Both of these areas are well known for the size of antlers and body weight if you know anything about hunting in the states.
We soon arrived at a luxurious log cabin complete with hot tub! Shortly after the out- fitter arrived, Pat Gaffney, and we had a good auld chat about hunting in Ire- land where he plans to come to hunt very soon and also about our plans for the week ahead. Pat ex- plained that his guides would pick us up every morning and bring us to out stands. We would hunt from fixed lad- der stands or box blinds made from plastic with windows at 360*. I opted for the tree stand as I know from previous experience that the big bucks only travel through thick cover and to be at a height of 25ft would be an advantage. The blinds would be situated facing over cut corn fields. We were instructed not to shoot spikes of small buck for management proposes. Only mature 8 pts or 6 pts. A recent bill passed in that area only allows for a 6 pt to be shot if the there are 4 points or tines on one side. An even 3 tines on each side is considered immature and left to develop.
Hunting Cabin
alert. Once or twice I drifted off but quickly woke up when I felt myself tethering over the edge only to be snapped back to safety from the harness which held me securely to the oak tree. The first few days were exciting as I had many small bucks and does passing through cor- ridors near my stand. More than once I had spikes and young bucks browse literally un- der the stand. Hu- man odour was kept to zero by making sure all my hunting clothes were stored in an airtight bag and only put on when I reached the stand. I would then spray down with Hunters specialties scent away, a popu-
lar anti odour spray which kills 99.9% of all smells. It worked as I had one doe stand directly on the path- way I would take each morning to reach the stand and she never spooked or got uneasy. Universally the Americans are scorned and mocked over their hunting techniques, from the typical saying “once there’s lead in the air there’s hope!” or “if it’s brown it’s down!” I’ve been there a few times now and never once witnessed any irresponsibility or silly shooting. Their management system is brilliant and it shows in the high population of deer in most areas.
Opening day after being shown to my stand by Dar- ren, hunting guide, I dressed for the expected cold weather at the base of the tree, layering with ther- mals and finishing with a windproof and Gore-Tex coat. Last thing you want sitting all day is a cold front coming in and next thing you can’t feel your fingers with the sub zero conditions. Incidentally the dedicated hunter sits in the stand from dark till dark. This is where you need to be patient and re- mind yourself that you came 4,500 miles to kill a decent buck and that boredom isn’t going to deter you. It’s a long sit all day; I used to pack a flask of coffee and rolls to eat with energy bars to keep
Anyways back to the story! Evening time was gener- ally a scenario of being picked up at a rendezvous point and dropped off at our cabin where dinner was always ready and served by Ted and some of the meals were just amazing. Grilled tenderloins of recently shot caribou that he had shot in Manitoba, meat loaf of caribou and one night was bison bur- gers!! And of course a nice bottle of red every night followed by a relaxing dip in the hot tub! Spoiled maybe but well deserved after sitting all day in a fecking tree!
By this stage Jeff, the Australian client had shot a I Shoot and Fish E-Zine December 2011 40
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