You can't make this stuff up!
This weekend was the opening weekend of teal season. As an avid waterfowler I languished through Saturday at work and readied myself for a long-awaited Sunday morning hunt. I arrived at the wetland early this morning and loaded up my 4 wheeler and headed out. I arrived at the perfect time to set out the decoys and relax for a few minutes before shooting light. Another season has begun!
As I waded out into the water and began to set my decoys I thought I heard a deer grunting from the direction of the trail my 4 wheeler had made through the marsh. I told myself that there was no way a deer would be coming down my newly run trail so soon after coming in the swamp. I mean deer avoid humans/hunters; at least as far as I can remember. I threw out a few more decoys in the dark and heard it grunt several times again...followed by the sounds of a large quadruped making its way through the flooded vegetation.
A few moments later I could make-out the shape of a deer following my 4 wheeler trail; nose down, like a bloodhound. I blinked and squinted but sure enough...here he comes. I stood perfectly still with my decoy bag over my shoulder, and waited for him to walk out. Surely he'd run when he smelled me; covered in mosquito repellent, or see me and run. Nope.
The young buck stepped out downwind about 15-20 yards away and looked directly at me and grunted again. I took my hat off and yelled at it to scare it away..with a giggle. When I waved and yelled he aggressively ran; splashing mud and muck the whole way, a few yards towards me and the made it clear through his posturing that this was his mud-hole. I was in shock! It was right about this time that my previous nights supper of a cheeseburger, two helpings of stone ground butter-cheese corn grits, about 4 beers or so, and topped off with this morning's 30 oz coffee decided to show up.
With a grumbling from my innards, similar to that of a wounded water buffalo, it was evident what had to be done. Now keep in mind that a pissed-off deer doing some zany stuff is pawing and horning the vegetation not 10 yards from me, my gun is 40 yards from me, in a case, unloaded, and we have a official Mexican Stand-Off worthy of the (very fitting) The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly movie theme. I could read the headlines form the Shreveport Times, "Local Store Owner Gored To Death By Deer......investigators and wildlife biologists believe the deer was initially attracted to the man because his waders were; curiously, full of cheesy corn grits...".
Anyway- I wasn't sure what this danged crazy deer was gonna do; but I was absolutely certain what my bowels were gonna do, so I eased a few steps out of the water to take care of business...all under the watchful eye of my 4 legged friend. In doing so I was able to get my phone out of my pocket and snap a few pics of the deer. I guess that he didn't care for what was happening at this moment any more than I did because he snorted and; with great disdain, trotted off.
I had a fun hunt after that and it was an absolutely beautiful morning! You never know what you're gonna see out there but it is always interesting. I'm going back in the morning; hopefully without my deer buddy and a note to my friends on the same duck property...hunt the west side for a few days. It's a bit; well you know, on the other side . demon1.jpg