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Rambiling & Ruminating
I haven't hunted anything in years, but there was a time when I wouldn't pass up the chance to go. These days I just enjoy watching and studying the animals. As a matter of fact, if I wanted to kill a deer I wouldn't have to waste my time hunting. All I would have to do is walk out in the backyard and hit one between the eyes with a big stick. We have even had a buck to visit in our living room! (I have the pictures to prove it). Deer hunting today is still somewhat alien to me. Somehow it all seems too easy to just sit in a shooting house and wait for the deer to come out to feed in those manicured food plots. It seems like more luck than skill is involved, but I suppose some of both are necessary for a successful hunt.
Back in those days the season only lasted from about Thanksgiving until the end of December and the limit was two bucks per season. Shooting a doe would earn you a trip before the judge. Most hunting was done with a shotgun and buckshot. If my memory serves me correctly, I think it was even illegal to hunt with a rifle. The majority of hunters practiced what was called "still hunting" or stalking, which was just what the name implies. They would go into the woods and find a good spot and sit still, or quietly move a short distance every few minutes hoping to jump a deer. I have had some success stalk hunting, but if given the chance I would choose an old-fashioned deer drive any day. They were a lot of fun, even if no one killed a deer. The hunt was as much a social event as it was a serious hunt. For all of you hunters of less than a certain age who have never had the pleasure of participating in a deer drive, here is how it worked. The hunts are usually by invitation and can have as few as eight or 10 hunters, or as many as can safely be accommodated. Everyone meets at the appointed time and place, usually about daylight, and gathers around a fire to tell lies about their last hunt while the drivemaster organizes the event. The drivemaster gives his instructions as to how the hunt is to be conducted and then designates which hunters will be standers and which will be drivers. Drivers are usually chosen because they are familiar with the area. Standers are posted at intervals around the perimeter of the area to be hunted. The distance between standers can vary, but each hunter knows where the hunters are to his left and right to prevent accidentally shooting someone. The drivers and usually a few good dogs, are driven to the opposite side of the property. When the signal is given they start moving toward the standers and making noise to drive the deer out. The standers do most of the shooting, but many times the drivers will get a shot too, as the deer will sometimes double back and try to get by them. After the drive is over everyone meets back at the fire to check out the kills, if any, and tell more lies. Most of the time two or three drives will be made by lunchtime. If the hunt has been successful, the deer are butchered and everyone receives a portion of the meat. Of course, the person who did the shooting takes home the choice cuts. The end of the hunt was always my favorite time. Traditionally, a hunter who had made his first kill had to go home with his face bloodied and anyone who had taken a shot and missed would have his shirttail cut off. You could always tell who the poor shots were because they never showed up for the hunt wearing good shirts. On most hunts there was usually at least one hunter who developed a serious case of "buck fever." Buck fever afflicts the hunter when he hears a deer coming toward him and his anxiety builds to the point where he usually does something dumb, like forgetting to take the safety off, or shooting into the air. My uncle, Lefty Bolen, once shot the ground between his feet and then tried to save face by telling us that his fingers were so cold that he didn't know that he was pulling the trigger. Buck fever is a malady that even veteran hunters sometime experience. Greenhorn hunters were sometimes the victims of merciless pranks. I remember one hunt when a first time hunter came down on the bus from Birmingham to Jackson to participate in a deer drive at Bolentown. As luck would have it, he was one of the few who killed a deer that day. He got the full treatment. When he boarded the bus for the return trip to Birmingham that evening his face was still bloodied and both of his deer's forelegs were tied around his neck. I have often wondered how he managed to explain his situation to the other passengers.
One final note on going on a deer drive. When the last hunt is over, make sure that the drivemaster sends someone to pick you up from your stand. Don't ask me how I know this!
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