I’ve officially gone ‘soft’. The gorgeous big 8-point buck that’s been walking up to me most mornings for the last couple of months was in again today. While he stood and watched me dump his corn into the yard feeder, it hit me: There’s no way I can shoot him when the season rolls around.
I’ve hunted all my life, and killed a lot of buck (never one this nice!), but how can I shoot one this tame? It’s such a rush to have a deer like this walk right up to you! Lately that’s become more valuable to me than a bit more meat in the freezers. And as much as I love big antlers, I’d still rather find his sheds this winter than hang ’em on my wall.
Guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. I’ve turned into my Dad when he was this age, and I suppose that’s how it should be. The up side is, there’s no better man I could become.