Reflections in The December Woods

Robert WellerBucks n Bears, Friends of ELO, Hunting & Outdoor Lifestyle, Hunting Stories & Adventures

There’s just nothing like deer hunting with snow on the ground. For those of us in Michigan, that seems to be a rare occurrence these days and your best chance of getting to hunt in some snow (while there is still no guarantee) is during the month of December. Well, my friends, if you are hunting in December and are still looking for a big buck, that means you’re either pulling your archery equipment back out of the closet or you’re grabbing the old muzzleloader. Well, at least it used to. In recent years in the lower peninsula the Michigan DNR has pretty much eliminated the need to use a muzzleloader and is once again this year allowing us to use any legal firearm. However, regardless of what firearm you choose, the chance of hunting with a little snow on the ground is the same. We received our first dose of the white stuff just last week and I was able to get out and enjoy it for a few days before the end of the regular firearm season. In fact, old man winter seemed to visit with a little gusto because when I arrived at my spot last Friday evening the wind was whipping and by the time I reached my blind I looked like I had walked through a blizzard. Upon reaching my blind I sure was happy to have some nice plexiglass windows and a buddy heater waiting for me so I could get out of the wind and warm up a bit. I wasn’t always as fortunate to have such luxury, but I certainly enjoy sitting in my little box blind these days. Yes sir, somedays I just let the deer go by and enjoy a cup of coffee while they go on about their business. But on other days, there is a deer that entices me to open the window and take the shot. In fact, I filled my antlerless tag that Friday night and I can say, I still love hunting in the snow just as much as I ever have. It’s easier to see the deer, track the deer and it’s so much easier to drag the deer. 

This year like the past several years, I’ll be using a 450 Bushmaster for the “Muzzleloader” season but this time instead of the AR-15 platform, I’ll be toting my TC Encore and its new barrel chambered in .450 Bushmaster. I’ve missed carrying my TC for the past several years. There is just something about hunting with a single shot that makes the hunt feel more traditional. I don’t know if it’s the act of manually cocking that hammer or the similarity of archery in knowing that you probably only get one shot to get it right. I have many fond memories of hunting with my Encore, and it just feels right to have it with me in the woods again this year. One of my favorites of those memories was the year my family and I were between houses. We had sold our home that fall and were temporarily living with my in-laws through the holidays as we went through the lengthy process of purchasing another home on a short sale. Conveniently enough for me, at that time, I still had permission to hunt the property behind their house. If my memory serves me correctly, it was the last day of the Muzzleloader season that year (and back then that meant you used a muzzleloader). I had gotten home from a rough day at work and just needed a break from it all. So, even though there was only about an hour of daylight left, I decided to head out back and climb into one of my stands. It was snowing that evening, and it was cold. I remember thinking it was a good thing it would be dark soon because I was going to get cold in a hurry. Still, I found the peace I needed that evening sitting there as the snow lightly fell around me and I listened to sounds of the woods. Everything is just so quiet and still when it’s snowing. I’ve enjoyed many hunts in a tree stand like the one that night both prior to it and since. I sat there alone with my thoughts watching the light slowly fade from the sky, as I reflected on the day, the week and all that was going on in my life at that time. I had not seen any deer and my time was running out. I knew that before long, I would have to climb down and go in for the night. I slowly turned my head and looked to the right one last time to see if there was anything coming. There wasn’t. I took one last deep breath of the cold night air as I turned my head to the left and just when I was about to give up, I saw two deer emerge from the brush. The first was a nice little six-point buck. He was nothing that I was going to shoot but he looked so majestic as his brown body moved across the lightly snow-covered background. My eyes continued to follow him as he moved into the open and I remembered that I had seen another. I glanced slightly back to right to find a second buck slowly making his way into the clearing. It was a beautiful eight point and one I was certainly not going to pass up. I remember thinking that he looked tired and a little thinner than he had probably been prior to the rut that fall. He was more than likely heading out to indulge on whatever he could find to eat that night so he could get his body ready for the winter that was approaching. I slowly reached for my TC encore .50 caliber muzzleloader that was hanging on a nearby tree branch. Very carefully, I opened both scope caps being extra cautious not to let them pop open and make any noise. I eased the Encore to my shoulder and gently steadied myself against the tree to make the one-hundred-yard shot. As I eased the hammer back the click seemed so loud to me but neither of the bucks paid me any attention. I slowly rested the crosshairs on the bucks’ shoulder and paused for just a second as I drew my last breath before the shot. It was as if time stopped just for a moment, and I took one last look at him standing there so peacefully with the snow falling gently between us. I pressed my finger to the trigger and waited for the surprise of the ignition of the black powder. The shot broke the peaceful silence that the deer and I had enjoyed, and smoke filled the air blocking my view for just a few seconds. As the haze cleared, I saw him collapse. He folded to the ground so neatly it was if he had laid down to bed there. I felt that feeling we all feel after a successful shot, that feeling of excitement, pure joy and something else. Something that only a hunter knows when he has successfully taken the life of his quarry. I sat there for a few minutes and quietly reflected on the hunt before I got my things around and descended from my perch. I slowly made my way to the buck and knelt as I studied him. He had the most perfectly symmetrical set of antlers on any deer I had or have ever taken to this day. His neck was no longer swollen, and he was certainly thinner than most of us would expect a deer of this caliber to be. After dealing with everything that comes after a harvest and putting him in my truck, I brought my wife and kids out to see him and get some pictures. My kids were still little then, and it was so fun to see how excited they got when Daddy got a deer. What had started out to be a typical day filled with the normal stress of life had turned out to be amazing. Not just because I got a nice buck but because I got to see the joy and excitement in the eyes of my family. Hunting has made my life richer in many ways. It has provided recreation, food, helped me keep fit, improved my attitude and most of all it has allowed me time to be in the woods to experience a solitude that is much needed to recharge. Every hunt is a blessing and if I bring home a harvest it’s tenfold. But still, those hunts that do not put food on the table can sometimes be of greater value than any harvest could ever be, because they allow me time to feed my soul and reflect on all that I have.

Author, with his son, posing with his ML harvest

Author, with daughter, posing w/his ML harvest

Muzzleloader season isn’t quite what it used to be because there are more hunters in the woods due to the firearm regulations allowing conventional firearms in place of muzzleloaders. However, there are many that do not hunt due to the colder temperatures and sometimes just because they are too busy. It can still be an awesome time to be in the woods. Maybe you still have a tag in your pocket, if not, most of the state has an abundance of doe. Consider buying an antlerless permit and taking a doe this December if you’re not still looking for Mr. Big Horns. Maybe you’ll sit alone with your thoughts or perhaps you’ll find and harvest your quarry. Whatever the case, don’t dismiss the value of getting out there hunting in December. It can be some of the most rewarding time you’ll spend in the woods if you let it. 

As Always, Happy Hunting, Good luck in the woods and God Bless.

Robert Weller
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