Bud fights bad fortune while deer season marches on
(Editor’s note: Despite his travails, Bud successfully bagged his second deer of the season Nov. 23. Congratulations, Bud!)
Did you ever have one of those days when everything goes wrong? I would bet money you have. Don’t feel alone. Unless you are remarkably rich, gifted, blessed, or just plain lucky -- and I am not one of those -- things can and will eventually go wrong.
I feel like the guys on the television show Hee Haw, singing "Gloom, Despair, and Agony on Me!” Let me inform you of my stressful situations lately.
As you know, I wait all year for deer hunting season to arrive. I had plans for being in my tree stand the biggest part of the seasons, but like you, I also have other responsibilities and commitments. Hunting season opened unseasonably warm, and that affected deer activity. And we were surrounded with standing corn.
I can't really complain because I have managed to see deer every time I have gone hunting. They are either too far away for a high percentage shot, or the ones that were within my shooting range were younger, smaller deer. Even though they were legal to shoot, there would not be much meat to fill the freezer.
I kept telling my wife that once they picked the corn and it cooled off, deer activity would increase, and they would be traveling inside the woods to avoid detection. Well, we had several doctor’s appointments that made hunting plans change, as well as several birthdays, anniversaries, and other things going on.
Like you, adjustments had to be made to my plans, but that is just part of the game.
Well, as my luck would have it, I had to buy new tires for my truck, and 20-inch tires are very, very expensive. I can’t complain because my old Ram is 11 years old and still had the original tires and battery in it. I knew the tires were getting worn, so I replaced them. I imagine the battery will decide to go out soon.
I got the truck ready to go, and then my ATV started having electric shift issues ... again. I had it worked on, and it was better, but eventually started acting up again.
I decided to eliminate the electronic shift system and install a foot shifter lever. I ordered the part and could not wait for it to arrive. I kept checking the shipping history. Somehow or another, it went from Indianapolis to Akron, Ohio. They returned it to Indianapolis, and it was shipped again to Akron, Ohio. Yes, it was delayed and finally arrived. The "Critter Getter" was back in operation.
We had a brief cold front come through the area, but I had a commitment and missed that day. The following day I went up and had a small doe walk in and bed down less than 15 yards from me. She laid there from 4:00 p.m. until 5:45 p.m. I just sat there and watched her, hoping she would gain maybe 45-50 pounds, but nope, she didn’t. It was fun watching her.
Later that evening, I did dispatch a coyote that made the mistake of reacting to my "rabbit in distress" call. Let's just say there is one less fawn killer in the area. The landowner had also lost several cats and kittens, and his dog had been attacked by coyotes.
As if all that bad luck wasn't stressful enough, I drove up to the area and climbed into my ladder stand. I cocked my crossbow and climbed into the stand. I used the haul line to raise my crossbow and got settled in for the afternoon and evening.
I placed my arrow bolt into the shooting rail, and it acted funny. The arrow bolt kept sliding forward, which isn't normal. I looked and noticed the arrow bolt retention brush was missing. This was an odd situation. I had never faced it before.
In order for the crossbow to fire, the arrow bolt has to be completely inserted to activate the firing system. I checked further and discovered the firing system was completely jammed and would not fire. I lost about five hours of hunting because I decided it was useless to remain in the stand and hunt if the crossbow was incapable of shooting, especially if a big buck walked by. I would have to throw rocks at him.
I took my crossbow to a trusted friend, and we worked on it. But we could not correct the issue. Then, another problem occurred. The company manufacturing the crossbow is located in Florida, and they suffered severe damage from the two hurricanes. They were basically closed until repairs or relocation could be completed.
Great.
Right smack dab in the middle of archery season, my crossbow is down. I was planning to call customer service and ship it to them to have it repaired. I admit I had been dreaming of buying a new crossbow, but with the recent financial outpouring, I was hoping to get a couple more years of service out of my current crossbow.
My wife asked me what I was going to do. I didn't want to end my archery hunting so early. We discussed it, and I made a drive to visit my friends at Bass & Bucks in Wabash. I was amazed at the huge selection of crossbows they had available and how many improvements have been made in crossbows in just a few short years.
Josh Butcher has been one of my friends for several years, and he is the archery guru there. He assisted me and showed me basically every crossbow they had on display. He answered all my questions and offered me some very helpful advice. I ended up purchasing a crossbow I had always dreamed of owning.
I purchased a new TenPoint crossbow. Josh assembled it and made a few adjustments. He even took me to their indoor archery range and helped me sight it in. I left the store indeed satisfied and appreciative of his assistance.
I am happy to say I am back hunting again, and I am the proud owner of a TenPoint crossbow. I lost a couple days of hunting, but I want to tell everybody that we all encounter difficult situations. We just have to learn to accept the bad days with the good days and the good times with the bad times.
Deer hunting has been one of my many enjoyments. I have enjoyed more success than most, but hopefully, the bad situations have ended. Like my father always told me, "Everyone gets knocked down. You just have to get back up and move forward."
That is what I am doing, and I hope to get better cooperation from the deer!