1 00:00:05,080 --> 00:00:08,719 Speaker 1: Welcome to This Country Life. I'm your host, Brent Reeves 2 00:00:09,160 --> 00:00:12,559 Speaker 1: from coon hunting to trotlining and just in general country living. 3 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:14,400 Speaker 1: I want you to stay a while as I share 4 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:19,040 Speaker 1: my experiences in life lessons. This Country Life is presented 5 00:00:19,079 --> 00:00:23,320 Speaker 1: by Case Knives from the store More Studio on Meat 6 00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:27,280 Speaker 1: Eaters Podcast Network, bringing you the best outdoor podcast that 7 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:31,319 Speaker 1: airways have to offer. All right, friends, grab a chair 8 00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:34,640 Speaker 1: or drop that tailgate. I've got some stores to share. 9 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:45,760 Speaker 1: Never give up, but know when to say when. Never 10 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:48,919 Speaker 1: give up great words to live by, and they're usually 11 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:53,400 Speaker 1: easier to say than to practice. I've got two examples 12 00:00:53,440 --> 00:00:57,120 Speaker 1: today where never giving up plays out in two different ways. 13 00:00:57,680 --> 00:00:59,760 Speaker 1: Now I'm going to tell you about mine, but first 14 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:09,200 Speaker 1: I'm going to tell you about this one. Today's story 15 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:13,520 Speaker 1: comes from this Country Life listener Dylan Ray. Dylan teaches 16 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:18,240 Speaker 1: world geography and history in Dayton, Texas, the home of 17 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:22,800 Speaker 1: the Dayton Broncos Gold Brocos. A few years ago, Dylan 18 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:25,440 Speaker 1: was pastoring the youth at his church before he became 19 00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:28,680 Speaker 1: a teacher, and it was during that time the following 20 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:34,280 Speaker 1: story unfolds. So, in Dylan's words, in my voice, here 21 00:01:34,319 --> 00:01:41,160 Speaker 1: we go. In twenty twenty two, I was working at 22 00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:45,080 Speaker 1: a church as a full time youth pastor, which nobody 23 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:48,640 Speaker 1: enters into for the money. So with a wife and 24 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:52,240 Speaker 1: a new born at home, deer meat was an essential 25 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:55,320 Speaker 1: part of our diet, still is today and it's what 26 00:01:55,440 --> 00:01:58,960 Speaker 1: I've raised my girls on. I picked a weekend out 27 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:00,920 Speaker 1: for my dad my grant grand Paul to join me 28 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:04,440 Speaker 1: in the piney woods of East Texas, hunting the strip 29 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:07,160 Speaker 1: of public there that I had been going to for years. 30 00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:10,760 Speaker 1: The week of the trip, my boss, the senior pastor, 31 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:15,040 Speaker 1: tells me that that same Sunday, I would be preaching 32 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:17,200 Speaker 1: for the first time in the big church on the 33 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:23,800 Speaker 1: topic of gratitude, being grateful in all circumstances. This made 34 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:27,160 Speaker 1: me excited, but extremely nervous. I had not yet preached 35 00:02:27,160 --> 00:02:30,960 Speaker 1: in a big church. Talking to fifty teenagers on a 36 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:33,680 Speaker 1: Wednesday night seemed like a cake wall compared to a 37 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:38,600 Speaker 1: room of eight hundred grown colts. So I set off 38 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:40,680 Speaker 1: for the woods with my hunting gear and my laptop 39 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:43,320 Speaker 1: so I could work on the sermon during our downtime. 40 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:47,520 Speaker 1: We would hunt Thursday to Saturday and then come home Sunday. 41 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:51,280 Speaker 1: Today that I'd be preaching the first day and a 42 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:55,440 Speaker 1: half was very unproductive on the hunting side of things, 43 00:02:55,760 --> 00:02:59,040 Speaker 1: very little deer movement, warm temperatures in late November, and 44 00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:02,240 Speaker 1: I spent most of the hunt working on my sermon 45 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:06,639 Speaker 1: notes and the trees dead. The deer woods provide the 46 00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:10,400 Speaker 1: best atmosphere for writing sermons. In my opinion. It was 47 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:14,080 Speaker 1: a simple message, be grateful in all circumstances, no matter 48 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:19,400 Speaker 1: what's going on, find a reason to be thankful. The 49 00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:22,560 Speaker 1: primary verse to be used a psalm on eighteen This 50 00:03:22,639 --> 00:03:24,239 Speaker 1: is the day that the Lord has made, and I 51 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:28,920 Speaker 1: will rejoice and be glad in it. Now. On the 52 00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:32,040 Speaker 1: second evening, we were there with about thirty minutes of 53 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:34,760 Speaker 1: light left. I paused my sermon right and then focused 54 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:39,600 Speaker 1: on searching for the reason I was out there a deer. 55 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:47,760 Speaker 1: Suddenly I spotted the large body deer walking through the timber. 56 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:51,560 Speaker 1: It was most likely a mainframe ten point, but he 57 00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:55,640 Speaker 1: was missing most of his right side. However, meat was 58 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:58,360 Speaker 1: the primary reason for being out there, and this was 59 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:00,960 Speaker 1: a large deer, so to me he was a shooter. 60 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:04,720 Speaker 1: I gave him my whistle. I made an eighty yard 61 00:04:04,720 --> 00:04:08,080 Speaker 1: shot with my two seventy and it felt good when 62 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:10,640 Speaker 1: he ran. He did the old nose dive run and 63 00:04:10,680 --> 00:04:13,560 Speaker 1: went into the thickest line of pine trees and cedars 64 00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:16,320 Speaker 1: I'd ever seen, and he hit it so hard I 65 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:20,400 Speaker 1: hurt him crash deep in the thicket. I climbed down. 66 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:22,680 Speaker 1: I called my wife and let my dad know that 67 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:26,560 Speaker 1: I got a buck on the ground. Dad and Papaul 68 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:29,039 Speaker 1: were sitting there, so I decided that I would do 69 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:32,760 Speaker 1: the tracking and gutting on my own. To my surprise, 70 00:04:32,839 --> 00:04:35,120 Speaker 1: when I walked up to where he was standing when 71 00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:39,040 Speaker 1: I shot him, I could not find one speck of blood. 72 00:04:40,080 --> 00:04:42,240 Speaker 1: I searched a spot where he was standing for maybe 73 00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:47,000 Speaker 1: thirty minutes, still no blood. I got back in my 74 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:49,560 Speaker 1: tree several times to replay the shot to make sure 75 00:04:49,680 --> 00:04:52,479 Speaker 1: where he was standing when I pulled the trigger. Still 76 00:04:53,120 --> 00:04:57,360 Speaker 1: no sign of blood. At this point, I'm getting frustrated 77 00:04:57,400 --> 00:05:00,120 Speaker 1: because I know I should not enter that p and 78 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:02,359 Speaker 1: think it without a decent blood trail. I also know 79 00:05:02,839 --> 00:05:05,320 Speaker 1: I made a good hit and this deer should be 80 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:10,680 Speaker 1: dead somewhere, but I cannot find the blood trail. As 81 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:14,560 Speaker 1: it gets darker, I'm getting more upset. Even go to 82 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:16,920 Speaker 1: the last place I saw that deer before we went 83 00:05:16,960 --> 00:05:20,160 Speaker 1: in that thicket, thinking somewhere there has to be some 84 00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:24,400 Speaker 1: blood on the cedar branches, but still I find nothing. 85 00:05:25,640 --> 00:05:28,720 Speaker 1: At this point I realized I have also managed to 86 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:31,520 Speaker 1: leave my flashlight and my head lamp back in the truck. 87 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:35,760 Speaker 1: So now it's even more concerning. This daylight is fading. 88 00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:39,800 Speaker 1: All I have is my cell phone, and I still 89 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:51,400 Speaker 1: cannot find blood. This thing that he went into is 90 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:54,440 Speaker 1: so dense when you walk in at that time of day, 91 00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:58,640 Speaker 1: it's practically dark in there. I knew if I couldn't 92 00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:01,760 Speaker 1: find blood before dark, my dad and granddad wouldn't be 93 00:06:01,800 --> 00:06:04,240 Speaker 1: able to help me find this deer. With no trail 94 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:08,920 Speaker 1: or sign of blood, it would be nearly impossible to 95 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:12,960 Speaker 1: find him. Called my wife and I gave her an update, 96 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:17,119 Speaker 1: and immediately she could tell I was upset. I've shot 97 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:18,840 Speaker 1: this deer and I'm sure it was a good hit, 98 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:22,040 Speaker 1: but for some odd reason, there's no sign of it. 99 00:06:24,279 --> 00:06:26,760 Speaker 1: Rather than feeling sorry for me, she listens to my 100 00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:31,840 Speaker 1: complaints and then asked, what are you preaching about on Sunday? Well, 101 00:06:32,040 --> 00:06:34,760 Speaker 1: the question threw me off. I didn't even respond. I'm 102 00:06:34,800 --> 00:06:37,760 Speaker 1: telling her, Hey, this is serious. I may not find 103 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:42,120 Speaker 1: this deer. This trip is ruined. She responds with, what 104 00:06:42,360 --> 00:06:45,520 Speaker 1: are you preaching about on Sunday? What is the first? 105 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:51,520 Speaker 1: Confused to annoy it? I said, Psalm one eighteen. Why 106 00:06:51,720 --> 00:06:55,280 Speaker 1: she asked me to recite it? I do. This is 107 00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:58,479 Speaker 1: the day the Lord has made. She said, No, that's 108 00:06:58,520 --> 00:07:03,040 Speaker 1: not all. Go on, I will rejoice and be glad 109 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:06,680 Speaker 1: in it. She says, I'm going to hang up now, 110 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:10,560 Speaker 1: you need to pray and take five minutes and think 111 00:07:10,560 --> 00:07:16,440 Speaker 1: about being grateful. Then she hung up on me. Now 112 00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:19,280 Speaker 1: I'm even more frustrated, and some of it it's with 113 00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:23,880 Speaker 1: her here. I am about to lose a big deer, 114 00:07:23,960 --> 00:07:28,360 Speaker 1: and she's preaching in me. I'm the preacher. I go 115 00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:30,240 Speaker 1: back to the clearing and I take off all my 116 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:33,640 Speaker 1: extra gear, even lay my gun against a tree. And 117 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:37,000 Speaker 1: though I am frustrated, I take a deep breath and 118 00:07:37,040 --> 00:07:40,320 Speaker 1: then I pray a prayer and I will never forget. 119 00:07:41,480 --> 00:07:45,239 Speaker 1: I simply said, Lord, today is the day you've made. 120 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:50,480 Speaker 1: I choose to rejoice. I'm thankful for just being out 121 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:53,640 Speaker 1: here and the opportunity you just gave me. But I 122 00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:57,440 Speaker 1: will be sick if I cannot find this deer. So 123 00:07:57,520 --> 00:08:00,520 Speaker 1: I ask you to help me find it. You can 124 00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:02,880 Speaker 1: help me find them in that thicket without a blood trail. 125 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:07,040 Speaker 1: But even if you don't, I will be grateful today. 126 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:10,120 Speaker 1: Now with that, I turned back to that thicket and 127 00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:12,480 Speaker 1: I went right in where I saw him go. Now 128 00:08:12,480 --> 00:08:15,239 Speaker 1: I'm having to crawl to get through the cedar bushes, 129 00:08:15,280 --> 00:08:18,880 Speaker 1: and the brush is so thick. At this point, it's 130 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:22,200 Speaker 1: dark in the thicket, so all I have is my 131 00:08:22,240 --> 00:08:25,040 Speaker 1: cell phone light. And as I'm crawling, I'm coming up 132 00:08:25,080 --> 00:08:28,320 Speaker 1: on deer trails that go from left to right, here 133 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:31,920 Speaker 1: and there and backwards and forwards, still so thick that 134 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:35,600 Speaker 1: I have to stay hunched down. I can maneuver it 135 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:38,920 Speaker 1: through these deer lanes just a little easier. Now. I 136 00:08:38,920 --> 00:08:41,319 Speaker 1: don't know why I would take a left on this 137 00:08:41,400 --> 00:08:44,120 Speaker 1: trail and then take a right on that trail, but 138 00:08:44,679 --> 00:08:47,719 Speaker 1: I kept saying those words, Lord, take me to him, 139 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:52,440 Speaker 1: Take me to him. Lord. I still ain't found blood, 140 00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:55,120 Speaker 1: even on my hands and knees. I noticed that the 141 00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:58,160 Speaker 1: ground seems to be going uphill, so I push in 142 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:01,120 Speaker 1: that direction, thinking maybe it will open up, but I 143 00:09:01,160 --> 00:09:06,360 Speaker 1: can get a better vantage point. I kept mouthing those words, Lord, 144 00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:09,360 Speaker 1: take me to him, Take me to him. Finally I 145 00:09:09,400 --> 00:09:11,360 Speaker 1: get to a point in the thicket where I can stand. 146 00:09:11,920 --> 00:09:14,800 Speaker 1: I go to push towards my right through these thickets, 147 00:09:14,840 --> 00:09:17,800 Speaker 1: and I come around this big thick cedar tree and 148 00:09:17,880 --> 00:09:22,120 Speaker 1: my foot hit something hard and almost trip. I looked 149 00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:26,480 Speaker 1: down and I'm standing over him. I found that deer 150 00:09:26,720 --> 00:09:30,400 Speaker 1: seventy five yards deep in that thicket, without a speck 151 00:09:30,679 --> 00:09:35,000 Speaker 1: of blood. The bullet had lodged in his opposite shoulder, 152 00:09:35,480 --> 00:09:39,160 Speaker 1: did not leave an exit wound, hence the lack of blood. 153 00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:42,079 Speaker 1: But I double lugged him, and it was a fatal shot, 154 00:09:42,280 --> 00:09:44,960 Speaker 1: just like I knew it was. He was such a 155 00:09:44,960 --> 00:09:50,400 Speaker 1: big deer he was able to make it that far now. 156 00:09:50,480 --> 00:09:52,680 Speaker 1: The moment I saw him, I got emotional and I 157 00:09:52,760 --> 00:09:56,360 Speaker 1: literally was shaken. I couldn't speak. All I could say 158 00:09:56,440 --> 00:09:58,720 Speaker 1: is this is the day the Lord has made. I 159 00:09:58,760 --> 00:10:02,600 Speaker 1: will rejoice and be glad in it. We got him 160 00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:04,839 Speaker 1: loaded up and out of there, and the next day 161 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:08,400 Speaker 1: I traveled home and had more than enough notes prepared 162 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:11,920 Speaker 1: for my sermon that Sunday. By the time I went 163 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:14,400 Speaker 1: up to speak, I was hardly nervous at all, but 164 00:10:14,600 --> 00:10:19,480 Speaker 1: rather excited to share just how grateful I was, even 165 00:10:19,720 --> 00:10:24,840 Speaker 1: in what started to look like a bad circumstance and 166 00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:30,880 Speaker 1: according to Dylan Ray, that's just how that happened. Dylan 167 00:10:30,920 --> 00:10:34,120 Speaker 1: went on to say that he hopes this story encourages 168 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:37,120 Speaker 1: us to one never give up when you were certain 169 00:10:37,120 --> 00:10:40,200 Speaker 1: you made a good shot, and to be thankful in 170 00:10:40,240 --> 00:10:43,240 Speaker 1: all circumstances. It's a blessing we're able to do this. 171 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:47,400 Speaker 1: It's a blessing even being out there. We cannot afford 172 00:10:47,440 --> 00:11:00,480 Speaker 1: to ever lose sight of that, well, said Dylan. I agree, 173 00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:04,280 Speaker 1: and keeping with the theme, our friend Delan so eloquently 174 00:11:04,400 --> 00:11:07,640 Speaker 1: started us on. Let me tell y'all about the last 175 00:11:07,679 --> 00:11:10,200 Speaker 1: two weeks I spent bow hunting up in the show 176 00:11:10,280 --> 00:11:14,400 Speaker 1: Me State. Well, they showed me, all right, they showed 177 00:11:14,400 --> 00:11:17,720 Speaker 1: me that they don't care where I work, or that 178 00:11:17,880 --> 00:11:23,040 Speaker 1: while hunting is kind of my job, killing, ain't. I 179 00:11:23,040 --> 00:11:26,200 Speaker 1: got access to some new property, and man is it's sweet. 180 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:30,200 Speaker 1: Zero hunting pressure for quite a while, and a working 181 00:11:30,360 --> 00:11:34,000 Speaker 1: farm growing victles that dear love to Monty on, this 182 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:37,480 Speaker 1: is gonna be like shooting deer at the barrel. Now, 183 00:11:37,480 --> 00:11:39,480 Speaker 1: I ain't that crazy to actually think it's gonna be 184 00:11:39,559 --> 00:11:41,440 Speaker 1: that easy. But I didn't think it was gonna be 185 00:11:41,480 --> 00:11:44,720 Speaker 1: that hard either. I'd gotten the layer of the lamb 186 00:11:44,760 --> 00:11:48,280 Speaker 1: pretty squared away from back there in Turkey season, even 187 00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:50,480 Speaker 1: though I didn't walk but maybe twenty percent of what 188 00:11:50,559 --> 00:11:53,480 Speaker 1: I'd be hunting, I could see just about all of 189 00:11:53,520 --> 00:11:55,400 Speaker 1: it from the high ground on the north end of 190 00:11:55,400 --> 00:11:58,240 Speaker 1: the property. The rest of it I'd use all next 191 00:11:58,280 --> 00:12:01,120 Speaker 1: to do my scouting and determined element ridges and any 192 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:05,120 Speaker 1: questions I had, the landowner would answer for them. He 193 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:07,600 Speaker 1: also showed me some creek crossings and took me on 194 00:12:07,640 --> 00:12:10,880 Speaker 1: a property line tour. From there, I was on my own, 195 00:12:11,520 --> 00:12:15,040 Speaker 1: which is just how I like it. It's all part 196 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:17,200 Speaker 1: of the game and the process of figuring out where 197 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:21,079 Speaker 1: to go and when to go. Sell Cameras are good 198 00:12:21,120 --> 00:12:23,640 Speaker 1: and to me, I enjoy using them and watching what's 199 00:12:23,679 --> 00:12:26,480 Speaker 1: happening when I ain't there, But I don't live and 200 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:29,200 Speaker 1: die by them. But I think they're a great tool 201 00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:31,880 Speaker 1: to keeping the toolbox. To me, there's a lot of 202 00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:35,160 Speaker 1: tools that are in there, just like my regular toolbox. 203 00:12:35,840 --> 00:12:38,800 Speaker 1: You can't build or fix everything with just a hammer 204 00:12:38,920 --> 00:12:42,520 Speaker 1: or just a socket set, and that ten millimeters socket 205 00:12:42,559 --> 00:12:46,040 Speaker 1: is always missing anyway. It takes a whole box of 206 00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:48,360 Speaker 1: tools to get the job done. Knowing the land is 207 00:12:48,400 --> 00:12:53,560 Speaker 1: first and foremost, and everything else is secondary as much 208 00:12:53,600 --> 00:12:55,560 Speaker 1: fun as figuring out where to put out a camera. 209 00:12:56,280 --> 00:12:58,520 Speaker 1: It's just as much fun to me to post up 210 00:12:58,559 --> 00:13:02,200 Speaker 1: somewhere and wash see what the deer are doing from 211 00:13:02,200 --> 00:13:06,080 Speaker 1: a distance. My buddy Jordan Bliss had suggested that after 212 00:13:06,160 --> 00:13:08,440 Speaker 1: I showed him a screenshot of that farm and asked 213 00:13:08,520 --> 00:13:11,400 Speaker 1: him if anything stuck out to him about the property. 214 00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:14,719 Speaker 1: A friend that those deer inside out and how they 215 00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:17,880 Speaker 1: liked a mosy around is another two that comes in handy, 216 00:13:17,920 --> 00:13:22,520 Speaker 1: and Jordan is one of those folks. He referenced a 217 00:13:22,559 --> 00:13:24,720 Speaker 1: couple of places that I thought would be good, and 218 00:13:24,760 --> 00:13:27,320 Speaker 1: that gave me a boost of confidence that what I 219 00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:30,000 Speaker 1: was looking at and potentially seeing was what he was 220 00:13:30,040 --> 00:13:33,480 Speaker 1: seeing too. So I held out the first morning and 221 00:13:33,520 --> 00:13:36,720 Speaker 1: I didn't go. I waited for that evening and sitting 222 00:13:36,800 --> 00:13:39,760 Speaker 1: Numero Uno had me crawling up in an old lean 223 00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:41,840 Speaker 1: up stand that I'd seen in the corner of a 224 00:13:41,880 --> 00:13:45,800 Speaker 1: field back in the spring. I spied it when I 225 00:13:45,800 --> 00:13:48,920 Speaker 1: was putting the old Daniel Boone sneakeroo on a goblin turkey, 226 00:13:49,760 --> 00:13:52,160 Speaker 1: one that is still amongst the living, I might add. 227 00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:55,959 Speaker 1: I didn't test it that day, but it looked solid 228 00:13:56,080 --> 00:13:58,960 Speaker 1: enough and it had been there so long that the 229 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:02,320 Speaker 1: top brace of that buddy stand had been consumed by 230 00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:05,440 Speaker 1: the trunk of that black walnut tree was leaning up against. 231 00:14:06,400 --> 00:14:08,760 Speaker 1: I brought a set of climbing sticks in a platform 232 00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:11,839 Speaker 1: and had an alternate tree already picked out. Had that 233 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:17,120 Speaker 1: stand been sketchy in any way, I ain't trusting the 234 00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:19,200 Speaker 1: quality or the link to the rest of my life 235 00:14:19,200 --> 00:14:22,960 Speaker 1: to convenience or someone else's idea of what's safe and 236 00:14:23,040 --> 00:14:25,960 Speaker 1: what ain't. So when I put my foot on the 237 00:14:25,960 --> 00:14:28,040 Speaker 1: bottom rung of that ladder, I gave it a good 238 00:14:28,080 --> 00:14:30,240 Speaker 1: shake to see what kind of racket I could get 239 00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:34,680 Speaker 1: out of it. It was like the rocket Gibraltar. I 240 00:14:34,800 --> 00:14:38,120 Speaker 1: tested each rung all the way up and inspected the 241 00:14:38,200 --> 00:14:41,960 Speaker 1: expanded medal of the seat for rust and defects. Nary 242 00:14:42,040 --> 00:14:44,120 Speaker 1: a stitch of a loose weld or cracked or we 243 00:14:44,240 --> 00:14:47,920 Speaker 1: can frame in any way. I couldn't make it rattle, 244 00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:50,320 Speaker 1: And with that I settled into using the seed as 245 00:14:50,320 --> 00:14:53,720 Speaker 1: my foot platform and hooked into the tree, using my 246 00:14:53,920 --> 00:14:58,440 Speaker 1: saddle as my safety harness. I had a fence row 247 00:14:58,520 --> 00:15:01,880 Speaker 1: running north which was straight away from me, that separated 248 00:15:01,880 --> 00:15:05,720 Speaker 1: a pasture on the west side and an alfalfa field 249 00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:09,720 Speaker 1: on the east behind me to the south was a 250 00:15:09,760 --> 00:15:13,480 Speaker 1: cut corn field. That old stand was basically at a 251 00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:16,640 Speaker 1: tea intersection, with the top of the tee a fence 252 00:15:16,720 --> 00:15:20,280 Speaker 1: line running east and west separating the three fields. It 253 00:15:20,360 --> 00:15:24,479 Speaker 1: was connected to the north running fentro I just described, 254 00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:29,000 Speaker 1: separating the pasture from the alfalfa. That big walnut tree 255 00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:31,560 Speaker 1: had seen a lot of time pass as it stood 256 00:15:31,640 --> 00:15:34,680 Speaker 1: vigilant watch over the generations of farmers who made their 257 00:15:34,720 --> 00:15:38,840 Speaker 1: living work in that land, easily standing posts before June 258 00:15:38,880 --> 00:15:42,520 Speaker 1: to seventeenth, eighteen sixty one, when Union and Confederate troops 259 00:15:42,600 --> 00:15:45,280 Speaker 1: kicked up some dust during the Battle of Boonville in 260 00:15:45,360 --> 00:15:50,320 Speaker 1: Cooper County, Missouri, a few miles to the north. The 261 00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:54,240 Speaker 1: changes in farming technology that occurred just beyond the shade 262 00:15:54,240 --> 00:15:57,760 Speaker 1: of that magnificent specimen would be hard to explain to 263 00:15:57,840 --> 00:16:01,880 Speaker 1: the native folks that lived there first. And that tree's 264 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:04,800 Speaker 1: diary as it logged the passage of time and events 265 00:16:04,800 --> 00:16:08,280 Speaker 1: that occurred within it sight, I wouldn't even be a footnote, 266 00:16:08,760 --> 00:16:14,080 Speaker 1: but here it is the main character of mine. I 267 00:16:14,120 --> 00:16:16,120 Speaker 1: think about a lot of things like that when I'm 268 00:16:16,120 --> 00:16:18,600 Speaker 1: sitting in the woods looking for deer and not seeing 269 00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:23,560 Speaker 1: any like? Why aren't I seeing any deer? What a 270 00:16:23,600 --> 00:16:25,920 Speaker 1: stupid song to be stuck in my head? Why is 271 00:16:25,960 --> 00:16:28,400 Speaker 1: that song in my head? Of all the songs I know, 272 00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:30,440 Speaker 1: why is that one I don't even know all the 273 00:16:30,480 --> 00:16:34,520 Speaker 1: words to playing on repeat? This has got to be 274 00:16:34,600 --> 00:16:37,040 Speaker 1: some kind of record. I wish I'd started counting how 275 00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:39,080 Speaker 1: many times I've heard this song in my head since 276 00:16:39,120 --> 00:16:44,080 Speaker 1: I got in this tree? Where are the deer? Why 277 00:16:44,240 --> 00:16:47,560 Speaker 1: am I humming this stupid song? Now? I think I 278 00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:51,280 Speaker 1: hear the theme from Star Wars being played on a trumpet. Wait, 279 00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:55,520 Speaker 1: that's for real, who's playing a trumpet? It's faint, but 280 00:16:55,640 --> 00:17:00,000 Speaker 1: that's exactly what I'm hearing. The wind was blowing from 281 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:03,120 Speaker 1: the farmer's house toward where I was sitting. I guess 282 00:17:03,120 --> 00:17:06,639 Speaker 1: one of his kids plays in the band. It didn't 283 00:17:06,680 --> 00:17:09,800 Speaker 1: sound that bad. Actually, it was really pretty good, and 284 00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:12,760 Speaker 1: it wasn't hurting the thing. I'm sure it was a 285 00:17:12,840 --> 00:17:15,320 Speaker 1: daily event, and I figured, if deer can get accustomed 286 00:17:15,320 --> 00:17:18,000 Speaker 1: to the routines of the sounds of machinery and tractors, 287 00:17:18,520 --> 00:17:23,040 Speaker 1: why not trumpets. Two thirty minutes said to Star Wars 288 00:17:23,080 --> 00:17:27,840 Speaker 1: a New Hope soundtrack, The deer started showing up totally 289 00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:31,480 Speaker 1: unconcerned with the John Williams masterpiece floating across the alfalfa. 290 00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:34,199 Speaker 1: Three dough deer tried it into view as if they 291 00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:37,840 Speaker 1: were playing baseball, and that trumpet solo was their walk 292 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:42,280 Speaker 1: up music. There was forty five minutes a daylight left 293 00:17:42,359 --> 00:17:46,159 Speaker 1: in set number one, and the deer started tricking in 294 00:17:46,240 --> 00:17:50,119 Speaker 1: from every direction, but right in front of I watched 295 00:17:50,119 --> 00:17:52,720 Speaker 1: three dose turn into seven, and then a nice buck 296 00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:55,959 Speaker 1: walked in with his nose on the ground. Then, as 297 00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:58,160 Speaker 1: he made his way toward one of the first deer 298 00:17:58,160 --> 00:18:00,520 Speaker 1: that had entered the field, a bigger buck filtered in 299 00:18:00,600 --> 00:18:03,280 Speaker 1: with his head low and trotting toward the first buck. 300 00:18:04,480 --> 00:18:07,320 Speaker 1: They squared up like Obi Wan and Darth Vader in 301 00:18:07,359 --> 00:18:10,440 Speaker 1: the center of that alfalfa field and started duking it out, 302 00:18:10,480 --> 00:18:14,360 Speaker 1: complete with their own action music. They were one hundred 303 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:17,160 Speaker 1: and fifty yards away, and I had the best balcony 304 00:18:17,200 --> 00:18:20,879 Speaker 1: seat in the theater. Smaller of the two was amid 305 00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:24,600 Speaker 1: one thirties eight point. The big buck would have easily 306 00:18:24,680 --> 00:18:28,080 Speaker 1: made one fifty, but he was missing the whole right 307 00:18:28,160 --> 00:18:31,960 Speaker 1: side of his antlers. He was that big, heavy horned 308 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:37,359 Speaker 1: five by zero. They had both earned a pass from me. 309 00:18:37,520 --> 00:18:40,440 Speaker 1: The deer with a complete set was young, and he 310 00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:43,760 Speaker 1: would be bigger next year, and the buck with half 311 00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:48,160 Speaker 1: a rack could be tremendously larger. That's what it takes 312 00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:51,800 Speaker 1: to shoot the big one time. It's fun to watch anyway. 313 00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:55,280 Speaker 1: In five minutes before dark, the music stopped and the 314 00:18:55,359 --> 00:19:01,720 Speaker 1: deer were moving off in different directions. The three original 315 00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:04,320 Speaker 1: does had jumped the fence within thirty yards of where 316 00:19:04,359 --> 00:19:06,600 Speaker 1: I was pursing that tree, and I ain't goed closer 317 00:19:06,640 --> 00:19:10,720 Speaker 1: to where I stood. With each step, I looked back 318 00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:13,119 Speaker 1: to see that eight point making his way toward the 319 00:19:13,160 --> 00:19:18,240 Speaker 1: same path, and suddenly my standards came into question. I 320 00:19:18,280 --> 00:19:20,159 Speaker 1: looked at him hard, and I could see he was 321 00:19:20,200 --> 00:19:22,800 Speaker 1: a young deer as he ambled along, dropping his head 322 00:19:22,840 --> 00:19:26,080 Speaker 1: every few steps to sniff the ground, while never taking 323 00:19:26,080 --> 00:19:30,120 Speaker 1: his eyes off one dough in particular. I don't want 324 00:19:30,160 --> 00:19:33,000 Speaker 1: to shoot this deer. I know there are bigger ones here, 325 00:19:33,040 --> 00:19:35,920 Speaker 1: and I fought the initial temptation to pick up my bow, 326 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:39,200 Speaker 1: and I just relaxed to watch whatever was going to 327 00:19:39,280 --> 00:19:43,639 Speaker 1: take place. And for another twenty minutes, that buck chased 328 00:19:43,680 --> 00:19:47,240 Speaker 1: that dough all around in front of me. I stayed 329 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:50,360 Speaker 1: in the tree almost an hour past dark, giving them 330 00:19:50,400 --> 00:19:53,040 Speaker 1: time to move off before I made my descent. Went 331 00:19:53,119 --> 00:19:57,280 Speaker 1: back to my friend's house. That would be the highlight 332 00:19:57,760 --> 00:20:01,399 Speaker 1: of the whole week a bow hunt. I came home, 333 00:20:01,800 --> 00:20:04,439 Speaker 1: I got some work done, and I went back. A 334 00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:09,280 Speaker 1: week later, thinking the deer would be moving better. I 335 00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:11,239 Speaker 1: hunted that same spot and I grunted it in a 336 00:20:11,400 --> 00:20:14,679 Speaker 1: very similar size, but older butt within eighty yards. One morning, 337 00:20:15,520 --> 00:20:17,879 Speaker 1: I had him on a rope until he saw a 338 00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:20,960 Speaker 1: dough in a cut corn behind us and took off. 339 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:26,480 Speaker 1: After I posted a camera on a completely different property 340 00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:28,560 Speaker 1: where there was a ton of fresh sigh and caught 341 00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:32,080 Speaker 1: good deer coming through late at night. I gambled and 342 00:20:32,119 --> 00:20:34,520 Speaker 1: I moved to that spot, and on the morning of 343 00:20:34,680 --> 00:20:38,359 Speaker 1: day three of hunting that place nearly all day every day, 344 00:20:39,160 --> 00:20:43,080 Speaker 1: I had a huge buck underneath me at five yards, 345 00:20:43,760 --> 00:20:47,720 Speaker 1: but it was too dark to take a shot. I 346 00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:50,800 Speaker 1: was at full draw and couldn't see the pins on 347 00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:55,399 Speaker 1: my sight. I watched his silhouette move away, toting that 348 00:20:55,560 --> 00:20:58,240 Speaker 1: big wreck of horns with him, Hoping against hope I'd 349 00:20:58,240 --> 00:21:03,120 Speaker 1: to catch him coming back through another time, but that 350 00:21:03,640 --> 00:21:06,320 Speaker 1: would be the last time I had a big enough 351 00:21:06,359 --> 00:21:10,080 Speaker 1: buck to shoot within range. The big ones were pretty 352 00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:12,520 Speaker 1: well locked down the last two days I was there, 353 00:21:12,560 --> 00:21:16,280 Speaker 1: which made for some long days in the woods. Two 354 00:21:16,280 --> 00:21:18,439 Speaker 1: of those days were on the hills of that big 355 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:22,240 Speaker 1: cold front that brought all the wind and the frigid temperatures. 356 00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:26,959 Speaker 1: Perfect storm you wait for, where big bucks jump up 357 00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:29,240 Speaker 1: and look for you to stand at broadside in front 358 00:21:29,280 --> 00:21:32,600 Speaker 1: of giving you the perfect shot. Yeah, none of that happened. 359 00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:37,159 Speaker 1: It really never happens, but there's always hope that it will, 360 00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:41,919 Speaker 1: and one day it might, but probably not. You never know. 361 00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:48,240 Speaker 1: That was my Missouri bot season in a nutshell, all 362 00:21:48,320 --> 00:21:50,600 Speaker 1: the ups and downs of the hunt itself, and when 363 00:21:50,640 --> 00:21:54,280 Speaker 1: I reached my limit, I packed up and I headed 364 00:21:54,320 --> 00:21:58,439 Speaker 1: home with an empty ice chest, an unpunched tag, and 365 00:21:58,520 --> 00:22:04,120 Speaker 1: I whooped behind and another wonderful chapter of spending time 366 00:22:04,160 --> 00:22:07,960 Speaker 1: with the community of folks that I love just like family. 367 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:11,240 Speaker 1: They are my family, and that circle gets a little 368 00:22:11,280 --> 00:22:14,840 Speaker 1: bigger each and every year. But I didn't give up. 369 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:19,600 Speaker 1: I'm just observant enough to know that with my other 370 00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:23,199 Speaker 1: responsibilities looming, there comes a time when you have to 371 00:22:23,320 --> 00:22:28,199 Speaker 1: call it quits. Thank y'all so much for listening to 372 00:22:28,240 --> 00:22:30,119 Speaker 1: all of us and sending in your stories to me 373 00:22:30,200 --> 00:22:33,200 Speaker 1: and read with the diva. She's really not a diva, 374 00:22:33,280 --> 00:22:37,160 Speaker 1: but nothing rhymes with world's greatest sound engineer. Anyway. We 375 00:22:37,280 --> 00:22:40,920 Speaker 1: really enjoy reading them, and we read every one of them. 376 00:22:40,920 --> 00:22:44,000 Speaker 1: You can send them to my tcl story at the 377 00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:48,240 Speaker 1: media dot com until next week. This is Brent Reeves 378 00:22:48,280 --> 00:23:07,600 Speaker 1: signing off. Y'all be careful.