A Pleasant Surprise and Change - Larry Weishuhn

I had been sitting watching a bear bear all day long for the the past 14-hours to be exact. Now

back at camp I was having a most delicious meal of smothered scimitar-horned orxy steak, one

of Nacolh’s specialties. “Got a question for you.” Stated Dusty Vickrey hunting manager for the

Choctaw Hunting Lodge in southeastern Oklahoma. He smiled then added, “I think I know the

answer… You’re here hunting black bear with a crossbow. However, I highly suspect you’re

itching to shoot something with your .454 Casull Raging Hunter!”

“You reading my mind again?” I quipped. “Got something in mind for early tomorrow

morning?” I responded. “I know bears here move throughout the day, but at least right now,

they don’t seem to be coming to bait during early morning. That being the case… Yes, indeed I

am interested and ready!” Two late evenings before, a bear likely approaching 400-pounds had

made an appearance. But it never came nearer than 70-yards of where I waited in a ground

blind. Had I been legally allowed to hunt with my .454 Casull Taurus Raging Hunter loaded with

Hornady rounds, that bear’s hide would then be “in the salt”. Unfortunately, it was archery

season and I could only use either a bow or a crossbow. I had chosen the latter. The big-

bodied black bear was one of two Dusty had had shown me trail camera photos of that I

wanted to hunt. The other was a lankier and taller black bear that had a light brown strip of hair

from between his ears to the base of his tail.

At the time I had already logged in excess of 40-hours sitting on a bear bait. Before I had to

head back to Texas I would log 67-hours of sitting on a bear bait in 6 days of hunting, including

some all day 14 and more hours sits.

“Got some whitetail management bucks and several does we need to take out of our Choctaw

Estate area.” Said Dusty. The Estate Hunting Area is a 1,200 acre high-fenced pasture, part of

over 24,000-acres that comprises the Choctaw Hunting Lodge

(www.choctawhuntinglodge.com). Behind the fence I could use my Raging Hunter handgun,

even though there was no current firearm season on the free-range property. “We’ve promised

several deer to our elder Choctaw families and those who need food. Thought you would be

willing to help.” I was!

Well before first light, Dusty and I were in an elevated deer blind overlooking a feed area back

in the oaks, a place we had hunted in the past when on a “venison procurement” mission. First

to appear, still too dark to shoot, was a small sounder of wild hogs. We could barely see their

shapes.

Shooting light came grudgingly because of thankfully rain laden clouds. The Choctaw had not

received any measurable rainfall since early spring. Vegetation was tinder dry. Even worse,

there were no acorns or persimmons, fall and winter stables for the region’s wild species.

As black turned to pale gray deer started filtering through the area. But they did not provide a

shot. We waited.

After a while watching, unable to get a shot Dusty suggested. “Let’s get out of the blind and

walk toward the field between the woods and the lake. I think that’s where the deer are

headed. There’s still some green right along water’s edge.”

We walked slowly, stopping frequently to glass all around us before taking another step. Just

before we got to the oak forest’s edge we spotted a buck, one with two points up on each main

beam and without any sign of browtines. While Dusty evaluated the buck for age, I set up to

shoot, just in case.

“When you’ve got a shot, take it!” whispered Dusty. “Probably a 3-year old! In good flesh, but

one I want taken!” That was all I needed. From a solid tripod rest after cocking the double-

action’s hammer, I held on the deer’s heart-lung vitals. Crosshairs of my vintage 2.5-7x28 long-

eye-relief Thompson/Center scope settled exactly where I wanted to put my Hornady 200-grain

Monoflex bullet, I squeezed the trigger. The buck dropped in his tracks!

At the buck’s side I opened his mouth to check his age. He indeed was at least a 3-year old.

“Perfect buck!” said Dusty as he extended a congratulatory hand my way. “Good shot!”

A couple of weeks previously I had been on the Choctaw with the Field & Stream film crew,

specifically Gigi Robertson and cameraman David Cox to film the initial episode of a new show

Field & Stream is doing. While filming I had shot my Taurus Raging Hunter to be certain it was

properly sighted in. After the camera was turned off I put the remaining 4 shots in my revolver’s

cylinder into a 2-inch group at 100-yards shooting from a less than perfect rest.

I had left my revolver and ammo on the Choctaw in their gun safe, knowing I would be back in a

little over a week to hunt black bear with my TenPoint crossbow, but also possibly and

hopefully to help Dusty remove a whitetail or two.

Back at camp I gutted, caped and skinned my buck before hanging it in the Lodge’s cooler. By

one o’clock, after a fabulous Nacolh Vickrey meal, I was back at my bear hunting site. Just

before Dusty dropped me there, “If you’re OK with it, we’ll hunt whitetails again in the

morning.”

I could not say “Yes!” fast enough!