Friday November 4th, 2001
Joe and I hunted on my Uncle Greg and Aunt Marilyn's property, south of Pine Center Minnesota in the Roosevelt Township of Crow Wing County. This was the first time I have hunted on Greg & Marilyn's land, and I was very excited to hunt there. While Growing up, Uncle Greg & aunt Marilyn's cabin was a big part of my life. They would often invite me to join them, and I spent many weekends with my cousins Bob and Mark at the cabin fishing, boating, and playing around in the back woods. Several years ago (while still very young) Bob, Mark, and I built a little "Shack" in the woods that we called "Oakwood" * To be honest, I do not even remember how old Oakwood is. (A minimum of 12 years to the best of my knowledge.) And it was fun to see Oakwood still standing.
Uncle Greg met us at the cabin, so that he could show us a few things that needed to be turned on, and then what to do when we left. We arrived at the cabin at about 7pm, and Greg was already there, and had a fire in the fireplace * giving us a "head start" on heating the cabin. Greg helped us unload the car, and spent some time showing me around * where to find firewood, electricity, and how to close up the cabin when we leave. While this was going on, I was visiting with uncle Greg, and realized that it has been nearly 10 years since the last time I spent any length of time at the cabin. (I have stopped by, peeked in windows, fished on the dock, and left notes for Greg & Marilyn since, but the last time I was at the cabin for an "overnight" was in 1992 when our cousin Cindy and her husband (from Maine) were in Minnesota and had come to the cabin for a visit. There have been many changes at the cabin, and it felt very "cozy". Many old memories came flooding back to me while visiting the cabin this weekend. It was very nostalgic, and very very delightful! I cannot thank Uncle Greg and Aunt Marilyn enough for allowing us to use the cabin this fall!
First morning out we arrived at our seats at 0625 hours (shooting time). It was not a very cold morning (about 35 degrees). Within minutes of sitting down, I could hear shots off in the distance from all directions. Abundant in the woods all around me was many squirrels. (Grey, with an occasional red showing up) * it was delightful listening to them scampering about, digging in the leaves. Within 30 minutes of sitting down, a small doe (yearling) came from my right side down in the valley, and slowly started walking up the opposite side of the valley from me, about 75 yards east of my location. I tried to put a bead on her, but because she was in constant motion it was difficult to keep a good site picture on her.
(It did not help that this was the first year I had my 12-gauge slug barrel (with attached scope) sited in and usable. Since I have never hunted with a scoped gun before, I found it very different from what I was used to * I can see that hunting with my scoped slug barrel will take some getting used to before I am proficient with it.)
As she climbed the opposite side of the valley, she got deeper and deeper into some brush/cover, and made it almost impossible for me to get a shot off (the trees and brush would knock the slug around * minimizing my accuracy), so I made the decision to sit back and watch her finish climbing the hill. It was gorgeous seeing her in her natural habitat. Her tail flinching up (sensing danger) * looking around, and dropping the tail, resuming her journey up the hillside. I am so accustomed to seeing deer in an urban setting that it was worth not shooting the doe to just observe her in her natural habitat. Not long after setting my gun in my lap, she faded off in the distance (finding out later * about 20 yards behind Joe * who was facing the other direction). Not even 2 minutes after seeing the first doe, a second one came into my field of view from the exact same place as the first one. I (again) tried to put a bead on her, and when I could not find her in the scope, I lowered the gun, and saw a third doe. This doe was very large, and I had decided that this was the deer I was going to try to bag. Again I tried to put the doe in my site picture, but was not having any luck. I tired at least 3 times to put her in the scope * without successes. The smaller doe was leading with the larger doe following behind about 5 feet. I found the smaller doe in my scope a couple of times, but I continued to look for the larger doe. As they reached the top of the ridge (following the first small doe) they also moved through some thicker brush, making a shot harder to find and less accurate. I (again) made the decision that these two were out of range, and I started to enjoy watching them move through the woods! At the top of the ridge, the two does took a hard left * and started walking the top of the ridge, heading west. They moved past the heaviest brush, and started heading closer to me. I (yet again) tried to put a bead on the large doe, but was only able to find the younger one in my scope. I was not able to keep the crosshairs on her long enough to take a responsible shot, and as they turned northbound (heading away from me) I put my gun in my lap and watched them as they strolled out of my site. I can tell you that my pulse and blood pressure were off the charts! I was very excited, and was feeling the effects of adrenaline.
After thinking about the scenario, I am glad that I did not take any of those 3 does. I am fairly certain that what I saw was a doe with her two yearlings (who were still dependent upon their mother). Looking back, I can say with complete confidence that not taking any of the does was best decision I could have made. Firstly it is not every day that I get to observe wild deer, in their own surroundings, not aware that I am there. Secondly I did my part in some "conservation", by keeping 2 younger does with their mother for (at least) a little longer.
As far as deer goes, that was the extent of what I saw for the day. Throughout the remainder of the day, I was able to listen to the squirrels as they started chattering warning each other of the owl I spotted flying into one of the pine trees nearby. I got to watch the owl for a while, and then watch it fly away (no doubt looking for a different * unsuspecting squirrel for its next meal). Of course there were also the typical "dozing off" naps throughout the morning and into the afternoon.
As evening approached, time became a factor because we had decided to attend church that evening so that we could hunt straight through Sunday morning. As I contemplated getting up and heading out to meet Joe, I heard a shot that seemed very close. I could not tell it was Joe, until I heard him using the action on his gun, then I knew it was his shot that I heard. Not knowing where he was shooting, I dropped to a knee (for safety reasons) and waited a moment. Joe then took a second shot. I could see now see him from where I was, and noticed him getting down from his seat. I approached him, and found out that a buck had come out of the swamp, and Joe took a shot. The buck stumbled, got up and ran a few yards where it stopped. This is where Joe took his second shot. The buck then ran west through the valley and disappeared from site. Joe and I went down to where the buck was when he first shot, and we could see where the buck stumbled through the leaves, but did not find any sign that Joe hit the buck (blood). Because the leaves were freshly fallen, we were able to follow the steps the buck took as it ran. We followed it through the valley, and about three-fourths of the way back to the cabin, there was a very loud shot heard just NorthWest of where we were.
My estimation of what happened was that after Joe missed the deer, it ran (noisily) through the woods Westbound * as we followed it, it continued to run where the last two cabins on the lake are at, and a hunter in the area of the other two cabins heard it coming, and took the buck (or also missed it as it ran away*)
We ended up missing church, because I located an older Church Bulletin in the cabin (from 1998) which said Saturday mass was at 5:30pm. We got there and found out that mass was actually at 4:00pm.
The rest of the evening was uneventful and most relaxing. We enjoyed dinner, and some television before heading to bed.
Sunday morning was as uneventful as Saturday afternoon was. Not a deer was seen or heard. I was quite surprised to hear (what I am certain was) a wild turkey * gobbling as it walked (what sounded like) up and down the road in front of Greg and Marilyn's garage. I was also able to hear the playful sounds of the squirrels in the woods again. As church time grew closer, we called it a morning, and went in to get ready for church.
It was a lot of fun to visit Holy Family Church again. It had been many-many years since I was last at the church, and a few improvements had been made, but overall it was much like I remembered it. Church at the cabin also brought back many fond memories. Bob, Mark and I used to have a hard time not laughing out loud when the older Priest clanked his glasses against the chalice when it came time for communion. We also had nicknames for all the alter-boys.
After church, we returned to the cabin, had some lunch. We relaxed in front of the television for a bit, then packed up our things, packed up the car, and packed up the cabin, so that when we were done hunting that afternoon, we could just pack up what we had with us and jump in the car to leave. It was about 3:00pm when we finally made it back out to the woods. Joe took up the same position he was hunting on Saturday, and Sunday morning. I moved further East down the ridge, closer to the opening near the swamp, and set up on the ground at the base of a tree. It was a beautiful day, it was gorgeous, and just sitting there in the woods could only be described as heavenly.
As sunset was approaching I still had not seen or heard a deer. I was starting to think about packing it in, when out of the corner of my eye (to my right) I saw a doe coming along the shoreline of the swamp. I raised my gun and put the deer in the crosshairs. This time I was able to put a bead on the animal, and just as I was flicking the safety to "off" on the gun, Joe shot at the deer. Through the scope I saw the deer stumble, get up and start working it's way to my right (back towards the swamp). As I was about to take a second shot at the deer, it moved behind the hill and out of site from where I was sitting. We both converged in the area, and walked towards the swamp, where we last saw the deer, and I was able to spot the blood trail. We discussed trailing the deer, when I spotted the doe at the top of the ridge on the opposite side of the swamp. I made the decision to head up to that spot. Just prior to arriving at the location where I last saw the deer, I was able to pick up the blood trail again, and so I knew I was on the right trail. Additionally I heard something in the woods about thirty yards ahead of me. I was not able to verify that it was the deer, but I was able to hear it until I got to (about) the half way mark around the swamp. The shot was (in my opinion) a non-critical hit, and I feel it was hit in the leg. The way the deer was limping around the swamp, and the way the leaves were disturbed on the ground, it appeared that it was dragging a leg as it walked, and I think that may have been what I was hearing.
I continued half way around this swamp and lost the blood trail completely. I did follow what I believed to be the trail through the leaves, until the trail went cold. By this time I had made it three-fourths the way around the swamp. I backtracked to the last place I saw blood, and started to trail again.
(Lesson learned * when backtracking work your way back several feet AWAY from the original trail, so as not to disturb any blood that you may yet find on the trail.)
I did return to the last spot I saw any blood, and started the trail again. I was lucky enough to locate some blood that I had walked over while backtracking. I followed the trail, and was able to locate two additional blood spots on the ground (in addition to the one I had disturbed while backtracking). The last blood I was able to locate took me about the two-thirds way around the swamp. It was getting dark by now, and was definitely past shooting hours (one half hour past sunset) making tracking the deer very difficult. The last sign I saw of the deer was a patch of fur the deer left (possibly from the wounded area) located about three-fourths the way around the swamp. I could hardly see the ground by now, and definitely could not see anymore of the trail. I was so disappointed that I was not able to locate the doe. It weighed heavily in my heart. The last thing I wanted was to have an injured deer running around the woods, but I did everything I could to locate the deer. This is where I made the decision to stop trailing the deer. It was a difficult decision to make, but it was getting dark enough that my blaze orange was not showing up as bright as it should, and for my own safety's sake, knew that it was time to head back. The last quarter way around the swamp was very difficult. It was getting pretty dark, and the brush was so think, I could hardly make it through. After making it through the brush, I still had 2 very large ridges to climb before making it back to the original spot where the deer was shot. After having to follow Joe's voice to where he was at, I met back up with him, and I apologized for not being able to locate the deer. It was with a heavy heart that we then started our trek back to the car, to pack up and leave. I made one last stop at "Oakwood" to say "goodbye" and made it back to Joe's car.
It was well after sundown, and very dark, and I was completely exhausted, and thoroughly disappointed to have to leave an injured deer behind as we did our final checks on the cabin, and left to return home * finishing our deer hunting trip for 2001.
I had a fantastic time, and it was a beautiful weekend. One of the best parts of the hunting trip this year was being able to make new memories to go along with my childhood memories surrounding uncle Greg and aunt Marilyn's cabin. I could not be more grateful for the generosity and trust of my Uncle Greg and Aunt Marilyn, and would love the opportunity to do this again in the future.
David
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