Persistence

 

In 2012, I decided that I wanted to learn to hunt. Part of my decision reflected a desire to be more closely connected to the meat I ate. Part of it was listening to my brother-in-law Adrian talk about hunting. And part of it, if I’m honest, was the challenge of learning new skills - marksmanship, gun safety, woodsmanship, and butchery, to name several. That August, I took a hunter safety class. And that October, I hunted at my friend’s property near Colfax. That first year, I saw two bucks - neither of which I was comfortable shooting. Part of hunting, as I was learning, was about NOT taking a shot - either because it was beyond my ability as a marksman, or because it wasn’t a safe shot to take. Despite not getting a buck that first year, though, I was hooked. I grew to love being out in the mountains in the fall, walking quietly, and learning the habits of deer and other wildlife.

Two years later, Adrian and I camped near the top of Carson Pass, north of Caples Lake in October. Early that Saturday morning, I got my first buck - a barely legal 1x2 buck - but a buck nonetheless. As I was filling out my tag, another forked-horn buck came down the trail - and Adrian filled his tag, as well. A year later, I was working at the Sierra Foothill Research and Extension Center. One of the employee benefits at that time was hunting privileges - and I got a second buck. In 2017 and 2018, Adrian and I were guests of my friends Mark and Dina Moore in Humboldt County - and both years, both of us were successful.

Throughout this time, though, I continued to hunt in Colfax. After that first year, I didn’t see a buck again until the fall of 2020. I saw deer - and I saw lots of bears! I saw eagles. I saw bandtail pigeons. I saw mountain lion tracks. I enjoyed every minute of my time hunting. But I didn’t see many deer.

Last year, my friend started a long-term project to improve the fire resiliency of his property - creating fuel breaks along the main ridge as well as along the side ridges. This work included mastication, piling and burning, and significant thinning of smaller trees. And it opened up the country - I could now walk places where the brush had once been too thick to walk in, let alone see through. As you might expect, the deer liked these improvements, too - or at least I could see the deer better!

On the afternoon of opening day last year, I had a shot at a buck. I missed - lots of reasons for it, but I missed, for the first time in my brief hunting career. I hunted most weekends for the rest of the season, and never saw another legal buck. But I learned a great deal about the habits of deer. I learned that I could count on seeing does in specific areas (mostly brushy spots at the bottom of ravines). I learned that dry, warm weather in October made for difficult hunting - the deer seemed to seek shady spots where they could see me before I could see them. My footsteps crackled.

On opening weekend this year, I was out in Colfax once again. I saw deer shortly after I started hunting - 4 does and 2 fawns. In subsequent weeks, I continued to see does, but no bucks, until Adrian and I saw a spike buck in mid-October. Earlier this past week, I snuck away from work for an afternoon (thanks, Dad, for teaching me how to do this - my Dad often picked me up from school early in the fall to go fishing!). I saw the spike buck again. He was definitely in rut - he saw me, but didn’t care. I filed that away - maybe the cooler, wetter weather was accelerating the rut!

Later that afternoon, I walked up one of the side ridges that had been cleared the previous year. This time, though, I walked along the skid trails off the top of the ridge. And on the second skid trail, I saw a buck. He was in the shadows; I was in sunlight. And he saw me, too. I suspect he was a legal buck (with at least one fork), but he was looking at me straight on - I couldn’t tell if he was more than a spike. In my hesitation, he jumped into the brush. Once again, I was glad I hadn’t taken a shot - but I was also disappointed.

Last Saturday, I was planning to cut firewood at my friend’s place. As one does in October, I loaded both my chainsaw and my rifle into my pickup! I saw deer almost immediately - does and fawns again. I made a walking loop at the highest point on the property - and saw deer that I would have missed in 2012 (all females and fawns, once again). I headed back off the hill, intending to cut a load of firewood.

As I approached the log landing where I was going to cut wood, I saw several does. I stopped the truck and watched them - they were both looking over their shoulders, back up the hill. I followed their line of sight - and saw a buck (even without my binoculars, I could tell he was a legal buck at more than 100 yards). I shut off the truck, grabbed my rifle, and crept behind some small ponderosa pines. The does saw (or heard, or smelled) me and took off a short distance. But I kept glassing the hillside - and finally saw the buck, under a Douglas fir about 120 yards away. Based on my missed shot last year, I took my time. I found a rest for my rifle. I took a deep breath. I squeezed (rather than pulled) the trigger. And I got him. He was a 4x4 buck. I’m a meat hunter, not a trophy hunter - but he was easily the biggest buck I’d ever shot - and a beautiful animal.

This was definitely the most satisfying hunt I’ve ever experienced. This year, I purchased a new rifle - a Browning X-Bolt 6.5 Creedmore (the older I get, the less I enjoy recoil!). After I had a Vortex scope mounted, I spent time this summer getting the rifle sighted in, on my own. I lucked out and found California-legal copper ammunition - and made sure the rifle was still sighted in. I worked at it.

Over the 10 years that I’ve hunted on this property, I’ve learned a great deal about wildlife. I’ve come to anticipate where I would see deer. I’ve learned that being quiet and stalking through the woods sometimes brings me in close (too close!) proximity to deer - I see them, and they see me! I’ve learned to look for little bits of deer - on Saturday, I saw several does by seeing parts of them - flanks, hips, a single ear. In fact, before I saw my buck, I texted my family that I was getting pretty good at spotting does, but not bucks! I’ve learned, also, that deer prefer edges and transitions - the deer I’ve seen over the last two years have mostly been in the transition zone between timber and meadow, or between brush and fuel break.

One of the reasons I started hunting is that I felt an ethical responsibility to fully participate in the process of eating meat. I’ll grant that I could do this simply by harvesting and processing our own lambs - which I’ve done on occasion. We also harvest our own chickens (a process I find far less appealing than working with ruminants - wild or domestic). But something about hunting is different for me. Something about hunting feels like it brings me even closer to the land and the environment where I live. Eating meat from an animal that was nourished by the land where I live nourishes me more than biologically.

This year, with my oldest daughter’s encouragement and instruction, I processed my buck myself. This might sound corny or cliche, but I felt like I was honoring the deer by caring for the meat - every hour that I wasn’t caring for sheep, working my day job, or sleeping since Saturday, I worked on cutting and wrapping meat for the winter. I found that meat processing is a skill that requires experience and repetition, much like cutting firewood. And much like seeing my woodshed full of firewood in October, I found the sight of a freezer full of meat incredibly satisfying. Last winter, I started experimenting with a Granberg small log chainsaw mill. I felled a Douglas fir on the property where I hunt and milled it into rough-sawn lumber. This summer, I built a meat cutting table from the best of these boards. The deer I harvested in Colfax was processed on a table built from a tree I harvested in Colfax, which gave me even more satisfaction.

This winter, I hope to pay my friend back - not with a backstrap roast, or a package of venison sausage (although I will offer those) - rather, I will help him with his fuel reduction efforts. I’ll help with pile burning and with broadcast burning. I’ll cut and pile brush. I’m intrigued by the idea that a fire-safe forest is also a forest that supports wildlife.

In learning to hunt, I’ve learned a great deal about the habits of deer. About the environments in which they (and I) live. About shooting and caring for a rifle safely and responsibly. About field dressing and processing meat to feed my family. But I’ve also learned a great deal about myself. Even in my extreme middle age, I can still learn new things. I still experience excitement and awe when I’m outdoors being quiet. I can still be persistent.