The GIFT delivered to my back porch.
- Thread starter finelyshedded
- Start date
Iowa_Buckeye
Smartest person here
huntn2
Senior Member
Brock, hopefully you get to hear Ric's live rendition over a campfire some day.
Listening to Ric and Ron share deer stories is priceless.
Congrats again on a stud deer harvested in a very unconventional way.
Good question Chad. Our dad was quite the athelete as he lettered in baseball,football and basketball as a freshman thru his senior season with the exception of his sophomore year in basketball as from what I heard he broke his dribbling hand after punching a "hood" in the jaw after the kid mouthed off to him. He couldn't play with a broken hand so he didn't Letter in BB that year but he finished his HS career with 11 varsity letters which was quite an accomplishment, IMO.
Ron and I weren't that gifted but we always played and participated in sports(football and track) to make him happy but it sure sucked missing out on all that hunting time after school! Lol
Over the summers and on weekends he had us helping him build fence,work the gardens and other farm work but in our free time we spent most of our time in the pond or in the woods catching snakes and shooting barn sparrows with the B.B. Guns. He saw how we loved to hunt and the outdoors so I guess he hunted and fished enough to get us into it and hooked for life. I don't think he realized how obsessed his twin boys had become with this hunting and fishing stuff. He took us and our friends camping and on short squirrel hunts but he soon realized we were seriously ate up with it!!!rotflmao
I mean it was Bassmaster magazine subscriptions and gear,Tom Mann jelly worms,B.A.S.S. stickers plastered everywhere and us talking deer hunting over breakfast,lunch and supper. How dad did it is beyond me but he and mom bought us each Glenfield 22 rifles from Sears,Bear Whitetail compound bows and then Remington 1100 shotgun for Ron and a Remmy 870 WM for me in 3 consecutive years! It was like watching pigs take to mud! He knew we loved hunting and fishing and that it kept us both grounded and out of trouble for the most part so he made sure we had some toys.
We were born and raised in Zanesville from 1961 to 1970 then our parents took teach jobs in Washington county and moved us into the country on a modest little 7 acre farm with a pond in Center TWP. There we made great friends and got hooked on country life chasing critters and gettin dirty.
Gotta share this as I know I'm rambling but it makes me laugh. Dad was a lifeguard at the Zanesville country club where Ron and I learned to swim at a very young age. I mean I remember diving into the deep end to get money out of the drain area in the deep end (12-15 ft deep) in the morning when dad and Travis Dick would vacuum the pool early in the morning. Anyway we could swim like fish before the move to the farm so having a pond was no concern to mom and dad. We still laugh about one of our best neighbor friends later in life first saw these two 9-10 year old boys swimming in this pond in our pasture behind her house!!! Mom laughed and said, thanks for the call of concern but they'll be fine!
From the bottom of my heart.... THANK YOU MOM AND DAD!!!
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That's fuggin awesome! Your dad sounds a lot like mine. My dad lettered in basketball then went on to play at Ashland university. He was never into hunting but saw that I liked the outdoors from a young age and he took me out even though we never killed anything because he smoked cigs and coughed in the woods
. Point is, your dad and my dad didn't have to do it since it wasn't something they were into, they did it for us
. Point is, your dad and my dad didn't have to do it since it wasn't something they were into, they did it for us
And it's great! Yet another great thing about this place is knowing people beyond the keyboard. So when you read their stories you get to hear it in their voice and see the animation in your mind. I've shared a few of my favorite memories on here, it's great seeing someone else do it!
Sounds like your folks knew exactly what they were doing. Raised a couple of damn good fellas.
Here's a pic of our dad Roger with what was my highest scoring deer at that time. He always enjoyed being apart of our successes no matter what it was but he loved listening to our hunts after we got in from the field. We lost him a short 5 years later right after his 68th birthday but I'm sure glad I insisted I took a picture of him with, The Gift deer.
Miss ya DAD....:smiley_coolpeace:
Thanks for sharing. He seemed like a cool guy to hang around with.
Thanks again guys! Ron and I were extremely blessed to have the parents and upbringing we had. I also have to say a special thanks to our grandma Geraldine for being such a strong influence to all her children and grand children with her strong Christian values and love for family. Out grandfather was her soulmate and had a very strong Christian conviction himself but was taken from her and us way back in 1975, on Jan 18th. He suffered a massive HA when he tried throwing a bale of hay over the fence to hold some cattle in the loading chute corral as dad and our neighbor Ed were on their way to meet him to load them up for auction. It was a very sad day but our grandma stayed strong devoting the rest of her life to God and her family holding us all together. A huge blessing in our lives for sure!
Maybe Ron might share something I might have forgot. Thanks again for reading.
Maybe Ron might share something I might have forgot. Thanks again for reading.
Fullbore
Senior Member
Great read bro! I had the pleasure of sharing those precious memories with you.
I am working in St. Clairesville today and have a lot going on. However, I have some good ones to add to it later!
I am working in St. Clairesville today and have a lot going on. However, I have some good ones to add to it later!
The fishing thing started pretty early. Lol
Two greenhorns if I ever saw em!
Crazy stupid form and mechanics but with the help of friends and mentors in the future the groups tightened and confidence increased.
Here's dad with his very first buck with his Xbow. One of the coolest happiest days of my life when I heard the news over the phone while putting up our Christmas tree at home in the Natty area. Couldn't wait to get home in a few days and hear how his hunt played out.
You can tell by his writing he was pretty happy with his feat. Ron was able to be there for his big day.
Great memories for sure!
Two greenhorns if I ever saw em!
Crazy stupid form and mechanics but with the help of friends and mentors in the future the groups tightened and confidence increased.
Here's dad with his very first buck with his Xbow. One of the coolest happiest days of my life when I heard the news over the phone while putting up our Christmas tree at home in the Natty area. Couldn't wait to get home in a few days and hear how his hunt played out.
You can tell by his writing he was pretty happy with his feat. Ron was able to be there for his big day.
Great memories for sure!
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Fullbore
Senior Member
Just a quick recap on Dads Xbow kill. That morning I was in my treestand a good half hour before first light. I was situated high in a poplar tree over looking a pinch point across the creek and hollow from our hunting cabin and property.
Ric and I were both hot on the trail of a 160" buck that we both had encounters with in the past.
Dad had said that he was going to hunt the JP that morning as well and that we would meet at the cabin at noon for lunch.
However, I saw Dads truck pull in to the cabin at 9:30, so I cracked a smile and said to myself,"yup ole Rodge must have slept in"!
So fast forward, I got out of my stand at 11:45 and made it to the cabin at noon. As I walked towards the front porch I saw Dads crossbow sitting on the picnic table with a bloody bolt stuck in his quiver!
I stepped into the cabin and there he was talking with my FIL Ray, both with big grins on their faces! Dad ask me, " Did you have any luck"?. I responded NO, but did you???? Lol
He busted into his step by step account of how his 5 minute hunt unfolded! Lol
He said that he wasn't about to get up early that morning. That he'd just go for a short walk and set for an hour or two.
So as he made his 60 yard walk from his truck, he had no longer got set down when he heard deer walking up the hill towards him. Two nice 3 year olds were cruising does and where on a collision course with him. Dad said that the buck in the rear was a little bit bigger, but he wasn't sorting! Once they saw him at 15 yards they both turned broadside and dad was already locked on the leader. After the shot, both Bucks took off down the trail towards the property line. All said and done, Dad blew out the Bucks heart and he only went 50 yards!
He was so excited to have his first deer story to tell! We laughed at how short his hunt was and how I hunted from first light to almost noon with not a deer in sight.
I was so lucky and blessed to share that special day with him and to now share it with you all!
Ric and I were both hot on the trail of a 160" buck that we both had encounters with in the past.
Dad had said that he was going to hunt the JP that morning as well and that we would meet at the cabin at noon for lunch.
However, I saw Dads truck pull in to the cabin at 9:30, so I cracked a smile and said to myself,"yup ole Rodge must have slept in"!
So fast forward, I got out of my stand at 11:45 and made it to the cabin at noon. As I walked towards the front porch I saw Dads crossbow sitting on the picnic table with a bloody bolt stuck in his quiver!
I stepped into the cabin and there he was talking with my FIL Ray, both with big grins on their faces! Dad ask me, " Did you have any luck"?. I responded NO, but did you???? Lol
He busted into his step by step account of how his 5 minute hunt unfolded! Lol
He said that he wasn't about to get up early that morning. That he'd just go for a short walk and set for an hour or two.
So as he made his 60 yard walk from his truck, he had no longer got set down when he heard deer walking up the hill towards him. Two nice 3 year olds were cruising does and where on a collision course with him. Dad said that the buck in the rear was a little bit bigger, but he wasn't sorting! Once they saw him at 15 yards they both turned broadside and dad was already locked on the leader. After the shot, both Bucks took off down the trail towards the property line. All said and done, Dad blew out the Bucks heart and he only went 50 yards!
He was so excited to have his first deer story to tell! We laughed at how short his hunt was and how I hunted from first light to almost noon with not a deer in sight.
I was so lucky and blessed to share that special day with him and to now share it with you all!