This past Sunday morning I went up to my dad's place in NY for a belated start to the gun season. I drove up with my uncle Russ and was joined upstate by Lefteye and Beaverkill, two of the greatest guys on the planet.
This hunt was to be special to me because I would be hunting with my dad for the first time in my life. It was also the first year that my uncle Ted, my outdoor role model and hunting mentor for the past 35 years, was kept out of the woods he loved so much due to life-threatening health issues he's experienced over the last year.
We hunted several properties hard for several days but the conditions were crappy, with shifting winds and rain for most of the time.
Lefteye passed on a couple of does our first afternoon out, and Beaverkill passed on a spike under his stand on Monday afternoon. Some pushing by my dad and Beaverkill had also generated some action but yielded no shots. All in all the deer activity was surprisingly light, except for those spotted at night at the backs of the hayfields!
We were all having a tremendous time, enjoying the terrific terrain, great food and drink, comraderie and laughs, but the deer action was wanting. On Wednesday morning I pondered a comment my uncle Ted had uttered to me in his weak voice: "When you want to hunt, then hunt. When you want to kill a deer then go to my land." A week earlier Lefteye and I had gone up to scout and hang stands, but we ran out of time before ever making it to Teddy's property. Despite that, we decided to follow his guidance and off we went.
I set up in my climber, in thick woods, about 150 yards from a ladder stand that held my dad. After about 40 minutes I heard a twig snap to my right and slowly turned to see a brute of a body along with a glint of bone. I raised the 45-70 and glassed the deer, in a thicket, about 40-45 yards away, waiting for a broadside turn and a window. In about 20 seconds I was rewarded with both and I fired. He ran about 20-25 yards and I heard him crash.
Adrenalin pumping, I said a quick prayer of thanks and quickly got out of my tree. I found my deer in less than 2 minutes. I was initially a bit surprised and disappointed by the small antlers on the deer but that feeling was quickly replaced by a flood of happiness as my dad, who had seen the entire unfolding of events from his stand, came up from behind me, hugged me and said "that's my boy!" My apologies for the melodrama but it was a special moment and a sentiment that I'd waited 43 years to hear.
Dan and Tom, thanks for a great week and your terrific company. Next year we do Archery and Gun weeks[up][up][up]
![Image]()
![Image]()
![Image]()
![Image]()
This hunt was to be special to me because I would be hunting with my dad for the first time in my life. It was also the first year that my uncle Ted, my outdoor role model and hunting mentor for the past 35 years, was kept out of the woods he loved so much due to life-threatening health issues he's experienced over the last year.
We hunted several properties hard for several days but the conditions were crappy, with shifting winds and rain for most of the time.
Lefteye passed on a couple of does our first afternoon out, and Beaverkill passed on a spike under his stand on Monday afternoon. Some pushing by my dad and Beaverkill had also generated some action but yielded no shots. All in all the deer activity was surprisingly light, except for those spotted at night at the backs of the hayfields!
We were all having a tremendous time, enjoying the terrific terrain, great food and drink, comraderie and laughs, but the deer action was wanting. On Wednesday morning I pondered a comment my uncle Ted had uttered to me in his weak voice: "When you want to hunt, then hunt. When you want to kill a deer then go to my land." A week earlier Lefteye and I had gone up to scout and hang stands, but we ran out of time before ever making it to Teddy's property. Despite that, we decided to follow his guidance and off we went.
I set up in my climber, in thick woods, about 150 yards from a ladder stand that held my dad. After about 40 minutes I heard a twig snap to my right and slowly turned to see a brute of a body along with a glint of bone. I raised the 45-70 and glassed the deer, in a thicket, about 40-45 yards away, waiting for a broadside turn and a window. In about 20 seconds I was rewarded with both and I fired. He ran about 20-25 yards and I heard him crash.
Adrenalin pumping, I said a quick prayer of thanks and quickly got out of my tree. I found my deer in less than 2 minutes. I was initially a bit surprised and disappointed by the small antlers on the deer but that feeling was quickly replaced by a flood of happiness as my dad, who had seen the entire unfolding of events from his stand, came up from behind me, hugged me and said "that's my boy!" My apologies for the melodrama but it was a special moment and a sentiment that I'd waited 43 years to hear.
Dan and Tom, thanks for a great week and your terrific company. Next year we do Archery and Gun weeks[up][up][up]
