Wednesday morning, I snuck away to feed my passion. To get my fix. Actually, I got away for a couple of hours to sit in a tree.

Good things happen when you sit in a tree. No TV, no nothing except Mother Nature. Wednesday morning was stellar. I got in early and was greeted with a sky full of stars that only those who 'live in the country' are fortunate enough to see. It was perfect. Steller, beautiful, churchlike perfect.

For those of you who don't know me, I love to bow hunt. I'm no expert. But I've put a ton of time into the sport over the past two decades. Speaking of Mother Nature and Father Time, the latter has been sneaking up on me. I've had to shift to bifocals and that's made shooting a bow tricky, to say the least.

Earlier this Fall, I retired the old Browning Blood Brother (autographed by Ted Nugent) back in 2000. It was time. I sauntered into Scheel's the other day here in Sioux Falls. I thought I'd check out the used rack. After looking around, Michael, said how about this one? It was an old Mathews MQ1 I believe. Either a 1 or a 2. We shot it a few times and I decided to pick it up.

A couple of weeks later, and lots of shots into a target later, I'm starting to get comfortable with it. This morning, I packed up, headed west, and decided to give it a rip.

I was up early and the woods were poppin' within' minutes. Lots of does, a couple of smaller bucks, and later in the morning, a gentleman I would love to show you in a week or two in the back of a pickup offered no shot at 30 yards. Ugghh!

I didn't shoot a deer on my first trip out this year. But I did have a coyote come by and stop broadside at 38 yards. She was holding a dead rabbit in her mouth. Oh, the reason I know she was a female? Well, let's just tell Michael at Scheel's in Sioux Falls and the tech who set my Warhorse Mathews Bow up, that they set me up with something I got real comfortable real fast! I elevated a 30-yard pin to compensate. She was standing at 38 yards. I let one fly from the Mathews. The shot was true, I heard the shot hit hide, heard a quick yelp, and thought hey, I think I got her.

The snow on the ground really helped. I doubt I would have recovered her otherwise. So you won't hear me badmouth the snow or the weather.

No, it wasn't a deer. Yet. And maybe I don't get one this year. I do know this. You can't shoot one sitting on the couch or laying in bed. The rut is on the way, and if I can shoot as good on a nice buck as I did this morning, 2020 could end up nice!

Thank you for sharing this tediously long post with your hunting friends. Tell them to pop a beer and settle in before they read it. And good luck on your hunt this year. And if you see Michael at Scheel's give him an elbow bump or fist tap.

JD Collins via Sprint Sioux Falls.
JD Collins via Sprint Sioux Falls.
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