Hunting (not zombies)

[Gate_of_Horn]

I'm not sure whether this is more Cactus Cafe, Quack's, or Horn Depot. There is a bit of all 3, so hopefully Hornfans can give it appropriate context for the forum.

I'm not a big hunter at all, but recently I went out with my father for a hunting trip when a thankful client gave my dad free use of his lease near Graham, Texas for the last weekend of deer season.

For years now, I've visited my parents at holidays and such in Dallas. We share dinner, talk, watch some movies, play games, and listen to my sister dramatize minutiae for attention. I had not realized how long it had been since we did other activities. Especially ones that included real activity.

Ultimately, the only deer we saw was a doe having dinner in a bar ditch in Eliasville as we were leaving to go home. The only thing we hit was a target when we sighted our rifles. The only other shot even fired that weekend was when I startled a coyote out of his hidey hole in some rimrock. He bolted away and almost ran over my buddy walking in parallel 50 yards away in the brush. My friend had to fire into the ground to get the thing to change it's course before getting swept off his feet. He swears the thing was coming at him like Wile E. Coyote on an ACME rocket.

We spent most of our time getting up early, hiking the lease to get the lay of the land, watching and waiting. When the prime hunting was past, we ate beef jerky, bullshitted about all manner of things, and got some fantastic barbecue from the local places in town. Burning time while waiting for deer to come back out for their evening feed, we also did some sightseeing of the local historic spots, which included Fort Belknap. the link
We drove past Possum Kingdom lake on the way in, which I had previously believed just to be some song by the Toadies that was popular when I was in school.

You could say that it was some pretty stereotypical male bonding and roll your eyes. As a Gen-Xer, I might, except that I can't tell you how great it was to get out with my dad for something other than the ritual dinner and a movie thing we've done for years. It seems terribly important too, since the time we've got left to do this sort of stuff is a lot shorter than the holiday routine.

I shot nothing, spent a fair amount of time sitting quietly or walking around in some beautiful country, learned some things about Texas, and figured out why hunters come up with so much ********.

After you've gotten over the raw, rugged beauty of Texas and get bored waiting for deer to show up when you've been up since 5 AM, your mind starts to wander just a bit. When you get back together with your hunting buddies, any account of contact or past hunting trips is immediately and eagerly brought up, one-upped, exaggerated, called out, countered with a screw-up story and laughed about. Being stared at by cows while you carry on only serves to increase the comedy.

I'm terribly thankful I got a chance to do this with my dad, and we're looking for an excuse to get out again. If you've got good hunting stories, or know decent places between Austin and Dallas to hunt some feral hogs, please share.

 

[rhorn27]

Great post. I can tell you that I've never hunted a day in my life, but the time spent with your dad should be cherished.

I lost my dad about a year ago. I miss very much spending time together. Whether fishing, golfing, vegas, UT games, or just hanging out. There's nothing like a day with dad. It has it's own special feeling.

Sorry to hijack away from the hunting theme, but the above is what struck me. Thanks for your story.

 

[coachkiss]

My dad took me deer hunting twice and both were disasters. We didn't see any deer, I was too small to get in the stands, etc. I looked back and said that I was going to avoid those disasters with my sons.

This year, I got a lease in the middle of the highest concentrations of deer in the state. I paid good money, because I knew that my kids were going to see deer and we would all kill several deer, and I would give my kids something my dad didn't give me.

Boy, was I wrong. We sat all season and saw very few deer. My oldest son (9) shot one, and we tracked it and couldn't find it. It was disappointing. I couldn't believe we didn't see more deer.

The last weekend of the season, my 4 year old begged to go with us. I didn't want to take him because I knew that it would kill our chances of seeing a deer. I finally relented because I love the little booger so much.

So we are sitting there after sitting in the stand for 6 hours (we were really trying hard) with me getting on them for moving or talking above an inaudible whisper, and I started laughing. I tried to tell them about the two disaster hunts my dad took me on, and I couldn't tell the story without laughing. Well, they start laughing and cracking up, and they don't even know why I'm laughing. At this point, I can't continue the story because I'm about to bust, and we all laugh loud and uncontrollably. At this point, I realize that we aren't going to be taking home a deer for all the money we spent. However, I realized something else: the trips my dad and I took weren't a disaster. They made me laugh, and I realize now that hunting wasn't about killing a deer, it was about spending a moment with my sons that I will never, ever forget.

 

[Sooner-Tuf]

City Boys

You guys have hit upon on something that is more important than just putting goat meat in the freezer. It is quality time with people that you love. For me and my kids it was a better way to learn respect for one another than the typical time most families spend together.
I almost never watch TV unless its a game. I can't honestly say I have sat down and watched a whole movie on the TV in my life. But getting outside and doing something, anything, with your kids is better than being a spectator of anything.

Enjoy your time with your young ones as it passes way too quickly and you can't regain it. I like to hear stories such as these, I don't think there is near enough of them happening. Kudos to you guys for being good family men.

 

[Lat22]

Great post. On some of my all time favorite days of hunting, a trigger was never pulled.

 

[NickDanger]

About 5 years ago, maybe 6, I asked my son if he was really interested in hunting. I had a lease halfway between Freer and Laredo and it wasn't free. I told him that he didn't have to like hunting to please me and that if he didn't like hunting, we could do something else and save the money spent on the lease. He said: "Dad. I'm just not crazy about going out into nature and shooting at it".

Well, how on earth can you argue with that? So, I sold the trailer and got off the lease, etc. The next hunting season my son asks me: "Dad, when are we going hunting?" I responsed: "Son, you told me you didn't like hunting" and he told me "Well, I don't want to kill anything, but I like spending the time with you".

We since got real involved with scouts and he has actually killed several deer on his own volition (with no encouragement from me), but the story illustrates that spending time with your children is important to both parent and child.

My father is currently gravely ill and the only thing that brightens his day is to have a child or grandchild come to visit. If only for 5 minutes.

 

[Uncle Rico]

great post and your honesty on your perception of hunting is cool.

I agree with Lat 22 that some of my best hunts resulted in nothing shot. To me, the "worst" part of hunting is having to pull the trigger and kill something.

hunting is a chance to sit out in the middle of nowhere sometimes with no TV and just a radio. it's quiet, peaceful and all you have is yourselves. it's a good way to learn a ton about your friends, your family and yourself.

the BEST times I've had deer hunting were listening to Texas ******* football in between hunts. nothing better than beer and Craig F'ing Way on the radio.

 

[Brisketexan]

Several years ago, my dad and I took off for an afternoon wadefishing session down in Galveston. As the light faded and we stood back at the car, unrigging our rods, etc., we paused and watched the last of the light on the waves fade. He said "this is a good thing I gave you -- the outdoors, the love of hunting and fishing."

"Yeah, it is."

My old man and I didn't always get along great, and honestly, never related to each other that well. There were plenty of times where the ONLY thing that we had in common was hunting and fishing.

Now, my kids practically BEG to go fishing with me, and my boy, who isn't really interested in critters, has nonetheless asked me about hunting. He's interested in me teaching him to shoot, and spending the time with him -- us doing something together.

It's funny. I remember a fishing trip with my dad when I was about 15. I hated the SOB about then. One night, I hooked a gorgeous flounder (a solid 24 inches plus) -- it would have been the catch of the trip. As I bring it to the side, my dad goes down with the landing net. The fish turned, threw the hook, and was gone. He was flailing at it with the net, while I laughed, telling him to forget it. He was genuinely upset -- because he wanted ME to catch that fish. It was the sledghammer over the head that told me that my old man loved me, even if I hated him.

Two weeks ago, I was fishing with my old man and my 7 yr old daughter off the intracoastal. She reeled in, claiming that she had something. As I looked into the water, I saw the shape of a flounder. I told her to stop reeling while I ran to get the net. She reeled in, and I scooped up a nice flounder . . . just short of legal size. She was thrilled and excited just the same. It was the best fish we caught that day (my old man caught a potato chip flounder and an undersized red. And yes, I caught NOTHING). When we got back to the house, I was bragging on her, and my daughter said, with utter sincerity, "but daddy, I'm sad that you didn't catch anything." That moment told me both that my daughter has a heart bigger than Texas, but when I told her "you don't understand, I;m so happy for YOU, that YOU caught a fish," I realized that I was having that same moment my dad had on that trip with me in 1985.

For the rest of my days, I will be more excited when one of my kids catches one fish, or bags one duck, than I would be if I brought home a limit. I knew, but now I really understand -- that's what it's all about.

 

[coachkiss]

One day, my dad in my fourth grade class wearing overalls. It was out of character since he was a successful CPA and it was the middle of tax season. When he got me out of class, he told me we were going fishing. It turned out to be a miserable day with line being hung on tree branches, nothing being caught and a waste of my time in his time (in my eyes).

I hated fishing. I couldn't stand it. My idea of fishing had been tainted by bobbers and worms and hours and hours of waiting. As a young impatient man, I didn't want anything to do with fishing.

My MIL and FIL are different than me. They loved to go fish in the pond beside their house, and they taught my wife to enjoy it, and my oldest son grew to enjoy it. However, my wife would take him and I would not. My son really started to get pretty good (catching fish and putting on his own bait). So, I started to get some interest in it.

Fast forward a few months, and I'm hooked (pardon the pun). It is our favorite family outing. We all fish -- my wife, my 9, my 4, my 2, but not my 6 mo. We are always looking for a couple of free hours to head to a private pond and fish. I find it to be one of the things I can do to really, really relax. It has taught me patience. It has taught me to let go. It has taught me to not take things so seriously.

Though my dad tried, it's amazing that I had to learn these lessons from a nine year-old boy. My son has taught me a lot of things about life that I was too stubborn to learn from my dad.

I see so much of my four year-old in me. He wants to change baits all the time. He gets bored. He gets upset when his brother catches something and he doesn't. He hangs up the line. He wants to put on lures that are expensive and won't catch fish in the water we are fishing. At those moments, I realize that my dad loved me enough to put up with me on a trip that he knew wasn't going to be fun for himself, and I realize that he truly loved me and still does.

 

[Beef]

Great post.

I grew up hunting and it is a major part of my life. A lot of people just do not understand that there is more to hunting than taking an animal.

 

[MustangOrange]

I have similar memories with my dad from offshore fishing. The best memories aren't the marlin, wahoo or tuna caught (although those are good memories), it's the time spent between four and seven a.m. up on the bridge driving out to the fishing grounds fifty miles offshore. Especially once you can't see land anymore and all you see are thousands and thousands of stars.

Sunrise while wade fishing produces similar memories.

 

[CaboWabo]

I didn't see the word "beer" in your post. Was this just an oversight?

 

[Gate_of_Horn]

Ah, beer and rifles, what could go wrong?

The beer was after the rifles were put away and hunting for the day was over. It was served in large, cold, frosty goblets that looked like miniature goldfish bowls at the local BBQ pit. When you are drinking ice-cold beer and eating sausage, brisket and ribs after a long day of hunting the elusive hart, with your father at the table and half the people in the place wearing realtree, it sort of feels like you are feasting at a Hall in Valhalla.