Holesinthesky
Elite Refuge Member
Another……..
As I have mentioned before, we had family come in from all over to deer camp in NE Missouri. Some years we had as many as 28-30 ( friends and family) at the little 3 room cabin.
A brutally cold November day With around 8-10” of snow on the ground. Constant blowing wind, the just chilled you to the bone. Late 70s
We had all been out on stand, and no one got a deer. We all met back at the cafe for lunch. During lunch, plans were made for a couple deer drives.
The drivers convoyed out to the start point, and the blockers out to their points.
I went with dad, and my 2 uncles. We would be end blockers.
My Great Uncles, friends of family, cousins started the walk thru one of thickest wood tracts. It was an ordeal to walk it, had to cross the creek probably 7-8 times, full of downed trees and head high by 10ft briar patches. It was always a great place for deer to lay up. But you really didn’t want to shoot one down in there, because it would be a ordeal to get it out.
So dad and I in one truck, my 2 uncles in another, park in the field. We get out and each start walking from the trucks to the woods. We are about 150-200 yards from the trucks, and about 100-150 yards between us.
After what seemed like eternity ( probably 25-30 minutes), this kid just could not take the cold wind. I start walking back to the truck. As I clear the wood line, I see little puffs of exhaust smoke coming from the tailpipe of the truck. I make it up the hill, and get in the truck. My dad looks at me with a big smile and says cold ain’t it? He had the heater going full blast on that 1972 F250 4x4. My teeth were chattering. He handed me a bottle of warming liquid, and said take a drink. ( To this day, if I have blackberry brandy, I think of that moment).
So there dad and I sit, about 10 minutes later, I see orange movement at the wood line. The figure makes his way to the trucks. It is my Dad’s older brother. He gets in other truck and starts it up. Trucks are parked side by side, and we had windows about half way down to talk. Dad said, pass him the warming liquid.
About 10 minutes later we see orange coming out of the woods, headed to the truck. It is my dad’s youngest brother ( who was a pretty die hard hunter). He gets to the truck and there the 4 of us sit, waiting on the drivers to make it thru the woods.
Another 20-30 minutes go by, and the drivers emerge from the woods, and make their way to the truck. My great uncle asks if we seen anything? To which we replied nope.
When he told the story…… his version was that he came out of the woods, and all he saw was our tracks leaving the truck, going halfway to the woods and turning/circling back around to the trucks. When he came out of the woods, there his nephews sat in the trucks getting warm.That is the last time my nephews get to be blockers!
Always good for a rolling laugh every season at camp.
As I have mentioned before, we had family come in from all over to deer camp in NE Missouri. Some years we had as many as 28-30 ( friends and family) at the little 3 room cabin.
A brutally cold November day With around 8-10” of snow on the ground. Constant blowing wind, the just chilled you to the bone. Late 70s
We had all been out on stand, and no one got a deer. We all met back at the cafe for lunch. During lunch, plans were made for a couple deer drives.
The drivers convoyed out to the start point, and the blockers out to their points.
I went with dad, and my 2 uncles. We would be end blockers.
My Great Uncles, friends of family, cousins started the walk thru one of thickest wood tracts. It was an ordeal to walk it, had to cross the creek probably 7-8 times, full of downed trees and head high by 10ft briar patches. It was always a great place for deer to lay up. But you really didn’t want to shoot one down in there, because it would be a ordeal to get it out.
So dad and I in one truck, my 2 uncles in another, park in the field. We get out and each start walking from the trucks to the woods. We are about 150-200 yards from the trucks, and about 100-150 yards between us.
After what seemed like eternity ( probably 25-30 minutes), this kid just could not take the cold wind. I start walking back to the truck. As I clear the wood line, I see little puffs of exhaust smoke coming from the tailpipe of the truck. I make it up the hill, and get in the truck. My dad looks at me with a big smile and says cold ain’t it? He had the heater going full blast on that 1972 F250 4x4. My teeth were chattering. He handed me a bottle of warming liquid, and said take a drink. ( To this day, if I have blackberry brandy, I think of that moment).
So there dad and I sit, about 10 minutes later, I see orange movement at the wood line. The figure makes his way to the trucks. It is my Dad’s older brother. He gets in other truck and starts it up. Trucks are parked side by side, and we had windows about half way down to talk. Dad said, pass him the warming liquid.
About 10 minutes later we see orange coming out of the woods, headed to the truck. It is my dad’s youngest brother ( who was a pretty die hard hunter). He gets to the truck and there the 4 of us sit, waiting on the drivers to make it thru the woods.
Another 20-30 minutes go by, and the drivers emerge from the woods, and make their way to the truck. My great uncle asks if we seen anything? To which we replied nope.
When he told the story…… his version was that he came out of the woods, and all he saw was our tracks leaving the truck, going halfway to the woods and turning/circling back around to the trucks. When he came out of the woods, there his nephews sat in the trucks getting warm.That is the last time my nephews get to be blockers!
Always good for a rolling laugh every season at camp.
