New rifle, new hunter

I bought my wife a TC Venture in 30-06 as she has expressed an interest in hunting for the first time...I'm happy as a half-starved bed bug in a mattress factory!

She has done well at the range but has only had one day out hunting and was not confident in the target presented at 150 - 170 yards on that day. I commend the decision to not shoot, there are a lot of folks that will shoot at whatever moves.

I must take a moment here to mention that this rifle is a-F'ing-mazing! For 449.00 it is the best rifle I have ever seen. I have a Remington 700BDL and the Thompson is its' equal in every way that matters. My Remington is prettier but pretty doesn't put meat on the table.

My daughter decided that she also would like to hunt so I put together a Chi-com SKS with a scope that is good out to 100 yards. She was able to group 3 inches at 100 yards which is good enough, offhand with a rifle that wasn't designed for deer.

Thanksgiving morning my wife had to work and my daughter did not so she got to go out with Mom's 30-06.

We arrived at my 45 acre getaway at 5:30AM and headed to the deadfall at a hilltop that was deemed a virtual "living room" where lawn chairs could be used to provide a comfortable stand hunt. A large red oak fell and the layout of the limbs made a nearly perfect "room" on a hilltop overlooking 3 small fields, a road and a pond.

At 7:45 a very small yearling walked in at about 200 yards and bedded down. 5 minutes later after glassing the area my daughter said that there was another larger deer already bedded where the small one had laid down.

I confirmed this and told her to look at the spot where the grass ended and the deer began as it was facing us. We had at least 5 minutes to discuss the shot placement and all of the details. These were 2 of the same 3 deer that my wife and I had seen the previous week.

I asked her if she was confident that she could hit the deer in the vitals and kill it quickly, she said yes. She is a nurse and has recently studied the organ placement in whitetail deer and is well versed in the effects of trauma to vital organs.

She said later that she did not feel nor hear the round go off when she fired (that is normal and always funny to me). I watched the target through my scope in anticipation of a possible need for a follow-up shot. The deer raised up from the bedded position and immediately fell back down and did not move again.

200 yards is a long shot in WV, it is usually more like 30 or 50 but as I type this I am munching on some great jerky from a doe that was the first for a new rifle and a new hunter.

She is 33 or so...it's hard to keep up with the years but it is never too late to begin a journey into the woods that will change a life for the better. It isn't so much the kill, the marksmanship or even the food on the table. It is the participation in the life, our life and all of the life that we experience in the short time we are here.

Bravo my dear!

First day in the woods

Almost a whole year, damn!

Tomorrow is the last day of a special bow hunting season in WV and I'll be there!
I'm excited as a kid at Christmas to get to be back in the woods a little early this year.

The WV DNR decided that the Whitetail kill needs to be a little bigger this year and added 1 week of bow and one week (next week) of muzzleloader season for either deer gender.

It is a little warm for my taste; the weatherman says it will be 55 - 60 in the morning and get nearly 80 for the day so, I'll probably only hunt the morning and will still hunt for the first hour or so while heading to my stand.

I've got all my gear ready and have practiced with my bow at least every 2 to 3 weeks since March. I shot 12 yesterday and will do the same this evening.

Good luck to all hunters this year; I think it will be a good one.

The bow is justified

I finally, after 4 years, have taken a whitetail deer with my compound bow!


It was 5:30AM when I got to the winery, as usual a did a few chores such as putting away the clean bottles from the drying trees and pouring out some of the old wine from the fridge into a glass and making sure it wasn't spoiled. ;)


At about 6:30 I headed out on foot through the north vinyard to the gate that opens to access my property to the east of the vineyard. The temperature was mid fourtyish with a very slight breeze. The trip to the stand would take about thirty to fourty-five minutes; walking very slow with many stops along the way to search the woods for that slight movement that would give away the presence of the quarry.


It was a cloudy morning and the daylight was now fully available without the glare of a clear day. I was about twenty minutes into the trek to the tree stand when two small deer crashed out of the woods to my right; I don't know how I missed seeing them. They both ran across the field that is up the hill above the quarter-acre pond. One went on up the hill into the thick brush but the other stopped to see what I was.


I had my trigger release already on my wrist but was in no way prepared to take a shot.
I gauged the distance at thirty yards and thought "what the hell"; I pulled an arrow from the quiver and knoched it. The deer did not move which tells me that the no-scent, no-phospher laundry deturgent is doing its job nicely. I drew, took quick aim and released the arrow.

At this point in the game there was no adrenal explosion, no rapid heart rate, nothing. I have only taken a shot at a deer with my bow twice before and missed both times; I've drawn on two others but never got a shot. It was as if I was just at the target range, just shooting at the bag target once more.

As the arrow left the bowstring and the arrow rest everything seemed to go into extreme slow motion. I could actually see the fletching spin while the arrow's arc was also very apparent. The arrow hit the deer in the ribs, just behind the shoulder. The audible "crack" of the strike seemed to echo as the 100 grain Muzzy broadhead hit bone.

The deer ran into the treeline and was silent. At this point the excitement and the adreanalin really kicked in but I knew I had to stay still. I waited five minutes and heard leaves and brush crashing and crunching. I slowly walked over and saw the deer on its side just inside the treeline.
It was still breathing and heard my aproach; it got up and stumbled about 15 feet and went down again. I have a rule that if I can get within 10 feet of a wounded animal, I draw whatever pistol I happen to be carrying and put the animal down with a head shot. I think this is of course a humane thing to do but, I also get to see what various types of ammo do in a real situation. This time it was Personal Defense in .380 Auto; the damage was fairly significant and the job was done.

About fifteen minutes later I was dragging the deer down the hill to the gas well road to leave it while I went up to get the truck.

It is amazing and much different from hunting with a rifle. The feeling is indescribable but there are those who already know that. I am both Happy and proud to join the group of those who know this.

WV Hunting Season 2008

It is that time again, thank God!
I've been waiting for years, it seems.
I did not go fishing like I said I would, not that fishing is bad or boring...it just isn't hunting.
In the early morning there were the standard concerts...the crows were in top form in their role as forestal alarm clocks...awakening all the forrest life.
I watched two young does for about 10 minutes or so then there was an hour or so of quiet.
A young doe came crashing down the hill; I thought I would have my first bow kill but, she bolted as soon as I came to full draw. This will be the norm as usual.