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Lot's of Hunters and
Very Few Deer!
By: Ron Wilson
October 3, 2002
My grandson turned 12 this
year and got his first deer hunting tags for D-5.
He called last Friday
and just had to go hunting on Saturday, opening weekend!. My son Donald
and I tried everything to talk him out of it to no avail. Derick just
wanted to go.
Before daylight we were at
Bear Valley down below the cabbage patch area. At first light Derick and
I headed down the road toward a saddle, so we could sit and watch for
deer that may be moved by other hunters in the area.
As we walked I showed my
grandson how to step as quietly as possible by placing his heel down and
then roll his foot forward, remembering to do the same with each step he
took. It worked somewhat but every 3rd or forth step he would end up
kicking a rock or forgetting to roll the foot.
We passed a trail that had a
buck track and a couple doe tracks. The deer were walking, so I was
confident the split toed track I saw in the fresh quad tire tracks was a
buck. Whether it was a legal one or not would be another question.
We finally got to the saddle
and set up. Blue Jays chattering, ground squirrels and chipmunks scurrying
around, but not other movement except the grandson fidgeting around.
The guys with the quads down
below finally got up and slammed their camper door shut, causing a deer
nearby to jump from the noise. Derick immediately said out loud that's
my dad. I never did see the deer, but I explained to Derick that there
were hunters all over the area and the sound we heard was a deer jumping
from the door slamming and now that he spoke, he just gave away our
position.
The weather was to warm and
the deer were spooked to death by now with all the noise of quads,
jeeps, trucks and guys walking, so I decided it was time to head back to
our vehicle.
Donald showed up from down
below and decided to hunt the other side of the road. We had Derick
watch a good possible deer crossing on one curve while I watched a
ravine on the other side of the knoll.
When Donald got back we
compared notes. Donald had seen two other hunters on the hillside. I had
seen 8 hunters, 4 gray squirrels and a chipmunk.
We decided it was time to
head down the hill. Donald had been awake for 24 hours, as he had gotten
no sleep the night before. We talked with a lot of hunters who never saw
a deer as we made our way back to the highway to head home early.
As we left Angels Camp,
Derick saw his first 3 deer of the day. I informed him that they were
some of the local deer that stayed at the private fishing club his
cousin, Blaine, belongs to. These deer were part of the lower herd
existing in California that never migrate.
My belief is that we now
have two type of deer. The locals that never migrate and the higher
elevation deer that spend there summers in the high country and the
winters near the snowline, wherever that may be!
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