Howard's Buck

Yesterday, a good friend of mine named Howard came by for the afternoon to do a little hunting with his son. After a couple of hours the boy got antsy and ended up in front of a television screen playing video games. Howard, on the other hand, persevered.

I sent Howard to the stand closest to the river where I have seen several bucks this season. Within 5 minutes I see a group of turkey running liked they've been spooked, and then I hear "bang". I radio Howard on the two-way and he says "I got me a buck!". Ignoring for the moment his grammatical error, I got very excited and soon joined him over this nice, little 4-point. This was Howard's 4th deer, but his first experience with field dressing an animal. He did really well and we were soon back to the ranch where Howard got to tell his son "the story".

The story, that's what it's really all about. Those little details, the suspense, the mistakes, and the eventual triumph. I love hearing these stories, and as you know by now, I love telling them.

The interesting parts of this story? The turkey, and this buck, were spooked by some kayakers on the river (it was a very warm day, about 60 degrees). The buck ran right in front of Howard, and then came to a stop only about 30 yards out. What a gift. (I wonder if the guys in the kayak ducked when they heard the shot?)