My wife's step-dad was transported via ambulance to the hospital again this morning, fourth time since the first of the year. While waiting in his room with my mother-in-law my mind began to wander back to happier times and hunts with him. He married my MIL in '96 after her first husband passed away suddenly in '89.
He & I hunted together for a number of years, and he finally killed a deer in 2000. I can still see the smile on his face........WOW! He hunted a couple more years until mobility became a problem and his health began failing. Which started me thinking about my dad.........
I remember as a child waiting for my dad to come home from deer hunting with his step-brother, my Uncle Chester. (I really liked Uncle Chet, he was a funny guy, lotsa' jokes and just fun to be around! It was a blast spending time with him out on his farm as a kid!) When we heard the back door opening about an hour after sundown we knew dad was home! My sister and I would run to the door and ask excitedly "Didja' get one?" while looking into the large cardboard box he was holding, which contained his lunchbox, drag rope and ammo. Thinking back on it, it was like I thought the deer (assuming he got one), would be in the box! LOL!
I never knew Dad to kill a single critter, other than the water snakes that inhabited the shoreline in front of our home. He was a WW2 vet, never talked about it much, I figure he'd had his share of killing. But, he endured my interest in hunting and was willing to go with me every weekend of the season. We spent hours together afield, and then one day, I showed up on opening day of deer season with, of all things, a muzzleloading rifle! Not just any muzzloading rifle, This was a 50 caliber T/C Hawken that I had lovingly crafted from a kit, shaping the stock, browning the barrel and rubbing 12 gajillion coats of linseed oil into. All spring & summer that year! Whren we got to the woods, I pulled it out of the case and started loading it (IIRC, it was 90 gr. of 2f with a T/C Maxi-ball, can't remember the weight)when he said "What the hell are you going to do with that THING?" "Well, I thought I'd try to kill a deer with it!" "Try!, Good luck, you'll be lucky if it even goes off!" he said, or words to that effect...... I remember thinking at that time"I've never had a problem with this gun not firing, what's he talking about?" About 9:15 that morning a big, fat doe fell to that Maxi-ball. I was, at first, somewhat disappointed. 50 cal. hole going in, 50 cal. hole going out, "Didn't even mushroom!" I said to myself! Bu then, I thought, "Hey, the deer died, only went a few feet after the shot!"(Through both lungs) Well, Dad came by as I was dressing her out, smilled, shook his head and said "OK.........let's get her into the truck!"
That hunt was back in the late 70's, we had many more years together afield, but I could never convince him to try hunting with a muzzleloader. He told me one time that he'd had to use an old smoothbore caplock as a boy (he was born in 1919) to help put food on the table. He said it was the single most unreliable gun he had ever seen! We shared some old memories of those times before he passed in '92. Thanks for letting me vent a little, life's a bit trying at the moment......
He & I hunted together for a number of years, and he finally killed a deer in 2000. I can still see the smile on his face........WOW! He hunted a couple more years until mobility became a problem and his health began failing. Which started me thinking about my dad.........
I remember as a child waiting for my dad to come home from deer hunting with his step-brother, my Uncle Chester. (I really liked Uncle Chet, he was a funny guy, lotsa' jokes and just fun to be around! It was a blast spending time with him out on his farm as a kid!) When we heard the back door opening about an hour after sundown we knew dad was home! My sister and I would run to the door and ask excitedly "Didja' get one?" while looking into the large cardboard box he was holding, which contained his lunchbox, drag rope and ammo. Thinking back on it, it was like I thought the deer (assuming he got one), would be in the box! LOL!
I never knew Dad to kill a single critter, other than the water snakes that inhabited the shoreline in front of our home. He was a WW2 vet, never talked about it much, I figure he'd had his share of killing. But, he endured my interest in hunting and was willing to go with me every weekend of the season. We spent hours together afield, and then one day, I showed up on opening day of deer season with, of all things, a muzzleloading rifle! Not just any muzzloading rifle, This was a 50 caliber T/C Hawken that I had lovingly crafted from a kit, shaping the stock, browning the barrel and rubbing 12 gajillion coats of linseed oil into. All spring & summer that year! Whren we got to the woods, I pulled it out of the case and started loading it (IIRC, it was 90 gr. of 2f with a T/C Maxi-ball, can't remember the weight)when he said "What the hell are you going to do with that THING?" "Well, I thought I'd try to kill a deer with it!" "Try!, Good luck, you'll be lucky if it even goes off!" he said, or words to that effect...... I remember thinking at that time"I've never had a problem with this gun not firing, what's he talking about?" About 9:15 that morning a big, fat doe fell to that Maxi-ball. I was, at first, somewhat disappointed. 50 cal. hole going in, 50 cal. hole going out, "Didn't even mushroom!" I said to myself! Bu then, I thought, "Hey, the deer died, only went a few feet after the shot!"(Through both lungs) Well, Dad came by as I was dressing her out, smilled, shook his head and said "OK.........let's get her into the truck!"
That hunt was back in the late 70's, we had many more years together afield, but I could never convince him to try hunting with a muzzleloader. He told me one time that he'd had to use an old smoothbore caplock as a boy (he was born in 1919) to help put food on the table. He said it was the single most unreliable gun he had ever seen! We shared some old memories of those times before he passed in '92. Thanks for letting me vent a little, life's a bit trying at the moment......
