The Hunt Essay, Research Paper

The Hunt

This was it, this is the time my friends and I were waiting for all week. We were

finally going to embark on our weekend of deer hunting. We left Kearney on a Friday

afternoon in the late Fall. We were to drive to my hometown of Lawrence and stay with

my parents who agreed to have my friends and I for a weakend hunt. We could feel the

excitement and anticipation as I picked up Jesse, Scott, and Jason for the hunt. In the

process of driving out of Kearney we weren?t even fretting about the two hour drive

ahead of us. We just wanted to get to my parents? house and prepare for the hunt. Good

friends, good family, and good luck made the hunt something I will remember for the rest

of my life.

When we arrived at home out on the farm, we were barely even aware that the

time had gone by so fast. We had spent the whole time talking about past hunts, planning

this hunt, and bragging about who was going to get the biggest buck. As we pulled into

my childhood home, I was pointing out the buildings on the farm and telling the guys

what they were used for. After introductions were finished, we went inside. We were all

awestruck by the sweet aroma of a fresh cooked meal. Mom had prepared us many

different salads, bread, steaks, and potatoes. Supper was spent eating and talking about

where we were all from and how we all met.

When we finished supper I remember something Jesse told my mom, ?Mrs.

Buescher, if I ever get rich, I am going to hire you to just cook meals for me.? After this

comment I remember everybody laughing at Jesse for ?kissing butt.? Later that night

before bed Jesse told us that he complimented my Mom on her cooking because he

wanted to eat more good meals on his weekend trip. As I was about to fall asleep that

night I remember thinking that we had better have a good hunt, because that is what I

promised the guys

The next morning seems as if it happened yesterday. Nobody even needed alarm

clocks to wake up, we were all ready to go before they even went off. The first thing we

did that morning was take a look outside to see what the weather was doing. We were all

very happy to see about two inches of snow on the ground, making it easier to track

where the deer had been the night before. After finishing breakfast, we all geared up for

the hunt. We all jumped in the pick ups, and rode off in the pre-dawn of a chilly Fall day.

Arriving at our first location it was still dark outside, so we decided to have a

quick cup of coffee and get in position for the hunt. Everybody?s breath was white

against the frozen Autumn sky. It would be easy to see deer tracks in the fresh snow, so

we got in position for the hunt. We planned to have my Father and I circle around to the

South of the wooded creekbed and push it to the North. It was my three friends? job to

?post,? which is defined in Field and Stream as ?placing hunters where the prey is

believed to exit the hunting area.? When Dad and I started through the old creek bed, I

saw immediate signs of deer. There were fresh tracks, so I knew there was deer around.

Looking over at my father he was returning my gaze, knodding at me and grinning from

ear to ear. It was one of those time when father and son need not say anything, I could

feel what he was thinking. That old man knew, even more than I did that there were deer

in that creek. Near the end of the creek bed I heard three rifle blasts , and then a fourth a

couple of seconds later. As I exited the brush I saw two of my friends standing proudly

over a fresh kill, while the third was standing over his own fallen prey. We were all

exited to learn that they were two big bucks. I was so excited that I got to see my friends

get a couple of nice bucks. It was a nice feeling knowing I had not let them down by the

stories I had told them about the hunting possibilities of my father?s ground.

After we had completed the task of field dressing and tagging the deer, we took

them back to the farm to take pictures. While my mother took the photos, all five of us

gathered around to have our pictures taken to mark the occasion. Everyone said that they

wanted a copy of these pictures as something to remember the trip by. Even as I look at

them now, I still smile thinking of the fun we had that weekend. Immediately after the

pictures we finished cleaning the deer and hung them up so we could butcher them the

next morning. It was a little after two o?clock in the afternoon when we finished this

task, and we all agreed that we would go inside and enjoy a late lunch. As we again sat

down to one of Mom?s feats, we were still all describing to each other how exciting it was

to be on the hunt that morning.

After dinner we all took a little nap to catch up on the sleep we didn?t have the

night before. We all relaxed for a while after this as my 15 month old brother entertained

us until Mom had supper ready. After supper we all jumped in my car to go to town to

check out how all of my other friends had fared that day. We were excited to find out that

we were some of the few that actually had a successful hunt that day. We were all proud

of ourselves, but know that we had a little luck involved in our hunt. We then went back

home for the evening and got a good nights sleep before Sunday morning when we were

to butcher the deer and then head back to Kearney for school. We sat up well past

midnight talking about the day?s events, and I can?t remember falling asleep that night.

It was a great trip, knowing that everybody thought that the hunt was successful.

For my self it will always be a memory of my college days, and my good friends. This is

just another reason why good friends, good family, and good luck will always be and

enjoyable experience.