The past weekend I had a chance to go hunting w/ my uncles over gun opener and let me tell you it was quiet the experience.
First, a little background to this story is necessary before I get started. This is the first time in 15-16 yrs that I have hunted w/ them. I started my hunting career w/ them when I was 12-15 yrs old and ended up not deer hunting again until I was 20 because of the bad taste that they put in my mouth w/ “grown men stuff” that I didn’t understand.
So, here I am, 31 yrs old and hunting w/ the uncles again…. Only this time they were asking me questions and actually listening. Since, I haven’t gun hunted in 8 yrs and have a few nice bucks w/ my bow the past 3-4 yrs, it was really nice to get respect from them. I was able to put up a portable on there property away from where they were hunting and try to give them pointers on things to look for such as pinch points and natural funnels.
Opening morning starts out well. I sit in the stand for 3 hrs and have 5 deer w/in in 15 yards. I was waiting for a mature doe to walk by alone before I would consider shooting, which didn’t happen. So, back to the hunting shack to meet up w/ them and talk about the morning sit.
After a couple of hours of sitting at the shack I end up walking the property w/ one of my uncles and help him move a ladder stand to where he was seeing deer that morning. I tell him that I plan on moving my stand to a diff location for the evening sit. This is when the story starts getting interesting.
I walk out in a cut/plowed wheat field and head to the North end of the property. There was a good trail on our side of the fence and I found a perfect tree right outside of a bedding area and right where it met up with the corner of the neighbor’s property woodlot. As I’m walking I see a hunter 250 yards north of the fence line in a Box Stand right in the middle of an uncut hay field. He clearly sees me and I continue the additional 50 yards to put my stand up.
Fast forward an hour and I see 3 deer coming my way, nothing special, just 2 fawns and a small 6 pt. I notice that one fawn had been hit high in the right shoulder and decide to shoot her if I get the chance. As luck would have it all 3 deer cross the fence line to my side and stop at 6 yards, one of them knows something isn’t right and quickly heads back the way they came, the others follow. I didn’t have a shot on my side and had to watch her limp away even though I had 2 shots opportunities at her and didn’t take either because she was 3-5 yards past the property I was hunting.
At approximately 4:45-50 I hear a loud shot and it’s clearly from the hunter in the box stand. I put my binocs up and see a doe running at full speed across the field and her path will bring her directly between the Box Stand and me. The hunter in the box stand fires a second shot, the deer continues to run and is now almost directly between the 2 of us. I can see the hunter following her with his gun and could tell that he was going to keep on shooting, I hug the tree and watch in disbelief as he shoots a 3rd shot when the deer is directly in line with me, he misses again and the deer runs to the wood edge and stops, he fires a 4th time and finally hits her.
At this moment I didn’t know what to think…. thank my lucky stars, change my underwear, or come un-glued to the other hunter? I decide to wave my hands in the air like “what in the “f” do you think you are doing?” I was in disbelief and didn’t go over and say a thing.
When I get back to camp after the eventful evening I let my uncles know what happened to me out there. They said they appreciated that I didn’t go and say something to “THAT GUY”. The problem is that I don’t feel like I did the right thing by not saying something to the other hunter. At the same time I don’t want to start a land war w/ my uncle’s neighbors when I might only hunt up there 2-3 days a year.
Which brings me to this?
When you can see the fire coming out of a gun directly at you and you feel like your life has been in danger, it’s not a fun feeling. I want “THAT GUY” to know that a deer is not worth it, think before you pull the trigger, and be aware of your surroundings.
I feel very fortunate that I wasn’t shot (this is a rifle zone) and for the first time since I started bow hunting, I was uncomfortable w/ sitting in tree stand and thought to myself; “that I may not hunt during gun season because of the idiot hunters out there like this.”
I’m just glad I’m able to write about it
. Good to hear the didnt get you 
…Jay
)
for something so irresponsible, but ive managed to keep my cool so far.
