By Tim Tate

I was awake before the alarm went off. The sound of rain against the roof of the converted school bus had gotten my attention earlier. The rain was soothing but the thoughts of a wet day in the woods had me pondering the options. Planning becomes more important when you have others to consider. My son lay on the bunk below. Just one month past his 13th birthday did not give him a lot of experience to pull from.

We would hunt from shooting houses, but which ones? My father-in-law, Benny Watkins, was up and had the lights on. The three of us discussed the options. The outside temperature had a strong nip and was supposed to fall during the day. Sure hated to get the new guns wet. Santa had come a week early at our house. Marks Outdoors had run a special on Styer SBS Rifles. My son, Jeb, would no longer need to borrow our good friend's .243. The .243 had harvested a 9-point for Jeb during Thanksgiving. He now had a 25-06 fitted with a Leupold Vari XIII. I carried the same gun chambered in .270 and a Vari XII. I reasoned that he was younger and needed the better scope. Any father can understand the justification.

Jeb had worked for little pay in our hayfields all summer, the same as when I was his age. He understood that was where the money for the extra things came from.

The lease was a short 10-minute drive down Hwy. 5. We checked the board at camp and we were the only ones there. There would be no excuses. Nobody there to get the greenfield we may have really wanted.

My father-in-law chose a field next to a clear cut. He had seen a forkhorn there the day before.
Jeb opted for a field close to the camp. There had been several doe seen there. With the rut beginning, he might see a buck following the scent from one of these females. If he got cold the truck was close. The keys were in it. I chose our largest greenfield, thinking that bigger may be better.

After getting Jeb settled, I headed to my stand in our hunting vehicle, an off-road Blazer without doors and a homemade top. It was now 5:30. I called Jeb to let him know I was settled in and to make sure he was warm. He thanked me for the "wake-up call." We both knew that would be our last conversation for some time. He reminded me to check the safety on my unfamiliar gun. The "Safe-Bolt System" is different than any we have known. Content that all was well, I began to let the surroundings absorb me. I have always enjoyed the magic of the woods. Time passed quickly.

Was that a dark spot in the field? Look away and look again. No. Just me wanting something to be there. Seconds pass. Did something move? I look through the scope. A deer is in the field. I cannot tell what it is. The deer is moving in my direction, nose to the ground. It is still early and a haze of misting rain hinders my ability to see clearly. Finally, horns! I turn off the radio and put on the ear protectors.

The buck is 150 yards away, He senses me. He trots toward the edge of the field, stops and looks in my direction. He turns broadside again and I squeeze the trigger. I do not see him, but I felt good about the shot. Jeb is already talking when I turn the radio on. "Did you get him? Come get me and let me help you find him." He is waiting at the camp. Questions are asked faster than I can answer them. We go back and begin looking for sign. Jeb walks to the edge of the field and peers down the 20-foot bank into the creek. "Here is your deer, Dad." "He has 5 on one side but I can't see the other." Ends up being a 9 point. Not a lot of mass, 2/ 12 years old. Jeb goes back to get his grandfather and some rope. I hear the old Blazer going in the distance.

I kneel beside the animal and offer thanks, not only for the harvest but for the planting that has taken place this year. That afternoon we hunt together. As we leave the stand walking back to the truck, Jeb asks, "Is this the best hunt you've ever had?" "No," I reply, "It is the second-best hunt I've had." "What was the first?'" he asks, puzzled. "When you got your nine-point this Thanksgiving," I say. He smiles. "Yes," he replies, "this is the second-best hunt I've had too."