A New Generation – of hunters

A New Generation – of hunters

By Allan Olson

I headed back out to the hunting grounds this weekend in pursuit of the wary whitetail. I hunted Friday evening and all day Saturday and Sunday. In hindsight, I guess I could have stayed home and enjoyed the warmth and comfort. All I really got was plenty of exercise and fresh air. Okay, I admit I could use the exercise, but I would have been better off geocaching – at least those I can find.

I stood in my stand on Friday and watched a deer sneaking through the tall grass, but it was across the road on someone else’s property. A couple of hours later, I watched a doe sneak into the woods across the creek from me; however, since I had no doe permit and my niece and her dad were much closer, I let it go. Unfortunately, they didn’t see it, and it didn’t stick around for a chance to meet up with flying lead. That was the last deer I saw while hunting – except for the “pets” in my parents’ yard, a pair of fawns that enjoy eating from the flowering crab in the yard and have been declared off limits by my dad.

This season also marked the beginning of a new generation of hunters – and our first female hunter. We have never discouraged anyone from hunting, but it’s up to them. My oldest brother’s daughter decided she wanted to try it this year, and she put up a pretty good showing. The rule was for them to hunt together, and the unspoken rule was to give them first pick of any stand they wanted – we wanted her to get a deer. She hunted the whole day on Friday, but come Saturday morning she didn’t want to get up. I can’t say that I did either, and my brother let her sleep in. Later that morning she took up her rifle and headed afield, and hunted the rest of the day, marching back and forth to the deer stand. She put lots of time in a pair of boots and several layers of clothing, all without complaint – at least we didn’t hear any (her dad may have, but that’s his problem). When I found out she was going hunting, I was excited for the reasons first stated, and I’m further excited that she continued to hunt on Sunday, although the excitement was obviously wearing off for her, but she stuck it out. She didn’t say whether or not she would hunt next year, but we are hoping she will. It’s too bad that despite all her efforts, she didn’t get to fire a shot in her inaugural hunt.

On Saturday, my next youngest brother and I opted to hunt on a different section of land during the noon hour. He took one field and I took another; about an hour later I heard a shot and then I heard him hollering with excitement. After putting my book down, I sent him a text message with a bad word. He knew I was joking and really happy for him – it was meat on the table, even if he was the only one providing it so far this year.

That evening a bunch of us headed over to my daughter’s sixth birthday party at her other grandma’s house. It was fun affair, and she received some nice gifts from family and cousins. Soon it was time to head back and hit the rack, as it was going to be another long day of hunting on Sunday. It really was a long day, too, hunting in the strong wind, along with the snow and rain, which all made for a cold hunt. That and the fact that there were no deer to shoot at to get the blood flowing.

So the decision remains to be made as to whether I’m heading up north again this weekend. With only two tags filled out of a possible eight, it’s very likely that I will talk myself into going out one more time – unless, of course, the others manage to fill some or most of the rest of the tags before the weekend. 

Please be safe in the woods – wear your life jacket or your blaze orange, keep the kids safe, and remember to take a picture to preserve a lifetime of memories. Also please watch out for the buses that are transporting our children. Thanks for reading, and have a great week! For more of my columns visit: http://allan-crazykids.blogspot.com.