Outdoor Truths

For the past several years I have spent the first or second week of November hunting deer away from home. As all deer hunters know, these weeks are considered the best for having an opportunity to harvest a big buck. And while my area has lots of deer and is also home to some big ones; there are other parts of the country that hold even more giants per acre. So, I leave home and drive many miles in order to increase my odds. But since I rarely use an outfitter when I arrive at my distant destination, my first order of business is to fi gure out just where the deer are most likely to be. I scout, check maps, and listen intently to any information the landowner has to offer. He or she is never wrong and if they tell you to hunt on the top of an abandoned piece of equipment between the hours of 1:30 and 4:00 that is exactly what you do. They live there. They see the deer day after day. And they have no reason to tell you a lie. I can remember an episode like that one year in Alabama. The rancher drove through his ranch and stopped about 50 yards from a cedar tree that was in the middle of a field. Next to the tree was a milk crate. He said to my friend and me, "One of you guys need to sit right there." We looked at each other hoping the other would jump on the opportunity. My friend succumbed to my pitiful look and walked to blue milk crate. I was relieved that he gave in until that night when he started bragging about his eleven pointer and I was only bragging about my predictably placed tree stand that was set up overlooking a predictably placed green field that looked like it would be the perfect place for a deer to arrive. I learned my lesson and you need to as well. That sometimes the greatest gifts arrive from the strangest places. That sometimes what looks like a most unlikely plan is the perfect one. And sometimes what only seems to be food for an animal can be a bed for a king. Happy New Year!

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