A tree that gave it all

About 22 years ago, heck, I dont remember, I bought one of the first 300 RUM rifles that came out, boy !! Talk about shouldering a cannon!!!
I put a good scope on it and bore sighted it in at 15 yards, fifteen rounds and two surgeons later I had the girl dialed in, the last two rounds caught my eye on the receiving end…..
Yep, I saw some poop flying after the paper target was hit, dang it!!! it was tree parts from the honey locust in my yard taking the brunt of the punishment, my stupid arse!!!
I was shooting through a fourteen inch diameter tree that brought me much joy with its leaves in spring and fall!!
For several years it held its own, and the last three years it you could tell it was struggling, sigh!
I also dreamed of having wood ducks here in my yard twenty yards from a small meandering stream that has raised countless numbers of them over the years, that nest on the tree is sixty feet from my south window..

This year, my first pair of wood ducks and ten babies!!!! YIPPEE!!!
Much to my dismay, the tree,,, that poor tree I had blasted to pieces started showing… that it with its last dying breath could bring me one more year of joy.
In the pic you can see the lowest branches,, green and very vibrant giving its all to protect the mother duck and her babies, tonight those leaves are showing their age and starting to wither..
Beneath those leaves you can see the wood duck nest my kid brother built where those babies were raised,,and that tree must be cut down soon so that it doesnt fall this winter on the power line to its south just feet away.

Ya, its a dang tree ya say, I can think of another tree that gave its all but most here wont get it so I wont go there.
I am a man of the land and tied to it in a spiritual way that I will not apologize for, it is how I was raised.
My last thought on this, be careful where you aim, the joy in your future may be altered by a poor placed shot……
Take that for what is worth from an old Iowa farmboy.

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So, the moral of the story is don’t shoot paper targets?

Be thankful you didn’t grab a chunk of plate steel to shoot at.

Small decisions can have large impacts later in our life later on. Great story!

I dont know anything about trees but I have 2 of those trees in my neighborhood and they both look like that this year. I was told from my 92 year old neighbor that those trees would be fine again next year he said the year after a severe drought they always do that

Dang, cant imagine having one of those in a yard. I have stepped on a thorn or two from Honey Locust and it is not a pleasant experience.

Honey locusts commonly have thorns 3–10 cm (1–4 in) long growing out of the branches, some reaching lengths over 20 cm (8 in); these may be single, or branched into several points, and commonly form dense clusters.

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Dave, I misspoke, its not a honey locust, but it is some type of locust from what I was told, its the only tree like it in my area.
MK, I have lived here for 27 years and even in severe drought years that tree never did what you describe but I do not doubt you for one second.

The reason the tree is dying is due to my negligence, I was shooting through a paper target and ‘thought” I was far enough south to not hit it.
Over the years the damage by those 30 cal rounds that absolutely shredded the innards of the tree was invaded by ants that have pretty much hollowed out its insides, I have been watching the progression of the damage by the ants over the years and knew its days were numbered, its amazing to me it has held on this long.

Next spring the plan is to transplant a bunch of hickory trees here.

Yeah I did see you say you shot it. But did not see that it was a slow progression. And yes the turns on the trees in this neighborhood are huge. They are the 2 yards kids dont go play in

Those thorns look like something bordering a prison?!