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                                               Deer Hunting the Wright Way

                                                        By Gary McBride

            I’ve been hunting deer for the past 35 years with my brother-in-law Larry Wright who introduced me to the sport. He was my teacher and mentor in the beginning. We hunted from the ground on a small farm owned by his brother Bob Wright. Way back then we could only shoot bucks and I think I went 3 or 4 years without seeing a deer and another 3 before I had a shot and killed my first deer. As a young adult I was really excited and proud of my first deer. Since then we have built numerous tree stands and the hunting has gotten a bit easier. The point of all this is to compare my early years with today.

            These days my son Steve and I are guests at the Wright Farm hosted by Bob and Laverne Wright. They spend weeks cleaning and preparing for family and friends invited to deer camp where they host a Friday evening social hour and dinner for all. The event takes place in their large stand-alone barn where they have finished a small area of the barn for sleeping and just getting out of the cold if necessary. Everyone brings some drinks and snacks or a dish to share at dinner. Bob always sets the menu, but he doesn’t let anyone know what he is cooking until the last minute. Over the years we have enjoyed some fine eating.

            Now when Larry and I first started hunting we didn’t have a social hour or dinner the night before opening day because we had to leave our homes at 3:00 a.m. in order to get to the field so we could be in our stands at least an hour before sunrise, one of Larry’s rules. I like the social hour and dinner better.

            I was also taught not to make any noise and little to no movement while in the tree stand. Another of Larry’s rules. This doesn’t sound like anything difficult to do until you get into that stand in the pitch black of night with the temperature below freezing and a wind that will cut right thru you. However the shivering alone will cause both noise and movement. Oh well that’s the way I was taught and that’s the way I hunt. Today I’m not sure how early others get into their stands. And talk about shivering, that’s nothing compared to the shivering or shaking that comes with and after you shoot that first or even your second deer.

            Well these days Bob’s two sons Rick and Clinton have sons of their own and they have all started to hunt. Robert, Rick and Lana’s son started hunting a few years ago and on opening day of his first year to hunt he shot a huge ten point buck. It was the second largest deer taken on the farm ever. Now I thought you had to wait seven years before you could shoot a deer let alone a ten point buck. Well I guess that’s why they call it the “Wright Way” to deer hunt. Then last year Spencer, Clinton and Margaret’s oldest son shot a big doe on opening morning the first time he deer hunted. Someone needs to tell these kids the rules. It’s seven years of cold and misery before you can shoot a deer.

            This year as usual we all met at the Wright Farm on Friday evening. When we arrived Bob was busy icing down drinks and putting the finishing touches on the barn. It wasn’t long before guests started to gather. We all had a cold drink and some hearty hand shakes as old and young family and friends joined in on what Bob calls fellowship. Bob was set up and ready to cook as usual, but we still didn’t know what we were eating. The deep fryers were boiling when Larry brought over a cooler full of bull balls. That’s right bull balls. Since this wasn’t my first time to eat them I was looking forward to dinner. We also had the breast of wild turkey and a deer roast. There were fries, deviled eggs and Laverne’s famous nine bean casserole. It just doesn’t get any better than this. Oh did I mention the blueberry cobbler.

            The next morning Steve, Larry and I headed for the smaller farm just north of where the rest of the guys were hunting, which is where we had been hunting since I started. It was a nice morning with temps in the high forties and little to no wind. This was good for the hunters but the deer must not like it because the three of us didn’t get a deer. Larry saw a couple and Steve saw one while yours truly didn’t see any. We stopped hunting around nine thirty and headed back to deer camp. Before we got there we called to see what success they had. It seems all of us “Old-Timers” had nothing to show for the mornings hunt but it was a different story for the youngsters.

Spencer Wright with his first buck.

Robert Wright and proud dad Rick.

Conner Wright with grandpa Bob and dad Clinton.

Robert had again taken an even larger ten pointer than he had shot previously. Spencer had taken his first buck and Conner, Clinton’s youngest son, on his first time to hunt, shot a large eight point buck. Didn’t these guys get the list of rules, pay your dues for seven years, be cold and miserable and wonder why you’re doing this before you can see, let alone shoot a deer? Did I tell you that I had to walk two miles to school up hill each way in the snow every day?

            Good for the Wright grandsons. I’m sure they will pay their dues somewhere along the line. Steve shot a big doe so we have deer in the freezer. I have hunted a few days since opening day with no success but I’ve still got a couple days left.

            My thanks to Bob and Laverne Wright for including us in deer camp and for the great meal on Friday. Also my thanks to Larry for getting me started deer hunting and my son Steve for always making these times together special.

            This is where it would be appropriate to say something like “Take a Young Person Hunting” but wouldn’t it be nice to just leave them at home with their mothers. I’m just kidding!

Take a young person hunting and teach them to be good stewards of this great land of ours.