Another reason we who live in the Cape Region are lucky is we have so much open land for hunting. There are many acres of state forest and even state parks where we can hunt for free. Granted, it is much better to lease a piece of land where you and a few friends can hunt without having to worry about strangers walking through just as you are about to shoot your trophy buck, but some of us don’t have that opportunity, so we hunt public land.
Not that having a lease guarantees all of the people in on the lease will behave as they are supposed to. Back in the 1970s and ‘80s I was on a lease in Somerset County, Maryland, and one of the other leaseholders could not stay in his tree stand. We would all get in our stands at least a half-hour before shooting time. The idea was to stay put until at least 10 a.m., then move around a bit before having lunch and a nap, then back in the stands no later than 2 p.m.
My friend would be out of his stand and moving all around the woods within a half-hour of shooting time. If it was a quiet morning, you could hear him all over the woods. As he passed your stand he would always ask, “See anything?” I would always answer, “Only you.”
At first this behavior was annoying, but then he began to drive deer toward me. I shot two or three deer ahead of him, and so did a couple of other guys. He was sort of a one-man deer drive. My son Roger killed his first deer ahead of this guy. There was no chance he was going to change, so we just let him keep on driving the deer and we kept on shooting them.
Speaking of shooting, when was the last time you shot your deer gun? That’s what I thought. Before you set out on opening day, why not get your shotgun out and make a few practice shots at a nearby range? The closest one to the Cape Region is Owens Station Shooting Sports and Hunter Education Center, 12613 Hunters Cove Road, Greenwood.
Putting a few slugs in the bull’s-eye will give you more confidence in your ability when that big deer walks into range.
Back in the 1970s and ‘80s, the guys I hunted with didn’t have a formal practice range, so we went to Cherry Island Marsh in New Castle County and shot skeet launched from a hand-held device. Two of those friends were brothers, Will and Tommy Bonner. Will was operating the launcher and Tommy was standing in front of him, ready to shoot.
“Pull!” shouted Tommy. The clay disc left the launcher at a tremendous speed, but instead of flying high in the air it went directly to Tommy’s backside. While I have no way to measure exactly how high Tommy jumped in the air, my best guess is between 12 and 18 inches. When he came back down there was fire in his eyes and he was only looking for one thing, his beloved brother Will.
Will was no dummy. He knew Tommy would be on the warpath and got a good lead out into the marsh. The rest of us were laughing so hard it was difficult to hear what Tommy was saying, but from what we did hear, it was not very complimentary.
Will kept claiming it was an accident, but Tommy didn’t believe it. From the way Will was laughing, most of us didn’t believe it either.
They finally got tired of running around in the marsh and settled down to an uneasy peace. The rest of the afternoon went along drama-free and we all got to shoot up plenty of clay pigeons. In those days, we had use of a Texas reloader that turned out 12-gauge shells as fast as you could pull down the lever. We were all young, had good-paying union jobs and could afford to load as many shells as we wanted. In today’s world, not everyone can do that.
The other very important factor that you should always be aware of is safety. Never, ever point a gun at anything you don’t plan to shoot. Treat all guns as if they are loaded, and keep them in a case when traveling.
I always unload my gun when going over a fence or other obstacle. So far, I have not had a big buck or even a little doe go past when I’m doing this. Do the same when pulling the gun up to your tree stand.
Basically, just think before you act, and you will be OK.
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Eric Burnley is a Delaware native who has fished and hunted the state from an early age. Since 1978 he has written countless articles about hunting and fishing in Delaware and elsewhere along the Atlantic Coast. He has been the regional editor for several publications and was the founding editor of the Mid-Atlantic Fisherman magazine. Eric is the author of three books: Surf Fishing the Atlantic Coast, The Ultimate Guide to Striped Bass Fishing and Fishing Saltwater Baits. He and his wife Barbara live near Milton, Delaware. Eric can be reached at Eburnle@aol.com.
