It’s a ride of a lifetime, in every state, in some states for months. It’s full of emotion and remembering and organized chaos and kicks to the butt. It’s about hunting skill, wisdom and patience or just plain dumb luck. It’s about mentoring and passing on time honored traditions. It’s about “controlled passion” and “getting away” leaving the roar of the cities behind.

Hunters enjoy the drama of predator and prey; some are rewarded with mounts they hang on the wall, or meat for the freezer. Everyone-that is everyone who hunts experiences the outdoors. They capture an appreciation of wildlife and cling to those cherished memories when they get home.

Pre-season: hunters load up on the necessities like; attractant and masking scents, shells, arrows, deer stands, and compasses. With giddy excitement they drive to their deer camps.  Hunters’ search for shed antlers; they scout for deer sign, put up deer stands, and renew hope. It’s the anticipation of the hunt. This is why we love deer season; the whole season.

We love it all; we’re somehow on a ride. Our hearts race at the sight of a deer, and sag when they stay out of range. We dream our dreams. They grab us, sometimes they become reality.

We bond psychologically with other hunters; grandma and grandpa, sons and daughters, grand kids, neighbors, and friends. It’s normal to bond and get a little rut crazy during this magical season. Go ahead. In deer camp and in the deer shack, we go along for the rides. We mist up when first time hunters score, or conjecture that this might be grandpas last year in camp. We too high five and hug. Maybe it’s because the season makes us feel like anything is possible and for some days in the fall, anything is. That’s what is so magical about the season.

Armed with; rifles, bows, crossbows, smoke-poles and knives, hunters head afield. For months of dreaming it’s all come down to this; stalking, still hunting, driving deer or stand hunting.  Most everywhere you look you’ll see blaze orange or camouflage gear. For a few days in the fall even the minutia is a huge deal to some hunters.

You can classify the hunters; those that are aspiring, some with experience and those that are seasoned and wise. You can’t forget the wary whitetails; does, fork horns, 5 x 5s, and rarely a monster buck. It becomes a deadly game of “cat and mouse”. The rides continue; they’ve only just begun. This is why we love it; “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat”, the ride of autumn.

Deer season; it comes in like a lion and then it roars.