I was really excited to be the high bidder on the hunt at JC's and Miss Kim's, and was even more excited to get to spend the time with my good telephone friend and bowyer Bob Morrison. I was finally going to get to meet all of them in person, as well as Chase and Conner Coots, who are two fine boys. The Coots are a wonderful example of the kind of intelligent, well-informed, hard-working, Christian families that represent the best of America. And Bob Morrison is cut from the same cloth. I could not have spent a weekend of hunting, eating, shooting, talking and just plain relaxing with a better group of people. By the time I left, I had become close friends with all of them. In life we are always hunting for something. This past weekend my best hunting was rewarded by being able to take with me the close friendship with five of the best people I have ever had the privilege to know. If someone does not consider that to be the ultimate successful hunt, then he has the wrong goals in his life. I want to thank JC, Kim, Chase, Conner and Bob for one of the best hunts and best experiences of my life.
JC mentioned that we were all shooting Morrison bows. Actually, the house had Morrisons scattered all over it. I had brought a Cheyenne and an ILF Mini 14 with the Dakota "C" longbow limbs. Bob brought two ILF Mini 14 bows -- one with Dakota limbs and one with recurve limbs. My ILF is only 56 inches long and draws smoothly to my 29 1/2 inch draw length. Bob had the same 56 inch length in his longbow and a 54 inch recurve. His draw length is only 26 inches, so it was amazing to me that I could shoot the same short bow he was shooting. That short ILF riser using the "C" limbs gives a fairly long working limb that lets me shoot a short bow with no problem. JC and Chase were both shooting 56 inch Morrison bows too -- Shawnees with the "A" risers and "B" limbs. All of us had the new foam core, carbon backed limbs and we all agreed those limbs were the best we had ever shot. Bob suggested that I not shoot JC's or Chase's Shawnees because the "B" limbs were too short at my long draw and it was possible to overstress the limbs. JC's draw length is only 27 inches while Chase draws about 25 inches, so they are fine with the "B" limbs. The bows performed exceptionally well, and all the shooters did their part too as we spent many sessions putting arrows in targets and roaming around doing our "stump shooting". Bob and I kept telling JC that the ILF with the Dakota limbs was our favorite bow and that he ought to get one. He told us that his Shawnee was his all time favorite and he had no intention of getting anything different, especially since he had other bows sitting on his rack that he rarely shot after getting the Shawnee. We encouraged JC to try Bob's ILF bow that was tuned to shoot Bob's arrows at a draw length just an inch shorter than JC's draw. On the first shot JC hit his rubber target about two inches high of center. After JC adjusted his brain for the sight picture of the bow, the next judo point tipped arrow literally blew a hole through the exact center of the target where it had been weakened by prior broadhead penetrations. JC's third arrow went through the same quarter sized hole without even touching the rubber! Needless to say, Bob went home with an order for a new ILF bow with the Mini 14 riser and some foam core, carbon backed Dakota "C" limbs for JC! It is an unbelievable bow and is my favorite of all of Bob's creations. It's Bob's favorite too.
Chase is going to be a fantastic shooter as he gets older and can hold his own with the adults already. We enjoyed all the hunting and shooting we did with this fine young man of 13 years. Conner promised to go out with us next time we are there. This time he was distracted by football practice and his post workout relaxation with video games. Chase and Conner are a blessing to JC and Kim and are good examples of their traditional Christian upbringing. We could not have asked for two finer youngsters to spend time around.
JC and his family have a beautiful log home that they helped build themselves on a lovely, hilly acreage in northern Georgia. They have all sorts of animal pets in addition to the wild animals that roam the woods and pastures surrounding their house. We hunted the first morning on nearby public land and then did the rest of the hunting on the Coots land. JC had shown Bob and me numerous trail cam pictures of deer around the stands we would be hunting from, so we knew deer had been in those spots. Unfortunately, someone must have told the deer that two out of state hit men were headed their way, because none of the ones in the photographs ever dared to come around the stands while Bob and I were there. We did see a few deer wandering around at a distance when were driving down the roads, walking back from our stands or sitting around the house, however none of those deer seemed interested in getting within range of our arrows. Bob kept kidding JC by saying that if JC would come up to Ohio, Bob would put him on some deer that he would actually be able to shoot. JC and Kim were sick about the fact that no deer were willing to sacrifice their lives to satisfy our craving for blood, but Bob and I assured them that the hunt was a great success without meat on the game pole.
One of my favorite times of the trip was our stump shooting session following our final hunt on Sunday morning. Bob, Chase, JC and I headed for the woods with our bows and arrows and big smiles on our faces from three great days together. Bob was the first one to pick a target -- a gray spot on the ground about 25 yards in the distance. JC shot first and hit the center of the spot. A loud noise erupted. Unfortunately, Bob had picked a rock to shoot at! Now JC had one trashed arrow. The rest of us decided to pick a different target. Most of the shots proved that if a deer had come within 20 yards of any of our stands it would have ended up in the freezer. Those deer were wise to avoid us. Bob had brought along several of the new Extreem 300 grain three blade broadheads he is now selling. They are super tough and very well made. JC and Bob shot them through many targets, into the dirt, across rocky surfaces and otherwise subjected them to more abuse than any broadhead should ever be required to experience. Surprisingly, there was almost no damage despite these informal torture tests. The only indication of any use at all was that the broadheads got dirty and a little less sharp and one of them had a tiny flat spot on one blade edge where it had struck a rock with sufficient force to cause sparks to fly! Even at $25 each, I placed my order for half a dozen. I know the only way I will ever need to replace any of those six is if I lose them because they are virtually indestructible. JC shot one of them all the way though the base of a sapling without any damage to the broadhead, however he destroyed his second arrow shaft trying to get the arrow out of the tree. Scratch two arrows for JC!
I was glad to be able to spend lots of time talking to JC and Bob about traditional gear and learn many things from their wealth of knowledge. Terry Green was supposed to show up and hunt some with us, but he got tied up with other things and couldn't break away. We all missed seeing him and getting to spend time with him. Terry missed some fun shooting and some great food that Kim fixed up for us with occasional help from JC. I think I gained a pound or so each day I was there. I know if I stayed there a few months I would double my weight. I thought I was going to be deprived of having any of Miss Kim's famous chocolate chip cookies since none appeared until shortly before Bob and I were scheduled to leave after lunch on Sunday. But sure enough, just before lunch we smelled the cookies baking in the oven. In addition to enjoying them as our lunch desert, Kim packed us care packages of the cookies to take with us. Those cookies are as delicious as they are reputed to be.
With some sadness, Bob and I packed our bags and put them in our vehicles. We hugged all the Coots goodbye and gave a fond farewell to a great hunt with a wonderful family. I can hardly wait to see Bob and the Coots again in the future and to share more good times with them. I can't say enough about how great these people are! Thank you JC, Kim, Chase, Conner and Bob for a wonderful time together and for a successful hunting experience despite the absence of any kills. I will treasure the memories!
Allan DeVore
Topic: St. Jude's Hunt at JC and Miss Kim's....let the games begin (Read 3046 times)
