It's All Coming Back To Me.....
It's All Coming Back To Me.....
Last year, my niece joined the hunting party for the first time, becoming the first of her generation to go hunting and to break the gender barrier – we welcomed her and were disappointed at the close of the season when she didn’t even get to fire a round at a white tail.
This year, Nikolai and his 12-year-old cousin, Trevor, joined us at the hunting camp. Sadly, Saren decided not to. The boys were eager to prove their hunting skills and ready to go hunting. Nikolai became the first hunter of his generation to harvest a deer the very first day of his very first season. Dad, of course, was very proud.
So as I said, it’s all coming back to me – my first year of hunting. I was out with my dad, and we were walking out to the stand.
“Slow down Allan. Allan slow down,” he said.
The first day of the season, Nikolai and I were walking to our stand for the first post of the season.
“Nikolai, slow down,” I whispered, Nik, slow down, slow down Nik.”
That 20-minute walk out to the stand quickly reminded me of my father whispering the same words to me and in a flash, I was thinking of that time so long ago. This pattern continued all throughout the first weekend and last weekend as well. I remember my dad “threatening” to put a rope on me to slow me down. A couple times on our walks, I would stop to see how long it would before he looked back and realized I wasn’t right behind him. He would slow down then at least for a few steps. At one point this weekend, I tugged hard on Nikolai’s snow pants to slow him down – again it worked for a few minutes. It also took some reminders in the stand to talk quieter and stop moving so much. He was quietest when he took the time to sleep. I envied his ability to sit cross-legged in the stand nearly folded in half and sleeping. If I tried that – well I’m not sure I would’ve been able to get out of the stand without falling.
This weekend, we added another first to the hunting experience of these two young men. The first night we were back at the hunting camp, we had the boys help cut some meat off the bone, and with some instruction, they were able to get their task accomplished. The next morning, prior to heading out to the post, Nikolai asked his grandpa if they could do more that evening. So they did. This time Nikolai did it by himself without my help.
My nephew Trevor also experienced his first harvest of a deer, but unfortunately unlike the other deer that had been shot this season, we had to work for it. He fired his round early in the morning. About 90 minutes later, my dad, Nikolai and I arrived on site to begin the tracking process. I found the first sign, a piece of hair with a little blood. From that point on, my dad, nephew and I followed the tracks in the snow for two hours looking for the deer. At one point my dad said, “my dad always said, “let it lay and come back a little later.” So since this was at a spot we could easily get back to, we began the half-mile walk back to the house.
After a two-hour break, we drove out to the location, and dropped my brother, dad and nephew off.
Nikolai and I headed to another spot to wait. We had just gotten settled in, when I thought I better check my phone. To my surprise, I had a picture of my nephew with his first deer. The deer that we had tracked for over two hours only made it about another 200 yards when it went down for the last time. With that, both the rookie hunters were on the board. Both fired only one round for one deer; both of them harvested a deer before their fathers and both of them shot a deer their very first year of hunting. Another first for this year’s hunting party that is going to be hard to replicate – we have five deer with only five rounds fired.
Hunting season for us is all about stories and memories, re-visiting old memories and stories being re-told for possibly the hundredth time. In the deer stand, I had Nikolai in “quiet” hysterics with some of my own faults, and the two boys quickly learned about the ribbing that goes on at hunting camp. It didn’t take them long to join in the fun, teasing my brother (Trevor’s dad) about not getting a deer and “arguing” between them who is the better hunter.
After the first day, my dad said of Nikolai, “I think he’s hooked,” as the grin was still on his face several hours after taking his first deer.
Well I hope both the boys are hooked on hunting, the excitement of taking a deer, the camaraderie of the hunters, the fun, laughter and stories. As I noted last week, many deer seasons blur together. I remember my first couple years and a season here and there, but this season will forever be one etched in my memory as the best – the one I hunted with my son. The one where we both shot a deer the first day in the same stand with the same gun less than two hours apart; the one where I helped my nephew track his first deer and named him bloodhound junior for his tracking ability.
My wife said on Sunday afternoon on the way home after they picked us up,
“They (the boys) act like they are part of a secret club.”
Well in a way it is a secret club, “the hunters club.”
Welcome to the club boys!
Please be safe while enjoying your favorite outdoor recreational activity, and remember to take pictures to preserve a lifetime of memories. Remember to drive safely, and watch out for those buses carrying our children. Thanks for reading, and have a great week! For more of my columns visit: http://allan-crazykids.blogspot.com.
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