| Georgia Hunting Trip 2001 - Page Two | |
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Page One - Intro, Black Sunday
Monday
I spent Monday morning in the same tree I'd been hunting from, and saw nothing. When I got down, I investigated a stench I'd detected on my way out of the woods the previous afternoon, to find a spike buck rotting in the bottom of the wash. No idea how it died, as no one is supposed to shoot any buck in this county unless it has at least four points on one side.
I did some more scouting, and figured that I'd worn out my welcome in that spot. I moved my stand to the intersection of two washes, not far from where I'd shot a doe two years previous. An afternoon's hunting from that tree turned up a young four-point buck, which of course gave me ample opportunity to shoot it - and which of course, I could not legally shoot.
Tuesday
Tuesday started out nicely, but not as cold as the forecast had predicted. Soon after climbing my tree, it started to rain lightly. When it got heavier, I came out of the woods, because I was already starting to feel sick with a cold, and didn't need to risk it getting worse. So that accounted for about two hours of hunting with no game sighted. Jim, another member of the hunting club, shot a coyote that morning, but no one saw any deer. The rain didn't last, and was gone by 11:00.
I spent just over five hours in that tree Tuesday afternoon, and saw one tweety bird.
Wednesday
It's early afternoon on Wednesday as I write this. I spent an hour in a ground blind this morning, and saw nothing. I came out of the woods to change the fuel filter on my truck, since we suspected that to be the cause of my engine trouble on the way up here. Richard had picked up a new one for me when he went to town on Tuesday.
That turned out to be even more of an ordeal than I had expected, and my frustrations from that and a lot of other negative experiences combined culminated in my throwing what can only be described as a full-blown wing-ding. After I calmed down (thank God for good friends!) and having a bite to eat, the filter change was successfully completed.
So far Richard has been here a week and a half and hasn't gotten a shot at a legal deer, though he's seen eighteen of them. I've seen eight, had two chances to kill legal deer and my gun malfunctioned both times, as described above. Dad has seen four, with no chance to confirm legality and make a killing shot. We hope to change this soon, as we only have two days left to hunt.
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I spent the afternoon in a ladder stand which Richard has been hunting from. Saw lots of squirrels, but no deer whatsoever! I have no idea how Richard was able to tolerate using this stand for the past week and a half - it's noisy, restrictive and doesn't let you see much of the area.
Thursday (Thanksgiving)
I got into my stand bright and early, after scraping the heavy frost from my windshield. I spent a couple of hours there, then I moved the stand back to the tree I'd had it in on "Black Sunday," when the Winchester double-crossed me. Hunted there for another hour, hoping the increased traffic on the main road from the other hunters who'd come in for the weekend would move something my way. No such luck!
Spent the midday hours helping out at camp, getting the bathroom sink hooked up properly and connecting the big washbasin as well. Being a very nice guy, fellow hunter Ashley offered me the use of one of his stands. I took him up on it without hesitation, knowing it would be in a good spot.
I spent the afternoon there in his ladder, looking at a beautiful hillside. Unfortunately, no deer showed up! Headed back to camp for a good supper of smoked ham, a product of Richard's culinary expertise and our pig hunt a couple months previous.
Friday
Friday started out well enough, though warm, and with a forecast of rain showers. I got in my stand nice and early once more on this final day of the hunt, hoping to connect with something. Four hours of rain showers later, I knew better!
I climbed down and unhooked my stand from the tree, strapped it to my back and headed out for the 0.4-mile uphill journey to my truck. On the way out, I heard something to my left, and looked over to see a huge white tail waving good-bye to me. I dropped the decoy I'd been carrying in my left hand and shouldered the rifle. As the deer ascended the opposite slope, I saw that he was a small buck, and had to let him go on. That was it for my hunting.
Friday afternoon was spent watching it rain, heading into town to pick up Dad's Christmas present, and squaring things away in camp for the trip home the next morning.
Saturday
The rain had stopped in the night, but it had left that red-clay camp in a sorry state. We'd been wondering if we'd be able to get the camper up the hill to get it out of its spot, but my old 1986 Chevy S10 4x4 didn't even grunt dragging it out of there and the further two miles out to the pavement.
Unfortunately, it did start to mess up again after forty miles of highway driving, so once again we had to stop and hook the camper to Dad's truck. It's just a bit much for the little old V6 in my truck, so it looks like I'm now in the market for a new used truck!
The rest of the journey home went well, and I sure was glad to get back home and into my own nice hot shower. We came back without any game, but richer for the experience. If nothing else, I learned that I sure won't be toting that Winchester M70 in the hunting woods anymore - even though I can't make it malfunction again.
I'd have a deer in the freezer right now if that rifle hadn't hosed me! Could it be posessed by evil animal-rights spirits? Nah, it's just a defective machine!
- Russ Chastain
Page One - Intro, Black Sunday
