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 To say that last deer season was not my best would be an understatement. In our region of South Carolina, buck season opens on August 15th. I was looking forward to a good year, for I had finally been able to save enough money to join my local club, which met for dog drives each Saturday. Although this method of deer hunting is becoming increasingly unpopular, it is the genuine tradition of the South, and if you hunt with the right folks, it is quite ethical and rather fun. I was honored to have been voted in by the club officers, and I became the very first woman in their entire history to be an actual member. There have been women who hunted with the club, but they were there because they were with a husband, father, or boyfriend.
It had been a rough year for us, with my older daughter suffering traumatic brain injury from a bicycling accident. (Yes, she was wearing her helmet; otherwise, she would have been killed.) She was recovering nicely, and I was anxious to leave the recent trouble behind and enjoy some great hunts.
My plans for an active season were changed when I visited my father in late August. He had been having trouble breathing when he would lie down to sleep, and thought he had a touch of asthma, but I took one look at his grey pallor and knew it was much more than that. I insisted on immediately taking him to my doctor, who diagnosed him with congestive heart failure and called an ambulance. He was days, perhaps hours away from sudden death when he was sent to the heart hospital in Columbia, SC. After a series of tests over the next week, he underwent ten and a half hours of surgery to replace one valve, repair another, and perform a triple by-pass. I was driving up to Columbia every other day, and taking care of my mother at home, for she could not be left alone in her house.
During my dad's recovery, we finally got my mother to see the doctor for the diagnosis we all suspected but were all dreading. It is now official. She has Alzheimer's. The stress of all this took a big toll on my health, not to mention my hunting season. I rarely got to the club, because every time a Saturday rolled around, I was either too sick or too tired to go out.
My season would have been a loss without the rare opportunity which was given to me by our farrier. He gets to know a lot of folks while trimming horse hooves, and he had befriended an agricultural consultant who works for Clemson, who had secured a hunting lease from one of the farmers he had advised. One day after he came for a scheduled trimming, Mike W. took me over to a 900 acre farm about ten minutes away from me, and showed me some of the stands there. We were joined by Michael B., the lease owner, and I got to see some really lovely spots. I was told I could hunt for $20 per visit, and that my children could hunt for free. It was a lot easier to fit this in to my hectic life. Whenever I found the time and was feeling well, I made the short drive and paid my fee, signing in at a little shack on the farm.
On my ten year old daughter's first hunt there, she took a shot at a small doe. We searched until dark for a sign of a hit, but found nothing. Some fellows were waiting for us at the shack when we went to sign out. Being true gentlemen, they had stayed to make sure my truck did not get stuck in the mud at the edge of the field where I had driven in to the stand. When they heard about Teresa's shot, they all drove back to make sure we had not missed a trail. We had not. Teresa was holding up pretty well until we got home, then she hugged her daddy and cried about missing the doe.
One afternoon in November, I felt the need for some quiet time on a deer stand. I drove over to the lease and sat in a stand overlooking a thick patch of regenerating woods. Mike W. had cut a shooting lane, and about an hour after I sat down, a doe appeared in the lane. She looked so small, but I could tell she was an adult. I had not seen a single antlered deer throughout the entire season, and this was the first chance I had at any deer thus far. The problem was, I am too short to rest my gun on the railing, so I had pushed the camo burlap aside, and I was in plain sight, with no gun rest. It took a long time to line up the crosshairs with the nervous doe looking in my direction, but I finally squeezed off a shot, and the hit was a good one. I was absolutely thrilled to find her just a short distance away in the heavy brush, and was also glad that she was not very heavy, for I had to drag her alone.
When the farrier came for the next trimming appointment, he told me that Michael B. had picked up a 150 acre tract of land farther west, and both would be included in one fee which would cover insurance and lease costs among no more than eight members. After discussing it with my husband, I decided that this would give the children the best hunting opportunities. Even my older daughter can hunt for free, whereas she would have to pay a guest fee at the local dog drive hunts. Besides, drives are not her style. As soon as I learned I was invited to join, I paid my dues. Now I am a full-fledged member, and again the only woman!
I took Teresa on a group coyote hunt last Saturday at the smaller tract, and I was taken in by the stunning beauty of the place. It has HILLS! I am a ridgerunner at heart, and here I am, living at the edge of the Lowcountry. How I have missed the hills and mountains I left behind in Pennsylvania! I can find happiness anywhere I have deer to hunt, but the scenery is a definite plus. The company was superb as well. Michael B. had his young son with him, a delightful and respectful boy. Like Teresa, he is homeschooled. Mike W. and an older gentleman were also there. We all got along very well, as if we were old friends. I am very blessed to happen upon such good folks, and I am very much looking forward to a very fulfilling year. This lease will include not only deer and coyote hunting, but also turkey hunting as well. I've been anxious to find a good place for turkeys.
 Here are some pictures Michael B. found on his trail camera. Only one of the bucks is a "shooter" according to the club rules (eight points minimum, beyond ears preferable but not mandatory), but the others may still grow a bit by next season. There are plenty of does we can shoot, and with such a small group of hunters, I doubt we will make much of a dent in the herd. I can't recall the last time I have seen so many deer tracks!
I'll have to break the news to my local club. I did get to hunt with them several times during the last week of the season, and had lots of fun, so this decision was a tough one at first. These men are my neighbors, and they treat me well. I cannot not afford to join both, though, and I know I made the right choice for my family. Besides, I need to get my first turkey, and the Elloree club could not help me with that!
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