The Joy of Hunting??

When you live in certain parts of the country, definitely here, you hunt, period the end, or you are likely considered a gay, liberal, tree-hugger. Not that there's anything wrong with that, I guess, but if that defines "you", don't move to the South.

Deer is the quarry. I have learned that if you are going to hunt deer in "these parts of the woods" there are certain things you must have. High power rifle with high power scope, camo, certain high-grain ammo, scent-blocker, food plots, salt licks, 4-wheelers, gutting knives, tree stands and blinds, feeders, calls, grunts, rattlin' horns, decoys, a paid lease to hunt certain tracts of land, a "deer camp", binoculars, spotting scopes, range finders, a back-up weapon, safety harnesses, more ammo, permission to be away from the misses (mandatory at marriage, forget prenuptual financial agreement, it's pre-nup deer camp rights), and a shit load of beer.

In theory; you spend thousands of dollars buying clothes, beer, guns, scopes, leasing land, scents, feed, ploys, beer, ammo, vehicles, more ammo, blades, stands to hunt out of, and more beer. Couldn't you have bought a few deer at this point? To go out at 4:00 a.m. in freezing cold weather and "hunt".

The reality; all of these things are necessary.. eventually. The truth is, the concept of deer camp, especially in the first few days, is to be away from the house, get shit-faced with a bunch of other guys wearing camo and celebrating the fact that they are free that week, and wake up somewhere around noon hoping to shoot anything that comes along just say you have meat.

To the hard core, I say "why should I get up at 3:00 a.m. to cover myself in deer piss, walk 3 miles to a designated tree, to sit motionless in that tree for hour upon hour, hoping to see "the one", when my wife has a higher probability to kill "the one" on her way to work in an '06 Avalanche?" As a matter of fact she did, 10 point, big one. And she didn't spend a dime "hunting" only a $250 deductible.