Parkers and Winchesters

[C.O.B.]

Our firearms deer season opened November 15th and I spent four full days defending 80 acres against the maurading exploits of the buck known as Crabclaw. He is on survailence camera harassing the females of his species and being a general nuisance tearing up trees, eating all the acorns and exhibiting bad behavior.

As I waited for him to show himself armed with a Pre 64 M70 .300 H&H loaded with custom crafted handloads featuring Nosler 165grain Ballistic Tips the frosty mornings, cold and quiet caused my thoughts to wander from waiting for Crabclaw to get horney and come out to chase some of the beautifull ladies that are around so I could let the air out of him with a surgically implanted bullet to Phaeasnt hunting with Daisy and a Parker.

Each morning as I prepared to go deer hunting Daisy was beside herself with the anticipation of going hunting, and each morning she was dissapointed when I squeezed out the door and closed it on her. I would hear her whinning and wimpering as I went to the truck knowing how bad she felt at being left behind. She knows hunting but can't tell the difference between birds and deer hunting. At night she was always the first to greet me on my return from the field, eager to see me and forgiving of being left behind.

On the fifth morning I couldn't stand it any longer so I slept a little later and took Daisy out to the Haymarsh for a morning hunt. We had two fields to scratch hunt that composed 80 acers. We spotted a Rooster walking down the road and I took this as a good sign but in the time it took to get Daisy's collar and bell on and the gun put together Mr. rooster recrossed the road to safty as we can't hunt that piece of ground.

The morning was just like the previous ones, cold clear air with just a slight breeze,a hard frost clung to the ground. We had been out for about an hour when the tinkeling of the bell went silent and the blast of the beeper collar pierced the morning's stillness signaling a point. I could hear her thoughts "come on old man, I've done the hard part all you have to do is shoot" as I came up to her point. There was no immediate flush but she worked it out as the bird had moved in the time it took me to get to Daisy. The Rooster was crowded into flight but he stood his ground for as long as his nerves could stand it as he flushed at my feet. I let him enjoy his false confidence of escape befor the right barrel spoke and a load of 7's cancelled out the rest of is day.

We hunted the morning untill about noon and called it a day as the temperature had climbed to the low 50's. We had just the one bird but more important we enjoyed the morning, two hunters doing what we love to do.
That afternoon when I traded the Parker for the Winchester Daisy was content to stay curled up in her chair as I set out once again to defend the 80 acres from Crabclaw.