By Goosie Guice
At the moment of this writing, it is 6:05 a.m. Dec. 8, 2017. I’ve taken the day off of work to make a deer hunt. It has been raining for the last couple of days and our area is presently experiencing a very hard showering of wet snow. Although I’ve taken a vacation day to hunt, it is now breaking day and I’m still sitting on the couch. You can’t kill a deer like that, that’s a fact. It’s safe to say that the more time you spend in the woods, the better chance that you will eventually get your prize.
I was successful a couple of years ago after following a suggestion from my wife while trying to make up my mind whether to hunt or not. It was the last day of what had been an unproductive deer season for me. After turning the alarm clock off, I made the statement that I really didn’t feel like making what would be my last hunt of the season.
She quietly replied, “You need to go. You complain when you have to work and can’t go. Now you’re off and you can’t make up your mind whether to go or not.” I listened to her for a change and at 7:15 that morning I was loading a nice buck on my 4- wheeler.
Just last year, several members of our hunting club experienced a prime example of what it means to be there at the right time. Several members of the group had been hunting a buck that was pictured as one of the better racks on our property. This was immediately after the passage of a severe line of rain, thunder, lightning and wind when the large deer was harvested by the only hunter in the woods that evening. They all accept the fact that he deserved it. He was out there and they were not.
This past season my friend’s 13-year-old daughter shot the biggest deer that their Livingston Parish club has ever taken on that land. She was sitting alone at a not hard to get to stand location. It was around 1 p.m. on that warm November day. Most of the other hunters were at the campsite preparing to make the hunt later that evening. Suck it up y’all, she was out there where you can shoot a deer….in the woods, not at the campsite!
We all pick and choose what weather conditions, times and days that we care to hunt. Hold up! It’s 7:45 a.m. and I’ve heard a loud crash outside of my house. I open the door and see a large oak limb that has fallen because of the weight of the snow. It has fallen on my gas meter in the front yard. I manage to roll it off of the meter and the meter doesn’t seem to be leaking. That’s luck. Now back to the subject. Sometimes we make the correct choice at being successful on days that we go and sometimes maybe we do not.
One thing is for certain. You’ll never know what could have been on those days when the decision was made to stay at home. Each to their own, but there are certain times that I just don’t feel like fooling with a dead deer for a number of reasons. I guess it comes with age. At this particular moment with 4 inches of snow on the ground, wrecks on the highway and branches falling out of trees I’m content being at home. Would I have been successful this morning if I would have gone? Who knows? Will I go for the evening hunt?
I don’t know yet…I’ll make up my mind later. One thing is for sure, I won’t shoot one sitting here and for the moment that’s alright. At present I’m praying that this heavy snowfall quits before the weight of it harms my house or property. That’s way more important than killing a deer at this time…..
Till Next Time, Go When You Can
James “Goosie” Guice