I think age is finally catching up with me, at 61 I pushed as hard as in the past and it hurts! I've been at "it"(deer hunting) since the youth hunt. I hunted weekends in archery until Halloween and then had 17 days off to deer hunt. All during the month of October we hunted mornings and evenings while setting new stands mid day. I have no idea how many new stands were set but it was at least 10.

Fast forward to vacation, cameras (7) are out and showing good bucks, really good bucks in a 135 acre section of our farm. This area is not accessed by vehicle, you want to hunt it you walk in. The old saying ,"up hill both ways" applies here! Ugly walk for anyone,down hill and uphill of a deep ravine, just reverse it coming out.

My son misses a nice 8 point up there in his one week vacation and then passes him six more times as he is seeing bigger bucks on the prowl. When he returns to work(yes that ugly word) I make the trek daily to kill one of the four bucks we have targeted. I see good bucks but no shots, I have a great 8 come by and I can't stop him. I yelled him at 15 yards and he wont stop. Next day October 13 I see a tall tine 8 coming thru thick brush, 10 yard dump shot.... buck crashes after less than 10 seconds later. While standing in the stand who comes by..... the tall tine 8! What did I shoot? a smaller 8, the smallest buck I have shot in 20 years.




Knee is hurting,achilles is hurting and I have a dead deer as far from house as I can be. Drive to neighbors and ask if we can take him out on his property, "no problem" he says. He told me he thought I was going to tell him his cattle had gotten out on our place, yea they have but we will adress that AFTER deer season. Deer skinned and in freezer, I need to get a two man blind up in the same area for me and grandson. Thursday noon finds me carrying two man pop up and two chairs 1/2 mile , I set in chair surveying the set up when a B&C 10 point comes by.........perfect!

Opening morning of gun season the grandson and I make the climb before daylight, he walks I limp. We set there all day not a single deer walks by. An eleven year old sets all day to see ZERO deer? Thank God for the storms on Sunday! We didn't go out....

After a week of rest out again this past Saturday with the grandson, leg feels great on walk in. How can a great area go devoid of deer? This spot did, at 11:30 we pull the blind and I pack it out, pain returns as I make the climb out. AJ(grandson) wants to hunt a ladder stand "up there" for the afternoon hunt, we leave at 2 and have him set up by 3pm, did I mention having to carry a chair in for me to set on whil;e he hunted? Granpa limps as grandson acts like he is in a race. One hour into the afternoon and AJ is calling me, can't feel his hands or legs in the 30mph winds and dropping temps, Granpa to the rescue. We set another hour on the ground and he is "done" for the day. We walked out jumping 2 really good bucks........ if only we could have set till dark.

Sunday finds us in a shooting house on at least some resemblance of level ground. again AJ walks......I limp. less than five minutes in the blind and I see a deer, a buck! I get him on it at he tells me YOU need to stop it, a bleat and then a shot....... deer kicks and runs with tail up. We wait twenty minutes and go to where shot was taken, white hair. We look for an hour, no more level ground... up and down, no blood for three ridges..... deer is fine and I am in pain.

And here I am on Tuesday, looking forward to Friday when me and the grandson can spend "quality time" together........LOL.

Where is the Ibuprofen?

I'm having a ball!