Randy’s Buck

Photobucket This is my brother Randy and his grandson Seth. Randy is an extrovert who loves crowds and people. He’s been a county commissioner here in Monroe, doesn’t mind speaking in public, and is generally a very outgoing guy. But come November a sort of metamorphosis comes over him, as he heads to his little camp in the Upper Peninsula.

His place is a throwback to the old time hunting camps of the 20’s and 30’s with a genuine floor board rotted outhouse, or path bath if you prefer. The one room camp has wood heat, one set of bunk beds, pull out couch, and no storage. On more than one occasion he has spent days on end, all alone, in his little hide-a-way. You have to pipe sunlight back to his place, but what a little jewel of a peaceful spot it is! There’s a small creek running along side it, that lulls you to sleep at night with it’s magical gurgling sounds. An old apple tree sits in the front yard that has been attacked by marauding bears over the years. Between claw marks and broken limbs, it’s about ready to give up the ghost.

The camp is located around Marquette Michigan (snow belt) and sits in the bottom of a draw. Randy’s 40 acres butts up to state land, so he can roam till his hearts content. Usually he’ll have one, or more, of his three sons with him for the deer (rifle) opener. This year his second son Justin, and Justin’s son Seth were able to make camp for a few days.

One morning Seth decided to sit with grandpa in his double seater tree stand. Randy was watching a good scrape line along a row of planted pines, when Seth saw a buck approaching from Randy’s right. He alerted grandpa to the deer, and Randy tried to swing on him, but couldn’t, due to the angle. Randy is a former Marine, with two tours of duty in Viet-Nam, and earned top honors (expert) as a marksman. With just his right arm supporting his Remington model 742, he swung, held, and fired. The deer dropped in the scrape he was checking out! It was a nice 6-pointer, as you can see, but has no brow tines. It should of been an eight (yeh that’s what they all say!) but it’s a nice deer just the same. What makes it all the more special, is that Randy got to share the excitement with his grandson and son. It don’t get much better than that; even for a deer season “hermit!”

Mike