some thoughts and reflections

i am not, nor have i ever been, a great hunter. in fact, you might say I'm at best, a below average hunter. I've never, in all my years in the field, taken a deer.

i have, indeed, hunted the deer on many occasions, and have had opportunities to legally harvest one. but it seems every time I've had the opportunity, i, in some dumb fashion, goof it up...

probably the most notable time was on one cold morning in the high desert about 90 miles east of the city of San Diego, California.

my youngest son and i were on a deer hunt, with our bows on this occasion, and we were anticipating success of some sort; i had a doe tag and he was in quest of the rabbits in the area.

conditions were great for the mornings hunt. there was a thin layer of snow on the ground, there was a very slight breeze blowing in our favor and the sun was lighting everything just perfectly. we were able to stalk about like true professional hunters and seemingly, were making no mistakes...not bad for me and for an antsy 10 year old boy, i must say.

as the day progressed, it became even better as the snow layer melted away causing small rivulets and streams to flow that in turn allowed us even more latitude in making errors and to observe better; it was becoming very calm, too. then it happened...i spotted a deer.

one single deer. standing alone calmly grazing in an opening that invited a shot.

after looking at the deer thru binos and determining it was indeed a doe, with no fawns or buck accompanying it, i decided to move in closer to take the shot. my son was to stay right with me. we had only forty to forty-five yards to cover to get within shooting range of my 56# draw weight recurve. (range finders were not readily available during these days, i might add)

the deer continued to calmly graze while we slowly covered the distance doing our level best to remain undetected by the calm animal, to a selected clump of creosote brush where i determined i could make the shot from.

once we were in place, still undetected by the unsuspecting deer, i slowly began the process of extracting an arrow from my bow mounted quiver and quietly nocking it on the string while both of us were in the prone position; all the while my heart was about to burst. i thought for sure, the deer would hear my heart beat. after all...this was to be my first deer.

after taking another last second check of equipment, the heavy cedar shaft with the large white feathers, tipped with a deadly efficient Zwickey, razor sharp, broadhead, was clearly in place ready to be delivered, i slowly rose to my knees assuming the classic "shooting from the knees" position after selecting a shooting lane and determining the distance at being thirty to thirty-three yards; the deer remained calm.

once i was firmly in position, i began my draw and reached anchor...began my aim while firmly anchored only to be horrified by a "BEEP-BEEP-BEEP" sound that just suddenly occurred!

the deer went to high alert and looked directly at me! that deer went from perfectly calm to turbo-drive panic and accelerated away like it was a fur covered rocket ship! all in two milliseconds!

after recomposing myself, i wondered what, where, did that come from? then it happened again..."BEEP-BEEP-BEEP"...I'd forgotten to shut off my wrist watch alarm...

my kid started giggling uncontrollably while i was licking my wounds over that one...the great white hunter had struck again.

live and learn, huh?