A day in the life of a "hunter". As told by Petey

[petey]

For some reason, I decided to start writing a little story tonight. There's more to come, so keep coming back as I get the time to finish each short chapter.

(Chapter 1 - Wake Up Call)

Descending the flight of stairs, I reach the bottom step and grab my 6-pocket camo pants hanging easily within reach. I slip them on over my long johns and take a seat on the third step, in order to put on my boots and lace them up. The dogs giddy with excitement that someone came to see them are nosing me for a pat on the head. I indulge them then tell them to get out of the way so I can finish tying my boots. I head over to my gear table and start to layer my uppers. Button-up shammy shirt over top my Under Armor, then goose down vest and finally my outerwear jacket. I check one last time to make sure my cell phone is on vibrate and place it in my chest pocket. My 10x42 binoculars are hugging my chest tightly with my Crooked Horn Outfitter strap. I grab my recurve and cat quiver backpack that I stuffed with all the essentials the night before. I’m off to go hunting!

Opening the cellar door, the brisk air hits my lungs and almost brings an instant tear to my eye. I smile, it’s going to be a good day. I don’t bother warming up the Jeep. I only have a couple miles to drive, so a couple quick strokes with the ice scraper and I’m heading down my driveway. Almost to the point where I park, a buck crosses the road in my headlights. “A descent buck, but he’ll be even bigger in a year or two”, I think to myself. I’ll get to that statement later.

After I park the Jeep, I grab my backpack and bow and start hiking in the dark. A short 15 minutes later, I’m standing at the base of the tree where I hung this stand over a month ago. After attaching my bow to the parachute cord, I start climbing the tree sticks to reach my new home for the day. Getting settled in the stand is always a ritual that I enjoy. Repetition from the many times I’ve done this before makes it an easy task. I know where to find my gear even without a light. First thing is first. Hook on my safety strap, then pull my bow up and hang it on the holder I already have in place. I reach for my treepod adapter in my backpack and ratchet it to the tree. Attach my treepod to the adapter and then my camera to the treepod. It’s time to settle in and wait for sunrise.

There’s nothing quite like listening to the woods wake up as the sun rises. Those first few rustles in the leaves below leave the mind to wonder. Is it a deer, a squirrel or just a tiny field mouse? My eyes begin to adjust to the darkness. It’s not a deer or I would be able to see a dark mass moving with the sound. It must be a rodent of some sorts, silly little critters. The chatter of a few hen turkey, a couple hundred yards away, make me smile. It’s not turkey season or I’d be heading their way. No, we’re halfway into the Pennsylvania archery season and I’m enjoying every moment I spend in the tree. As the woods begin to lighten, the little chickadees begin chirping and buzzing by my head. They are comical little birds to watch. One lands in the tree right beside me and decides to figure out what this large thing is 20 feet up in a tree. Hopping around the tree trunk, it can’t quite figure me out, but it knows I’m out of place. Even this little bird can make me smile, although they can be annoying at times. Sometimes they make so much ruckus, you can hardly hear yourself think. It’s time to get serious and start scanning for any movement or sounds that could potentially be a deer.

(Chapter 2 - Shooting Light )

[petey]

The air is cold and brisk and stings my lungs as I take in a breath. It may be just me, but it always seems the coldest right before the sun peeks over the tree tops. I stand to test my video camera and make sure everything is working properly. I’d rather find out something is wrong now, then when I have a buck walking towards me. It’s still too dark to video and the display tells me to remove the lens cap, but it’s not the case, it’s just too dark but the camera thinks it’s pretty smart. Silly electronics these days anyhow.

I take a seat and grab for my bow. With my arrow knocked, I draw and test my range of motion, making sure I know the limits that I can shoot in this position. I rarely if ever shoot a deer sitting, but it’s something I like to check just in case I’m forced to. My bow is placed back on its hanger and I’m now in a fine state of alertness. As each minute passes, the woods begin to get lighter and I scan for any movement or sound that seems out of place. I reach for my binoculars and view areas I can not yet see with my naked eye. The little creatures of the woods begin to wake up and make more noise. I hear what sounds like a deer walking my way, but as my eyes focus I notice it’s just a large fox squirrel bouncing along. He leaps every two or three feet which makes a sound very similar to the quarry I’m hunting. A very graceful animal in all it’s innocence. He hops up on an old stump that used to be a nice hardwood cherry not more than 6 months ago. I’m hunting a piece of property that is owned by a timber company and they did a select cut on large veneer cherry and maple this past spring. It opened the woods up considerably from my view of 20 feet, but on the ground is a maze of tree tops left over from their harvest. I ponder if it has changed the deer’s travel patterns at all, but from the sign I’ve found and the deer I’ve seen so far, my guess is no. I find the squirrel in my binoculars and watch him chew on what’s left of a white oak acorn. The speed and efficiency of which this animal can strip a nut’s outer shell to its soft inner piece is amazing. As my stomach growls I think to myself, “at least someone is enjoying breakfast”. I should have grabbed a bowl of cereal this morning, but with the excitement of the day’s hunt I totally forgot. No worries though, I know I packed a couple small candy bars, some crackers and an apple in my backpack the night before. Still, I enjoy watching animals in their natural state and I crack a smile as the squirrel leaps away out of sight.

The woods are completely light by this point and I can see the sun poking through the tops of the trees to my left. Still no sight or sound of a deer is to be had. I reach for my grunt tube hanging on my treepod adapter behind me and place it gently on my lips. Blowing softly I start with a long grunt that changes tone by how I have my hands cupped around the end of the grunt tube. A couple quicker short grunts and another long one, I let go of the call and let it dangle from its hook. If my wife could see me now, I know she’d laugh. She always seems to find enjoyment in making fun of me when I’m practicing a call around the house. Whether it is an elk, turkey, duck, goose or deer call, she will make some comment she thinks is funny. Maybe I annoy her with all my squawking around the house, or it’s just her way of supporting me? She may understand hunting, but I wonder if she truly understands my passion for being here? Sometimes it’s hard to explain to a non-hunter, but most hunters who are true outdoorsman know the passion and love we have for the outdoors and just being there. It’s more about than just a kill to me now. It’s the experience of it all, plain and simple. She’s still wonderful in my eyes, and whatever her reason, doesn’t complain much when I’m gone.


(Chapter 3 – First Sightings)

[petey]

A minute or two has passed since my first series of buck grunts and I begin to hear a sound that is almost too familiar. The cadence of the leaves rustling tells me one thing that is certain. There’s a deer coming my way and it’s closing the distance fast. I reach to my right and flip the power on my video camera. As the camera powers up it makes a little more noise than I’d like, but it has never seemed to alert any game I have tried to film. Adjusting the viewer so I can see what I’m about to film, I point the camera in the direction of the oncoming noise. I hit the record button, just in case this is something I want to shoot. There’s nothing worse than worrying about turning a camera on and having to grab your bow at the same time. Trials and tribulations I’ve experienced over the years of filming my own hunts. I see a pair of deer legs through the thick undercover and reach immediately for the binoculars that are snug to my chest. As I’m raising my binoculars, with my bare eyes, I can make out a full dark mass of the deer’s body walking directly toward me and then BONE! Now things are starting to get exciting. I know he’s got some headgear, but just how much is now the question. Finding him in the eyepiece then bringing him into focus is almost a natural action. It’s like swinging your gun on pheasant that busts out of cover right in front of you. Tools that feel natural in your hands and you know how to use them without thought.

The buck is now at 50 yards and closing fast, but after a quick glance through my binoculars my adrenalin calms. Immediately I know this buck by seeing his horns. It’s one of many that I’ve named and have already passed on prior in the season. Even five years ago I would be shaking with excitement. This would have been a dandy buck for my area in those times. A beautiful buck about fourteen inches wide. There are four very symmetrical points on both antlers. The “two-up” are about five or six inches in length. Still, it seems Mr. Alt’s point restriction has had some affect on the caliber of bucks in my area over the past three years. I’ve seen what I consider to be real dandies running around this year, and this buck is not one of them.

Instead of reaching for my bow I turn to my right and reach for the video camera. I love getting good video of deer up close. Not to mention “proof” when I tell my buddies I passed on a nice eight point this weekend. They are at my office door every morning wanting the details of my hunt the day prior, and of course can’t wait to view any video I have, to show I’m not full of it. We have a large flat screen TV in our office we use for video conferencing and it sure does make my hunt look beautiful when I bring it up during lunchtime. It’s like a bunch of schoolboys wanting to use the new bat their friend got on his birthday for recess. Of course, I enjoy telling my stories with so tentative listeners and showing these clips to them.

This buck sure puts on a wonderful show for me. He comes perfectly into 18 yards, and turns broadside to scan for “that buck” that was grunting earlier. Boy I can’t wait to tell my coworkers, “SEE I had him dead right there!”….but it’s more than that to me. As he begins to browse and walk off out of bow range, I turn the camera off and take a seat. Now smiling from this wonderful encounter, knowing I could have ended my season right there and then, but chose to let him walk. I begin to ponder the reasons why. Is it truly because I want a wall hanger or is it because I don’t want to end my time in the woods so quickly? I wonder…

(Chapter 4 - Why I do it)