My failure to share my intimate knowledge of these deer resulted in the failure of any of us to obtain a shot. There is the possibility that I was wrong in my deductions and that the presence of my companions prevented the deer from proceeding on the northeast course.
Another time, a similar pair of deer was seen in a field near a road and I was asked to help hunt them. There was no snow on he ground so the actual tracking was out of the question. They had entered a fairly narrow piece of woods and I thought that if a man zigzagged along and did not hurry, the deer might be nudged along much the same as if trailed. I had no knowledge of these deer and the only facts that I could use to predict their course were that they had not crossed the road and that they had apparently arrived from the north. The woods which they had entered extended to the east for about three-quarters of a mile, made a right angle turn around a pond, and then extended north for about the same distance to a road which separated these woods from a much larger wooded area to the north.
There were two family groups of deer in the area to the south and one to the east, and I was uncertain of the number to the north. These deer could belong in any of these areas, but as they had apparently arrived from the north, I decided that they would return to the north. None of the others would agree with my deductions, yet one of the men agreed to travel through the woods to a point where I would be waiting unless he or one of the others shot the deer before that time. The other men would cover the east and south crossings in case I was wrong.
Two hours later I shot a spike-horn buck as it tried to follow a doe across the road into the larger piece of woods. The doe reached safety before I could shoot. I will admit that there was a lot of guesswork in my deciding the probable course of these deer, but I was positive I was right. I stayed at my post and killed the deer, while the others who had covered the other crossings had gone home long before my shot.
I was hunting with three companions when we came to the track of a doe where it crossed a road and entered a large piece of woods. Deer were scarce that year or we would not have bothered with that one, for the piece of woods, which it had entered, was a very difficult place to hunt. There was a good tracking snow, so the deer could be followed; nevertheless, the woods were such that it would be nearly impossible to predict where the deer would stop to observe its back trail. The under-brush was also so thick that it would be difficult to obtain a clear shot anywhere except at a few small clearings which the deer would probably avoid. Because of the size and shape of the woods, it would be impossible to drive the deer from there without the aid of a small army of hunters. I predicted that the deer would stay in the woods until near sunset unless it followed its back trail as soon as it was started. I picked the place where the deer would cross a road if it should decide to leave the woods. I refused to follow the track until I had the assurance of the one hunter in whom I had confidence that he would cover that crossing from sunset to dark.
Your calculations on the shooting might not work at times and you have to make some predictions. These things also can happen even with an experienced hunter.
Locating the camp could be difficult but a hunter should try to find the ways to get out of his troubles when he is lost in the woods. He doesn't need to act silly and take aimless steps. Using the compass and other things he might have to locate his where about would be the best thing he can do in the first step.
When one first finds that he is uncertain of his where-about in the woods, his first inclination is to speed up and get as far as he can before night with the hope that he is traveling in the right direction or that he will meet another hunter who will set him right. This is about the worst thing he can do. Instead of rushing around aimlessly, probably away from camp, he should sit down, take a rest and smoke his pipe or relax in some other manner. He should take account of the situation. If he does not know where the camp is, he should admit it and then say to himself, "What of it?" Is it absolutely necessary that he return to the camp that night or even on the morrow? His friends at camp will worry if he doesn't show up, but what of that? His reputation might suffer if he has to stay out over night, but what of that? It is better for them to worry than it is for him to go blundering around getting more hopelessly lost as time goes on. What good is his reputation as a woodsman if his friends find him a hopeless madman, rushing blindly through the woods, heedless even of the men who find him?
If a man has a compass, he should be able to locate himself in relation to the home base if he has any idea of his travels since leaving it. If the camp is on a road that runs north and south and the hunter left it to hunt on the east side of the road, all that he needs to do in order to return is to travel in a westerly direction until he comes to the road. The chances are that this road will be the one on which the camp is located and it should be easy to find. It is not necessary to travel in an exactly straight course but merely in a general westerly direction in order to find the road. Other situations require other solutions, but most problems of this sort can be solved by a little clear thinking. If the lost man has no compass and the sun is not shining, the only thing which he should do is to sit tight and wait for aid to arrive.
The people who lead organized searches for lost persons are all in favor of the lost person's, staying in one place and building and maintaining a smoky fire. This is sound advice and is the best thing a lost man can do. It is also about the most difficult, because it gives a man too much time to think and worry about his situation. I would recommend that he establish as comfortable a camp as possible and that he look for food nearby, in-stead of merely sitting on a stump and waiting for some- one to find him. Physical activity will relieve the mental strain and will often prevent a man from doing irrational things which so many lost persons do.
I knew a man who became lost and on the second day he saw a deer standing nearby watching him. It was an easy shot, but he did not shoot because he was lost and didn't want to drag the deer along with him. He had had nothing to eat since the previous morning, but to him the deer did not represent food. All it looked like was an added burden.
By now you most be having some idea on what to do and how act in those kinds of situations. So be prepared for any kinds of situation that you could face in hunting deer.
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