For the first time in years, I'm legitimately excited for deer opener. I get to spend it with my dad. It took me until this morning to realize we've never, in fact, actually deer hunted together before. Done plenty of other stuff -- duck, pheasant and grouse hunted, camping, fishing, etc. -- but for whatever reason, never deer.
Friday, I'm dropping the kiddos off at school and heading east river to blue plate country. We're going to hunt his property, which is roughly 5 acres of hardwoods, green lawn, and a home. It's actually my grandparents' home on mom's side. When grandpa passed away and grandma got dementia, my folks bought it. We found out earlier this summer that deer were in there fairly regularly, and after a few more camera photos, dad finally saw enough to convince him that purchasing a rifle tag might not be a bad idea.
I'll be just using stick and string, so not going to have my hopes up of connecting. Still, I'm genuinely excited. We have it all planned out, with him sitting in the "hollow" and me working the westside property line where there's some scrapes/rubs and best chance at a deer in bow range.
I'm keeping my expectations low. And so is he. We're realists. But the weather looks right. The wind ain't bad. And the rut is on. Anything could happen! And with how antsy my relatives are who hunt the farmland around us, they just may shag a deer our direction.
Regardless, I'll have about a 75 yard walk back to the home if I need something, and a warm bed at night. Beer is cold, too!
Anyway, good luck to anyone heading to the Great American deer opener this weekend. A deer will be a bonus. I hope we can make memories that last a lifetime.
Friday, I'm dropping the kiddos off at school and heading east river to blue plate country. We're going to hunt his property, which is roughly 5 acres of hardwoods, green lawn, and a home. It's actually my grandparents' home on mom's side. When grandpa passed away and grandma got dementia, my folks bought it. We found out earlier this summer that deer were in there fairly regularly, and after a few more camera photos, dad finally saw enough to convince him that purchasing a rifle tag might not be a bad idea.
I'll be just using stick and string, so not going to have my hopes up of connecting. Still, I'm genuinely excited. We have it all planned out, with him sitting in the "hollow" and me working the westside property line where there's some scrapes/rubs and best chance at a deer in bow range.
I'm keeping my expectations low. And so is he. We're realists. But the weather looks right. The wind ain't bad. And the rut is on. Anything could happen! And with how antsy my relatives are who hunt the farmland around us, they just may shag a deer our direction.
Regardless, I'll have about a 75 yard walk back to the home if I need something, and a warm bed at night. Beer is cold, too!
Anyway, good luck to anyone heading to the Great American deer opener this weekend. A deer will be a bonus. I hope we can make memories that last a lifetime.
