I must be getting soft

[SXS OHIO]

Ya...Im getting soft too. Don't hunt squirrels anymore, have not killed a white tail in years although I still may go out late season after I return from Kansas? No problem with shooting birds yet, I just get so much enjoyment hunting with my SXS guns, the dog work and my wife makes the birds into tasty heathy meals! Like ster-fry pheasant or her cast iron pot pie is to die for. SXS Ohio

[stumpstalker]

Allen:

It could be something a little more prosaic that is going on and you just balked at harvesting what you did not intend to eat.

I am of such mind lately when I take a rifle into the woods in Deer season. I do still revel in the thought that at any moment I could encounter a magnificent Whitetail Deer and have the opportunity to take a shot. For me that is worth the price of admission. But, am no longer sure that I will “force the moment to its crisis”.

Last week I got back from a super good time bird hunting up-country. On one of the mornings a Whitetail buck bounded out of a berry patch to our right. He was one of those majestic high-country Ridge Runners, on his home ground.

I may be going back up for more bird hunting, but I intend to take a couple of rifles too. I just cannot get the graphic of that animal, a stately creature bigger and wilier than I am, out of my thoughts.

No, Allen, not soft; it's probably just being a sportsman.