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The Bet

Monday November 27 found me walking through the early morning darkness to my deer stand.  It was the first time in a few years I’ve been able to make the trip back to hunt Pennsylvania’s buck opener.  I was hunting my lease with good friend Ben Wright and his boy near Ligonier.  Cory, his son, and our Dad were hunting our cousin’s camp on Pleasantville Mountain.

My nephew and I had a bet on who was going to get his buck first.  Brayden told me he was going to be done by 8:30.    I have to tell you, I was feeling pretty confident about winning our bet as I  climbed into my stand.  Ben and some other lease members have been running trail cameras and had several bucks showing up near our stands fairly regular.  I had a mature 8 point passing my stand several times a week around 7:15 in the morning.

By 7:30 I had 5 deer slip through the thicket in front of my stand, all doe.  I was starting to feel less confident about that bet when I heard deer running through the thicket above me.  In less time than it takes to write this, 2 doe and a tall tined 8-point ran past me.  (I later learned we had been trespassed on and the illegal “hunter” bumped the buck and possibly the mature 8.)   As I stood there disappointed and trying to understand why the deer spooked, my phone vibrated.  The message I received form Cory simply read:  BMO (Brayden’s nickname) just shot a buck.  It was 7:34.

Ben’s boy, Hunter, passed a young four point.  I was both proud and impressed with the boy’s decision to pass on the buck.  I remember how I was when I was a young hunter and I can tell you without hesitation that I would have pulled the trigger!

Even though I didn’t fill my tag, it was nice to be chasing whitetails in my home state.  Congrats to BMO and Cory for not only taking a good buck, but also getting it on film!  Hopefully Cory will have it up and running before too long.

As always I feel blessed to be able to share my time in the outdoors with family and friends (even when I lose a bet).

Kevin