The Simpler Days

Do you remember the simpler days and alot of you won't because you were just pups. The ones I’m thinking about were in the late 70’s and early 80’s. They were the days when the only thing you carried into the woods for an afternoon hunt were the clothes you drove to your hunting spot in and the bow you grabbed off the backseat just before heading into the woods. You might stick a bottle of soda or water in your pocket along with a handful of candy bars but that was about it.

There were no modern treestands to pack in and many afternoons I would construct some type of ground blind or sit next to some stone wall or up against a large tree near some well worn deer trail. Of course this was all last minute and there was no such thing as scent blocker to keep your odor under control. You broke branches with your bare hands and scratched the leaves where you would sit away with your leather boots. About the only thing you were worried about was the wind direction.

I remember one such hunt in southern Vermont in the 1982 when I was in college. It was Columbus Day weekend and it was a beautiful early October day. The leaves were changing color, the afternoon was mild and I knew you would feel the temperature drop as the sun dipped behind the mountain in the evening. It was about 3:00 PM and I decided I would finish studying in the woods. I dressed, grabbed my bow and my backpack with some boring economic book and drove to Vermont.

Deer were plentiful then and it was common to see 10-15 deer in a field just before dark. I decided to try an area I had recently found that bordered the edge of a small swamp. A large stone wall that stood at least four feet tall ran along the edge of the swamp and a cluster of huge oak trees were scattered along the stone wall. An old wood road ran along one side of the wall and the deer traveled this section feasting on the acorns that littered the area. The oak trees were enormous and I could spread my arms as wide as possible and still not even get half way around the tree. It was this particular spot that I decided I would wait in ambush for a whitetail deer.

I cleared the leaves away between two large oak trees that were tucked right up against the stone wall and sat down. I moved a couple of small stones so I could peak out and see if there was any activity in the grown up road. The trees were so big I figured if I saw a deer I could easily stand and draw my bow undetected.

I threw my backpack on the ground, grabbed my economic book and proceeded to bore myself to death. As the afternoon wore on my eyes grew heavy and I closed them for a few minutes. I was quickly jarred back to reality when I heard the unmistakable crunching of acorns. I didn’t dare move as the sound was coming from the other side of the stone wall and it sounded like it was right next to me. I remained motionless and listened. The crunching continued uninterrupted so I leaned forward and glanced through one of my peak holes in the stone wall. As I glanced out into the grown up road way a deer on the other side of the wall caught my movement through the peak hole and ran back a short distance.

I knew it couldn’t see me as I was hidden behind the huge oak tree. I waited to see if I could hear where the deer was. A few seconds passed and I could hear the deer stomping its front hoof into the ground. From the sound of it I knew it was only a few yards away on the other side of the stone wall. I felt the deer had no idea I was a human or it would be in the next county by now.

I decided I would stand up behind the enormous oak tree and draw my bow as quietly as possible. I slowly stood up and drew. I didn’t hear the deer run off so I assumed it must still be there. The stomping had stopped and I wasn’t sure if the deer had walked away or if it was back to feeding. I decided I would lean out from behind the big oak while I was at full draw to see if I could locate the whitetail.

As I leaned out with the nock of the arrow tucked in to the corner of my mouth I saw her. A fat doe stood less than ten yards away stareing at this foreign object that appeared to be sticking out of the side of the tree. Before she could react I picked a spot behind her front shoulder and left the aluminum arrow fly at about 190 feet per second. The arrow struck right where I was aiming and as the doe bolted out of sight I could see close to half of my arrow protruding from her rib cage. She ran into the swamp and I heard her crash about 75 yards away.

Today, looking back I wonder how that was even possible. I hadn’t washed my clothes and left them hanging on the clothes line for days to rid them of human scent. I hadn’t stored them in an air tight container to keep them scent free nor had I backpacked my clothes in and dressed when I was close to my hunting spot. I wasn’t wearing knee high rubber boots. I didn’t have everything but the kitchen sink in my backpack. I wasn’t perched over a deer trail 20 feet up in the air in a modern tree stand. I hadn’t hung a stand weeks before I hunted the spot. Were the deer just stupid back then, I don’t think so. So how did any of us ever manage to be successful back then? It’s simple really; the only thing that matters is being in the right place at the right time.