Patience

When it comes to hunting being patient is the most vital part. If you don’t hunt just imagine sitting alone, having to be silent, and can’t move, for extended periods. Some people think hunting is just going out and shooting an animal, but in reality, it’s an art a way of our ancestors, and a way of showing true patience and skill. Not only that but when you take modern weapons out of the mix it becomes even more challenging. I have hunted my whole life so as I have gotten older I have become more patient, knowledgeable, and a better hunter. The first time I ever shot a deer was a couple of years ago in Pennsylvania, and it took an extreme amount of patience.

4 am always seems to come up so fast when you are in bed, but this time I was ready. I was up hours before my alarm and barely got any sleep that whole night. My dad, my Uncle Mark, and I all crammed up in the truck nice and early, for our long ride down. Luckily we had packed the night before to make it easier to get up and leave on time. We had been on the road for about two hours before meeting up with all the other guys and getting some breakfast. We made short work of breakfast and got back on the road. Another 6 dreadfully long hours passed by and we had finally hit the farmlands of Pennsylvania. rolling hills, windmills, farms, and woods were the only thing around. Our camp was an isolated log cabin up on a mountain, by the time we arrived all I wanted to do was get out and go to bed, but we had to unpack. Being the youngest one there by a long shot I was expected to take most of the stuff out myself. There was a slight rain so quickly as possible I grabbed things from the truck and trailer and brought them into the garage trying not to slip in the mud. Later with everything unpacked and everyone comfortable, Gayton started to cook dinner, t-bone steaks, mashed potatoes, and mac and cheese. By the time it was all ready, I was ravenous. After stuffing myself I was ready to go to bed but once again was given the chore of doing and putting away the dishes. Once the tasks were completed the only thing left to do was to get in bed to get good rest for the next day.

The next morning I woke up to 4 old guys, already dressed and ready for the day by 6 on the only day we had to sleep in. I got up quickly, rushing to throw my clothes on and brush my teeth at the same time. Today plan to set up all of our tree stands for the next 6 days of hunting. Everyone brought 1 or 2 stands each, so we all loaded both of the trucks and set out. My Dad, and Uncle Mark, in one truck, Gayton and Mike in the other. We each went to Two different properties My group went to Houslanders, and the others went to the farm. We set stands for the next 6 hours on an empty stomach, so once everyone had a hunting spot they were happy with we went out for dinner. For dinner, we went to a small pizza place in the closest town. The pizza was surprisingly good for how small this restaurant was. We looked outside to see the surprise of massive gusts of wind and rain beating on the windows. We decided it was best to get back to camp and get to bed for the next day.

I woke up to the sound of my alarm along with 4 other alarms ringing in sequence. This morning I woke up and put on all my hunting gear, grabbed some snacks and we were out the door. Where I decided to sit in the mornings was a stand by a pond on one side and a field on the other and me right in the middle in a little patch of woods. I was the first one dropped off, alone and sightless I walked the short distance from the truck down the field through the patch of woods to my stand. Where we are we get no service so communication is none. We all agreed to meet back in the field by 11. I’m sitting there not a care in the world looking and listening and waiting. One hour goes by, no deer. Two hours go by no deer, but on the third hour, I hear some crunching to my right. I slowly turned my head to see a small buck coming my way, as it got closer I could see it wasn’t big enough to shoot. So instead I took videos of the deer for the next 15 minutes. 11 o’clock rolled around and no other deer was seen so I met up with the other guys. We went out and got breakfast at the rusty skillet, for the cheapest food you can get. After lunch, we went back out to our nightstands. Unfortunately, I ran into the same problem I can see deer but they are not big enough or coming in close enough to shoot with my bow.

This happened day after day, I could see deer but just never had the opportunity for a shot. Grinding hours in the cold woods, running off the couple pieces of candy I brought each day. Each hunt became longer, and as the hunts went on I lost hope in shooting a deer. I had tried so hard for the past week and only had one day left to hunt. I had spent more hours in the woods than I did out of the woods that whole week. On the final night of hunting, I was trying everything to shoot a deer I put out doe pee and a decoy and called every 45 minutes. Every minute that drug out was more energy and hope drug out of me. The last 25 minutes of shooting light comes around and to my disbelief, a buck jumps the fence of the field and is b-lining to the decoy. I get set, with my bow shaking in my hands. With the buck standing 35 yards out broadside, I put the pin on him and shot. My lumonock turns on, and the bright red light disappears as It passes threw the deer and into the ground on the other side. The buck runs not 30 yards before planting itself on the ground. My heart still pounding im filled with joy. I had finally done it, so many hours so many days but I did it.

“Whitetail Deer – Brady, TX Area” by huntingdesigns is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.