Squinted eyes slowly scan thick , grassy cover . At first , nothing . No movement . No sounds . Just the soft , intermittent breeze . Then , there it is — a flash of brown in the brush . Seconds go by , and then a 5-point buck materializes 80 yards away .
Moving slowly , I ease my Remington 700 onto the treestand gun rest , peer through the scope and settle the crosshairs . A deep inhale , a slow exhale , and then thunder erupts in the valley . The 5-pointer disappears as quickly and mysteriously as it appeared .
Thirty minutes later , I ’ m crawling on hands and knees through briars and honeysuckle . Thorns pierce my palms and fingers , but I don ’ t notice it . I ’ m laser-focused on the specks of blood in front of me .
After another 30 minutes of slithering through a sea of brambles a dog tick couldn ’ t crawl through , I finally see a small patch of hair . Clawing myself forward , that patch materializes into an entire deer . I reach and grab hold of that dinky rack , but you ’ d have thought I held the world in my hands . And to me , I was . A first buck opened the door to a life in the outdoors , all thanks to someone who handed me the key .
MAKING A HUNTER Creating a new hunter breathes life into our heritage . It gives hope to a declining tradition and way of life . While it ’ s an uphill battle , it ’ s one worth fighting .
According to the National Survey of Hunting , Fishing and Wildlife-Associated Recreation , in the past decade , hunter numbers have declined by almost 400,000 each year — a net loss of 4 million hunters in 10 years . That ’ s on you . And that ’ s on me .
Guy “ Papaw ” Cole bagged his first buck when he was nearly 80 years old . The broken 9-point paused a bit too long before entering the timber .
HONEYCUTT CREATIVE ( 2 )
WINTER 2023 31