Gun Deer Season Eve

Children can’t sleep on Christmas Eve…for deer hunters…it’s tonight.  We count down the days.  We behave so that our spouses let us go scouting, check our trail cams, and practice at the range.  The excitement builds for months and weeks until we get to tonight.  Hunters all across America head to their camps on Gun Deer Season Eve.  They arrive with the hope and excitement of a new season.  They sit around the campfire telling the tales of missed shots, ghostly legends of big bucks, and brag about who will have the best day tomorrow.  Its time for great meals and cold nights sleeping on the ground.  If they fall asleep at all, it requires sleeping fast for the alarm goes off at 4:00 am.  With the excitement of a 6-year-old running to the Christmas tree, the hunters head to their tree stand in the old oak tree.  Shivering not only from the chill of the morning air, but the adrenalin flowing through their veins as they sit waiting for light to break over the hills.  You don’t need a watch to tell you when legal shooting time arrives, the multitude of gunshots ringing through the hills lets you know.  Every year you hope that you are the first shot of the morning, but most years time continues to pass.  You may have a few deer go by, but you wait for that one you spotted once either on a trail cam or in the distance during bow season.  When you arrive back at camp that night, the tales from the day’s adventures continue with everyone.  If you are fortunate, you are the one bragging of the success.  If not, you are the one doing dishes hoping tomorrow will bring more luck.  Either way, you know you have a few days at deer camp to enjoy the outdoors, the camaraderie, and the magic of deer season.  Good luck to everyone this season!