Flyingthree-nicorn is in reference to the first deer I shot with my grandpas gun. I am 30++ years old and your first thought might be that I've had this name for quite some time when, in fact, it's only come about in the last few years.
Though I've been hunting since 12, my success has been limited to small game and waterfowl. Being raised in South Dakota offered lots of hunting oppotunites. My dad has taken me many, many.......many times to the Black Hills to deer hunt. He always believed in making packing lists so we wouldn't forget anything. The list always started the same: gun, bullet (singular), etc... The thought was, of course, we were good enough to only need one. Another thought not often shared was that multiple bullets get too heavy to carry.
We've even gone to Colorado and Wyoming a few times to Elk hunt. All of our expeditions started with same list and ended with same results - empty handed without a shot fired. Although it was dis-heartening to never get the prize, it was always enjoyable to be there with dear old dad and nature.
On one particular trip to the Black Hills, we stopped at Grandpas place. He lived in Rapid City at the time. During our short visit, he went to the hall closet and pulled out one of his old hunting guns. He handed it to me and told me about some of the success he's had with it. Grandpa said he's bagged 8 or 9 deer with it and he wanted me to do the same. The gun, a Winchester 32 Special, was in pretty poor repair but I was totally excited none the less.
It took me nearly 2 years to get it to a gun smith to re-blue all the metal components. I even took the stock and butt to a wood hobbiest who did a fantastic job of refinishing. When the gun was put all back together it took another year and a half before I used it. Up to this point in time I was, and still am, living in southern Minnesota were you can only use shotgun. About 4 years ago a good buddy, Outdoors Junky, invited me to northern MN to hunt with his group. This was my first chance to use Grandpa's gun.
We had hunted a couple of areas with no success. On the second or third day after lunch we headed to a new area and setup stands and decided to sit there for the rest of the day. We had only been ready for about 45 minutes when the action began. From my vantage point I saw a couple of deer bounding my direction from maybe 200yds out. I looked around to guess where they may appear near me. I calculated a spot behind me on the left. This could be the only spot they would be exposed. It was about 40-50 yds out and between 2 large trees with an opening less than 2ft. I had an either sex tag so I decided to go for the second deer. My estimations were all correct and the first deer flashed past and I instantly prepared for the shot. The second deer was actually leaping across when I pulled the trigger. Beyond either side of these 2 trees there was no visibility because of the thick growth. All was silent and I sat there wondering if I had scored number 1. I stayed put in case it was only an injury shot - giving it more time to die nearby vs chasing it down. An antagonizing 25 minutes later, OJ's dad walked up between those same 2 trees and asked if I had shot anything. Not knowing what to say, I said "If I did, it would be right there.". He looked around and spotted nothing. I climbed down and we looked for blood and or hair - still nothing. I started walking in the direction the deer had and wouldn't you know - about 20 - 30 yds lay number 1. As we appoached it, it looked like a fair sized doe. When I picked up the head, to my surprise, there came along an antler with 3 points on it. I was in awe. My first trip, my first shot, my first deer with Grandpa's Gun.
So if you look at the details- a leaping (flying) deer, one antler, 3 points - you'll come to the same conclusion I did. It's a flying three-nicorn.
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Topic: This is my story..... (Read 5011 times)
