Super Double Secret Ultimate Outdoorsmen

From the 24hour Campfire:


I've got a very strange hunting partner (deer -) he's a new hunter and doesn't have near the drive as anyone else I hunt with.

Last year he called me on the radio at around 9:30 and said he was done.

Turns out he had forgot his shells, went to the stand, didn't even think about loading the gun until he saw a deer.
He said he pulled up, clicked the safety off and CLICK.

hehehehehehe.... This guy is really a character ...

The next weekend I took a two does in the morning and he didn't see anything but decided he'd stick around until I came back from dropping my does off.

When I drove back I found him sleeping under a tree with around a dozen turkey walking around him. Understand this is directly in front of the cabin I'm driving to. His gun was up against the fireplace (10 yds away). Aparrently his snoring didn't bother the turkeys.

Of course the turkeys started flying away as I pulled up so I hooked the horn and a couple darn near hit him as they flew past to get into the trees.

The best part, he heard the ruckus but didn't see the birds so I told him it was two deer... man I haven't ever see him get that mad....

Just what fun ya can have out in the woods.

Spot


Dear Spot:


See, in Hunters Ed circles, that right there's a "Sportsman."

I'm referring to that goofy Evolution of a Hunter thing they always toss into the Hunters Ed courses.

First you start with the couch potato, dragging himself off the couch, and entering the world of the outdoors for the first time.

You have the neophyte that wants just to shoot anything that moves.

Then in works its way through stages like "Trophy Hunter"

Without boring you with the whole line of drivel, finally you get the supremely evolved Master Outdoorsman Emeritus that does not even have to pull a trigger all season and be fulfilled just by the mere experience of being in the outdoors. In fact, he can now just stay home on the couch and watch football games like the couch potato and still be an ultimate outdoorsman-- his appreciation of hunting and its role in the web of life is that subtle and serene.

Spot: I think your buddy has achieved this exalted state. You should attempt to emulate him. Bow down to him and ask him for guidance. . .



. . . I'd better stop now, it's starting to leak in at the top of my boots. Anyhow, I got to thinking about this very topic as I was helping #3 son study for his Hunters Ed class in a month.

BTW: It always amazes me how many of these Super Double Secret Ultimate Outdoorsmen there are in the world. I run into them all the time. They seem to have achieved all their infinite insight in just 1 or 2 deer seasons, and they now sit back and chuckle dismissively when they find out I've been at it over twenty years. What the heck have I been missing all these years? Why do I feel the need to go out and bust my butt every season?

Arrgh! The humanity of it all.