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A deer hunting tale

Started by WV Sawmiller, November 20, 2020, 09:13:54 PM

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WV Sawmiller

         Just so you understand the situation better before I get into the specific hunt I will describe later bear with me as I first describe the conditions in which I am hunting.

Five or six years ago I built an elevated shooting house for a deer blind on the back side of my property. It is built on locust poles and the bottom is about 9-10 feet above ground. It is 6’ square and slopes from about seven feet on the high end to about six feet on the low end with windows in all sides so I can shoot deer coming from any direction. The blind/hide is built at the junction of where two draws/ravines converge and merges on to a wide bench (a flat area on the side of the mountain) that naturally funnels the deer right past me. When our state authorized use of feeders to attract deer several years ago I hung a cable between two trees about 20 yards away from the East side and hung a plastic barrel that will hold about 100 lbs of shelled corn and I mounted a feeder with a timer that activates a spinner throwing corn for about 20’ in all directions. I hung the barrel on the cable about six to seven feet from each tree to help keep bears, raccoons and squirrels from climbing up to eat and damaging the feeder. I ran a pulley centered on the cable with lifting cable through it to an old used boat winch to a nearby tree and I raise and lower the feeder with the winch. Because I often hunt with a bow I made the windows large and lower than needed if I were hunting with a rifle, muzzleloader or even a crossbow. To compensate for the larger windows I hung burlap camouflage curtains on each window to help me hide when I am hunting up there. I built a door in one side with a ladder and small landing for egress and on the opposite wall I built a shelf with a rough 1”X10” board which is handy for storing supplies and such. I often hunt for long periods of time up there and do not want to scare away the game every time I have to go to the bathroom so I leave an old gallon milk jug up there as urinal. I keep an old plastic chair up there to sit in when hunting and I have a second, an old cheap dinette type chair for the rare occasions when I have a second hunter up there with me, usually youth hunts when one of my granddaughters hunts with me. I have a big problem with doves flying in and stealing the corn meant to attract the deer so I keep a slingshot up there and I keep a cup of glass marbles for ammo on the unused chair where they are handy. If there are no deer around I shoot at the doves and occasionally a squirrel or raccoon with my slingshot. Once I shot an old pore sow bear when she climbed up a small hickory tree and was reaching over getting into my feeder. I did not mind her having the corn but did not want her to tear my feeder down. The well placed marble impacting her on the butt cheek promptly sent her and her cubs packing. I sit in one corner and peek out the windows and when I see a deer I want to shoot I wait till he is behind a tree or not looking and I ease my rifle barrel out the window or stand and draw my bow and shoot when I am confident of my aim.

On the day in question it was the first day of our muzzleloader season and the events occur as follow:

I go up to my stand in the dark so I can get settled in before the peak morning feeding times that occur right at and shortly after sunrise. I had been up to the stand the evening before and found a chipmunk family had established residence on my shelf right behind chair making a nest out of some of my burlap camouflage, toilet paper and old hunting regs I had left there from the year before. They built it behind a couple of empty nylon feed sacks I had staged there for future use after I had filled my feeder with the corn in them. I tossed the nest out the window assuming they will move elsewhere. I move the camouflage curtains over the windows just enough to make a peephole I can see and shoot out of without making it easy for the deer to see me moving around above them. There is a big active scrape and some fresh rubs about 50 yards away where a big buck has been active and the rut is nearing its peak so I feel confident I will see and get a shot at him.

This morning in the dark I began to hear rustling in the dry leaves around me then crunching of corn being eaten. I can see shapes below of a pair of raccoons eating corn then I spot a couple of fawns coming in. They first look expectantly up at the plastic barrel overhead then they start sniffing the ground for food.  One little buttonbuck goes over nose to nose with a raccoon and neither seem worried by the other so they go back to feeding. Suddenly my feeder goes off for the scheduled 7:00 a.m. feeding which temporarily alarms the fawns when they get pelted with falling corn. They run off about 25-30 yards and stop and look back. When they see the undisturbed raccoons still feeding they return and are happily munching on the fresh fallen corn. As the sun rises and the area is fully lighted I hear more rustling in the leaves behind me and I spot an old doe approaching. She is pretty nervous and keeps looking behind her but seeing the fawns feeding seems to ease her concerns and she comes to the feeder and starts eating the corn. She shakes her head and stomps her foot and eventually chases the raccoons away. A big red fox squirrel comes half way down one of the feeder trees and flips his tail and whines and chatters softly at the doe but does not come down to the ground near her.

After a few minutes the old doe suddenly raises her head and looks off to the north with her ears up and tail twitching. I look in that direction to see what she is watching. Last year before a couple of fawns had alerted like that and it was the sow bear with her three cubs coming to the feeder that I mentioned earlier. In this case I spot antlers behind a fallen treetop. Finally the buck steps out in the open and is walking stiff legged with a bowed up neck towards the flirtatious doe he has evidently been tracking. As he passes a corner he is in my blind spot so I make sure none of the other deer are looking my way and will give me away when I move. None appear to be watching so I slowly raise my old muzzleloader and prepare to send a 240 grain jacketed, soft core pistol bullet in a sabot into the buck’s vitals.

As the buck walks under the tree with my winch cable attached I flip the safety off and start trying to center my crosshairs right behind his left shoulder and I start slowly squeezing the trigger for the kill shot. Suddenly I hear a rustling behind and above me and I glance back to see one of my chipmunks has evidently returned and has bedded down behind the old feed sack over my head. To make matters worse, while the deer below can’t see me that old fox squirrel is almost eye level with me and he sees me. The squirrel starts violently chattering and all the deer are on alert. The chipmunk hears him and sees me and jumps right down on my head and I jerk back and finish pulling the trigger. The muzzle is only inches from my dry burlap camo curtains and the flame shooting out the end of the barrel immediately sets them on fire. When I jerk the muzzle up the bullet hits the tree beside the fox squirrel “barking” him like the old timers used to do. The squirrel is knocked flying and lands right on the buck’s back where it hangs on like cowboy bronc rider. This causes the buck to jump upright and try to bolt away. When he jumps he gets his antlers tangled in the cable and violently shakes his head trying to free himself. He pulls so violently he breaks the hook at the end of the cable holding the barrel up and the recently filled barrel with a full 100 lb load of corn falls on top of his head.

Meanwhile in the deer blind above the chipmunk has jumped off my neck to the empty chair and knocking the cup full of marbles on to the floor of my shooting house where they scatter in all directions while he takes cover and hides behind my fanny pack in the corner. I am too busy trying to put out the fire from the flaming curtain to notice any of this. I rip the flaming curtain down and try to stomp out the flames before they spread to the other curtains in the other windows or set the dry spruce boards on fire. I seem to be getting the fire under control till I suddenly step on a couple of the loose marbles and my feet come flying up like one of those old Russian dancers and I fall flat on my back.

When I fall I knock the chair over into the corner and it falls across my fanny pack scaring the chipmunk out of his hasty hiding place. “Alvin” jumps out the open window and goes prospecting for a new home in a quieter neighborhood but on the way he runs across the last smoldering piece of burlap and sets his tail on fire. As he jumps out the window he sets the burlap curtains on the next window on fire. It is a larger window with bigger curtains and the flames erupting this time are much bigger than the first flare-up. I look around and spot an old broom in the corner I keep to sweep out the dry leaves that always seem to blow in. I grab it and start beating on the flames but the dry corn bristles on the broom also catches fire and manages to set the curtains in the third window on fire. I am getting desperate and see the half full milk jug full of old stale urine. In despair I grab it and twist the lid off and start sloshing it on the walls behind the curtains to keep them from catching fire. This seems to be working till I step on another marble and take another spectacular tumble. In the course of falling I throw my milk jug up in the air, it bounces off the shelf and sloshes the remaining contents right in my face which, while unpleasant, may be a good thing because I landed on the burning curtains and set my beard on fire and singed off my left eyebrow. The foul smelling liquid puts out the flames but the smell of singed hair and stale urine make me gag violently a few times.

I get up and finally get the flames of last of the burning burlap extinguished and pick up my muzzleloader and fanny pack. I gingerly walk to the door without lifting my feet so I don’t step on another marble. I look for the demon chipmunk but he is long gone. I climb down my ladder to the ground to take inventory of the conditions below. I see the unconscious buck lying beside my broken feeder and barrel. As I approach he suddenly jumps up, shakes his head and sees me standing in front of him with an empty muzzleloader. He is in full rut and was angry because he thought he was making some headway with the old doe before he heard a loud shot right over him, got attacked by a flying fox squirrel, got hung in my cable and knocked unconscious and is generally in a foul mood especially when he looks around and found his lady friend has headed for the next county. He looks at me with bleary red eyes and shakes his head at me and lowers his antlers as if he is thinking of attacking me. Here I stand with singed off beard and eyebrows, chipmunk scratch marks all over the back of my head and neck, bruises all over my backside from a couple of tumbles on the marbles on the floor, smelling like an outhouse, and an empty rifle. It may not be smart but I am probably in just about as foul a mood as he is so I draw back my rifle and prepare to give him and old Parris Island USMC butt stroke if he wants to pursue the issue. Finally, the buck thinks better of it and turns and trots off in the direction the old doe left.

I walk down the ridge to my where my ATV is parked and load my bruised and battered body and equipment on it and ride down the mountain to my home. When I walk in the door my wife sees me and says “I heard the shot but I don’t see any venison so I guess you missed again.”

(Well, it could have happened this way...)
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

mike_belben

But how big were the fish?  

;D
Praise The Lord

SawyerTed

 :D  :D That's funny like Ed Zern or Patrick McManus.  
Woodmizer LT50, WM BMS 250, WM BMT 250, Kubota MX5100, IH McCormick Farmall 140, Husqvarna 372XP, Husqvarna 455 Rancher

Southside

I fully expected you to say you managed to roll your ATV over on the way back to the house and plug your rifle barrel full of mud on top of everything else!!  
Franklin buncher and skidder
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WV Sawmiller

 Southside,

   No I wanted to keep everything believable. :D
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

Old Greenhorn

You know, when I was a little kid and my Dad was doing a lot of Gunsmithing work in the evenings, I would sit on a tall stool and watch him, trying to learn and not ask TOO many questions. He had a little plaque hanging on the wall near his bench, I don't know what happened to it, but I will never forget what it said"

All Hunters are liars except for you and me,
And sometimes I am not so sure about you.

Good story.
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

mike_belben

 :D


Which reminds me of a sorta related piece of advice i try to remember.  The only way 3 people can keep a secret is if 2 are dead. Dont tell me man.. I dont wanna know! 
Praise The Lord

WV Sawmiller

   This all makes me wax nostalgic and think deep thoughts about hunting in general. I have come to observe that the hunting goods suppliers are making a mint off us poor hunters selling us all kind of cover up scents and attractants which are totally unnecessary. What we all should be doing is changing the way deer think about "man-smells". I am thinking of hanging all kind of bait stations, salt blocks, etc around my place. I am going to hang burlap bags or curtains such that the deer have walk among them and rub against them to get to the salt, feed or treats. I am going to coat these burlap curtains with my favorite bath and laundry soaps so when the deer walk between then they get this scent all over them. Then when the bucks smell the does they will all smell like my favorite laundry and bath soaps and they will get used to it and maybe even get attracted to it. Then when hunting season opens and I go up into my favorite woodlot and deer blinds to hunt the bucks will smell me as usual but this time they will think it is other deer and just follow the scent to right to me. I know - pure genius isn't it. :D
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

Old Greenhorn

Pure genius. 
 And with that I believe you have the seed of a new tale. Wish I still had my Macmanus collection but I passed it on to a young cousin when he showed some promise and interest, along with all my Ed Zern books too.
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

WV Sawmiller

   Sorry but I don't know who McManus is. I will have to look them up. He may be stealing my stuff.

   The only McManus I recall was my English Lit teacher Dr. McManus at Pensacola Jr College where I went before transferring to AU. She was a big fat lady but prominently displayed on the wall behind her desk was a 3' tall poster of a younger Clint Eastwood, apparently from his Dirty Harry days with windblown hair in San Francisco,and was signed "From One Magnificent Animal to Another - Clint". At least she had a sense of humor.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

Tacotodd

IIRC, Patrick McManus of "Field and Stream". He is widely renowned for his great humor and more time than not, quite plausible recollection of stories.
Trying harder everyday.

Old Greenhorn

I think Ed wrote for field and stream and Pat wrote for Outdoor life then moved over to field and stream when Ed retired. I loved them both and could not wait to read their stuff every month. Ed covered my youth, and Pat picked up the ball as I 'matured'. Somebody please correct me if (where) I have recalled incorrectly.
 Both of those men had a lasting influence on my sense of humor as well as my outdoor life in general.
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

barbender

I didn't know of McManus ever moving to Field and Stream. "The Last Laugh" column was one of the high points of my early teens onward😊 

WV, I've read a lot of your stories about adventures overseas in far flung places, and had come to think of you as a person of some culture...then you asked, "who is McManus?" and I realized I was dead wrong about you!😁😂
Too many irons in the fire

doc henderson

Quote from: Old Greenhorn on November 22, 2020, 11:22:42 PM
I think Ed wrote for field and stream and Pat wrote for Outdoor life then moved over to field and stream when Ed retired. I loved them both and could not wait to read their stuff every month. Ed covered my youth, and Pat picked up the ball as I 'matured'. Somebody please correct me if (where) I have recalled incorrectly.
Both of those men had a lasting influence on my sense of humor as well as my outdoor life in general.
I am not so sure about the "matured" part or if you are truly staying out of trouble.   :D  you did ask us to correct you!  I guess you did do half quotes.   :)
Timber king 2000, 277c track loader, PJ 32 foot gooseneck, 1976 F700 state dump truck, JD 850 tractor.  2007 Chevy 3500HD dually, home built log splitter 18 horse 28 gpm with 5 inch cylinder and 32 inch split range with conveyor powered by a 12 volt tarp motor

Old Greenhorn

Quote from: doc henderson on November 23, 2020, 01:50:59 AM
Quote from: Old Greenhorn on November 22, 2020, 11:22:42 PM
I think Ed wrote for field and stream and Pat wrote for Outdoor life then moved over to field and stream when Ed retired. I loved them both and could not wait to read their stuff every month. Ed covered my youth, and Pat picked up the ball as I 'matured'. Somebody please correct me if (where) I have recalled incorrectly.
Both of those men had a lasting influence on my sense of humor as well as my outdoor life in general.
I am not so sure about the "matured" part or if you are truly staying out of trouble.   :D  you did ask us to correct you!  I guess you did do half quotes.   :)
OK, when in the cold hard light of morning I had to go find out, and correct myself because I like to have accurate knowledge before I muddle it up. I found a McManus archive and it had this to say "Over the course of his career, McManus established himself as a humor writer for a range of magazines and newspapers. From 1982 to 2009, he wrote a monthly humor column called the "Last Laugh" for Outdoor Life. He also served as the publication's editor-at-large. In addition, he served as columnist and associate editor for  Field and Stream from 1977 to 1982, and published essays in  Reader's Digest,  Sports Illustrated, and the  New York Times, among others."
So it appears I was mostly right, but had it backwards. He started at F&S, then went to Outdoor Life. I just wanted to set the record straight.  On the other point, no I never really matured, just got older. My wife can corroborate. 
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

K-Guy


And... now we know the rest of the story!! :D
Nyle Service Dept.
A common mistake people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.
- D. Adams

Old Greenhorn

Ah, you guys sent me down the rabbit hole on the McManus thing. When I was looking up his bio I came across this: https://www.pbs.org/video/an-evening-with-pat-mcmanus-mzzbkn/ and that led to other you tube performances of his written works and plays, yes, he wrote plays too.
 Wound up watching it in the shop while I worked all morning. Fun stuff.
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

SawyerTed

If you've never read McManus I recommend A Fine and Pleasant Misery. Especially funny is Modified Stationary Panic.  

Woodmizer LT50, WM BMS 250, WM BMT 250, Kubota MX5100, IH McCormick Farmall 140, Husqvarna 372XP, Husqvarna 455 Rancher

WV Sawmiller

   OK, I guess I must have read a little of Zern and McManus work in passing but I have never been a regular subscriber.

 As @barbender said I was working overseas much of my adult life trying to develop some culture and magazine subscriptions, mail and other things were a little late in coming sometimes. Instead of trying to figure what kind of architecture or art I was seeing like most folks visiting the centers of civilization in the rest of the world I was in more remote spots worrying more about which insect, reptile, disease or animal was trying to kill me next as well as dodging indirect fire and looking for booby traps every time I'd get in my vehicle. (Ever live or work any place you never opened or cranked your truck till you checked for trip wires and grenades in your tail pipe? I'd forget and people would think I was crazy crawling around checking underneath my vehicle in a Wal Mart parking lot when I was home on leave or such.) My neighbors were often living in mud huts or tents (Yurts/gers) and cooking outside over an open fire. The culture I picked up was more low level as I would often be the only white face in the area and the kids would come rub my skin to see if the color rubbed off or feel the texture of my wife's hair on the occasions she could come visit. My co-workers stayed in the camp or apartment we had rented for them while I'd go out and meet the locals and see where and how they lived. I still remember going to our nice compound pool one time and seeing a green mamba raise up about 2' higher than the shrubs and look me in the eye and if there was ever an animal with intelligence written in his expression it was him. Did you know baby bull elephants will charge you while their sisters will not? Ever been charged by a 500 lb silverback gorilla with a chest full of rippling muscles and 4' long arms? Don't look him in the eye or he will go ahead and attack. Ever try to pull a python out of a patch of papyrus reeds by the tail. I still don't know how long he was as I couldn't pull him free. I was able to take a small bushy limb and stop a black mamba in Ethiopia long enough for my wife to get his picture and I held back the bushes in Ecuador while my photographer wife got pictures of a 20' Green Anaconda with his tongue out and I caught a baby Nile crocodile in the Okavango Delta in Botswana. We got up there to find distinctive 3 toed hippo tracks about 10' from our tent that weren't there when we went to bed. Looking up from this computer I see my souvenirs including a pygmy crossbow, spears and bow and arrows, a rawhide Mongolian rope, red cloth from the Maasai and Samburu draped over baskets and such from around the world. There are boat paddles from Africa and a broad bladed canoe paddle from the Amazon, mortars and pestles and drums from remote areas. Those are my collections not famous paintings and such like other collect.

 Anyway, if I ever get a break I will try to go back and read some of Zern and McManus collections. One of my old time favorites was Harry and Charlie in the BassMaster magazine when I was a member of them an eternity ago.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

BradMarks

Fantastic story ;D ;D.   Following that, you may not believe, but what I say is true.  Years ago I had a vantage point from a rock outcrop and below me was another hunter(sort of) from our camp.  I watched a decent buck go toward him and he fires. I see the buck go down, then scramble off the rocks to go down and congratulate him. I arrive and he is standing over the curled up buck. After a little conversation standing over the buck, he pulls out his knife to gut it, and I say "sure it's dead?","poke it with your rifle". And sure enough when he does, the buck jumps up and starts down the hill. He raises his rifle, shoots, and I watch the horns split in half, falling to each side of the bucks face. Never seen that before, and yes the buck was dead this time.

WV Sawmiller

   Well, I just fat-fingered another reply off into cyberspace. :( I hate it when I do that.

I used to hunt with a bunch of guys in South Alabama. One of them shot a deer and loaded it in a VW beetle and it came too. They had to abandon the car and eventually got it out and shot it again. It did a real number on the inside of the VW. Another time they spotted a 7 point feeding in an old corn field and shot it and threw it in the back of the truck and rushed away (Probably because they weren't supposed to shooting that close to a road) and it came to and they had to throw it in the yard and shoot it again. I saw one Outdoor magazine article where a guy shot a nice buck, put his rifle across the antlers and stepped back to take a picture and it came to and ran off with the slung rifle around its neck and they never saw the deer or the rifle again.

While carpooling to work one night Dad's driver hit a bobcat. They got out to look at it and pick it up. Dad picked it up by the hind legs and it came too and he stomped on it's neck and stretched it out and yelled for somebody to grab a tire tool or something and finish it off. Mr. Sam Prichartt was riding with them and he was a real nervous type and jumped back in the car and locked all the doors. It took a while to get him to open it so they could get the keys out of the ignition to open the trunk and get the tire tool. Meanwhile Dad is wrestling with a mad injured bobcat that he can't turn loose.

Mom's older/only brother, Uncle Donald, came on a half grown bobcat on a deserted dirt road in N. Fla. one night. It was blinded by his car lights so he had the bright idea of sneaking around behind and catching it which he did but he swore he would never catch another one!

My old HS hunting and fishing buddy's dad said when he was a kid they caught a half grown bobcat and put it in an old suitcase and set it beside the highway and stepped back to watch. A Caddy with NY plates stopped and grabbed the suitcase and sped away. About 100 yards down the road he said all 4 doors came open as people came out all of them.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

Tacotodd

WV, that last one should have happened to the mob type of per. Probably didn't, but should've 🤣
Trying harder everyday.

WV Sawmiller

   No, apparently it was just somebody thinking they were going to capitalize on someone else's misfortune. It did not quite work out that way.:D
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

ellmoe

Howard , when I was with Game and Fish , a jeep hit a doe one night, on the county road next to the wildlife management area I was running, "killing" it. The good " good ole boy " driver and his buddy ", not wanting to waste that free venison , got out and quickly threw that "dead" deer in the back seat and took off. If was not legal to do what they did so they were in a hurry. About ten miles down that straight stretch of road that doe came alive ! To  misquote Jerry Clower , they gave that deer the jeep! My buddy , a wildlife officer , came on that scene and said that every seat was shredded and everything that could be broken inside that jeep was. And then the deer left. So much for free venison.
   Years before , on a rare freezing day in North Florida , my cousin was deer hunting . In those days ( mid 70' ) Bruce drove a 1950 Chevy truck that was built like a tank. I know because I was riding in it during a deer chase on a winding , narrow dirt road that served as a boundary between our hunting lease and the next. Unknown to us as we pursued the deer and the dogs chasing it east , our northern neighbors were doing the same thing but going west. We met , rather abruptly , around a blind curve . My cousin and I in that black " battle tank " and him in that new . shiny , pretty , 4 x 4 Ford . Guess who won! We later drove off to catch our dogs , while he waited on his buddies to come tow his now shiny , but not so pretty , new truck off the junk yard. 
   Well , back on message . While hunting Bruce came upon a huge abandoned hornets nest. Biggest he had every seen. He had to have that nest. After considerable effort he got the nest down without damaging it. He carried the nest back to his truck and left it there and continued his hunt. After a few hours of damp , cold hunting , he deciding he had had all the fun he could stand and headed back to his truck. As he told me it was still just about freezing and he was chilled to the bone. No for you young guys , 1950 chevy trucks did not have a/c but they did have good heaters. About the time he got to the "hard road" , the truck was warming nicely. About ten minutes down the road , the " not so abandoned " nest came alive. Bruce said in just a minute that cab came alive with a big nest full of hornets. Now for those that have been in a 50 Chevy pick up you'll remember the cabs were quite small compared to today's trucks. Bruce said in a heartbeat those *pithed off hornets were all over him. All he could do was throw the truck out of gear , run off onto the grassed shoulder of the road , slow to about 40mph and bale out! As he was rolling he would catch glimpses of the tank barreling down the shoulder , heading to the woods. When he stopped he watched his truck plow through a barbed wire fence , take out a pulpwood pine , and stop when it hit the next one. As I recall it was an hour till he could reclaim his truck , throwing the nest out , to be recovered later. He was pulled out by a passing hunter and drove home. On a warmer day he came back and recovered that , now truly abandoned nest.
Thirty plus years in the sawmill/millwork business. A sore back and arthritic fingers to prove it!

WV Sawmiller

   Brings back several memories - first was when we were kids and knocked down several big red and guinea wasp nests. We put them in an old brown grocery sack I guess to use the grubs for fishbait or such. I disremember exactly but it seemed like a good idea at the time. Anyway, several days later the sack came open and the wasps that had hatched in the interim attacked and we had to pull over and abandon the car and toss the sack out till we could clear out their siblings.

   I think I told this earlier but Grandpa was an early Game Warden down in Dixie Co. Fla and caught a man with an illegal deer. He gave the deer to the school as was the custom at the time. the next day at school they served venison stew to all. The hunter's son was in school and told Uncle Jr "We would not be eating this deer if it weren't for my dad." Uncle Jr immediately replied "You might be eating it but 'We' would not be eating it if it weren't for my dad." Both were correct.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

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