Almost exactly a year ago, I made a grand pronouncement here that I am not a trophy hunter. It's only fitting that today I report the harvest of my first trophy.
Grand pronouncements notwithstanding, I'm not hating the feeling.
This is my sixth hunting season, and before this year I had only harvested does, save for one small button buck (i.e. a buck whose antlers were mere buttons on top of his head).
Many deer hunters sit in tall tree stands, or even what could be described as miniature cabins, well out of the sight line of their quarry, and with high powered rifles that can take a deer from some distance. I, on the other hand, prefer to be no more than six or eight feet off the ground, fully exposed, and with a gun that could be described as "distance challenged". I do this because I seek a more pure experience, truer to the concept of fair chase, giving my prey more equal footing in the epic struggle between hunter and hunted.
