Wednesday, September 14, 2011

The Hunt

 Hey friends.   I'm back with another story from life.  It's hard to pick what to tell.  There's good and bad in all our lives and I don't want to focus only on negative events.  
     It was 1976, I was 15 and it was the beginning of the hunting season for deer.  It was a fairly warm day for early winter with a fog that you could only see for about 1/8 mile or so.  We hunted on private land and were the only ones with permission to do so.  My father had been a caretaker of sorts for the landowner for a long time.  He would post and patrol this property for trespassers and evict them.
   I was on my hunting stand that morning when a white Volkswagen bus came slowly down the road behind me.  It slowed to stop without pulling off the road and then two men got out with hunting gear and started walking into the woods not far from me.  As soon as they walked passed the posted signs I heard Dad yell for them to stop.  He approached these men and explained that no hunting was permitted.  One man became very agitated and was yelling that he could hunt here if he wanted and my father would not stop him. This man carried a scoped rifle which was illegal to use in our part of the state.
   While I watched  from my stand I thought my Dad should have carried a firearm because this situation looked dangerous.  I heard a small voice that said "you have one."  Then I looked at the shotgun in my hands and back to the scene I was watching from my deer stand. I scooted down the fallen over tree and I removed my orange clothing,  I quickly crept up behind a few large old oaks, frequently peeking around the big  trees and thankful for the wet leaves masking my approach.  I stopped 10 feet from the screaming man, keeping track of what was happening.  The other man had backed away and stood near Dad and seemed nervous about the way his companion was carrying on.
       I  watched from behind a tree as this guy picked up his rifle and put it to his shoulder, sighting through the  scope at Dad.  I stepped around the big oak into the open, leveled my shotgun, cleared my throat very loud and clicked off the safety.  I was 90 degrees to this mans' right side and only 10 feet away with my gun aimed at his chest.  This guy looked at me and the black hole at the end of my barrel.  It had taken but a second or two for him to make up his mind.  He lowered his rifle and announced that they were leaving.  He said nothing else and walked away without looking back to see if his friend is following.
      I surprised everyone that day including myself.  I was ready to kill a man and wasn't the slightest bit nervous   Afterwards I wondered who that kid with shotgun really was.  My Dad thought that I saved his life that day.   I'm very thankful that guy lowered his rifle and walked away.
    The next day I harvested a nice 7 point buck.  Until next time.......God Bless.

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