Tuesday, June 2, 2009

My Weapon of Choice

Some of you may know me well enough to have enjoyed hearing of my many hunting exploits. Though I rarely share about myself or my successes, I have been known, from time to time, to be persuaded to do just that around a campfire with good friends.

There is something about the silent stalk, the closing in on the prey, and the final act of dominion that makes for a great story.

As you can see, at times, my weapon has been the bow and arrow. Hunting with the bare necessities that the native Americans used is about as good as it gets. It is almost like using your bare hands. To pull the nylon string of the compound bow back with the release, site in the target with the pre-positioned, color-coded site pins, having the graphite arrow resting on the highly sensitive guide and then to release the sting of the broadhead; makes me feel like I am truly in touch with nature and ancient America.

At other times, I leave the bow and arrow behind and head out with the weapon of the early settlers. The 30-06 with high-powered scope.

The preparation, the scent, the camo, the camping, the hunting from the back of the 4x4, the stalking, the closing-in and then the final kill makes you understand what self-reliance is all about.

Even though all of this is amazing, my most success has been with my weapon of choice - the truck bumper and grill on a state highway. Ahhh, the sound of screeching rubber and shattering glass with crumpled metal... There is nothing like it! To hear the thud, feel the front and then rear tires bump over the once proud elk, leaves you with a real sense of accomplishment.


You also do not have to carry out your trophy. Just load it up and drive away.

I wonder if Davy Crockett felt this way when he ran over a deer?

I AM MAN!

4 comments:

  1. Wow look how young you look. You look about 30!!! :)
    Wasn't that a long time ago!!!!!!
    Ashley

    ReplyDelete
  2. How funny! So, where'd you get that deer head, anyway?

    ReplyDelete
  3. These pictures of you and my brothers flaunting this unfortunate deer's head as if you had accomplished something with your bow and arrow are hilarious to me! I tell people now how my family never had any success hunting, but my dad got awful good at swerving to hit deer so we'd have meat and they could take pictures such as these. Didn't you hit two at once at one point?

    ReplyDelete
  4. To Ashley, Wayne and Anne:
    For your information, I still look about 30.
    The deer head, was from a road kill that some girl hit that you brought home, Wayne. It was about all that was left, after we butchered the rest and found green stuff smeared on almost all of the red meat.
    And, yes, I did hit two elk at one time. The about truck photo is from that incident. One was broadside, dead center and the other bounced off of the left fender. How many people can claim they got two elk with one shot?

    ReplyDelete