I was introduced to deer hunting through family and close friends just as most all of us are. Some of my greatest memories as a young hunter still keep me going into the deer woods at the start of each season some 30 years later. I remember those crisp November mornings making the long hike back into the woods as each hunter would slowly peel off and head to their own area to hunt.
Each of these areas had names that we talked of as if they were on some map, and a familiar good luck given to each along with a “shoot a big one”. Even though back then, there wasn’t any deer management systems; as a matter of fact you were lucky to see deer! And if you did, everyone at camp would listen! You felt like you belonged, like you were part of something. And if you got one, well, you were a star! Man or boy, you were treated as someone that everyone in camp looked up to. Hugs and hi-fives all around! Score didn’t matter!! It wasn’t the first thing you asked when someone said they got one. If you got a deer-any deer it was a trophy!
The clothing was a fair shade less quality than that of today. I remember the introduction of Tree bark camo!, Then the Sparta camo that we now know as Realtree. Thin-sulate was just hitting the market. Cotton long underwear was the best you could find, unless you liked the itch of wool. Crazy how I don’t seem to recall the cold when I think of those days, just the excitement of getting to go.
There wasn’t any trail cameras. No Google earth maps, no cell phones to have instant feedback from each other from stand to stand. No internet to check the forecast, wind direction or sunrise chart. Pictures were taken with a Polaroid camera and there wasn’t any editing done, you got it one way!
Do we even need to mention the bows and arrows?? The talk at the time in the magazines was how some states might not allow these new “compound bows” because they had a let off and it was an unfair advantage. The let off was somewhere between 30-50% at best and the bows were long and heavy. Arrows were aluminum with feathers that were launched off of flipper style rests, vanes had just started to be used with newer better rests were still being tested. I remember going to the archery shop, owned and operated by Laverne Waulk on Airline HI way in Cedar Falls Iowa. Who would have thought he would help revolutionize the hunting industry with the development of the 3D targets we now know as Delta/Mackenzie. How cool is that!!
We never miss an opportunity to say thank you to anyone who is or has served our nation. Please make time in your everyday life to say thank you not just today but everyday and always. Thank You!!!!!
Who really cares about all this? Why would I even take the time to write something like this? It’s because without all of those times, I don’t think I would be the hunter, or the man I am today! Its learning from each time out that creates all these memories. I guess what I’m saying is enjoy today! There will be a time in the not so distant future that you may be able to look at a room full of trophies on the walls, and remember each of them like they were yesterday. Cherish the time you have with nature, and your thoughts. One day as you look back at 30 some years of hunting…it might not be the animals you’ve gotten that you remember the most.
