Thanksgiving Tradition 2020

Damn you, Covid.  You're messing up our plans.  Each year on Thanksgiving, we meet with Uncle DC & Cousin Shane to hunt.  Well, that's how it started.  The past few years it's been to visit, relive hunting stories (mostly lies) and consume adult beverages.  Last year I even smoked a deer roast that we ate with deer salami for breakfast.

This year, not so much.  No gathering.  Heck, no travel even.  That did not stop us from enjoying the day.

Cousin Shane in Michigan with some nice bourbon.

He shared the picture since we could not be together this year.

It also did not stop me & Eric from going out this morning to hunt.  It had rained all day yesterday - like 1,000" - so everything was wet, soggy, and nicely quiet.  Nick was supposed to go, but he had a stomach issue that kept him close to the Charmin.

We drove out to Marshall's N woods.  Eric posted on Neal and I went to Marshall's bottoms.  As I walked in, I jumped four deer in the bottoms.  Fortunately, they all ran N to Neal's and Eric.

My view walking in on Marshall's bottom woods

I heard Eric shoot twice.  He said he missed high, but then thinks he shot a large doe but requested my tracking skills.  I started my walk his way.

In the meantime, the fellas hunting to the South, across the road, shot like 8 times.  We were laughing back and forth that they probably had no deer.  Then Eric shoots again.  He thinks he hit, but is not sure of this one either.  I told him that his gun was sighted in for 150 yards (approx. 1" high at 100).  All these deer are about 60 yards away when he shoots.  Now he's starting to sound like he should hunt with the fellas to the South.

I walked up the second ridge to the cornfield and toward the Killing Finger.  As I approached the S side of the finger, 8 deer ran out.  I did not have a shot because I could not see Eric through the corn.  And not knowing what's behind my target made the shot unsafe.  Thus, those three lived.  

However, the buck that was trying to sneak through the Killing Finger?  Well, he waited just a bit too long in the opening and I squeezed off a 300 Blackout round - that I heard make an impact.  I watched him drop after running maybe 40 yards.  Well, at least one deer is down.

I walked on around the Killing Finger and jumped another buck.  This one ran NW to Eric - who finally did make contact and shot him.  Good - two deer down.  At which point, Eric texted me that he was out of ammo.  I laughed.  He really should be hunting with those guys to the S.  No ammo and only one confirmed kill.  Oh well, I guess Eric is hunting with a club now!

Eric's text to me about being out of ammo

I got to Eric and he showed me where the deer were when he shot.  There was a good deer trail about where he thought they came out.  So I sent him along the trail while I cut for sign.  Not finding any, Eric added that he thought he heard crashing off to the SE.  Good intel.  We cut SE and found a great blood trail that led us to a huge doe. 

So now Eric is done hunting unless he buys more tags, which he says he won't because he does not have room in his freezer.  We called in the reserves, Davey & his son-in-law Brad, to help us drag out our Thanksgiving Harvest.  I provided the beer in turn for their service.  Great trade!

We gutted the deer and then picked up Pa Jerry to haul them to Simpson's in Young America.  Then we came back to the barn to eat deer salami, duck sausage, crackers, and cheese.  We also may have had some adult beverages as well.  Our Thanksgiving tradition lives!

Deer blood splatter on Eric's face from loading deer.

Maybe he was hunting them with a knife???

Our Thanksgiving Feast in Pa Jerry's barn 11-26-2020