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.

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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.

2024 SC Deer Hunt Day 1 - A New Route

It has been a chaotic week.

• Work:  An absolute mess.  Too much to do made worse by management-created problems - years in the making approaching rapidly.  I turned a coworker away when she asked me for help and my frustration was up to 11.  To be clear, it was something my manager doesn't want me doing and it isn't part of my job, but having accepted the blunt realization my career is over, I generally do what I can now to help people.  I feel terrible about this.
• Weather:  Hurricane Helene came through turning everything windy, sultry, humid and wet.  Gross.  The week ahead looks like wet will continue.
• Home:  The lawn needs mowed (of course) and fall chores are lurking.  
• Personal:  A family issue is looming.  I may be a terrible person.

But!

• I was able to leave work with my inbox in a decent place.  And the work will be there when I get back.
• While Hurricane Helene was brutal*, we did need the rain and there was no significant damage locally (I'm not minimizing the devastating impact Helene had South).
• The world won't end due to long, sodden grass.  I have must-use vacation days coming to take care of fall chores.
• While I may be a terrible person, I'm also able to accept my faults.

*Apparently Helene was more brutal than I originally knew.  I-26 was shut down and I-40 was gone in Western NC. I know this is much worse for many people in that area.

_______________________________

After a Saturday getting a few things done and packing up the trucklette, Sunday morning arrived.  With all the roads closures, I had to choose a new route.  I also parked my Garmin GPS to take advantage of the slightly more real-time traffic and road information with my phone.  This was not to be my typical brainless drive that I'm used to.

I was out the door around 3:30.  It was raining, but roads were clear.  I had to argue a bit with my phone to get it to go the way I wanted.  It did give me a route through Western North Carolina, but I didn't trust it.  All it would take would be one road closure to create problems.  Plus, the roads that were open were likely to be difficult.

So I routed east then south.  The drive went easy enough.  I was listening to How to Stay Married by Harrison Scott Key.  I had almost deleted this book since his other book was only mediocre.  I was sooooo glad I didn't though.  This was a totally different book and was beautifully written - it was almost lyrical in many places.  It was both funny and sad, sometimes at the same time.  In fact, I'm I actually glad I read his other book since it did, in some ways, set things up for this one.  One of the negatives about listening to books is I couldn't write down some of the better quotes.  And searching for them didn't help me find them either - possibly because his writing can be pretty polarizing, and this is (obviously) a polarizing subject.  I was surprised how much of a religious tone the book had since that wasn't a major tenet of his other book, but unlike some reviews I saw, I didn't find this off-putting; he was telling his story.

But the book made the drive go exceedingly fast.

Right near the West Virginia/Virginia border there was a bear dead on the side of the road.  It briefly brought me back to Manitoba.

The only negative with my route was that I was on 2-lane roads for the last couple hours.  But I guess ... that is the same with my other route too.  I'll probably get to see how it is on the way home.

I got to Rick's just as three guys were getting ready to go out.  I was in the small bedroom with Kevin who I hunted with the previous year.  I unpacked and got as settled as I could.  As I was unpacking, I realized I forgot my binoculars.  I don't use them for hogs, but not having them for deer could be a real handicap.

There were three other guys plus Kevin in camp.  Kevin wasn't hunting either so we lollygagged around camp and took a walk down to the river.  The three out hunting all saw several deer, but no shooters.

Dinner was rice and black eyed peas before turning in relatively early.

2024 Bear Hunt Days 9&10 - Home

I had partially packed up the evening before so I was able to have a quick cup of coffee while I finished getting ready to leave.  Dave had said to text him before I left and he would help me load up by bear.  I felt a bit bad about this - these guides seem to work 24/7.  But he met me near the freezer and I loaded up before a quick goodbye.  I pulled out onto the road at almost exactly 5:00.

I decided to avoid the gravel road on the way home.  This added about 20 miles, but no time and lessoned aggravation.  It might have been partially negated by some construction, but it made the dark morning a bit easier.

I was listening to Congratulations, Who Are You Again?: A Memoir by Harrison Scott Key.  It was pretty good.  I got a bit annoyed by how he kept talking about how funny he was.  There were some funny bits, but much of it felt a little bit forced.

As I motored through south Manitoba, I got one more sunrise, no doubt it would have been better if viewed through something other than a windshield; I did feel like I was one of the only people on the road.

I breezed through the border.  "Have any alcohol or tobacco?"

"Nope and nope."

"Have a nice day."

I finished Congratulations and overall it was good.  I liked the way his narrative told the story about how dreams change as he discovered he was already living his dream.

I find it frustrating how Ford allows me to sort of search for what I want on my USB stick, but then only teases and disables the ability to scroll.  This is more dangerous than letting me quickly find what I want since I try and fail ... and try and fail ... and try and fail...  

I may have to move up a few years and put my books and podcasts on my phone before I leave on my adventures.  Or, heaven forbid, stream them...

US2 was surprisingly tolerable before I worked my way down to the interstate which was annoying, especially when I neared Madison.  My sister texted me to suggest I go an alternate route since there was some kind of bike/marathon thing near where she lived.  I got to her house with time to get caught up.  

In the morning I was once again on the road for the last leg toward home.  The final part of the drive went smooth enough.  Indy sucked, but what else is new.

At home, SO had mowed the lawn.  She is wonderful.  This made the final work of unpacking, taking care of a bear and cleaning up much easier.  

The next adventure is only a few weeks away.

2024 Bear Hunt Day 8 - Binary Decisions

I woke up to a headache, but thankfully coffee magically helped.

I met Chris and Dave down by the dock at 6:00.  We piled into the boat and motored out of the bay.

I was dropped off at "Earl's Stand" which was a newer stand and so one I had never sat in before.  I really liked it.  It was comfortable and a good distance from the bait with a blocking ridge behind.  

I know mornings are less likely to be productive, but it was an absolutely beautiful morning.  Temperatures were cool with just a light breeze.  I love watching all the animals wake up; it even seems sometimes like the trees wake up in the morning.  Loons were wailing in this distance - I live for these placid moments.

But no bears showed up.  The most interesting thing that I saw was a weasel and it only stayed for about 30 seconds.

Dave came and picked me up late morning.  Chris had seen the big bear right after he was dropped off, but wasn't situated yet.  Likely that bear can be colored ... gone.

After lunch, I had a quick walk and then a nap before a final sit for bears.  I was down to the witching hour.  I met Dave, Chris and Lockler again down at the dock.  We motored out.

We initially checked Chris' morning bait (Holiday), but it hadn't been touched.  So we continued to go up river and I was dropped off at Ranger Station.  I likely have sat on the stand before, but not for a very long time.

The bait is very near the shore.  The wind had picked up and between the wind and the waves crashing against the shore it was impossible to hear anything.  But after approaching 40 hours on the bear stand, having noise and wind to cover was not a bad situation.

Not much happened for a few hours.  I replayed the past week's events over in my head.  I found myself thinking about home, and regrettably work.

Movement beyond the bait caught my attention.  I saw a bear at the edges milling around.  I watched it for about 15 minutes.  It finally came into the bait.

I watched the bear for a while longer.  I was having a very hard time judging the bear's size; this can be difficult on the best of days, but with the pressure of the hunt winding down, it was even more challenging.  I thought the bear might make six feet, but I was also realistic enough that thinking that could just be unrealistic wishfulness.  But shooting a bear is a binary decision; either the bullet leaves the barrel or it does not.  And what this also meant is that I may either go home with this bear or go home with a tag.  I'm not sure I felt great about any of the choices, but ultimately one choice would allow me to smoke bear shoulders once at home.
I waited for the bear to turn broadside and fired.

It ran out of where I could see and I heard it moan.  I knew it was over in seconds.  After things quieted down I got out of the stand and easily found it.  It was smaller than I thought, but one big lesson I've learned is that once the bullet leaves the chamber, I'm happy as long as what I am after is recovered.  I knelt down next to the bear.  It was a beautiful Manitoba bear with a gorgeous thick coat.

I know I'm unbelievably fortunate to have gone on nine successful bear hunts.

It was late, but I got back into the stand to wait to be picked up.  A little after dark Carter, Lockler and Chris came to get me.  Chris had seen a similar sized bear, but the stand creaked when he drew his bow.  He was going home with a tag, but he had a very realistic view of the situation.  As we left the bay, I sort of laughed at myself; by passing up on the larger bears Tuesday, I guess I had held out for a smaller bear.  But I was peacefully content with where this binary decision ended up, even if it was a "last day" bear.

On the way back to camp, I felt the "Lucky Penny" in my pocket.  As we boated through the rapids on the way back to camp, I threw the penny into the rapids.  The talisman had become a distraction; I sacrificed it to the gods of the river.

Back at camp, the guides made quick work of my bear.  We talked about the week as we all prepared to depart.  I'm somewhat amused how quickly we get to know each other in bear camp.  This was an exceptionally good group to hang out with.  The people at camp are almost like family at this point.

I booked again for next year.

2024 Bear Hunt Day 7 - One Little Guy

Overnight rain meant finding any blood trail from the wolf went from unlikely to nearly-impossible.  Carter and I talked in the morning and decided not to look for the wolf, but they would look next time that stand is baited.  Given the overall picture, the chance of a hit was quite unlikely.

So that meant another morning of fishing after breakfast.  Carter took me out fishing a few bays.  Numbers of pike were pretty decent through the morning, but size remained stubbornly small.  It was still fun and the weather was near perfect with cool temperatures an just a light breeze.

After lunch, we headed to the road stands for the afternoon.  We were both on stands near Rice Lake with me being put at Duck Pond.  It was a single ladder stand, nicely tucked into some trees.  It was surprisingly easy to get comfortable even being a single since there was a hook for my bag and it creeked a bit less than some of the taller stands.  It felt like I was very close to the bait.

Not long after I had been in the stand, I heard something pounding away from me that sounded a lot like a bear running.  I couldn't help but wonder if a bear had snuck up behind me.  About 15 minutes later, just after 4:00, I caught a glimpse of a bear on the ridge beyond the bait.  A small bear had likely circled around, intent on eating popcorn.

It took its time coming in.  It was a very small bear.  I may be getting desperate at this point, but not four feet desperate.

But it was encouraging to see the bear so early.  It was quite nervous and only stayed for a short time before running away.  

The afternoon was glorious bear hunting conditions.  Temperatures were cool but not cold.  Much of the time there was breathlessly no wind.  The only negative to these conditions was that every movement felt like banging gongs.

Around 6:00 I saw movement again.  The same bear came into the stand; it was easily identified by a thin blaze on its chest.  It again came in for a few bites before running away.  I saw it again near 7:00; this time it did not come into the bait.

Sadly, that was the only bear that I saw that evening.  Darkness came with Carter and Lockler coming in to get me.

Dave had picked up Chris.  He had seen a sow with cubs and another bear that he couldn't get a shot at.  

We were both down to the witching hour.  As we ate our late dinner, we made plans with Dave for a morning hunt.

2024 Bear Hunt Day 6 - Say Goodnight Raquel

I ran into Matt as I was walking to the lodge.  With bear in hand, he decided to head home due to family obligations.  

So after a breakfast of ham and French toast, I headed out with Carter for fishing.  

Temperatures had cooled significantly overnight to the point that it was almost cold in the wind of the boat ride.  We stayed below the rapids and tried several bays.  I caught a few pike, all of them small and one smallmouth bass.  Fishing has been challenging this year; some years I can't even throw a lure without something jumping into the boat.  The largest pike I've caught to this point is less than 30 inches.

After lunch, Lockler and Carter took Chris and me upriver for bears.  Chris was dropped off again at Holiday - hoping to see the previous night's bear just a smidge earlier.  I went to Bass Island which was quite a bit farther upriver.  As we boated away, it felt more than ever like I was leaving civilization.

Once at Bass Island, we walked in and I got situated.  I was in fantastic spirits - I loved the stand and easily got comfortable.  The stand had the right mix of open area and cover.  Temperatures were almost perfectly cool.  Wind was light and right in my face.  There was a chance of rain so I wore my rain suit and I was very comfortable; I was falling into the groove of bear hunting.

Compared to the road stand with ATVs and vehicles in the distance, or even the previous night's stand where there was more boat traffic, Bass Island was unbelievably quiet ... at least at first.  As the afternoon stretched into evening, I think every goose in Manitoba decided to hang out behind me in the bay somewhere.  They were mercilessly noisy - flying in and out and doing all kinds of goose things.  I could at times tune it out, but then I would hear it again and it overwhelmed the area.

I was sure I was going to see bears so I got a little excited when I heard footsteps behind me.  But I knew it wasn't a bear; it just did not sound like it could be a bear.  Looking to my right, I caught a glimpse of something blonde through the small trees, then I briefly saw a head.  For the first time in nine bear hunts I was seeing a wolf.  I always wondered what I would do if I saw one, since they are so dog-like and I'm quite the dog person.  But I swung my gun in that direction.  I also briefly noodled how much a shot might bugger-up my bear hunt.  I know for many animals a single gunshot often doesn't elicit a reaction, but wasn't sure about bears?

The wolf crossed into a clear spot and looked up at me, then looked forward again.  I had no time to overthink.  I dropped the crosshairs and fired.  At about 30 yards it was a gimme ... right?  The reaction of the wolf was not what I expected if it was hit or if it was not.  If hit, I figured it was drop instantly or if poorly hit run like the devil had just spoke to it.  If I missed, I figured it was also do the skedaddle.  What I heard sounded like it just walked away.  I was ... confused.

I had about an hour and a half to overthink what happened.  I so desperately wanted to go look for it or evidence of a hit.  But I knew that while a gunshot wouldn't screw things up, me tromping around absolutely 100% would.  I stayed put.  I kept looking over where the wolf had been hoping for a miracle.  At one point, I saw the butt of something dark with a long tail - I can only believe this was a much smaller dark wolf since I couldn't think of what else lived in the Manitoba brush that size and shape.  I suppose it was also possible that I was hallucinating.  The brain is the one organ of the body which does not tell us when it is malfunctioning.

Darkness came quietly.

Carter and Lockler came to get me.  We looked for around 15 minutes, but on the ground everything looked different from the height of the stand.  And with darkness, it was much more challenging to find any kind of sign.  We piled into the boat and headed downriver to get Chris.

Chris had seen a few bears, but didn't get the clean broadside shot he wanted.  Phyllis (his SO), was giving advice based on his trail camera - which was quite humorous.  Everyone else had eaten dinner, so it was just Chris and I having a very late steak dinner.  It was great, even if a bit much so late.

In the movie Pulp Fiction "The Wolf" comes to fix things caused by Vincent's ... um ... careless gun handling.  I went to bed mercilessly beating myself up about the evening's situation.

Before 2023, my last miss on a big game animal would have been 2013.  This wolf would be my second miss in less than a year; I did not want to believe I could miss at that range.  Self-loathing can be a full time occupation.

Whenever I find myself beating myself up this much, I try to pull out any lessons to salvage my sanity.  What are the lessons from this blonde wolf?  First - don't rush the shot.  I've had to learn this lesson many times and sadly will likely need to do so again.  Second - stay focused on the task at hand.  Bears are what I was after.  Seeing the wolf was cool enough.  Living this lesson in the split second I had to make a decision is easier said than done; the soul-crushing reality is that I don't really think I'll have learned this sufficiently either.

I went to bed hoping that Harvey Keitel would come and fix the evening's situation.

"Goodnight Raquel."

2024 Bear Hunt Day 5 - And Then There Were Two

After the previous day's activity, I was surprisingly able to sleep well, but still up early.

We all grouped for breakfast before starting a new day on the water.  Dave took a group of tag-outs up river, I went with Carter to cast for pike while two other boats went for walleye.

Fishing was a little slow.  I did hook into a few pike, none of them big; although there was one follower which looked decent.  I also got another decent smallmouth.

We once again ended the morning right near Kendall, but oddly the bay didn't produce nearly as well as it often did.

Back in camp we had shore lunch.  It was good, but there was probably enough food for 30 people.  Then it was a quick nap before heading out for bears.

But first, a story...

Before heading out on the last night of my 2023 Bear Hunt, Faith gave me a "lucky penny" that Maureen had given her before she shot her bear.  That day was successful for me, and I kept that penny with my bear hunting stuff.  I gave that penny to Matt since he had not seen any bears yet.

Kevin and Lockler (sp?) took Matt, Chris and I upriver to hunt.  Carla and Sawyer were on road baits.

I was dropped off at Reef Bay.  It was a new stand since I had sat there previously which I was glad about since it wasn't that comfortable before.  While still challenging to sit for so long, it was a bit better.

I was able to get relatively comfortable.  The view to the actual bay was pretty and I could see the few boats that went by through the day.

I let my mind wander.  So much of hunting is mental.  Days like the previous one are exciting with bears running around fighting.  But days like this Day 5 are placid and almost spiritual.  It is amazing to be able to sit in a place so peaceful.  I wouldn't have been surprised if there were less than five people within five miles of me.

At one point a buzzard landed in a dead tree directly opposite me.  It felt ominous; I wasn't sure if it was ominous for me or the bears.  Probably both.  We are all temporary.

I thought a little bit about my dad.  I don't come from a family with an outdoor tradition, but he seemed to get a kick out of my hunting when he was still alive.  This year marks a full decade since we lost him.

Weather through the morning started out cloudy, then it got sunny and almost hot, followed by a new bank of cold, breezy clouds rolling in.  As it started to quietly get dark, a few sprinkles began to fall.  I could see the boat out in the bay waiting to pick me up; about the time light and dissipated, Dave and Lockler came in to get me.  I was glad they took a covered boat since it started to rain harder.

We went to get Matt and Lockler came back, "We need the shotgun.  Matt got a bear."  We all got out of the boat and easily found Matt's bear about 50 yards from the bait.  It was still barely alive; Dave finished it quickly with a load of 00Buck.  Matt seemed both thrilled to get his first bear while also mentally processing the whole situation.  There were jokes about the truly "lucky penny."

After taking some pictures, we went to get Chris who had seen a decent bear.  Chris was bowhunting, and there was just not enough light to be able to see to shoot.

Somehow Dave maneuvered the boat through darkness so thick it could be felt.  How these guys do this is totally beyond me.

Both Sawyer and Carla and shot bears as well, leaving just Chris and I with unpunched tags.  Carla's bear had been at the stand I was on the previous night.  I suspect it may have been the bear I thought long and hard about.

After a pork pot roast dinner, I exited early to sleep.  It was very late and it didn't take me long to get to sleep, once again going over how much of hunting is mental.

2024 Bear Hunt Day 4 - The Meanest Sow In The Woods

After the first night of bear hunting, morning started a bit slower.  But I still got up early for coffee and rigged up my borrowed fishing pole.  I cast a few times; the pole worked better than my old crappy one, but the brace that held the reel hit my hand in an uncomfortable way.  Oh well - beggars can't be choosey.

Sunrise came to a beautiful Manitoba morning.  

After breakfast, Kevin once again took Matt and I out for fishing.  We went above the rapids.  Fishing was a little better than the previous day.  We hooked into several fish and the pike were on average a bit bigger.  We still didn't hook into any whoppers, but at least a bit better.  There was one keeper pike in the bunch that I didn't get a picture of (and regret that slightly).  Both Matt and I caught decent smallmouths too.  Matt's was much larger.

We ended the morning by Kendalls which is usually really good for smalleys, but I did quite well with the northern pike there while Kevin and Matt ended by jigging for walleye - catching a few keepers.

After lunch Vance took myself and Sawyer (sp?) out to one of the road baits.  I was on Construction which was a nice comfortable double.  When I first got situated, it felt a bit weird to not be near the river and there were no other animals running around.  I was worried it could be a long lonely afternoon.  I knew there were bears in the area since there was quite a bit of poop, including a pile near the base of the stand (which looked oddly human...).

Around 4:00 I saw a flash of black near the bait and three cubs came out.  I've seen cubs before so I knew I could be in for a good show.

Even in the relatively short time I watched these bears, I could see distinct personalities of the cubs.  The two larger cubs were aggressive and fought a lot.  The third smaller one bolted at the slightest risk.

These four bears were around for around two hours.  The sow was a very good-sized bear.  I noticed she had a large chomp taken out of the side of her face right near her right eye - almost certainly from a fight with another bear.  I took a look at it through the scope at one point and could see it was red and oozy; it looked painful.

The bears would wander around, eat, fight ... it seemed to be a normal bear day.  The more timid cub spent quite a bit of time in the tree next to me.

The sow spent quite a bit of time right next to me.  She knew I was there, but seemed content to sleep.  At one point all three cubs laid down at the base of another tree next to me while the sow went up to eat popcorn for a while.  There was some obvious food-coma going on as they had eaten quite a bit of popcorn by this point.

After about two hours of fun, the bears got nervous and started looking away.  Mom walked in that direction and while I couldn't see what happened, there was a knock-down fight which lasted a minute or so.  All the cubs were in trees, including one hanging out in the tree right next to me.

They made there way down and out of the area and shortly another bear came out.  It was smaller than the sow and not a shooter.

It stayed for a while until someone on an ATV came up somewhere behind me.  It was close enough that I could hear the cooling system cycle on and off.  It was really annoying and made the bear very nervous.  The bear tolerated the ATV until it turned around and went back the other way.  I thought I was going to be alone, but it only lasted a short time before another bear came out.  It was a much nicer bear and I really thought about shooting it.  But I could not get a good look at it since it immediately flopped down on the ground when it came in.  It was definitely a 6+ foot bear, but I couldn't tell how much "+" it was.  

It left and either came back or another similar bear came in with the same ambiguity for size.  It stayed for a while before I saw another bear lurking in the woods beyond the bait.  I could see cubs too, so I wasn't sure if it was a different sow, or the one I had already seen until I caught a glimpse of the chomp on her face.

She came into the bait and attacked the bear that was there.  It was intense?  Scary?  Disconcerting?  These two bears started tearing around the area in a skirmish that lasted several minutes.  They were snarling and screaming and knocking down trees.  At one point they tore, screaming their bear heads off right under the treestand.  I wish I could have gotten video, but I could only catch glimpses of them.  But seeing a knock-down, drag-out bear fight was wild.  It was ... exciting.

Eventually the sow convinced the other bear to stay away, although I could hear both of them chomping their jaws at each other.  The cubs came back out.

As it got dark, I heard Vance come in to get me.  All four bears (sow and cubs) climbed the tree next to me.  When Vance saw this he said, "Aww F*ck!"  This is not what I want to hear my bear guide say.  I ended up having to get out of the tree with the meanest sow in the woods about 6 feet off the ground and 10 feet away from it.  She was still snarling and snapping her jaws.

Quite frankly, it was one of the most exciting days of bear hunting ever - even without ever firing a shot.

Back in camp Curt and Reagan (sp?) had both shot bears very early.  Kelly and Glenn (sp?) also shot bears.  

I was exhausted after dinner and fell asleep reliving snarling bears.