The Hunter

My husband (”The Hunter”) just had his first archery kill yesterday. It was special for several reasons. First, he had taken our six year old daughter (”JJ”) with him that morning, since it was her turn. Second, they were hunting on our own property. Lastly, the whole thing turned into a family affair and a great educational experience for all.

I’ve mentioned our 20 acres in Central Oregon where we’re currently building a house. It’s not an enormous piece of land as far as hunting grounds go, but it’s situated in an ideal location for the sport. One end of the terrain drops down to a rimrock cliff which is the natural path of herds of deer and elk that run though here. The other end is bordered by a large canal which makes a nice watering hole, and the other sides of the property are bordered by large acreages. So it works.

The Hunter has been rifle-hunting for years - mostly for elk in Eastern Oregon. Last year, he switched to bow hunting and seems to enjoy the sporting challenge. Since we lived on our property last year at this time, in our travel trailer, we had opportunity to see all the wildlife up close. There was an enormous buck (”Chester”) that came by nearly everyday during the late summer, and The Hunter was out looking for him all during the hunting season, but with no luck.

The night before this hunt, The Hunter had taken our eight year old son (The Scientist) to the property to hunt, and with just two days left of the bow season, he was anxious. The Scientist has his own small bow, and just target shoots for fun - but you can imagine that he really feels like he’s hunting with Daddy. They were hoping that Chester would make an appearance. The hunters saw nothing that evening.

So, the following morning, JJ begged to go with The Hunter, as she had been in tears the day before at not having gone. But The Hunter just wants one child at a time at this point. I’m sure you can understand all the noise made by a six and eight year old poking each other. I was home with the other children and had really forgotten about the morning activity.

My phone rang, and there was a bad connection, but I did hear the word “spike.” Yes, The Hunter and his young huntress had accomplished the mission. Standing in our future master bath, they were getting ready to leave, when along came the buck. The Hunter waited patiently for the deer to change his head-on position, took the shot, and the well-placed arrow shot clean through the animal.

Here’s where it was really neat to have him hunting less than 10 minutes away. I was able to grab the neighbor to come and help, pack up some supplies and the other three kids (and Grandma), and head over. Now all my children are well educated in the gutting, hanging, and skinning of a deer. If we were lost in the wilderness, we’d all survive. :-)

Family Hunt: notice the various expressions…and the proud huntress posing next to her Daddy. The Scientist was so jealous, and on the way to the property, said, “I hope JJ didn’t help Daddy track the deer.” I said, “Honey, you will have your time.”

Gutting the deer: the kids and I learned what an awful, dreadful, and vile smell is created in this endeavor.

Hanging the deer: the old Juniper tree, rope and pole are skillfully used.

Skinning the deer: not for the faint of heart, but now we all know the ins and outs of this.

We all had a good chuckle as The Scientist put the front legs to good use. He strung them up and made some sort of deer puppet…he said he was making deer tracks. I love the creativity of this child.

The deer needs to hang for a few days, then The Hunter will take it to the butcher and we’ll have a freezer full of venison. Dinner last night? Backstrap, of course. According to The Hunter, tradition in the hunting camp calls for the backstrap to be cut off immediately and cooked for dinner, so this coincided well with the fact that the neighbor who helped him was having us over for a BBQ that night.

Much to The Hunter’s delight, I’m now convinced that hunting can be a family activity for us. He likes that the kids are learning not just the sport of hunting, but the entire process, from field to fridge. We know where our food comes from. :-)