BEING CAREFUL IS REQUIRED
Many things can ruin a hunting trip. I’ve either been involved in or heard about the following ones. Guard against them!
Forgetting ammunition, gate keys, hunting license, gassing the truck before heading out, or having enough clothing are common things hunters regret. One man even forgot his rifle bolt. Another outdoor writer didn’t check the weather and suffered when a cold front hit. He had to drive into town for long johns the next morning.
Beware of intruders. A friend’s mother opened the door to her blind and met a bobcat face to face. I dozed off one warm November afternoon in a South Texas ground blind and awoke seeing a bobcat staring through buffle grass at me. Needing a fresh roll of film, I hit the auto rewind on my camera. The “whirr” excited the wildcat; it charged right at me, stopping only ten feet away when I waived my arms and shouted. I stayed awake after that.
A prominent wildlife biologist dropped off his daughter a short walk from their elevated blind one chilly afternoon. He hadn’t driven far when she urgently called him. There were several people in the blind. The border patrol came and arrested 14 illegals there, including women and children. Another time, nine illegals and their guide walked up on me one morning on the Piloncillo Ranch. I whispered a short prayer, picked up my rifle, and called ranch headquarters. The group stopped, studied me … and began walking toward me. One even smiled as they hiked by.
On a lease near Alice one cold, foggy morning, as my son and I awaited legal shooting hours, a drop of water dripped off the ceiling, hitting my sleeve. When the second drop hit, I looked up. To my horror, the entire 4×8 ceiling was covered with red wasps. My son looked at me, helplessly. I pointed at him, then at the blind’s door. I didn’t have to point twice. He was out the door and enroute to the ground, hitting it running. No one was stung. The wasps were too comfortable to attack. After that, I checked ceilings before entering blinds.
A number of hunters have gotten hopelessly stuck in soft sand or mud after heavy rains. Listening to other hunters’ warnings about road conditions prevents hardships. Parking on a slope uphill from a pond without checking the parking brake caused one hunter a wrecker charge and a world of problems when his Suburban began to roll after he left for his blind. I’ve wondered if he heard the splash.
Another hunter friend drove into an open pipe gate in the dark, rupturing his radiator. And several friends have answered Nature’s call squatting over prickly pear or snakes.
But the most serious ones included falling out of a blind face first, vehicle wrecks enroute to the lease, having a gun go off unexpectedly, shooting without checking the background, and shooting into a house … or another hunter.
These usually, sadly, terminate hunting for all involved.
JJ