As most hunters get older we look back on our days of hunting and we probably have one special place that we’ve hunted along the way that stands out above all others…..The place where we recall the good ol’days. We may have since moved on to greener pastures and bigger and better hunting grounds….but there’s something about that one piece of property that holds a special place in our hearts. You may have not been there in 20 years but you could still go back there today and close your eyes and walk right to the tree where you killed your first deer or the spot where your grandad took you hunting for the first time. For me that special place is in the hills and hollers of Jackson Co down along the Paint Rock River.

It was the place where I killed my first squirrel….my first rabbit….and eventually my first deer. It was where I accidentally called up my first gobbler while sitting in a shooting house in the rain just playing on a box call. Boy, if I'd just known when to put that box call down. It was where my brother took me hunting when my first girlfriend broke up with me and I thought the world was coming to an end. It was where I learned about “camp meat” when the river flooded out the road going into the property. It was where I learned how to warm up my insides on a cold morning with a little shot of whiskey hid under a rock. Yep, it was where I learned a lot of bad habits, a few good ones, and everything in between.

Wow….to think back on all the memories that were made back then and how if I only knew how special those moments would be now. If I could only go back and hike up to the top of that mountain one more time with my uncle or walk through “the bottoms” hunting squirrels with my grandmother….or just simply sit with my grandad again. If I could go back and spend one more night in that old farm house and smell the wood burning stove and listen to the older men tell stories of hunts gone by. What I wouldn’t give to have just one of those days back. I bet I wouldn’t care how many deer I saw that day or if I killed a big one….I bet I’d just be happy to be hunting with folks who are no longer here……Man, those were the good ol’ days.

CnC

Last edited by CNC; 11/08/19 10:14 AM.

The Corn Crash!!!