Thinking of deer hunting as a kid

It is first day of rifle season here in Pennsylvania. I am rambling had a lot of coffee been up since 03:00. The family that I let hunt on our property just headed out into the woods. I myself do not hunt anymore I guess I don’t know why even small game I just lost interest. Still love to fish trout bass you name it although we catch and release quite a bit. The family that I let hunt our property always stops in morning to say hello this morning we had coffee together.

I heard them pull in and I went out to greet them. Invited them in for some coffee and danish. This year they have their grandson it is his first year hunting and he is excited. They remind me of my family in my youth as they are just meat hunters trying to fill up the freezer. To take some pressure off the family grocery bill this is why I let them hunt.

And I sat on top deck watching them head in with flashlights guiding them. I was thinking of my youth in Appalachia deer hunting my brothers our father uncles cousins neighbors. First couple days we all hunted alone as family we sat waiting. Then we would all hook up and drive deer on hunts.

And as I sit and think now our father was a original. We all hunted with 30:06 rifle season for deer and small game 12 gauge shotguns as we reloaded our ammo. We would ride around in this dodge van lawn chairs in back. I am laughing thinking remembering sliding around on lawn chairs as the old man drove. Driving down mountain roads snow covered or perhaps muddy we were kids teenagers.

And our father was weapon safe barrels down between your feet in that old van. And he would check our rifles to make sure they were empty before we climbed back in. I remember once he refused to let his brother hunt with us he his brother was drinking until early morning. Years later in 82nd flying around in ch-47 or when I PCs to Germany ,in the apc sitting with my m-16 barrel pointed down between my feet I’d smile thinking of my father.

And as kid if it was brown it was down even in antler buck season. Bucks or doe because it was hard time reganomics trickle down economics. The steel mills the coal mines were on the way out. Fortunately my fathers mill hung in until he retired in 2001 and he got his pension he was industrial electrician. And that was my plan after army to enroll in union industrial electrical program apprenticeship that never happened.

As I sit here am thinking of one time it was snowing out just me and three of my brothers. Our parents had to go to Ohio to a I think a wedding. We were hunting and it was near end of buck season we had the old mans pickup. Maybe I was 16 I remember my one brother was driving the pickup.

Anyway I put this doe down and we gutted it out. And hid her in this brush to come back and get her that night. Because of the Pennsylvania game wardens. And when we went to get that deer in the dark she was gone. And looking at the ground under flashlight I followed the drag marks back to the road. Somebody stole it hard times in Appalachia people had to eat. It was the time of Regan cheese and huge family gardens doing the growing season.