 |
|||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||||
| Dead Down Wind's American Archer |  | Benelli's American Birdhunter | | Steve Gruber's Wildlife | | The Wingshooter | ||
 |
||||||||
Tick Tock By Tom Nichols
When Leon Delorme in Saskatchewan invited Wolf Creek up for a white-tailed deer hunt and told me he would have two tags available, I couldn’t help but think about the many unfilled tags I have collected over the years. The cameraman almost always hunts last and on most occasions, there just isn’t enough time left in the week for a quality opportunity. I mentioned to Leon that our goal is to simply get the best show we can and if that means one good mature deer, so be it. He laughed and said “Steve will be done in the first two days. Three, tops.” When Steve and I arrived at the Flying Dust reserve on the First Nation tribal lands, we soon realized why Leon was so confident. The place was filthy with deer, and we had it all to ourselves. Ernie Kuttai and Leon busted their tails to get us onto big bucks. On day three, Leon’s prediction came true. Steve filled his tag on a real respectable mid-130 class eight point. Day four came and he put us in different area to see if we could get a crack at the “Schtupka Buck” which is apparently a local legend of immense proportions. As you can probably guess, the first day of my hunt included sightings of a year-and-a-half basket rack six point and a coyote. But Steve and I have hunted a lot together over the years. Not as much as we used to or would like to anymore, but we have pulled off some pretty miraculous deals. Even down to the wire, we just seem to stay after it and keep each other’s heads in the game. Fast forward to Saturday... It’s the final day of our trip and although we were tempted to rearrange flights and extend the hunt at Delorme Outfitters, the decision was made to gut it out and see what happens.
Saturday in the fall means two things here at Wolf Creek; hunting and football. Now we had the hunting part, but no football. What we did have was cell phones and text messaging. If there is anybody in the world you want to have Michigan Wolverine scoring updates from, it’s Jon “Hoover” Ross. The guy not only gives you the score, he gives you down and distance, key plays and penalties. So while we were waiting for the primetime deer movement, we were trying to contain our shouts and high fives as Michigan rallied to win the game. Then it happened. Big bucks, and I’m talking Booners, started showing up. As we watched them from a half mile away, we decided to make a move and leave our makeshift blind in the round bale. I grabbed the T/C and Steve grabbed the camera and we made a mad dash to cut the distance before the daylight faded. The bucks had too much of a lead on us and they disappeared into the thick Saskatchewan bush. It was as we began the long walk back to the round bale to gather up the rest of our gear when I saw a deer trotting behind the blind to the east. As I put the glasses on him, I saw right away that it was another shooter. Although Steve refused to believe me at first, I think he got the point when I started running to the blind to get set up for a shot. Thirty seconds and two shots later, the biggest buck of my life was off his feet. While we prepared to film the recovery, I looked at my watch. Six minutes of legal shoot time left and my hunt was done. Like a typical cameraman I kicked myself for not waiting for Steve to get that extra six minutes of the buck alive before I shot.
My buck grossed just over 164 and you see the whole story on “Outdoor America” the week of August 13th.
|
I wish I had a dollar for every time someone has said to me “man, you have the dream job!” Now, don’t get me wrong. Producing outdoor television shows is about as cool as it gets. But over the years, I have spent many bitter cold hours sitting on stand waiting for the moment of truth to come. A lot of times, it never does. The pursuit of wild animals is a test of patience and persistence.
