An Ode to the Good Ole Days of Deer Hunting

It’s hard to not think about the good ole days. As I sit here in what is the "prime" part of my hunting career as far as my ability to travel and chase my dreams, I have found myself in a pickle. My boys are not quite old enough to hunt, and while I don't want to rush watching them grow up, I know my best memories of hunting are yet to come.  

I grew up a gun hunter; opening day for me was easily my favorite day of the year. The stories of those years of my life are endless. Even as I sit in a river bottom in Kansas or a cut corn field in Iowa, it can sometimes feel empty. The tradition of gun hunting is something that can't be ignored.  There are many things to be missed about the good ole days.

I miss the good ole days where you would hear a gunshot and wonder who it could be. Or hiking up to sit with my grandpa next to his favorite tree, regardless of what direction the wind was blowing. I miss eating at the same diner after every hunt and trying to get there before 10:30 so we could order breakfast. I miss rolling into the butcher ready to see how everyone's opening day went. There were no antler restrictions or overcomplicating the process. It was simple and it was fun.  

I packed up to move to Ohio years ago, in search of many things one being bigger whitetails.  To say I am lucky is an understatement, 12 year old me would be so excited to know what was in store for him.  While I may no longer hunt the ground I used to as a kid, I did not forget about what I was fortunate to have.  To this day I still spend most opening days with my Dad.  And the future? It is different, my kids hopefully will grow up with tradition as they know it as hunting with Dad and Grandpa in Ohio.

While times have changed, like most, I have embraced it.   I no longer use whatever gun my Dad isn’t using but rather a 350 Legend. Our goals have shifted in some ways, yet in others, they stay the same. We are chasing deer now that we could only dream of just 20 years ago. But the constant thread is that I still feel like we are out there for the same reasons. Our effective range has grown from 75 yards to 200 yards.  

It is easy to look back at what once was and think it is now over-complicated or too easy. However, my perspective on this, is that we owe it to the animal to be as efficient as we can. Looking back now, shooting open sights on a shotgun was not only challenging, but it was also ultimately unfair to the animal. We (hunters) as a group have become better, and the information at our fingertips is a great asset. Back in the day, every shot and tracking job would simply be information we thought we knew because of our experience. We now have more confidence in our setups and our deer herds. With this growth comes some negatives such as social media and people being critics when it comes to the size and age of deer, but I still think the future is bright, we still can have the traditions of deer camp if we choose to. Our group may be less successful in regards to the number of animals but certainly more successful when it comes to the age class of animals we wrap our tags around.  

This past season I spent another opener with my Dad like I have done for so many years prior. Someone I have always looked up to as a marksman, I’ve watched him make shots with ease that I don't think I could pull off.  As our target buck walked out into the field I was in disbelief.  It would be his biggest buck, I watched him wait patiently for a perfect opportunity. As he fired, like so many times, before he found his mark. Another opening day was in the books successful by most due to what he accomplished. I miss the good ole days and we reminisce every time we hunt together. I hope that in 20 years, I will have a similar viewpoint in that I still can't forget where we came from as hunters and appreciate where we are heading.

If you liked this Ode to the Good Ole Days, check out Become 1 on Sportsman Channel!