j-bird
Well-Known Member
So as time passes legends and myths seem to form from success or failures afield. I have one such mythical hunting gadget...."the magic bucket". The "magic bucket" is a plain plastic 5 gallon bucket that is simply wrapped in camo duct tape (now significantly faded). This bucket started out just like any other...but this bucket has been on more successful deer hunts than not. The "magic bucket" gets used when we are going to make a plan up on the fly so to speak. I have used it several times myself. I have used it with my son and my son has used it as well. We either see deer or even take deer when the magic of the bucket mojo is flowing well. This bucket has been around now for at least 5 years if not closer to 10. It's legend started when I would take the bucket to try something different and bag a deer. My hunting buddy would always comment about how "lucky" I got. My son thus commented about it being "magic"...jokingly of course... but the name stuck. So the legend builds over time and thus the "magic bucket" is now as much myth and legend as anything else I own. So, a few nights ago my son takes the "magic bucket" and sees more deer than we normally do...so the mojo of the bucket was working. This morning the legend stuck once again.
This morning I drive 45 minutes to my folks place to try to get a doe for the freezer. Their property is in a county that has a lot more deer and dad isn't a deer hunter. At 20 acres it's tough to hold deer, but the deer do use the property and I had picked out a couple of trees for my climber 2 weekends ago. This morning I start to pull things out of the truck and realize I forgot my harness at the house. The "plan" WAS to use my climber to hunt from...and I thought about chancing it...but something (most call it common sense) told me not to chance it. But there it was...in the back of the truck...sort of like excaliber in the stone...the "magic bucket".
I found me a place in some tree limbs that still had leaves on them and I sat the bucket down at the base of a tree and leaned back. The weather didn't cooperate much as a light mist, turned into a drizzle and then into a light rain shower. I was about to pull the plug and about 9am the rain stopped. I figured I would hunt for a while yet since the rain had stopped, but I also had to pick up a deer at the locker on my way home so I couldn't hunt all day either. About 9:30 I see what appears to be a deer head and neck. You all know what I am talking about when the woods plays tricks on you and makes something else look like a part of a deer. Well I thought that was the case, but I pulled up my gun and sure enough it was a deer (it helped that it moved). It was roughly 100 yards thru the woods and was standing in the edge of a small clearing. I looked hard for signs of antlers and found none and the deer stepped forward and I had a narrow window to thread the needle so to speak. I took the shot and the deer dropped in its tracks. That was it....it was over. The legend of the "magic bucket" lives...
Now why is this that big of a deal? This is the first deer I have killed that has NOT been taken off my own property. This deer in fact was taken off my folks place that was formerly owned by my grandfather...and he was a huge influence in my outdoor life. In fact both my father and grandfather are the two men I look up to the most in my life and encouraged my outdoor activities. I killed my first squirrel in nearly the exact same spot as I was sitting when I took this shot. I know for certain I was not alone in the woods today as my grandfather's spirit was certainly there. I think he/they would have both been/are proud. A clean shot, to feed the family...from the ground, with a makeshift plan....back to the roots of hunting. The deer isn't a trophy, but the memory sure is! It's funny how things work out sometimes. But then again....maybe I just got "lucky"!
This morning I drive 45 minutes to my folks place to try to get a doe for the freezer. Their property is in a county that has a lot more deer and dad isn't a deer hunter. At 20 acres it's tough to hold deer, but the deer do use the property and I had picked out a couple of trees for my climber 2 weekends ago. This morning I start to pull things out of the truck and realize I forgot my harness at the house. The "plan" WAS to use my climber to hunt from...and I thought about chancing it...but something (most call it common sense) told me not to chance it. But there it was...in the back of the truck...sort of like excaliber in the stone...the "magic bucket".
I found me a place in some tree limbs that still had leaves on them and I sat the bucket down at the base of a tree and leaned back. The weather didn't cooperate much as a light mist, turned into a drizzle and then into a light rain shower. I was about to pull the plug and about 9am the rain stopped. I figured I would hunt for a while yet since the rain had stopped, but I also had to pick up a deer at the locker on my way home so I couldn't hunt all day either. About 9:30 I see what appears to be a deer head and neck. You all know what I am talking about when the woods plays tricks on you and makes something else look like a part of a deer. Well I thought that was the case, but I pulled up my gun and sure enough it was a deer (it helped that it moved). It was roughly 100 yards thru the woods and was standing in the edge of a small clearing. I looked hard for signs of antlers and found none and the deer stepped forward and I had a narrow window to thread the needle so to speak. I took the shot and the deer dropped in its tracks. That was it....it was over. The legend of the "magic bucket" lives...
Now why is this that big of a deal? This is the first deer I have killed that has NOT been taken off my own property. This deer in fact was taken off my folks place that was formerly owned by my grandfather...and he was a huge influence in my outdoor life. In fact both my father and grandfather are the two men I look up to the most in my life and encouraged my outdoor activities. I killed my first squirrel in nearly the exact same spot as I was sitting when I took this shot. I know for certain I was not alone in the woods today as my grandfather's spirit was certainly there. I think he/they would have both been/are proud. A clean shot, to feed the family...from the ground, with a makeshift plan....back to the roots of hunting. The deer isn't a trophy, but the memory sure is! It's funny how things work out sometimes. But then again....maybe I just got "lucky"!
