Enjoy deer hunting and help others

The snow has finally arrived. We still have three weeks to hunt.

There are some fringe benefits that come from a day or weekend of deer hunting, but a hunter who is envious or jealous of another hunters success will never understand this concept.

Some sportsmen may wonder what those benefits may be. Here is a short selection of key things that can come from a hunt, and anyone who thinks about the topic for a few minutes will come up with others. Make up your own list.

*The opportunity to spend time outdoors. This means hunting in all types of weather condition, and while some seldom produce good results, we learn to appreciate those that do.

Be grateful for what we get, even in a bad season like this one.

*It's a father, mother, uncle or close friend who gives unselfishly of his/her time to help new hunters learn more about this sport. It's simple things like pointing out deer track, a rub on a tree or a ground scrape, that helps other hunters learn. We can’t just take it for granted that others, who are not hunters or from a hunting family, will know what we’re talking about.

*It's sighting in a rifle, and knowing how to do it with a minimum number of shots. It is taking the time to be certain your firearm is shooting accurately, and knowing that more deer are killed with a single, deliberate well-placed shot than by squeezing off several shots at a moving target that is more likely to wound than kill the animal.

*It means helping others and sharing in their joy and success. This may mean helping to blood trail a deer with another person during bow season or helping another hunter drag out an animal. It means doing your share to help around hunting camp including chores such as washing dishes, cutting and splitting firewood, bringing in fresh water, helping others to hang their deer from the buck pole, and countless other tasks. It means as much giving as it does receiving, and sometimes even more.

*It is the sight and smell of wood smoke curling from the chimney of deer camp. It is the distant glint of lantern light through the darkened trees as we make our way back to camp after a long day of hunting.

*It is that first breath-taking sight of a good buck, his antlers bone white, moving slowly and cautiously upwind of you. You track his progress, pick a hole through the cover that offers a small but open shot, and waiting patiently for the buck to walk into the opening and offer a clear shot at the heart and lungs. And don't forget to share some of your venison with others who were less fortunate during this year’s crazy seasons.

That first glint of sunlight off antlers tugs at our heart.

*It is the fragrance of cedar and pine needles, fresh backstrap tenderloins or venison liver and onions sizzing in the frying pan, old pine knots spitting and popping in the wood stove, and the pleasant warmth of a fire in deer camp after many hours out in the cold.

*It is the healthy exercise of walking, sitting, and still-hunting some more. It is seeing your breath on a frosty morning, seeing nothing clearly while hunting on a foggy day, picking up the sight of large and splayed tracks in the snow that could be a buck, and seeing a chickadee land on the brim of your cap while trail watching.

*It is the endless participation of hunters bragging up their favorite rifle cartridge, and the retort of another hunter claiming his round is more accurate and deadly, and never once laying this issue to rest. It's not so important to determine who is right or wrong, but that there is lively discussion pro and con on this or any other topic of deer-hunting interest.

*It's knowing that if you down a deer, that others will be there to help. It's also the knowledge that you'll do the same for your camp mates or even a perfect stranger. It's just one of the things that deer hunters do.

*Deer hunting is the knowledge that alcohol may be a deer-camp tradition, but it's never used until all firearms are unloaded and put safely away, and then used in moderation. Deer hunters must learn that alcohol, taken in moderation, doesn't give sportsmen the right to act loud and loutish during trips to town. Hunters should project an image of being caring and responsible individuals, not drunken louts with a loud, foul mouth.

All deer hunters will be judged by the actions of loud, rude sportsmen.

*Another benefit is the knowledge that members of our armed forces, by their presence in world-wide hell-holes are helping to guarantee our right to own and possess firearms and the privilege to use them while hunting in a safe and sane manner. Many of our countrymen and women have given their life, or have been critically wounded, to make our hunting possible.

*Last, but not least, use this hunting season to introduce someone new to the sport we love. Give freely of your time and knowledge, make women and youngsters feel welcome, and if helping them means giving up a day or two of your hunt, do it so hunting will continue to grow. Be selfish, and think only of yourself, and hunting as we know it will soon be on the ropes, and it will be you who helps destroy our tradition and our way of life.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

The solitary sportsman

Fishing or hunting alone isn’t popular these days. Let’s face it: most sportsmen are gregarious by nature, not by necessity. They like other people around them. It’s like having friendly neighbors at home.

Most sportsmen love the camaraderie of being with other like-minded people, the sharing of nearby campsites or putting a canoe sneak on a bunch of bedded bluegills. Two or more sportsmen enjoy planning their next deer hunt, bear hunt or trout fishing trip … together.

There is nothing wrong with this. In fact, it is the preferred fishing or hunting method for most sportsmen. Many would feel lost if their friend or friends were not there to share in the excitement of a grand outdoor adventure.

Many would feel lonely by themselves but not me.

They enjoy sitting at a table, mapping out strategies, discussing who’ll do what and when it will occur, and everyone involved in the planning has a voice in how it will happen. It’s democracy at its finest.

Or perhaps, at its worst, depending on one’s  point of view. There are some bold sportsmen who feel joint fishing or hunting breeds outdoor mediocrity, which may be true. Who can’t argue the fact that the more voices raised in discussion or disagreement over who will fish which trout-stream hole can do nothing except create even more indecision?

I’ve spent 44 years writing outdoor copy for books, magazines and newspapers, and have hop-scotched across North America alone. Often  I’d be the only English-speaking bear, caribou or moose hunter in some remote Canadian hunting camp.

Years were spent driving or flying here or there to fish or hunt. There might be other sportsmen at the end of the trail, but when it came time to fish or hunt, I’d go it alone or go with a guide whenonet was necessary.

Going it alone can be a wonderful experience.

Camp people often asked if I wanted someone to come along, and the answer was always a polite refusal. Going alone was a habit and also something to look forward to. Being alone never bothered me, and being self-reliant was great fun. I knew I could count on myself.

The long hours on the road allowed me to write stories in my head. Stories would later be fleshed out on paper, but people often asked how I could write so many stories.

“I write while driving,” I’d say. “I also write things in my mind while glassing distant alpine meadows for elk or rocky tundra for caribou. If a good fish is caught, its memory is captured by my mental camera, and recorded on paper later for a magazine or newspaper article.”

What benefits exist for solitary anglers and hunters? The benefits far outweigh the disadvantages of spending time with another person. Mind you, cutting up and packing out a moose isn’t any fun alone.

The benefits of going it along can outweigh the disadvantages.

The advantages of being alone are many. Solitary sportsmen never must consider another’s opinion when making vital decisions. They just act on a whim. If they err, it’s their fault. It wasn’t a two-person mistake.

If we fish Michigan’s AuSable River, one of us goes upstream and fishes down while the other fishes downstream and walks back up. I’m not selfish, but what happens if both people want to fish down or upstream?

A decision must be made. One person may be miffed. Of course, both anglers could fish together but to what purpose? Doing so makes no sense.

One person moves quieter, picks his spots with greater patience and wisdom, and never must argue or defer to the wishes of others. Two people means both must make a decision, and that requires time and discussion. Three people confuse the issue even more. Joint decisions create headaches for everyone involved.

The solitary sportsman doesn’t have this foolishness to contend with. He reaches a fork in the trail, and doesn’t have to discuss whether to go left or right. Taking the high or low road is a solitary decision, and one easily made. It becomes mentally easier to travel the path least traveled.

Making decisions is easy when you are alone.

I have great difficulty sleeping when someone nearby snores loudly. I’m tired daily from too little sleep. If it costs extra for a private room, I’ll hit the hip to avoid this problem. I’ve tried wearing ear plugs but they are uncomfortable and disturb my sleep.

How long one man hunts or fishes is a matter of  personal desire or stamina. There’s no reason another person should cut a trip short just so the other person can go home early. Is this petty or selfish? Not really. It’s being honest about personal desires and being realistic about our expectations and how we choose to spend our leisure time afield.

Modern sportsmen have only so much free time. If it is shared with others, and another person places constraints on our mutual time, it becomes necessary to decide the issue. Is it easier to give in to a buddy’s needs or go about our outdoor activities alone? I prefer the latter.

I suspect the solitary sportsman concept will become more common in future years. Many who truly love the outdoors will decide whether to fish or hunt with someone or not. Conversely, if one fishes or hunts with others, and cuts a day short for personal reasons, how will friends feel about giving up some of their valuable leisure time? Not well, I suspect.

I hate riding with others because if they decide to quit early, you are stuck.

A common thing with me now is to always drive my own car. If the other person thinks they must leave early, it’s so long, have a good day. If you ride together in his vehicle, your personal trip is ruined.

My early travels were always alone. I could barely afford the travel myself, let alone take someone along. It became easy to spend nights in camp, after dinner, writing notes about the day. I would always take a mystery or spy novel along, and pass idle hours reading. Rather than watching television, my choice is to entertain my brain with a book.

There are too many decisions to be made on fishing or hunting trips, and discussing which end of the lake to fish first is an example of wasted time. Two anglers spend 30 minutes arguing the merits of fishing the north or south ends. It’s senseless. A solitary angler goes where he wants, and thereby has more productive time on the water.

Two hunters share a blind during goose season, and one talks a big honker out of the sky with pleading tones. Who takes the shot? Will the caller be a nice guy and toll in the bird for his buddy to shoot or does he believe he did the work and deserves the initial shot?

A brown trout rises with the regularity of a big fish. Every 30 seconds he tips up, rises, drifts downstream under the natural, and once his suspicions disappear, he sips the spinner off the surface with a head-to-tail rise that shows golden-brown flanks with big black spots.

Who gets the first cast to this beautiful trout? Do we flip a coin or will one or the other of the two anglers push the brim of his cap back, look fondly at his buddy, and says “Go get him.”

Sometimes it plays out that way but more often it doesn’t. All too often one angler or hunter has a wealth of natural angling or hunting skills while the other does not. This calls for some diplomacy, generosity and good will. The solitary sportsman is never faced with such vexing problems to solve. He heads off alone.

Note that this is not written about taking children along. This is about two or more adults. I strongly believe adults should always take children fishing or hunting. The loner role does not apply to kids.

I played the solitary sportsman for many years, without ever feeling selfish, and enjoyed myself. In recent years, as glaucoma robs me of ever more vision, I find pleasure in being Mr. Nice Guy, and have a friend along.

One reason is that 10 years of guiding salmon and trout fishermen plus deer and bear hunters meant I’d done it all many times before. Once a person shoots several black bears, it’s much more fun to be generous and help a first-time hunter bag a nice bruin. Or a big buck or trout.

It’s fun putting an angler into his first steelhead, a 20-pound Chinook or a nice 10-pound brown trout. There is something fulfilling about the light flickering in their eyes, the smile on their face, a warm handshake that makes fishing or hunting together a memorable event.

Solitary anglers or hunters can have a fine time alone.

My wife and I hunt deer together. She goes to her spot and I go to mine, but I go to pick her up. It’s a hoot for me to take some of the things I’ve been good at, and put them to work for someone else. It’s part of why Kay shoots a nice buck every year.

The solitary sportsman is still a big part of my mental make-up, and even though in recent years more time is spent with others, there are days when being alone and experiencing things anew provides me with the same visceral thrills I first experienced many decades ago.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors