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I can still remember the sting that my fingers felt on that cold January morning as the bow string slipped through my freezing hands to release an arrow focused on a doe as she stood in front of me unaware of my presence. There is nothing finer than the chance to hunt the whitetail rut twice in a single season; thats what you get when you take a trip to south Alabama in January. When most states hunting seasons are already over, Alabamas whitetail rut is just getting started. The temperature on most days that time of year is cold in the early morning hours but the rest of the day and early evening hunts are done in a light jacket. This is a welcome change to the northwest Arkansas weather I usually have to face that time of year. The does are in a feeding type mode and the bucks are working the woods looking for a receptive doe. The terrain that I usually hunted on this farm was a cut-over creek bottom growing up after being logged four years previously. The creek meanders through this maze of vines and cane thickets, making a perfect situation for a close and personal ambush with my primitive equipment. This year however, as I was walking in the bottom, I noticed that there was a lot of sign where a cow trail made its way through a river cane thicket. The trail ended at a small slash of timber on the edge of a small pasture, much more open than the cut-over creek bottom I hunted in years past. The presence of so much sign made me start looking for a place to hang my stand. A large pine among some sweet gum was chosen for my climber. The tree was a little in the open but I would be able to get high enough that I should be well above any deers line of sight. Shooting lanes would not be a problem in this stand; any deer in 20 yards would be in for it. I attached the climbing stand to the tree, stashed my rope and safety belt, and spent the rest of the first day in the stand in the creek thicket that I had hunted in the past. Deer movement that evening was slow so I decided I would hunt the new stand the next morning and evening. I had no idea when the deer were using the trail but the hooked bushes and tracks in the trails made the gamble worth taking. Arriving at the stand in the dark was easy since the walk was open all the way and nothing should hear me as I made my approach. Climbing up the tree as quietly as I could on this extremely cold morning I was aware that every little noise seemed to carry a mile, no matter how hard I tried to be quite. Once I settled in the stand the warmth of my red fox fur hat was appreciated; this hunt was primitive for the most part. Fur hat, plains style quiver, leather possibles bag, bear-jaw-handled stone knife and a bull snake-backed hickory bow. As I described earlier, this is usually a mild weather hunt, but this was one cold morning. Frost on the grass was like a sheet of sparkling ice as the sun slowly made its way up behind my stand. The morning was still early and my wait was a short one as the group of does and yearlings made its way past my stand. There was one doe that stood out for some reason. She had eyes like a coyote, kind of yellow looking with the line through them. I had never seen this before or since, but this was the deer I picked out to shoot. The group made its way toward me one by one, milling around, and picking up bits of clover as they fed toward the small slash of timber in front of me that would offer them cover as they went to their bedding area. The doe turned broadside at about 15 yards, the hickory bow was ready, and the steel-tipped shaft found its mark. The sound of the arrow striking the deer sent the herd exploding in every direction. The stinging in my fingers from the bow string will be remembered for as long as the hunt remains in my mind. It is funny how little things like that seem to burn into ones mind at a time like that. The shot was good and I knew the trail would be a short one. I spent the rest of the cold frosty morning soaking in the scenery. Along with me on this hunt were friends who had hunted with me on many past occasions and we always like to help each other on the blood trail. After meeting up, but before we went after my deer, I went with two of them to help locate a hog that one had shot. Helping your buddies in the field is as much fun as shooting game yourself. After dealing with the hog we then took up the blood trail of my deer and as I had hoped it turned out to be a short walk. The steel point and wood shaft did the job like they have for years, making a freezer full of meat, a hide, and sinew for future projects. If youre looking for a way to extend your big game season you will be hard pressed to find more fun and excitement than Alabama in January. Make your hunts as rewarding as they can be by making as much of your own equipment as you can. There is no greater feeling of accomplishment than using in the field something you made yourself. If you dont feel comfortable making a bow yet, then make a quiver out of hide from an animal that you or someone you know harvested. The next thing you know you will be making everything and experiencing all there is to enjoy in the world of primitive archery. |
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