Getting antisy.

[Alleyyooper]

That time of year the squirrels are in prime condition although seems at the bottom of their cycle here. Make some fine eating meat with hundreds of recipes so one should not tire of them. Soon will be fire arm deer season, :\'( I do feel some sadness since my last partner passed away in 2005 so I no longer pack up and spend two weeks with them at deer camp where we enjoyed so much friendship.
Also feel some sadness  :sad:I should sell the deer camp property since I rarely even visit it any more.
We were supposed to retire there, the reason for buying in the first place.

   Al

[Bakersdozen]

I saw signs of pheasant hunters out in west central Kansas this weekend.  Whizzing past me were pick ups pulling all terrain vehicles with rifle cases.  I saw numerous deer killed along the highway too.  Also, 1 dead Armadillo!  They aren't supposed to be this far north, but on occasion you will see one.

[Mikey N.C.]

Alley,  my dad(passed 2001) and my 5 uncle's.  Lived around Mount Clemens , they had a deer camp near Alpena. I never had the chance to go there,  but sure heard alot of great stories.

[Jen]

I just wrote this poem a couple weeks ago ~

The Season

It’s the planning and packing
And examining maps, with need
of the cleaning and sighting
Of the crosshairs and bead

The jerry cans of fuel and fifty gallons of water
Remember to put air in that low tire
Anticipating the stories and jokes by the fire

Hitching up the campers
Take a doze in the truck bed
All rigs know where to go
That would be west

Opening day spirits run high
Waiting for ole sol to warm up the sky
Hot mugs of coffee while the trucks wake up
Grab your rifle, load up, sit down, and shut up

The hunt rumbles on, keep your eyes out the window
Spotting that four point could be the crescendo
Most important of all, when you throw up your guns
Be certain that deer is packing plums

Before you know it, the season concludes
And every September we will do it again
Making sure the memories ensue
Even if it means deer tag stew

[Alleyyooper]

My deer camp is near Rapid river Michigan, we bought 37 acres there with a 1/2 mile of frontage on Big Bay De Noc. We stayed in a travel trailer during deer season from 1992 till 2001. I built a pole barn structure with a loft for a cabin till we moved there when it would become my work shop after the house was built.










We had a lot of good times, once my partner drove the 6.5 hours and left every thing at home except his rifles and some food. My brother came to hunt with us one week end. We have a shed where we keep our hunting clothes during the night so they do not pick up cooking smells. His first morning he is dressing out there with us and as we are walking the trail to our stands my partner can't stand it any longer and asked my brother if he was going to find a club and beat a deer to death. Brother had forgot to grab his rifle as we left the shed.

   Al

[lazy shooter]

Alley:

Our deer season starts this weekend on Saturday morning.  I am busy and won't be able to hunt this weekend, as I have about 200 pounds of meat to barbecue for our local "Harvest Festival."  I know what you mean about missing old pals at the hunting camp.  For a great many years, my then best friend and I hunted together on many happy hunts.  Our sons hunted with us and we all grew old together.  My old pals business and many family problems separated him from me some 20 years back.  He died a few years back.  I still think of him often.

Fortunately, I have two sons and two grandsons that will be at the ranch for a few weekends between now and mid January.  I am looking forward to some good times in the next couple of months.  I especially thinking of venison steaks and sausage and a lot of banter.

I no longer hunt buck deer, but I do harvest a couple of doe deer each year for an old lady friend that dearly love venison.  She eats them all year.  She also provides me with goat cheese and homemade tamales from time to time.

Even though you old pal is gone, I do wish you good hunting.

lazy

[Alleyyooper]

I've missed one opening day of deer season since I was old enough to hunt. People know better than to try and get me to do some thing during deer season as I wil;l tell them where to go in a heart beat.

The one year I was hunting others in SE Asia.

   Al

[lazy shooter]

Missing the opening of deer season isn't that painful to me, as I hunt all year long from time to time.  I have an arsenal on the ranch and when I spend the night on the ranch I often take one of my long guns, (Sometimes the long gun is a Shiloh Sharps or C. Sharps 1885 drop block BPCR.)  and ease off into the brush.  I pick a nice place to sit and wait for the "changing of the guards."  The changing of the guards is a magical time when the night time animals, large and small, go back into their lairs to sit out the day light hours and the day creatures come forward to claim their time.  Often times I hear the owls hooting and some times there are coyotes making their last howl of the night and then it is usually very still and deathly quite.  (When it is deathly quite, I only hear the incessant ringing in my ears from my tinnitus.  A note to the young on this forum, wear hearing protection.)  After a few minutes of quite there will be rustling in the brush as the squirrels and rabbits come forward.  That will be followed by birds whizzing around with the sound of flapping wings.  Soon the morning birds will be chirping and singing.  In my world the mocking birds are usually the first to be heard.  To me the changing of the guard is a magical and mystical moment. 

Often times a deer or pig is seen during this transition time.  I often shoot the pig and seldom shoot the deer.  The pig is a nuisance and deer is food for an old lady friend of mine, and she only requires two of our small deer per year.

To me, hunting isn't about the shooting, it's about the first paragraph.

lazy