Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Is it Fourth of July Yet?

Tis the season to be jolly. And nothing makes me more jolly than some venison in the freezer. I am not jolly right now....no deer...no jolly. I have not been able to hunt as much as I would like to because of the shift I am on, however I have been trying to hunt as much as I can in the mornings.
But when you get off work at midnight and try to get up at 5:30 every morning...lets just say it brings some challenges.

I hunt this field that is privately owned and my brother Scott is very good friends with them. '
A couple years ago Scott and I built a shack to hunt out of. Best thing we ever did. We built it on a trailer so in case we wanted to move it we could. Great idea right? Well it would have been even better had we of built a tornado shelter around it. Last year we found our shack and the trailer blown 20 feet back from its original spot. The shack was off from the trailer and the trailer was another 10 feet behind the shack. I was taken back by the sight of it. We had to flip the shack over a couple times and move it into a good position. So now its a permanent shack. This year we put insulation in it to help with keeping the cold outside. What can I say... I am a wussy when it comes to getting cold. We have a new heater in the shack this year too and it keeps it rather toasty in there. There is nothing like sitting in a very warm spot and watching the snow fall. It is hard to leave the shack sometimes because its so darn warm.

Hunting with Scott is something I really enjoy. We have many laughs and share something that we both love to do. I wouldn't change it for the world. Our shack is big enough to easily fit four people in it so once in a while we will bring a guest to sit with us. Scotts oldest son Justin is starting to hunt too and its nice to share our tradition with him. I really cant wait until he shoots his first deer. Of course is is still more into his video games right now but he loves to come out with us.

I am using my muzzle loader this year vs. a shot gun. I am learning more about it every year. This year I had a beautiful looking 6 pt. come in and I got all ready. Steady....take a deep breath ....relax...wait for it....wait....ok get ready ...I slowly pulled the trigger and it sounded just like a bottle rocket went off in the end of my gun. A Bottle rocket? WTH...Isn't it supposed to go BOOM?
The deer even looked puzzled....they gave me a look like "Hey dude...its not fourth of July...get with the times bro" and he slowly trotted off. Well...apparently if you take your gun inside after its been outside in the cold...it collects moisture and causes your powder to go bad. Who knew? Not me...but I do now. Its just one of those things you learn as you go.

I still have a few more weeks until the season is over so I am not losing hope just yet. But in the end of the season if I still don't have a deer...I wont be too upset. I am spending time with the people I love and doing something that I really enjoy doing. It really doesn't get any better than that does it?
Well..it kind of does..... I could have the 6 pt. come back and I could show him what I learned.  : )