For those who don't know me, I am 44 years old and live in Durham, North Carolina. As a kid, I hunted squirrels after school every chance I got. Back then, there were not any deer in this area. Anyone who deer hunted had to go to Butner, a town north of where I grew up. Butner was the first area in central North Carolina where Whitetail Deer were stocked.
When I was in my mid-twenties, a good friend of mine said I needed to try deer hunting. By this time, our area had lots of deer, so I bought an old bolt action 30-30, read a bunch of hunting magazines, and was ready to go... or so I thought. I was told I needed to have a treestand. Having never even seen a treestand before, it took me quite a while to build one. Then, I found out I had to have screw in steps to hang it. Boy there's a lot to this deer hunting, I was thinking. Armed with my trusty 30-30, the treestand and steps, I headed to some public land to shoot a deer. I figured this would be an okay place to hunt. I went in the woods to hang my stand and planned to come back later to hunt. After beating and banging enough to run everything out the county, I cut a shooting lane you could have driven a Mac truck through. I stood back and admired my work, then climbed into my stand (about 8ft high} to check it out. Sitting in it was pretty comfortable after all that hard work, so I took a nap! When I woke up, I lit a cigarette. Through the smoke I saw a deer. Boy was I excited! I had my rilfle with me, but my only shells were in my pocket (kind of like that fellow from Mayberry). Well , I finally got one in the gun and killed the deer, even with the smoke burning my eyes. A cowhorn buck, what a prize! I am not going to get into how I field dressed the deer with the knife with a 2 inch blade that wouldn't tear a hole in a wet paper bag. Suffice it to say that it was bad.... real bad!
So thats how I got started deer hunting. I never hunted that land again. It was years before I realized it was a hunter's dream with MORE BIG BUCK SIGN THAN IN ANY PLACE I HAVE HUNTED SINCE. But that first 'trophy' cowhorn was the beginning of a passion that has lasted over 20 years.
You fellows out there who started hunting with family members at an early age just don't know how lucky you are. It took me several seasons, and countless days in the woods to learn things that someone probably taught you when you were a kid. I made the same mistakes that I think lots of new hunters do:
Buy every gadget that comes out (if I don't have it I did), shoot the fastest bow
with the lightest arrows and always search for that 'record book' deer.
But I did learn. I learned that I didn't have to see a giant buck or a hog that could dig up New York City, to have a wonderful time hunting. I learned that I could let deer walk away and never think twice about it. I enjoy every hunt no matter what I see or don't see. But if the mood strikes I can 'smackum and stackum' like the NUGE and not think twice about it too.
Now days, I hunt with a rifle, a shotgun and a bow and I'm a little better at it. I am not a trophy hunter, but will shoot one if it walks by. I am a firm believer that when it's your turn it will happen! I also like to hunt with a hand gun a lot and do so most of gun season, sometimes with a carbine stock on my Contender.
My great love now is with traditional bows. This year, I plan on killing my first animal with a longbow. North Carolina has a long season and a 6 deer limit, so I will make it happen! Next year, I hope to hunt with a selfbow of my own
construction. So far, I have not built one at hunting weight that I would feel good about hunting with. But there is always next year. After that, who knows? It might not get any better than taking a deer, pig,or turkey with a simple stick and a string. We will see!
SO NOW YOU KNOW ME. I HOPE YOU ENJOY MY WEB SITE
Shoot straight;
James Wrenn
