The Chronicles of a Southern Family Living in the Middle South (Again)

I didn’t grow up hunting or fishing, although I did eventually do a bit of both with my high school best friend and his Dad. Caught some fish back in the day, but never took a deer. After retiring and moving back South, my neighbor (who grew up locally and spends a lot of time in the woods or on the water) has been getting me back into both.

I saw two does on opening day of the ’21-22 season, but didn’t have a good shot, and never saw another deer that season. The ’22-23 season started out okay – saw a couple does on different outings, but missed both as they were on the run. That’s about the time a couple at our church offered to let me hunt their 20 wooded acres, at which point my luck changed for the better. I saw deer on all three of my first outings, but I either didn’t have a good shot, or the deer was on the wrong side of the fence line. Finally, while sitting in a tree stand, this little buck came walking by not 10 yards away. My neighbor drove out and showed me how to field dress it, and then how to skin and quarter once we got home. Due to my neighbor getting sick, I ended up having to watch online vids to see how to cut it up, and Beth said I did good!

Continue reading →