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I wasn't a hunter, but I enjoyed the outdoors and I spent plenty of time fishing all my life, so when the yearly family hunt gathering came around, I wanted to go to visit with everyone. Butch invited me to go sit with him, so of course I wanted to join him. I love spending time with him and this would be a good time and experience for me, for sure. So to prepare for the weekend of watching Butch hunt, I went to the local Sporting Goods store and purchased some Camo Overalls. Those we so cool and I couldn't wait to put them on. While I was there looking around, I saw some doe in heat type of little amber bottles, and thought "This might help Butch get a deer" so I bought it and put it with my weekend gear.
We were in Lampasas Texas at our daughter in law Vanessa's family place. Joining was also my Sister in law Oogie, and her husband, Uncle Darrell along with our oldest son, his wife, and her sister. Oogie was already a hunter, and amazed me she did that stuff. She also had worked as a Butcher in the past, and was famous within the family for being the roadkill queen, picking up fresh road kills and butchering them to feed her family. She used to embarrass me all the time, making me stop the truck and her checking the fresh kills. Especially the time she picked up a huge old boar hog with the help of brother Butch and she dressed it in my very nice distinguished front yard, while my house was for sale. Everyone drove by and saw her working on that nasty hog. So not your average everyday kind of girl. While she didn't hunt the first morning, Uncle Darrell did, and while he was on a walk and stalk, he arrowed a buck with his vertical bow. When he put his bow down in order to tag the deer, another buck charged him! He jumped into the brush to avoid the charge and showed up at camp with his face all cut up and bleeding, but he had a buck deer. It had obviously scared him, and as I listened, it was what seemed like such an exciting and dangerous adventure. I never knew Bambis were mean or aggressive, so I had already learned something surprising and new about hunting.
Our morning hunt, we walked across the foggy pasture with spotty cedars and two to three foot tall grass and when we arrived at the fence line, Butch quietly stated that we would hunt there and watch all the deer that were crossing the fence. I remember it was cold! I didn't have a coat because I didn't know any better, but we had taken a quilt to lay prone position on. It wasn't as easy as it sounded, laying there for a long period of time and having to be still. Deer where everywhere in the fog it seemed. The activity was constant, but most of it was 300 yards up the fence line.
After a few hours, Butch decided we were done, and he wanted to go look further up the fence line where we had seen lots of crossing activity. So, about that time I remembered I had that bottle of doe in heat in my pocket and I decided I would just dribble it as I walked and not mention it to Butch and when he got his deer, I would secretly know I had helped him succeed in "my own little way."
That afternoon, we headed back to the field, but when we arrived at where we had laid on the quilt, Butch decided that we needed to move up that fence line to get closer to where the morning activity was hot and heavy. "Oh, okay" I said as I followed him. We walked quietly about 200 yards up the fence and Butch laid the blanket down and motioned me to lay beside him facing where all the action was earlier. It wasn't long when we heard all kinds of commotion coming from the tree cover towards the fence. I was laying there and I smelled something really potent. Sniff, sniff. Oh, no! "Butch, I smell something" I said, not knowing what that smell was, but then it dawned on me. I knew exactly what it was, and what I had done. I finally told Butch I knew what it was, didn't quite explain the whole story, but it was too late to move or talk. He just looked over at me and looked down.
About that time, here came a doe running hard with a young buck deer right on her tail. They ran within 5 yards in front of us, and turned and ran right beside us laying on the ground. WOW! How intense was that? They never paid any attention to us either. That buck was some kind of serious about catching that doe. Other deer were coming out in the clearing of the fence line and all of a sudden while we were watching ahead of us, I hear a very loud snort right at our heals! I froze, and Butch froze. This buck was standing within what sounded like a mere yard, stomping his foot and snorting at us. He sounded rather mad too! Butch turned his head towards me ever so carefully and I hear Butch say slowly and quietly "DON'T-MOVE!" Oh my GOD! My hair was standing up on my head, and my whole body started quivering. It was worse because I knew I couldn't move at all. I had no idea of what was happening, but I was scared! All I could think of was that stupid song on the radio that went "Grandma got runned over by a reindeer.."
The buck continued to stomp and snort and it seemed like he would never leave. Time was moving very, very slowly. I looked over and looked really hard at Butchs rifle that was laying front of him. I thought about what my chances were of grabbing that gun and not knowing how to even use it to fend the mad buck off. It wasn't very good odds to succeed doing that, so I thought about what else was possible for me to do. I finally decided my life was now in Butchs hands. He would have to be the one to make a move.
Finally, the buck left. There was such a feeling of relief like I have never before felt. I've had a knack of getting myself into tight spots all my life, but that was the ultimate so far. Now, it was time to explain to Butch with full enclosure, what I had done, and I so wasn't looking forward to admitting it. While explaining, I had to tell him I never imagined that he would want to move from the spot we were at in the morning, and I was just trying to help. What an experience! What I learned was first, I wanted my own gun! No more of depending on someone else to take care of me in a bad situation ever again. So, a new plan was set for the next day. Oogie, Vanessa the daughter in law, and myself were put in and area where there were some big cedar trees to sit, and the guys would do a deer push to us.
Well, it worked! Too well. The deer came a running hard-right at us! So close in fact, none of us could shoot. We were lined up in the cedar trees within 10 yards of each other, and the deer ran full throttle within 2 yards of us. The guys walked up afterwards and asked "Well? Did you have a chance at a shot?" My answer was "Hell yea, but after that deer incident with the buck, it was too scary to shoot at 2 yards!" It was more about getting out of the way than shooting. It was an intense adventure, and it was also the very beginning of my hunting adventures. Something I should never forget.
Edited by Guide Girl, 04 November 2008 - 07:45 PM.
