When old timers talk....a kayak "bow hike" scouting journey w/ pics soon

[Basil_K]

Awesome thread. Would love to hear how this story played out.

[Brock]

...well pete made it to that oak ridge by canoe and placed his stand carefully.  the wind was from the north west....brisk enough to make goosebumps come out on your neck but steady enough to keep from swirling.  a few does filtered around the edges looking for browse as the sun warmed them in their winter coats....and the hunter waited, thinking of the history and stories before him by old Joe.

Suddenly a large body was drifting through the trees like a ghost...stopping and starting not making a sound even though the ground was still frosty and the leaves were dry.  Suddenly there he was at 8 yards, looking back on his trail from where he came....totally oblivious to the presence of pete and his intentions for the moment.

Pete placed tension on the string, focusing on a tuft of hair that was white against a background of tawny brown....his vision became narrow and concentrated as he reached full draw.  Suddenly he heard laughter...and the buck was gone.  He let down the bow...

who was that?  there it was again, more laughter...or was it the wind?  

then he smiled...>old Joe was punishing him for sharing his journey and not abiding by the golden rules of story telling (THIS STORY IS WORTHLESS WITHOUT PICS)

so old Joe laughted and busted him on his deer for keeping us waiting on TradGang for two years without closure!!!!!
             :cool:  


If this is true it has the potential to be a great read....the historical talks with Joe....visiting the mysterious hunting grounds.....hunting those grounds as promised...and if successful or not, finding old Joe (through center registrations or something..just watch HIPAA laws) and then share the story with old Joe, God willing he is still with us....or his family at the least.  Could be a book of itself....or a full story in one of our favorite rags at minimum.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Pete, I am a patient man, but its running out    

Thanks for bringing this back up Killie!

Enjoy your swim therapy!

[ti-guy]

Geee!! I tought I missed it!  :confused:

[Basil_K]

Brock I nominate you to tell all my stories from now on!

[Badwithabow]

man this started out so well... i'm on the edge of my seat wanting some kinda closure

[eflanders]

As stated previously the big ghost was was startled out of there initially.  But now Pete knew that the 'ol timer wasn't lying about the place.  Pete figured it was best to back out of there only to return another time.  A time when the wind was right and when the 'ol timer would approve.  

It took nearly a month before Pete felt the timing was right to return.  By now the river was starting to freeze at the edges.  There were traces of snow in the shadows of the woods.  Pete did his best to approach the stand quietly.  It took nearly an hour to do so as he slowly, carefully stepped quietly toward the stand before first light.

As the darkness began to fade to light, Pete could hear the birds and other creatures awaken to the dawn.  A cold brisk wind began to blow as the darkness faded and the suns rays began to peak through the snow laden clouds.  Snap!  Mistakenly the monarch of the woods stepped on a brittle twig as he arose from his hiding grounds.  

Pete heard the twig but was sharp enough to know that he shouldn't move even his head to see where the sound came from.  It took an hour or so for the monarch to be seen by Pete as he slowly scanned his surroundings.  The monarch stood almost motionless as he scanned his surroundings, smelled the air and carefully listened for intruders.

Would this be the time?  Was the wind favorable?  Would the ol' timer approve?

The monarch took forever to move just a few feet always searching, smelling and listening to the surroundings. By this time the wind had picked up and was bitterly cold. But Pete couldn't feel a thing.  His focus was intense, his stare was imense and he was afraid to move in fear of startling the monarch.

The clouds covered the new sun by now and the rain/snow mix came down steadily.  The monarch then bedded down without making a single sound.  Pete could hardly see him anymore because of the weather and because the monarch lay next to a trio of large oaks.  Another hour passed and Pete's mind began to question what to do next.  Should he stay put?  Should he try to stalk up?  Or would it be best to back out quietly due to the bad weather?

Another hour passed and now the snow/rain mix changed to all rain.  Pete was soaked but the monarch never moved.  Pete knew that this was the perfect time to either back out quietly or to make a stalk.  Pete slowly, carefully, quietly moved down from the stand.  He was very  careful not to make a sound.  As he reached the ground, the rain paused to just a drizzle.  Pete stood motionless at the base of the stand using the trees as background cover.  A squirrel danced playfully on the ground ahead but didn't make much noise on the wet ground as he searched frantically for acorns.

Pete stared relentlessly at the monarch trying to notice any movement or the tell-tale signs of getting nervious.  He moved ever so slowly and silently towards the big deer making sure the wind was in Pete's face.  In about an hours time, Pete was able to move within 20 yards of the monarch.  But the brute's vitals were still not visable for a shot due to the way it was laying by the base of the old oak tree.

Pete shivered from the cold wind and the wet but remained undistracted from his quest.  Suddenly the wind swirled and the monarch caught a whiff of something unusual.  The monarch sprang to his feet and was ready to bolt away.  But for some reason, he didn't.  Instead he looked directly at Pete.  Pete's heart sank as he knew his chances for a good shot were now likely to run out of there like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

The stare-down lasted for what seemed like hours.  The monarch and Pete both were totally motionless.  Suddenly the playful squirrel noticed Pete and barked out his disapproval of the intruder.  The squirrel's alarm caused the big buck to turn quickly but slightly quartering away.  Pete instinctively drew his bow quickly and released the wooden shaft into the vital area of the monarch.  The monarch jumped kicking his rear legs into the air and ran only 20 yards away to gasp his final breath.  Pete watched the monarch fall and was certain of his shot.  He waited for at least another 45 minutes to make certain the monarch didn't move another muscle again.  Just then the sun began to peak out between the clouds as if the 'ol timer himself was looking down upon Pete in approval as Pete began to prepare the big monarch for the long journey home in the canoe.

[Robert Honaker]

alright pete...I saw you posted today, so where's the rest of the story???  

[ron w]

 It has been a while........

[Robert Cunfer]

Hello Pete, Joe gave you a gift of his treasured hunting spot. I am with Killdeer about giving back to Joe, share the pics you took of the area and stories of future hunts there with him.....Bobby

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Still waiting    :rolleyes:

[4dogs]

[al221]

I read all theses pages, great story! Look forward to the rest.

[Sockrsblur]

Is this story really from 2010???  
LOL thats funny!

[ron w]

May not be a story to tell      

[bowtough]

DANG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!