So.. there I was, on the 1000 yard firing line throwing some freedom pills down range when I saw it at the bottom of my scopes view. A group of tiny heads lurching back and forth as they moved through my field of view. As I lift the rear of my rifle to get a full view I see a group of tactical turkeys in their best redcoat formation marching across the range with not a care in the world about the freedom blasts directed towards them just a few hundred yards away.

It was deer season 1993. My brother and I had the truck packed. It was a 1965 chevy pickup inline 6 with a 3 on the tree. A good solid hunting truck that you didn’t care if it got scratched or dented. Pretty reliable and easy to fix if something did go wrong. We headed out to the local mountains about an hour outside of town. Head up the dirt jeep trail to find a spot we can call our deer camp. I was taking my time gettting up there th eroad was pretty rough and th etruck and all our gear were bouncing all over the so called trail. At about the half way mark I got tired of the abuse my kidneys were taking and the incessant bouncing and banging on the trial so I stoped, got out to look around and took a look at all four tires. Now in 1993 I was twenty one. I didn’t have a lot of money and was just out of trade school so needless to say the tires were very long in the tooth more than one one showing some cord so i was concerned. I got back in the truck started her up and my brother asked me “what’s wrong” I said ” Nothing. I just wanted to make sure the tires weren’t square” We both had a good laugh at that one. I’m not ussually that quick whitted but it turns out that comment would be the start of some very quick whit. So we get up there a little late, Sun’s going down and i’m not in the mood to try and figure out how to set up a 1960’s Coleman cabin tent. I just grab my pack and rifle and roll out a pancho and drop my pack against the rear tire of the truck. My brother then gets this look of deep concern on his face. asking me ” So we’re setting up the tent right? You want me to un load it?” I told him in a very colorful way that I was “too tired to set it up, It’s getting dark and I don’t want to play with it tonight” add some colorful language to suit your taste because thats how I phrased it. I ussually startered and finished a sentence with the F word and every other word in-between and this retort to his illogical question was no different. I just curled up and tried to get to sleep. He fiddled around and finally I could hear him snore so that problem was solved.
The next day we got up. lit the camp stove and got breakfast going. Coffee and god knows what else Probably instant oats or something. then headed up the road to a spot we scouted out earlier that year. Well nothing was stirring so back to camp and to set up this god forsaken tent. More on that latter. The tent turns out was easy to set up and I could have taken care of it the night prior but I didn’t let my brother know that. So we now had a deer camp.
Well deer hunting was uneventful, FDay after day of nothing, no tracks, no sightings no scat no nothing, till we get back to deer camp on day and see our camp sight……. WE HAD TRACKS AND SIGN NOW!! it looked like a whole herd came through CAMP what the heck is going on here?? we left early and I found tracks on top of my tire track when we left that morning. the deer were in the bush laughing at us. pointing and laughing. so we continued on trying to figure these creatures out. We head up to one area and hike back in a mile or so and set up under an old Oak tree and just sit there waiting for the sun to come up. We sat there the rest of the morning not seeing a darn thing. glassing th ehill sides looking for anything. The we hear a few leaves crunch under foot. then a few more and more then we think this deer has got to be the size of a full grown African Elephant with all the noise it’s making. We get so excited and ready to shoot just waiting for this deer to walk up the wash we were over looking… At that moment the largets covy of mountian quial I ever seen came marching down that wash stepping on every dry oak leaf they could find. They couldn’t make more noise if they had a high school marching band with them. my god the noise. We had another good laugh at that one too. Headed back to camp to get lunch and think this thing through. it was now day three or four on the mountain? I don’t remember I lost track… after lunch I decided to go tak a walk and scout around camp since i’d seen all these deer track the day or so prior maybe there was some deer near camp hunkered down in the sage brush. So I wonder off on a finger of this mountain moving slowly, looking at everything when I here a single gun shot come from back towards camp. I wonder back over towards camp headed up hill and poke my head up abover the burm at the road and I see my brother wondering around camp. with his rifle. I’m scratcing my head, I don’t see a dead deer, I don’t see a target, He don’t don’t look like he shot himself ( don’t laugh, It has happened before. Not to him but other hunters) So I wonder back to where I was when i heard the shot. and I see my brother walking down the road about 1000 yards to my east. adn I can barely hear something like yelling. KERRRRRRY I r;lghlghghryou troiurpufrirh???? What the heck wast that. so I go and find a great big flat grantie rock to stand on a silhouette myself on so he can see me and hold my rifle above my head like you see in so many WWII movies.. and yell back WWHHAAT?? and then I hear a little more “KERRY I SHOT YOUR EDGJHLDF????” I yell back “WHAT?” and he repeats slower “KERRY I SHOT YOUR TRUCK!!!!” that took a ful second for my brain to register. I replied as loud and as clearly as I could “HOOOLD STIIIILLLL!!!!” Yep turns out he did shot the truck fumbling with his rifle and put a hole in the rear of the cab right next to the door and about 6″ from the gas tank. Detroit steel stoped the bullet on the door frame itself. it only made it through two layers of steel befor the door stopped the bullet cold. Yes My brother survived deer camp of 1993 I didn’t shoot him and we have something to joke about and remember for the rest of our lives.

Oh the the god forsaken tent I almost forgot. Well it turns out we camped on a saddle back and the winds kicked up on our last night on the hill. kicked up so bad as to knock the tent poles down at about 11 pm. I tried to go out and fix thing but since I didn’t have a decent light and couldn’t locate the parts that fell out. It was no use. I decided to try to sleep in the truck. That lasted for about an hour and I had had enough we packed up a drove home in record time. Motivation I tell you does wonders to get things moving. And I’ve never been deer hunting since…….