Published: November 17, 2007 10:52 pm            

MARTINO: Cherish the early morning moments in the field

It’s more than ‘hunting’ for dads and kids

“Sunup is the coldest time of day,” will be said time-and-time again. As this weekend marks the opening of the regular firearms deer hunting season, many youngsters and new deer hunters will quickly realize this. For the next several weeks, the woods will be filled with sportsmen and more importantly — children.

Many of these youngsters will be sitting in tree stands, their fists balled up in gloves and feet curled up in layers of socks. The shiver that runs up their spine may not be so much from the cold, but from the excitement that the buck of their dreams may soon magically materialize. A mossy-horned 10-pointer or a small “forkie,” it won’t matter.

Over the next several weeks scores of fathers will be taking their children, boys and girls alike, on their first deer hunting adventure. They will be doing their best to pass on a wealth of knowledge. These men will be saying things like, “remember to check your backside because deer like to sneak up behind you,” and “always pay attention to the wind.”

Whether sharing a two-seater “buddy stand” or sitting together in a ground blind, these fathers will be looked on as king of the woods. Their guns will be held like scepters, their hats, a regal hunter-orange crown.

Children will be paying close attention, hanging on for more words of wisdom. With daylight slowly creeping into the eastern sky, they will be trying to guess when their father will deem it legal shooting time. These youngsters will notice everything, like the steam that rises from spoken words to their father’s breath which offers a hint of morning coffee.

As time moves on and years pass, a natural evolution seems to occur. These same children will take less time to hunt. Their weekends will become occupied by friends, members of the opposite sex and high school football. After graduation, many will move on to college or new jobs. But as they get settled in to their adult lives, they will feel a sense of urgency to reconnect with things they knew and loved as a child.

They will again find themselves driving in the pre-dawn darkness with their fathers drinking coffee from an old thermos. Many will visit the same deer woods they knew in years past. As they spend the day together, these now young adults will notice the gray hairs sticking out of their father’s old hunting cap. Time will make the father’s step a little shorter and slower, but he will still be looked on as king of the woods.

These once young children will come to realize that no matter how many deer they had taken in past years, they have bagged a much bigger trophy in just being together on those frosty mornings. After all, it really wasn’t deer they were after, but a relationship — a man and his child in pursuit of each other. It is these types of hunts where a limit is always brought home.

To the fathers who will accompany their children for the first time in the deer woods — cherish it. To the youngsters — revel in it for the rest of your lives.

For those who have or will be spending time in the woods with your father this season, be thankful that you have a parent who made it possible. And of course, pay attention to the wind and ready yourself for the coldest time of the day!

Hunting results

Here are the names of local bowhunters who have collected deer during the final week of this year’s early archery season. This information is provided through the help of our local state approved deer check-in stations which are; Bryant’s Outdoor Store; Burlington Locker; Full-Draw Archery; Jack’s Tackle Center and Simpson’s Deer Processing. This information includes field-dressed weights and county of harvest.

Carroll County: Kyle Sizemore, 170 pound, seven-point buck; James Keck, 157 pound, eight-point buck; Chad Bingaman, 110 pound doe; Levi Pullen, 110 pound doe; Tom Williams, 145 pound, eight-point buck; John Ault, 90 pound doe.

Cass County: Rick Cooper, 130 pound, six-point buck; Jay Bass, 185 pound, 10-point buck; Ron Keller, 155 pound, seven-point buck; Todd Cripe, 175 pound, eight-point buck.

Fulton County: James Schaeffer, 190 pound, 11-point buck; Jeff Vanover, 75 pound, button-buck; Kent Bowers, 160 pound, seven-point buck; Dennis Riggs, 70 pound, button-buck.

Howard County: Jeff Nester, 80 pound, button-buck; Tony Nutter, 200 pound, 12-point buck; Dennis Byford, 80 pound, button-buck; Dan Miller, 140 pound, eight-point buck; Chris Groome, 165 pound, eight-point buck; Dave Schlabach, 105 pound doe; John Bass Sr., 85 pound, button-buck; John Bass Jr., 115 pound doe; Bill Young, 70 pound doe; Dustin Taflinger, 60 pound doe; Derrick Sherrick, 100 pound doe; Larry Bradburn, 160 pound, eight-point buck.

Marshall County: Jason Heaton, 130 pound doe.

Miami County: Brian Whitacre, 130 pound, five-point buck; Chad Fouch, 80 pound doe; Gabriel Hartwig, 75 pound, button-buck; Steve Cragun, 70 pound doe; Larry Hizer, 195 pound, 10-point buck; John Jaycox, 140 pound doe; Joe Conyers, 118 pound doe.

Tippecanoe County: Rick Zering, 135 pound, six-point buck; Chris Albitz, 150 pound, eight-point buck; Dan Pickell, 205 pound, 11-point buck; Gary Ogden, 150 pound, eight-point buck.

Tipton County: Randall Wood, 150 pound, nine-point buck; Richard Ponder, 120 pound doe.

John Martino is the Tribune’s outdoors columnist. He may be reached through the sports department at (765) 454-8574.

        

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