"The Lucky Deer Hunt" by Kyle Van Camp

This is a story about a warm day of deer hunting in the Mississippi Delta.  It's early November and the cool air from the north has not quite set in.  Temps for the day were in the low 80s or high 70s, a non-typical day of deer hunting for these parts, especially for the time of year.  Archery season had just turned to primitive weapon season for Mississippi, and it felt like it was the middle of June.  In Mississippi, you can use a bow all throughout the hunting season, and a bow is all I had.  I had not quite committed to buying a muzzleloader yet.  I drove to my camp on Thursday to go bow hunting for a long weekend of excitement.  I did not have much luck for the first few days of archery hunting, but that did not disappoint me because I live for hunting -- from the glory of accomplishment to the boredom of unsuccess.  After my long, hot morning of deer hunting Saturday, I drove my ATV back to the lodge where I met up with all the hunters and we discussed our hunts that morning over a filling breakfast.  They all had gone muzzleloading that morning and several of them had some action killing the required does for the year.  The hunters were all plumped up from breakfast, and were all getting their mid day nap to rest  up for their afternoon hunt soon to come.  Well, I'm not so old that I needed a nap!  I wanted to go muzzleloading and actually have some luck! 

I asked one of my friends if I could use his muzzleloader to go deer hunting right now and I'd bring it back before he woke up for his afternoon deer hunt.  He thought I was crazy for going out in the heat of the day to go deer hunting, but he did not mind if I really wanted to go, so I got all suited up.  I was raring to go, knowing I would not have much luck in the heat, but I was determined.  I set out at 11:00 in the morning at the peak of the heat during the day.  I knew the deer would not be moving and the only way I would have any luck would be to go stalking and find them bedded up somewhere. 

If you have ever seen the Mississippi Delta you understand the challenges.  I did not see a thing and was about to have a heat stroke from the long walking, so I finally gave up.  I had never been hunting and NOT seen something, so I was upset.  It was around 1:00 now and I had just returned to my ATV, headed back to the camp in shame.  I was preparing myself to tell the guys they were right while I was on my way back to the hunting lodge, but as I was riding down the main road on our property I saw two deer feeding in a wheat crop around 800 yards away.  I was probably going around 35 MPH when I immediately turned the key to the ATV off, grabbed my gun and jumped off with it still rolling down the road.  I was pretty excited... It felt like it was the first deer I had ever seen.  I was going to show those guys I could do anything when it comes to hunting.  I had to cross a creek that was thigh-deep to get to where the deer where feeding.  My buddies know nothing will stop me when it comes to hunting, so I took my short boots and socks off and rolled up my pants getting ready to take the plunge.  It may have been hot outside but the water was bone-chilling!  I left everything behind and took off with just my gun, pants and shirt.  I crawled through broomsage and briars for about 200 yards and now was about 250 yards away.  I then belly-crawled to the edge of the wheat field where I got into a good shooting position.

This entire time I thought that it was just a couple of does out feeding late, but that's when I realized that one of them was a buck.  At that distance that buck didn't look that big and at my camp we are fined if we shoot one under the size regulations.  I decided that he is too small to shoot and I set my aim on the doe.  The buck sneaked off into the sage where I could not see him anymore.  Now I'm committed to shooting the doe.  I was not going to let this one get away after all that I had been through, but as soon as I was about to pull the trigger on this doe, the buck walked back into sight.  I thought I better take another look at this buck.

After studying him very closely, I came to the conclusion that it was an alright buck.  Now, we only get one buck per year on this property, so I figured this was going to be my buck.  The deer was at an extremely far distance, and for a rifle it would be risky.  I could miss the buck or even worse, wound the deer and have him suffer for a long time.  I was confident with my shooting abilities that I could make the shot, but truthfully, I had never shot this muzzleloader before.  Every hunter knows that guns shoot differently, and I did not know this gun.  I guessed I didn't really have anything to loose, so I took the shot.  I could hear the discharge of the gun and it felt like I san there a minute and finally heard the thud of the bullet hitting the body of the deer.  I jumped up and ran toward the deer who was running away thought the wheat field. 

The buck disappeared through the trees and I was not far behind him.  I stopped about ten yards in front of the woods and reload another round into my gun.  While I was doing this, I could hear some thrashing in the leaves in the woods.  The woods soon turned into a ravine, where I heard the thrashing again.  I heard it one more time and that's all it dtook for me to go barreling down the steep slope through briars over my head.  I was still barefooted, but my adrenaline was pumping so fast I didn't even care.  I ran through it anyway, falling down and doing front flips on my way down.  That's when I started searching through the river bottom.  There he was dead, "Yes!  I got my buck!"  But I still didn't know how big he really was until I bend down to pick his head up, and when I grabbed the  horns, I could barely reach around the bases.  I dropped to my knees and started crying right then and there!  I was praying and thanking God for letting me bag such a beautiful buck.  Then I jumped up and ran full speed right through the briars as fast as I could go back to the ATV.  I stripped down to just my pants and swam that cold creek, throwing everything in the bushes.  I jumped on the ATV and laid the peddle down all the way back to the lodge.  I was wet and cold and crying my eyes out!  I was happier than I had ever been in my whole life.  This is one of the funniest and luckiest deer hunting adventures I have ever had, and I know that there will be many more to come.