Hunter's Heart

Written By - thejump.net - 11/9/2007

Link to Original Article here

For some reason I always sleep well the night before the hunt. I guess it is because I know I have a morning ahead that requires extreme alertness and unity with my surroundings. Those who don’t hunt cannot understand the ecstasy with which we enjoy the outdoors. The burning in your lungs as you inhale your first breath of cold air outside the camp. That sting in your toes that reminds you that you forgot an extra pair of socks. The awe-filled gaze covering your face as you stare at the stars with no lights from the city to dirty their beauty. Those few moments in the stand right before sunrise when every shape and every twig snapping is a massive antlered buck trying to slip past you.

Then daylight comes and the woods erupt with the sounds of nature undisturbed. Not a creature knows you are there except the aggravated squirrel barking in the tree next to you. Acorns fall and sound just like hooves crunching years of leaves on the ground. You start to settle in because now the hard part of hunting begins. You must sit still. Any motion might give away your presence. You must endure every mosquito bite and every itch and the numbness in your fingertips creeping up your hands. For hours on end you are part of nature. You are nature. Where God intended you to be.

You start to doze off due to the lack of activity. Just before you close your eyes you catch a glimpse of white, which slowly disappears. Thinking you just saw the white on a deer’s neck you sit upright. Suddenly, a cloud of vapor arises from just inside the thicket bordering the oak flat you are hunting. Knowing exactly what it is, you raise your rifle to your shoulder and focus on the image presented to you in your scope. No sign of a deer, so you wait for movement. Was that the flick of an ear? The glint of antler in the sunlight?

With extreme care, the wide racked deer makes his way through to the edge of the woods. Years of trial and error have taught this deer not to jump out into the open without first checking for signs of danger. After standing still for five minutes surveying the surroundings, he begins to feed on acorns, slowly making his way to the shooting lane to your left. Perfect southpaw you think as you slide your gun onto the rail of the stand and train your scope where the deer will step out into the clearing. The seconds go by like hours. Your breath fogs your scope and you remove your face giving it time to disappear. As you move, the deer turns in your direction. Busted, you think, as he stares you down for what seems like eternity.

 by: Kyle Roger