{"id":1616,"date":"2003-11-11T16:10:01","date_gmt":"2003-11-11T21:10:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/genesis9.angzva.com\/?p=1616"},"modified":"2025-12-29T06:35:03","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T11:35:03","slug":"the-savage-spoke-and-the-monarch-of-the-forest-fell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/genesis9.angzva.com\/?p=1616","title":{"rendered":"The Savage Spoke and the Monarch of the Forest Fell"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

. . . or something like that. It sounds kind of goofy when you put it that way. Saturday morning started out colder than most, and definitely quieter. There was the constant drone of ATV\u2019s and an occasional truck gate slamming, but this year it was much further off. A lot of the landowners had been cracking down on slobs, so it was just us and the families out for opening morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Way In<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I took a slightly different way to the stand, across a fallow field. Although it was only about fifty yards away, the road would have taken me through the dense cover of the cedars, and this way I was walking almost directly downwind to the stand. That left the cedars to the deer, and most mornings I had bounced one or two does on my way in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Halfway across the field, I realized I was starting to crack a sweat, so I stopped and took off my hat and dumped some heat to the wind. There was no big rush; it was over an hour early. I dropped my duffel, doused the flashlight and knelt. Instant solitude. If someone had been watching, they would have been sure some overly precious refugee of the New Age was performing his makeshift hunting ritual. As it was, I looked up and saw I was facing Orion. Yeah, I probably am a refugee of the New Age, but I don\u2019t wear crystals, and I generally leave my antlered headdress at home. It still is good to see that friendly tableau. The Dog, the Hunter, the Bull. Some things never change. About that time I felt the first bit of chill, and I knew it was time to keep going.<\/p>\n\n\n

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If the constellations above had been looking out for me, they certainly did not do a good job. I muffed it in the dark and missed the corner of the field by about 65 yards. I ended up about 50 yards from my stand going the wrong way, and probably walking over a couple prime trails. A lone deer busted me and took off without snorting. My season was rapidly beginning to swirl. A rotting ladder stand on a cedar finally showed in my light and put me back on track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Campground is a tube steel ladder stand down the way from the oak grove where we camp in the summer. It overlooks several white oaks all squatty with age. My attention was drawn to this site by the profusion of rotting wood nailed to the sides of the trees. As best I can tell, at least two generations of hunters had spent their seasons here. It is prone to a lot of midday movement, and most deer don\u2019t show up until at least two hours past sunrise. I had mistakenly hunted the area the first year as an afternoon stand and seen nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The biggest asset to Campground is that it overlooks the lee side of a saddle that interconnects two large creek systems. My site allows me to look to the bottom of the saddle on one side and out into the field on another. It made a good rifle stand and after sweetening the spot with a salt lick it has become a passable early season bow stand.<\/p>\n\n\n \n

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