Actually, I've been gearing up for the hunt for a while, in the literal sense.
I'm sure I mentioned this before, but I acquired an annual membership in a hunting club in southern Arkansas where my sister and brother-in-law are members. After putting together the pieces of a nice shooting setup (Kimber 8400 in .270 WSM with Leupold VX-R optics), it's finally almost time to go shoot some deer.
I have decided to drive down. I want to take several firearms just to shoot around if I have the chance, and flying just didn't seem like a good option under those circumstances. Besides, it will be nice to have my truck to motor around between the camp and my stand area. Still, not looking forward to the 30 hour round trip. My kids manage each direction in a single driving session, but I plan to split it up over 2 days each way. I'm too old and cranky to be in the car for more than 8 hours in a day.
I'm planning to hunt 5 days (or, up to 5 days, since that's the duration of my non-resident license) but I suppose it's possible I could bag my limit (2 deer, under the aforementioned license) sooner. I sort of doubt that, though. Teen Jared Hicks will be joining me in the stand for opening weekend, and I'm pretty sure he'll be taking the shots those first two days while I watch and enjoy the experience of the hunt for the first time in over a decade. (For those who don't know Jared, he's my ... hmmm... not sure what you call it. He's my kids' little brother, born to their mom a number of years after we were no longer married. I just call him J-Dawg.) Last night, I booked reservations at a nearby hotel so daughter Kristen and granddaughter Bella can be nearby to visit as well (yay!).
It's been quite an experience getting ready to go. Thanks to my B-I-L Marion, though, it hasn't been difficult to do it remotely. He set me up with a stand with 4 long shooting lanes (up to 300 yards each) and a settled food plot which is seeing heavy action. He's absolutely awesome to do that for me, and he and my sister are hosting me in their on-site camper. Speaking of on-site, they are already moved into the camp and will stay there until late December. According to facebook, they've already bagged their first doe (assuming black powder) and are well on their way to refilling the freezer.
If things go according to plan, I'm going to charge up the Flip video camera and try to shoot some video to bring back. November 12th is the open, and I'll be back in Pennsylvania by the 21st before embarking on another non-gun adventure (more to come on that later) the week after, so look for any hunting videos to arrive in early December.
