It was bound to happen. A deer camp must either grow or die. Much as I like keeping things the same, it just ain't going to happen. I have accepted a new guy at camp this year.
He is a high school friend of #2 son, Moose, and well-liked by #3, Angus as well. My guess is this a long-standing conspiracy to get him in, although it probably stems from reticence on their part to bring up the subject more than anything else. The fellow is a hard worker, with a wife and family. He has been hunting public land around SW Ohio for a decade with little luck. I gave up on those places decades ago for being too crowded. I can see in him the same frustration I had from those days.
This weekend, Moose and Angus organized the most massive campout we've had in over 10 years. Basically, all their friends that have been coming out for the past 5 years all at once, in total, 8 couples. Those guys really spend a lot of time and energy making things work for a crowd, and getting their folks energized about doing things for themselves. I was out there last night for a while, and had fun, even though everyone there was less than half my age.
After his arrival, yesterday morning, I was able to spend some time with the guy. He asks intelligent questions about deer hunting. He will be making a switch from bow to rifle, so he will need a bit of reeducation. He has already been hitting my weblog fairly heavy in recent months. My sons put him onto it after he started asking questions about scent reduction. I suddenly saw an Ohio IP address pounding away at my site, and knew I had a new convert.
In order to ease him into things, I've excluded him from Opening Weekend of Rifle Season. That way it will ease up on the crowding, and it will let our established guys get some of their tags filled. I watched a scenario unfold many years ago at a neighboring camp. They brought in a new guy who had never hunted before and he promptly went out and shot the biggest, oldest buck that anyone had ever seen. The fellow didn't even want the mount; he went home thinking how senseless it all was-- way too easy. What's all the fuss about? That kind dimmed the lights a little at that camp. After 15 years, they were still grousing about it. It kind of pricked me too. He shot him coming off the back end of my property. By bringing our new guy in mid-week we'll all have more time to devout to his quest.
He shoots a .308 WIN, which I'd say is a near-ideal choice for our conditions. I plan on offering him an un-exploited area to the west of camp that sees a lot of deer movement over the season. It is close to camp, so he won't get lost.
Frankly, I'm thrilled to have someone coming onboard with whom I can share it all with. SuperCore was a complete newbie when he showed up with no woods experience since Airborne School. He's celebrating his 10th anniversary at camp this year. Not even a quad-bypass has kept him from showing up.
I'm just interested in y'all's experience with THE NEW GUY AT CAMP .
