The Pot Of Gold

The summer heat is bearing down now as we turn the corner into August. It’s best to pace yourself and pick your spots — mostly very early or very late. This is heat that can hurt you, so beware.

Let’s take a respite from the heat and go back to a cooler day.

It was snowing last hunting season in Sonora, Texas, when Charles and daughter Marlie arrived at the camp. They bundled up and headed straight to the deer stand on arrival.

Marlie was a bit nervous and not as practiced with her rifle as she would have liked to have been. But the cold weather had the bucks up and moving. Sometimes you have to strike while the iron is hot.

Dad and daughter were just settling in when a definite shooter buck stepped in out of nowhere. Marlie went into action, getting her rifle up and ready as Dad manned the binoculars.

She zeroed in her crosshairs on the sweet spot and squeezed off a round at 100 yards. The buck ran straight to the stand and slowed to a walk at 40 yards before disappearing. Quite frankly, it did not look good.

A miss can cause significant pain, and Marlie was feeling it. She whispered, “I missed,” and Dad, in considerable discomfort, replied “jack in another round in case you get another chance.”

The sun set and the father/daughter fire team gathered their packs and headed out. The golden rule of deer hunting is if you shoot, you must recon the area just in case. With not much hope, Dad led the way, with Marlie close behind.

They didn’t have far to go before they found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow — Marlie’s beautiful eight-point was piled up and was a sight to behold. It was a draw as to who was the most fired up as the old man high-fived, hugged, and then did it again!

Marlie is a seventh grader and can’t wait for next deer season. She has a notch now on her .243 rifle, and is dreaming of a better buck.

On a recent trip, Dad was coy about where exactly they were going. But Marlie could tell something was up.

Dad had that look in his eye as they entered the taxidermy shop together. He was grinning like a goat when Marlie spotted her special buck on the wall.

It took some sneaky doing, but Charles had pulled it off. His hunting partner didn’t have a clue, but was feeling no pain and couldn’t keep from smiling.

As bad as a miss hurts, it does feel great to make a sweet shot and have success. That’s twice now that Marlie has walked up unexpectedly on her buck: once in the wilds of Sonora, Texas, and once at our shop.

Back to the present, temperatures are topping 90 on a daily basis. That didn’t deter Andrew Blackwelder and his fisher-wife, Meghan, from a great bass trip on Toledo Bend recently.

Meghan was slow-rolling a spinner bait when the bass of the day ate it. She brought her personal best 8.31 pounder to Andrew’s waiting landing net. It was high fives all around. Happy fishing!