OUTDOOR Tales and Trails

BY DAVE BECK

Is anyone else suffering from deer hunting withdrawal? Like all good things that we look forward to, the season took a long time to get here and it went by way too fast. The nine-day gun season and the following muzzleloader season have a way of conditioning a person. For almost three weeks a large portion of my days consisted of eat, sleep and hunt.

What do I have to show my efforts? Well, I didn’t have to make a trip to the taxidermist and I didn’t add any meat to my freezer. I don’t regret not pulling the trigger on a doe. I didn’t fill a tag by choice. I have always felt that if I take the time harvest a doe, maybe that will cost me the opportunity for a buck. There’s not really a way to prove or disprove my theory, it’s just my way of thinking.

I do have some video and photos of three small bucks and a few does that wandered by my stand. Filming them offered a diversion from waiting for my big buck to show up. Spending time in the woods is similar to boat time in that there are worse places to be. There are 346 days a year when I can’t bag a buck with my muzzleloader or gun. It’s easy for me to let a doe walk by because I want to wait for that buck. He has only 19 days to walk by me.

I hunted the entire gun season and muzzleloader season without much contact with anyone. Although I never fired a shot, I did get a small taste of success compliments of Uncle Frank who bagged an eight-pointer, Uncle Chuck who also downed an eight-pointer, and nephew Aaron who harvested a really nice 10-pointer. I admit to being a little disappointed that the deer gods ignored me but I am happy for those guys. I will add that I’m not opposed to receiving sympathy steaks.

So how do I deal with my deer hunting withdrawal? Well, I know that it’s going to be a lot colder out, but thank goodness for the late archery season.

Didn’t get enough Dave this week? Visit “Outdoor Trails and Tales with Dave Beck” on Facebook for photos and video of Dave’s adventures. You can share your own photos and video with him there as well, or by emailing him at [email protected]

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