Angus: Losing a hunting buddy

No, I don’t mean Angus died or anything like that. However, when a guy sees his last son pass 16 in this state, he is now hunting on his own. This week, I’m losing a hunting buddy. Angus was always game for hunting. I remember distinctly getting a call from KYHillChick down at the farm. I’d gone turkey hunting back in 2002, and left a toy SXS shotgun and one of my old turkey decoys behind with him to play with. She called to tell me he was out with his back to the tree calling to the decoy. He was three.

That fall he started following me out to hunt. I could put him in the blind with me, and lie down on the the floor and tell him to wake me when the deer showed up. I’d nap. He’d stay on it for hours, sitting in a chair peering out the window. Back in 2003, I had one tag left to burn. We went out together and let him pick the deer to shoot.

My kid never begged for a swingset, but he did pester me for his own treestand. He passed Hunter Ed at 8, and I got him his own deer rifle, a Mosin Nagant M44, the next year. I loaded it down about as light as a 30-30. For all the years he was competing as a bagpiper he always made it clear, hunting came first. He made a few pipe majors mad. He missed a few Saturday practices, but heck! You can always pipe; season only comes around once a year, right?

In 2009, Angus really broke loose. He got his first turkey and his first deer. He’s been doing well for himself ever since. The big buck he got in 2011 hangs on his wall by his bed. This past year, he and I shot a pair of bucks within an hour of each other on the Opener.

Look, it’s a cool thing to see your sons grow up. Don’t get me wrong. It’s just that I’m going to miss that little goober tagging along. Happy Birthday, son.