The cool snap in the air and subtle sights and sounds of fading summer mean my favorite time of year is approaching.
Chances are that if you love hunting as much as me, it’s your favorite season, too.
Since childhood, September signaled an exciting time, starting with my birthday (Sept. 3). Mom used to remind me that it was also time to pay property taxes in Illinois, so if I didn’t get that requested new birthday shotgun, that was why.
Squirrel and dove seasons opened in September, and I loved both.
Bow season in Illinois and Iowa — the two states where I hunted prior to moving north to God’s Country in 2000 — always started Oct. 1. When I learned the archery season started the second
Saturday in September up here, I was initially excited. Then I scouted Mukwa Swamp in New London on a hot September afternoon that first year and discovered what “hordes of mosquitoes” truly means. In about 20 minutes, I was headed for the car.
I did take a small buck with my compound bow that year and was pretty pleased that I did it on public land with almost no knowledge of that property (We won’t discuss how I got lost in the swamp the same day I shot him and my wife had to help me find my way out around 10 p.m., after her Sean Connery movie was over).
This year, my initial scouting ventures have discovered hordes of deer flies. I’ve never seen them this bad. If you’ve ever had a chunk of flesh removed from your arm or neck by a deer fly, mosquito clouds suddenly seem welcome. Swatting at deer flies actually seems to encourage them.
Cold weather is coming, and we will have the last laugh. It typically takes one hard freeze to at least thin the mosquito herd, but I don’t think the deer flies can handle a frost at all.
The nice part about collecting outdoor gear over the decades is that new stuff seems to appear out of thin air.
I was looking for a shooting glove to fling a few arrows with the recurve bow and discovered a like-new three-finger shooting glove in the garage. I can only assume I scooped this up at a yard sale, but it had no price tag or other markings. The finger leather was exceptionally thick and at first a bit tricky to use.
I had moved the shooting line from the usual 20 yards to 14 yards. Arrow after arrow started striking the bullseye, and I was shocked. The smooth, stiff leather was creating the perfect surface for a glassy release of the string. And here I thought I was just a bad shot. Phew. What a relief. I typically hunt with soft, flexible cotton gloves, but I think that is changing this year.
I previously talked about possibly shooting left-handed, since my dominant eye is my left. I bought a left-handed Damon Howatt Coronado at an antiques store recently and thought what the heck. After struggling to put the armguard on my right arm, I fiddled with nocking an arrow and drawing the string with my left hand. Weird. After nearly 60 years of shooting a bow right- handed, this just isn’t going to work.
Four arrows later, I set it down and got out the right- handed Bear Black Panther Hunter. Maybe this will be the year I take a deer with a recurve.
Promise is in the air.
I met a fellow recurve bow hunter recently at our Clintonville Bow Hunters 3-D shoot Aug. 17 and had to see his gear.
Larry Morrow, of Luxemburg, was sighting in at our clubhouse target range, using one of the most prized Bear bows of all: A Fred Bear takedown model, complete with compass in the riser. I asked to see it and was surprised to see it had a 60-pound draw weight. This 79-year-old gent (he turns 80 on Sept. 20) drawing a bow 15 pounds heavier than mine fired a few arrows, then headed off into the woods to enjoy our 28-target course.
We were getting a bit worried about Morrow, because he was out there for several hours, but he had given me his phone number, so I gave him a call. He said he was sweating a bit but was fine and soon emerged with his prized bow and arrows in hand. I asked him how many deer he had killed with his recurve, and he smiled when he said, “None yet.” Unlike me, he had never used a compound bow over the decades.
I hope I’m still stalking the woods at 80. Here’s to all the bowhunters sneaking through the timber this season, looking for deer or maybe something more. We call it deer hunting, but as Morrow made clear, it’s certainly about more than just venison. Much more.
Ross Bielema is a freelance writer from New London and owner of Wolf River Concealed Carry LLC. Contact him at Ross@wolfriverccw.com.