Pennsylvania Game News - December 2011 - 15

anything. I was done hunting anyway, and this was my last season. As usual, even though I’m a grown man, my dad won that argument. This was the first year in 23 years we weren’t at our spot before sunrise. My dad knew of another spot on the Game Lands, and we arrived and walked into the woods as the sun came up, around 6:45. I got comfortable and I thought I just had to stick it out and make it through my last opening day. Little did I know that in about an hour my outlook on hunting and life would change forever. At exactly 7:35 I asked Dad what time it was and opened a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. While I ate my sandwich I saw a deer cutting through some pine trees; I knew it was a buck. The area we hunt requires three points on one side, so I followed the buck through the pines until I determined it was a legal deer. When I pulled the trigger the buck dropped to the ground. I was overcome with joy and excitement. My dad and I stood on top of that hill and looked down about 80 yards at the buck I had just taken. At that moment, I got it. I hugged my father and he congratulated me, the moment will be forever frozen in my mind. I realized then what everyone got so excited about, what makes deer camp with family and friends so special, and what hunting with your father really means. I told my dad that I wouldn’t have wanted to spend this moment with anyone else, and I meant it. We climbed

down the hill and my dad was out of breath in an instant. I knew he wasn’t feeling well, but he fought his illness so he could share this special moment with me. I tagged and field-dressed my buck, a 9-point, and headed to camp for a deer dolly. My dad stayed on stand and I was gone about 45 minutes. I thought that this was the perfect opening day. When I arrived back to the woods and began unloading the deer dolly, I heard three shots from where our stand was. I went over and saw my dad standing close to the same spot where I got my deer. My dad exclaimed, “I just got a 10-point!” I dropped my stuff and ran to my father, we hugged again and just couldn’t believe our luck. Now it truly was the perfect opening day. What I thought was my last day hunting turned out to be my first day understanding what hunting really means. Needless to say, I have had a change of heart and will hunt for the rest of my life. I can only hope that one day I will share that experience with my kids. Two days after this special day my father was admitted to the hospital with a heart condition, but, thankfully it was treatable. You never know what life is going to throw at you; cherish your days hunting with friends and family. I know I’ll never miss another deer season opener with Dad. 

Cover Painting by tom SChatz
THE FIRST RIFLE SHOT echoes from across the adjacent ridge, causing “Old Silver,” to rise from his bed; he knows what’s up. It’s the season opener and experience and instinct tells him he had better get to thicker cover where he can wait out the orange-clad figures invading his ridge. Bucks like this are not just what dreams are made of for hundreds of thousands of Keystone State hunters, they’re also what fuels a hunting tradition that spans more than a hundred years and many generations. Of course, we all can’t get trophy bucks, but we can all dream. And who knows, maybe this will be your year. Good luck. DECEMBER 2011 15

Pennsylvania Game News - December 2011

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