Deer Hunting 1951
This happened in 1951.
I was hunting in Hawes Township of Alcona County about three miles from Hubbard Lake. My dad and his party had hunted the area since 1938. In 1940 or 1941 my dad and his cousin bought 160 acres in section 24 of Hawes Township. It was on the south side of Strawberry Hill, a locally known landmark.
Stories abounded that year about a blind buck being led around the woods by a doe. It was said that the buck took the does tail in its mouth and followed where the doe led. As the year advanced and the hunting season drew near the buck got bigger and his rack expanded.
It was November 20 the sixth day of the season and I was hunting in the Sucker Creek Swamp. In Alcona County there was very little State Land or public land open to hunting but after the first week one could wander from his own property and hunt elsewhere with out objection by other land owners.
It was nearing 5 o-clock in the afternoon when what to my wondering eyes should appear but a doe followed by a giant buck with the doe’s tail in its mouth. Sensing something amiss the doe stopped. The deer were about thirty yards away and in the clear.
My rifle was a Model 70 Winchester, Cal. 30-06. I used 160-grain bullets. I am a good shot so I decided to shoot the buck in the neck to avoid wasting meat. As I squeezed the trigger the doe flinched causing my shot to miss the buck, but the bullet took off the doe’s tail. The doe ran while the buck just stood there with the tail in its mouth.
I prepared to shoot again but I began to think about the mile or more I would have to drag that buck to the cottage. I had a wild idea: “Maybe I can, I thought.” I slung my rifle over my shoulder and slowly and as quietly as possible I approached the blind buck. I took the tail in my hand and started leading the blind buck to our camp. Since it was almost dark my fellow hunters were looking for me. Some how I managed to get one of the men to understand to get my camera. He did and snapped several good photos of this unusual incident.
I led the buck to under the buck pole where it was dispatched and dressed. The buck was a ten-pointer with a uniform spread. We estimated its weight at 140 pounds.
In Lincoln they talked about this for years.
Any way that’s my story. Unfortunately I misplaced the photos. But I can prove it happened because I still have the camera.
Digging A Trench
