shut off my ThermaCell while I was waiting.

Kevin had seen a few deer including a small 8-point.

Back in camp, we had breakfast before going out a feeding several of the stands.

Mike from New York had come in to camp to hunt for two days.

After a bit of lodge time, we headed out for the afternoon.  I was on the same stand I sat on in the morning.  It was easy to get situated, but there was absolutely no air moving so it was stuffy and hot.

Not long after sitting, two does came out followed by a third that only stayed for a few minutes.  They kept me entertained for a while.

This was followed by a very long time with nothing happening.  It was hard to sit still.  I tried to occupy my brain, but I actually got a little be bored which almost never happens when hunting.

Around 6:15 a doe popped out from the right.  This was followed almost immediately by a buck about 50 yards from the blind on the left.  Unlike the morning's deer, this was a very tall rack and an 8-point.  But!!!!!  It wasn't very wide.  I snapped a few pictures and texted Rick.  Beautiful, but no...

This one hurt.

It came and went a few times until it ate corn for about 10 minutes.  Then he left leaving me alone for a bit.  It got oddly dark quickly with the weird lighting; the sun was setting directly away from me and with the corn in a hole, I lost most of the shooting lane early.  Full darkness came with a few does and a spike on the pile.

Dinner that night was exceedingly good taco pie.

2024 SC Deer Hunt Day 2 - Little Miss Tiny

I woke up to a sultry, humid day.  I didn't want to wake anyone, but around 3:30, I couldn't take it anymore and got up to a quick shower.  I putzed around the lodge a bit while everyone else was getting ready.

We all got ready and Rick came out to get us around 5:15.  We all headed out.  The two NY guys were dropped off first.  I could feel a headache coming on - quickly and with strength.

I was last to be dropped off on a quadpod stand looking down a lane.  My flashlight was only kind of working and I wasn't familiar with the stand, so I felt like I was banging gongs while trying to get situated.  Once I had everything set up, the stand was actually rather comfortable.

It was still quite dark, so I dozed a bit while the morning woke up.  I was hopeful as it got light, but the morning moved slowly with nothing showing up on the corn pile - at least nothing more interesting than a squirrel.  

My head was pounding with a migraine, so I took advantage of the slowness to semi-doze a bit.

Soon enough, the morning was over and Rick came to get me.  He came from beyond the pile which surprised me a bit.

The only deer any of us saw was a small 3-point that Kevin saw.  Reports from friends of Rick were similarly slow.  The deer had to be somewhere, but on this morning they were just not active.

Lisa had family issues to attend to so we went to a small restaurant for breakfast.  The menu was minimal, but the sandwich was good (enough).

Back at the lodge, a more proper nap and another walk down to the river seemed to help my head quite a bit.  I wasn't 100%, but going in the right direction.

Early afternoon came around and we piled into the truck to head out.  I was dropped off at a small field about 100 yards walk from the road.  It was hot.  It was hot HOT.  And humid.  It was uncomfortable.  The only saving grace was a decent breeze.  It took a few minutes to get situated, but once I had everything set up I was able to get comfortable.  I looked angrily at the sun since I knew it was going to be beating me up as it set.

The afternoon passed somewhat slowly.  At one point the Air Force jets started flying around.  Thankfully it wasn't for very long since I still had a headache and I knew from previous hunts that they could be painfully noisy.

As the sun started setting, the wind stopped making the day stop about the way it stopped.  As it got to dark to see, a very tiny doe popped out right in front of the stand.  It milled around a little bit before turning around and going back the way it came.

I got out of the stand and went to the gate to wait to get picked up.  The mosquitoes hadn't bothered me all night, but they were brutal while waiting.  Thankfully Rick picked me up before they carried me off.

Back at the lodge, Joe had missed a deer, Matt had seen some but no shooters.  Kevin had an evening similar to mine, seeing only one turkey.

The evening ended with spaghetti and garlic bread.