cpoplayer
Member
After having to cancel my Wyoming trip due to some unforseen health issues and wallowing in self-pity for a while, I decided to throw all my efforts into harvesting a buck with my bow on public land in Florida. I broke out my brand new Obsession Defcon M6 around the beginning of September in preparation. Sadly, the more I shot it, the worse it shot. Closer inspection revealed the bottom cam appeared to have an extreme lean to it so, back to Obsession it went. I pulled out my old Bear Legion and got her sighted in with just a few shots.
I am fortunate to live only a few miles from a management area so, i decided to focus my efforts there. My son Aidan and I had just a couple hours to do some scouting Sunday morning. When my alarm went off at 5:30am Sunday morning, the bed was still feeling good. I had a pretty good idea where I wanted to hunt having grown up hunting there so, I turned off the alarm and drifted back to sleep. A few minutes later, Aidan woke me up asking if it was time to go. He was fully dressed and was wearing his backpack and binoculars. Now I didn't have a choice. I drug myself out of bed and got dressed while Aidan ate a granola bar waiting on me in the truck.
The ride to the management area was short. We checked out the spot I had my stand set up last year and found plenty of deer sign. We also found the remains of a long dead Eastern box turtle and the skull of a road kill doe.
I have been in the woods my whole life. It's so amazing to go into the woods with an 11 year old. So many things that I have seen a hundred times and take for granted, he stares at wide eyed with wonder. Giant ferns, gopher tortoise holes, and wild persimmons all caught his attention and prompted many questions. I did my best to answer all his queries in ways that made him think about the cycle of life and the importance of conservation.
On the way home, he examined the turtle shell closely taking in each detail. He asked me how it died and I asked him what he thought. He took a few minutes to answer and his answer blew me away. It was simple and left me speechless. He simply said, "He (the turtle) had done what he needed to and the last thing he could do to help the other animals was to die so the younger turtles could live."
I can't put my stand up until Friday per WMA rules and then we are going to Stone Mountain, GA camping this weekend. It kills me to miss opening weekend. It looks like it's going to be pretty warm anyway so, it won't be too bad. Stay tuned for more updates!
I am fortunate to live only a few miles from a management area so, i decided to focus my efforts there. My son Aidan and I had just a couple hours to do some scouting Sunday morning. When my alarm went off at 5:30am Sunday morning, the bed was still feeling good. I had a pretty good idea where I wanted to hunt having grown up hunting there so, I turned off the alarm and drifted back to sleep. A few minutes later, Aidan woke me up asking if it was time to go. He was fully dressed and was wearing his backpack and binoculars. Now I didn't have a choice. I drug myself out of bed and got dressed while Aidan ate a granola bar waiting on me in the truck.
The ride to the management area was short. We checked out the spot I had my stand set up last year and found plenty of deer sign. We also found the remains of a long dead Eastern box turtle and the skull of a road kill doe.
I have been in the woods my whole life. It's so amazing to go into the woods with an 11 year old. So many things that I have seen a hundred times and take for granted, he stares at wide eyed with wonder. Giant ferns, gopher tortoise holes, and wild persimmons all caught his attention and prompted many questions. I did my best to answer all his queries in ways that made him think about the cycle of life and the importance of conservation.
On the way home, he examined the turtle shell closely taking in each detail. He asked me how it died and I asked him what he thought. He took a few minutes to answer and his answer blew me away. It was simple and left me speechless. He simply said, "He (the turtle) had done what he needed to and the last thing he could do to help the other animals was to die so the younger turtles could live."
I can't put my stand up until Friday per WMA rules and then we are going to Stone Mountain, GA camping this weekend. It kills me to miss opening weekend. It looks like it's going to be pretty warm anyway so, it won't be too bad. Stay tuned for more updates!
