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By all means hunters, speed to your lease with these essential items before sunrise! Please don’t, you shouldn’t speed. Remember that in Erath County, Texas, the general hunting seasons is November 5, 2011 — January 1, 2012: bag limit 4 deer, not more than 2 bucks, and no more than 2 antlerless, all seasons combined (citations from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department).
The Flying Hat Ranchito is closed to hunting because of the deer population decline. In 2003, the White-tailed deer count was daily at 15-16, but this year the count has declined to three (3) deer, two doe and one fawn.
In truth, I recommend that you eliminate all of the following items below except a non-scope deer rifle and the deer from your hunt. (And, yes, I have and still hunt without scope.) Dress appropriately, maybe even a bit of camouflage, but considering the number of unschooled hunters out in the veld, you probably should wear red or orange. Those of you that need to hunt for food or as an essential supply to your winter larder, I have no quarrel — in fact, I don’t like to quarrel or wrangle, in most cases — but the accumulation of the following “essential” items should be pared down whether venison is imperative or not. I don’t like all the gadgetry and waste of resources. To wit, I recommend these changes:
Build a natural blind of brush, hide behind a tree, sit on a log, get lost in the shinnery in order to scan and conceal. (Wear red or orange somewhere on your body, preferably above your waist.)
Do you really need an all-terrain vehicle to run up and down pasture roads or across fields? Of course not. Walk, glide through the forest, the grove, the bush. Forget the telescope, use a less powerful rifle and stalk quietly the deer you seek to slay. I think I would keep the flask and contents purely for exorcising the chill — two sip limit after the hunt, of course.
These changes, if adopted, will exercise your body, get you close to your kill and the extra money saved can pay part of your kid’s college tuition.
Of the following, what items can you eliminate and still achieve your goal?
Essential item no. 1: camouflage clothing
Essential item no. 2: all-terrain vehicle (ATV)
Essential item no. 3: the deer stand
Essential item no. 4: 30.06 rifles, some with scope
Essential item no. 5: bourbon whiskey flask
Essential item no. 6: White-tailed deer (bag limit is four).
Have a good hunt and feel liberated from the technologies of the present day!
(Please catch the field report of November 5, 2011, later on this morning in a separate post!)
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Notes, corrections and additions:
This post was originally entitled, “White-tailed deer season opens in Erath County: essential recommendations.”
Sage to Meadow ~ Jack Matthews 
The purveyors of such accessories I’m sure would not agree with you but I agree wholeheartedly. I especially hate the scoped rifles and the ATVs.
Well said Jack. I still hunt with my old Model 94 in 30-30, but I did have to add a small Leupold a few years back when my eyesight got too bad for the buckhorn sight. Always preferred a quarter horse to an ATV and a man’s legs are a bit more useful in the Hill Country brush anyhow. Never once thought about wearing anything “camo” since a good pair of jeans and my well-worn Tony Lama’s do just fine for a day’s hunting. And I never mix whiskey and white-tail in the field. Can’t enjoy a good walk through the hills when you’re hung over and that’s a fact!
Great post, and full of grins for someone who’s spent her fair share of time cruising I-l0 west in the weeks prior to the opening of deer season.
Of course, the same dynamics can be found and the same advice should apply in other arenas, as well. I’m thinking about ice “shacks” and snowmobiles, for example. When the shack looks more like the corner bar, complete with 28 kinds of liquor and a flat screen, more than ice fishing’s going on!