One Way or the Other BY: M.D. Mynhier Kris and I slipped down toward “The Stump” in the blackness at its deepest that comes prior to dawn. It was muzzle-loading season and we had decided to hunt together, facing opposite directions and whichever way the buck came, that was the one to take the shot. Once we made it to “The Stump,” we sat on a downed log that had fallen alongside “The Stump.” We were shoulder to shoulder facing away from each other as the sky slowly changed from coal black to the gray of oncoming dawn. I sipped from a mug of coffee as Kris placed a chew between his cheek and gum just before the forest world came fully alive. Birds chirped and squirrels bounded from tall oaks to scamper along the dead, dry leaves driving us nuts because they can sound exactly like a deer walking. It wasn’t long before I felt Kris shift his weight and bring his rifle up to the ready. I whispered, “See one?” He didn’t answer. So, I asked again in a whisper but by then I could hear it too. It was all but upon us before it cleared the underbrush and gave him an open shot. I heard him cock the hammer back and could feel him shoulder the rifle. There was the boom just before smoke rolled from the barrel. I quickly readied for a back-up shot or if a second buck was running with the one he had just shot. I looked over the stump toward the sound of the deer running. Just as I stood and raised my rifle, the buck crashed into a downed treetop filled with briars and saplings. I knew the sound. The buck was finished. We grinned at each other just before making our way to the buck. Kris’s aim had been true and we admired the stocky body and thick neck before dragging it free of the thick brush. In a matter of minutes we had it field dressed and had placed the heart and liver inside the body cavity. We dragged it out of the woods to the truck and I was pleased that “The Stump” had paid off again. This was the one and only time that I had been beside Kris as he took a buck and I was happier that the deer had come his way than I would have ever been if it had been me taking the shot.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 02:43:00 +0000
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