Okay, I'll go ahead and admit
it. Why not? I'm not what you would call an avid deer hunter. Not even close, compared to my
husband, who eats, breathes and lives it to the max. But I do enjoy
sharing it with him sometimes. His enthusiasm just draws you in and
makes it fun.
I had almost gotten to the point
where I was ready to just give it up for good. I've only harvested a
few animals in all the years that I've been going hunting with
Charles. One prong horn in Wyoming and a couple of does, all of which
were several years ago. I can't tell you how many times I've gone and
sat there days on end without seeing anything. Charles calls it
paying your dues. But I had gotten to the point where I was beginning
to think there was something wrong with me and I would never get the
chance to get a trophy buck. I would sit in the stand day in and day
out and fantasize about it; what I would do, how I would do it, and
best of all, Charles' reaction when I did. But the reality of it
really seemed remote.
Well, God finally felt sorry for
me, answered my prayers and intervened on my behalf this year. The
heavens opened, the angels descended and everyone sang Hallelujah!
Well, sort of. Here's the story:
This actually happened on
Charles' birthday, which is rather ironic but that's okay. I know God
has a real sense of humor. We were on a management hunt at Berry
College WMA and we were on an evening hunt during the “buck only”
days, which almost guarantees I won't see anything. I see a lot of
does on “Buck only” days usually. There were a lot of hunters in
the woods and a couple of them were hunting pretty close to us so
every once in awhile we would hear shooting and we weren't sure if it
was one of us or not. So When he left me in my stand to go to his the
last thing he said to me was “If I hear a shot I won't come to you
unless you send me a text”. He left and later I tried to send him
a text and he didn't answer and I hoped he had his phone.
Anyway, I'm sitting there
thinking that I'm getting cold, it's almost too dark to shoot.
Suddenly I see a deer, it's moving pretty fast. I'm waiting for it
to get closer to see if it's a buck or a doe and soon it becomes very
clear that this is a buck. A nice one! Thank you, Jesus! My heart
starts pounding and I pick up my gun and try to get him in my scope
but I can't! It's too dark! Oh, no! Please, Lord! Help me! Finally
about 60 yards away he's silhouetted between two trees but he's still
not stopping. I knew if I didn't shoot him I wouldn't get another
chance so I put the scope on him and pulled the trigger. Boom! Down
he went. Then he jumped up, ran a little ways and went down again. I
was shaking so bad. I just couldn't believe it! So I send Charles a
text, saying- I got him- and I wait. And wait. Nothing.
Well, I figured he doesn't have
his phone so I decide I better get down and go check to make sure
he's dead. I don't want him to suffer. It took me about 2 years to
get down that tree, I was shaking so bad I couldn't get the stand to
work right. I finally got down and went over to where I saw him drop.
It's totally dark. And I see him! He's beautiful! And he's dead so I
was grateful that I didn't have to shoot him again.
It was so dark and I knew we had
to drag him out of there so I decided to go find Charles. I have a
hard time finding my way in the woods, especially in the dark but I
knew the general direction that he had gone so I headed that way,
calling his name. Finally, after an eternity, I saw his light and
heard him say, “What?” I told him that I got a buck. He said,
“You did?” I said yes. He asked me where he was and I told him if
he'd help me get back to my stand I would show him.
You won't believe the pride and
joy that I felt when he went over there and shone his light on him
and said, “Oh, my God, you got a nice one!”
I now know why this experience
is so addictive. I have always had help any other time that I shot an
animal but I did this all by myself. Except for God, of course. But
this will be right up there as one of the most incredible moments in
my life. When I pulled that trigger and knew that I had him, I can't
even explain the feeling. But if you've done it there's no need to
explain, you know what I mean.
I hate to give it away, but I'm
a 57 year old woman. It's never too late. Age is just a number. I
don't want to quit. I have the fever -big time-but if I never get a
chance to go again, I will cherish the memory of that moment the rest
of my life. That's why I wanted to write this story. As time goes on
and my mind starts to go, I want to always have this to go back to,
to relive that feeling. I wish I had thought to do that during other
important times in my life but the older I get the more I appreciate
those experiences. Thank you, God, for letting me feel like a winner
for once. And Thank you to my husband, Charles, for allowing me to
share his passion with him. I love you both!
