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Brown its Down

“Brown its Down”, Where does that phrase come from and why is it used so freely amongst my brothers in the hunting world?  I used to use this phrase but then realized there is more to deer hunting then filling the freezer.  Whitetail deer are plentiful most everywhere in the country and hunters are often very successful at filling their tags.

Regardless of what kind of deer hunter you are you get excited when you see that monster across the field chasing a doe.  Your anticipation heightens hoping she will bring him past your stand location.  Suddenly your attention is drawn to some movement much closer to your stand and it’s a young buck with a rare double throat patch.  You are left with a decision, shoot the young buck to fill your buck tag or hold out and wait for a possible opportunity for the giant you seen earlier in the hunt.  You choose to pass and go the rest of the season without ever filling your buck tag.  You kick yourself thinking you should have taken a shot at the young buck.

Spring comes along and during your shed hunting excursions you come across the shed antler of the young buck that slipped through your sights.  At this point you know little about how much he grew in that in one year’s time.  Your scouting efforts have yielded several views of a buck with the same double throat patch.  Not only did he increase his body size but his headgear also seems to have improved.

Season comes once again and you have one buck on your mind.  The visions of him walking into your shooting lane causes you to daydream of the opportunity.  During your daydream movement once again catches your eye, is it him?  Could today be the day?  Nope.  As a young doe walks past your stand.  Archery season comes and goes without a single sighting of your target buck.

Gun season arrives.  At first light you see the area received a solid coat of frost overnight.  It doesn’t take long before you see the movement of several does through the tall switch grass.  Behind the does is a buck.  You look on intently to determine if that he is the buck you are after.  He nose to the ground scent checking does makes it difficult to gain a clear view.  Suddenly a neighboring shot causes his head to pop up in high alert giving you a full view of the buck’s antlers and the ever clear double throat patch.  It’s him!!  The excitement quickly overwhelms your body as the adrenaline and cold combination makes you shake uncontrollably.  You slowly reach for your muzzleloader and pray that the one shot your given flies true.  You try and try to calm yourself but your heavy breathing has fogged your scope making it difficult to see your target.  You wipe the scope to clear your view.  Your one and only chance to harvest this buck is about to be presented.  Though your shaking hasn’t slowed you know it’s now or never.  You settle the crosshairs on his shoulder as best as your body will allow and slowly squeeze the trigger.  The smoke from the black powder blinds you and the calm morning air allows the smoke to linger.  You are left wondering what had just happened.  The faint view of white flags through the smoke indicate there were deer leaving the area.

After several moments of uncertainty you can no longer wait to investigate the scene where the buck stood.  Before leaving the blind you make a mental note of where he was standing when you took the shot.  You slowly move into the switch grass using every sense to locate the buck.  You find the shrub he was standing next to and quickly notice sign of a direct hit.  A short track revealed his magnificent body lying motionless.  Laying the gun across his shoulder you wrap your hands around the antlers of your best buck.  Emotions run high and you are overwhelmed with excitement.

The success and pride of your achievement makes you think back to your initial encounter with this buck.  Questions start running through your head.  Would I have been this excited if I shot this buck last season?  Would this adrenaline still be pumping through my veins?

I caught myself asking these very questions during my transition phase into what many call a “trophy hunter”.  I strongly believe in letting bucks mature to a level above the 1.5 yr old that many harvest.  Having the hunting scenario above play out every couple of years is worth the price of eating tag soup from one season to the next.  I also believe the abundance of doe tags in our State has led some to believe to keep shooting every doe you see.  Some areas have had their deer herds reduced to numbers making hunting less enjoyable.  As hunters, hunting both private and public lands, we have to also learn to become our own managers of the deer herd using the property you hunt.

I began deer hunting in Mid-Michigan and seen several deer during every hunt and even filled my buck and doe tags for several seasons.  2005 I was fortunate enough to harvest the largest buck of my life and it soon followed by another respectable buck in 2009.  After that I found a new respect for the animal that I used to quickly pull the trigger on.  I found great satisfaction in watching the bucks in the herd grow and reduced my harvest based on the properties that I hunt.  After making this transition I no longer felt it necessary to fill my tags every season especially my buck tags.  I am now going on my forth season without pulling the trigger on a buck.  Am I disappointed, absolutely not!!  I know at some point my patience will be rewarded with another magnificent animal!!