Reader-Submitted Story
The Gift
by Allan Nickless
Mario DeRocco is a good friend of mine and at 83 years of age, we still go out with our dog for a walk when possible. It was on one of these walks where this hunt was planned. I had an injury earlier that would keep myself from shooting so if I was going to enjoy this season, it would be with someone else. With this sudden windfall of time for November, Mario and I realized an opportunity—between the both of us, we could handle a deer.
The first day we both could get out was on November 2. The season was already started and we still had to get a blind set up. Earlier in the season, I had got permission on a new piece of private property that would be easier access. It is a hay field with rolling hills and some bush on two sides and having seen whitetail deer and moose occasionally in the area, it would be worth the effort. Knowing that areas around it are hunted, it could push some deer into this area.
I pack up all the tools to set up a blind—stakes, rope, trimming saw, a couple of lawn chairs and a trail camera to give us an idea of what was in the area. My wife Marilyn insisted to come and help out so I wouldn’t make my injury worse. With our granddaughter Millie, our dog, and then I picked up Mario, it was a full truck load.
A half-hour later, I’m driving around the edge of the field looking for tracks but with a lack of snow, we really don’t see much. We then stop at the back of the field where there is some bush to go for a walk and check for sign. There are some saplings for 10 metres and then some mature aspens with a barbed wire fence strung along we need to get over. We find a good spot for all of us get through the barbed wire and right away we are on an old road or some sort of open trail. There is some sign of a game trail and up around a small hill covered in trees is an open, natural grassland area. Upon further searching, we find moose and deer droppings scattered around.
After surveying the area, it is decided that we would put the covered blind on the hill tucked back into the trees for cover and out of the wind. We get the blind all set up and my granddaughter is having fun exploring this new playhouse, she calls it “Grandpa’s Hut”.
Once this is done, I go down the trail in the other direction and put up a trail camera one-hundred metres down. This is when I realize there was no SD card—with all the items to bring, I had forgotten the SD card. We would bring one out when we came back to hunt in a couple of days. Saturday, November 4 would be the first day we would sit in the blind.
We would leave plenty early in the dark of the morning to give us time to park the truck, which we had picked a spot in a low area with a nice 20-minute walk. Packs were put on, headlamps on and in the dark we started out to find the crossing in the damp cold morning. I keep an ear out expecting to hear a deer being spooked by us or of something running off... nothing, just silence. This being our first time in the dark trying to find our way we missed our trail in initially but after a few minutes of figuring out where we thought it was and some searching, we found the trail to the fence. We find the blind with just a hint of the light sky starting, as we are facing into the sun.
The blind gets full pretty quick—two chairs, packs, a heater, some McDonalds muffins, thermos with coffee, binocular, calls, a grunt tube, a gun rest and Mario’s rifle, which is a light Savage 243 that weighs in at 5.3 pounds scoped, and uses 90-grain Accubonds. Getting settled in took some time. With the blind windows opened up, I had Mario get the gun rest set for height and with his rifle loaded, we are set!
From what I knew of the surrounding area, I was expecting to see deer moving from the area in front of us and heading into some bush that was behind us, maybe 500 metres to the southwest. There is enough cover so the deer should come through this area with ease. As the horizon is turning from that pre-dawn dark grey to a more light grey, I confirmed legal hunting time. So far we have only heard a rifle shot from a ways off out in front of us, and soon after I thought I heard something on Mario’s side. With a gentle tap and whisper, we are both scanning in the direction of the noise but after a while neither of us could see anything nor figure out what the sound was. Mario is intent on watching his side but there is some thick brush with willows in the bottom. I am searching a slough bottom that is covered in thistle mixed with tall grass on my right, which I know deer like to cross. As I’m looking for any movement, I slowly scan back to the front of the blind and there, standing on the hill is a beautiful whitetail buck.
It took me a moment to realize what I was looking at—it had walked into the opening on the trail but from the opposite direction I was expecting. As they say, expect the unexpected when whitetail hunting. I call them the ghost, as they appear out of nowhere.
I tap Mario on his arm, point to the front, and he is in as much disbelief at first as I was. The buck hasn’t moved. I quietly tell him, “There is your buck!”
At that he realized this was his opportunity to harvest a deer and he gathered himself, slowly getting his rifle on the rest and getting lined up on the deer. Everyone knows that a whitetail can bust at any time but so far, it was still standing there looking at us. I am expecting the boom from the rifle at any moment but the deer decided it was time to gain some space so he started to move away from us at a walk. After about 30 metres it stopped, quartering away for another look. I was watching the deer when Mario shot and it seemed to just trot off into the trees, disappearing from sight. I was a somewhat unsure of what just happened. Mario is an excellent shot but the deer never reacted! I’m wondering to myself if the deer was hit.
We decide that a 20-minute wait would be best to let the deer expire on its own. It always seems like forever when waiting. We exited the blind and head down the hill to the trail where we believe the deer was standing, easier if there was some snow. We will just have to search for the subtle signs—any grass stepped on, maybe some hair or blood on ground.
A search of where the deer had been standing turned up nothing so we split up on a couple of trails heading in the direction we last saw the deer. I find some dirt kicked up but searching the grass for any blood or hair I find nothing. Having tracked deer, it seems they will start down a trail but if they are hit, they will go off a main trail to lose their pursuer.
I check with Mario but so far he has found no sign. Concerned, I go about the task of trying to find any sign to give myself a sense of direction. On the trail I am starting to follow there is some fallen trees. It continues along a small ridge and then disappears around a slough bottom and out of sight. I continue slowly checking for sign up to the fallen trees but just as I am starting to question myself, there the buck lies just past the fallen trees in the grass. Relieved, I had found the buck! I called Mario over to claim his buck. The bullet had found its mark. We both took some time to enjoy the moment when Mario said, “What a gift!”
After taking some pictures and looking over the deer’s antlers, we noticed how fresh the bark on its antlers was from rubbing on some saplings—realizing now where the noise we had heard earlier came from.
I headed back to the truck for the sled, game bags, and some rope to load the deer. I have used the gutless method for a few years now, ever since I watched a show of “Sarah Palin’s Alaska” and her father hunting caribou.
With Mario’s age and my shoulder we got it all to the truck and a couple of days later we processed the deer so Mario could have a winter’s worth of venison and enough to share with family and friends.
Mario may have called the deer his gift, but I feel this was more of a gift to me—my best year hunting and I never fired a shot.
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