Much to My Surprise

Denise Raum

I don't know at what exact moment I made the decision to become a hunter. But even more than just becoming a hunter, it's become a big part of my life, my ambition, and my desire for a career. My grandfather was the only avid hunter in my family when I was growing up. Even though I was quite young, he spent time with me shooting guns and occasionally a bow. I remember being very hesitant, but my grandfather never let that stop us. I think sometimes I tried things just so he wouldn't tease me relentlessly. He taught me a lot; the most important was never fear trying something new and to never stop trying until you succeeded. Once he passed away I lost my connection with hunting until nearly 10 years later when I met my husband, Mike.

Mike is the most dedicated hunter I have ever met. Hunting is truly his passion. For seven years I was perfectly content on being the significant other to a hunter. I would listen to the same hunting stories told over and over again attentively, as if I were hearing them for the first time. I would help him with all of his butchering and prepare the bounty nearly all year long for our family. Occasionally, I would sit and watch a hunting video with him. I promised never to wash or touch any of his hunting clothes. Last, but not least, I had learned that hunting seasons always took priority on the calendar. I accepted all of these conditions even though I never completely understood them.

One evening I was watching Mike and our 3 year old son Denton practice shooting bow. Denton decided to take a break. Mike asked me to pick the bow up and try shooting it. My curiosity and maybe just a little touch of competitive nature got the best of me so I decided to give it a try. To my amazement I liked it. Mike and I immediately thought how much fun it would be for the whole family to shoot bow together,including our 1 year old daughter. One week later I had a new bow and enjoyed shooting archery more than I ever imagined that I might. I enjoyed it so much I decided to pursue it further and take a hunter safety course. I knew it was quite likely that both our children would hunt in the future and the knowledge gained in the hunter safety course could prove to be vary valuable, even if I never became a great hunter myself.

Three months after getting a new bow with many, many hours of practice I started out on opening day of archery season for my very first hunt. I remember stopping to look up to the sky on my way to my tree stand and seeing the stars shine so brightly that it almost took my breath away. I had no idea what to expect my feelings to be or even whether I would enjoy hunting but I was willing to give it a try. I needed to know what made my husband get out of bed at 4:00 in the morning on a Saturday , go out in the cold to sit in a tree all day while having a smile on his face the entire time. There had to be something about it he just couldn't explain to me. I was determined to uncover this great mystery.

After I climbed into my tree stand and settled in, it took me very little time to realize what that unexplainable mystery was. I don't think you can put it in to words but every hunter knows it. It is a peaceful yet exciting exhilaration of feeling one with nature. The anticipation, the excitement, of what is yet to come and knowing that even if you just sit and observe, you are doing something worthwhile and important. I had gained a new respect for the outdoors. That day I saw a fox and 4 does that all came within 20 yards of me. Although it was tempting, I was waiting for a buck.

I learned a great deal that archery season and enjoyed every minute of it. Just watching the movements and reactions of the deer was amazing to me. One doe stayed within 15 yards of me for nearly a half an hour. That was incredibly thrilling to watch. My first archery season ended without seeing a single buck. I was disappointed but already looking forward to next year. At least I hadn't missed one. Nevertheless, I still had a chance to bring home a rack during rifle season.

On Tuesday November 28, I shot a five point from my tree stand in Lancaster county. I was only in my stand 10 minutes when the buck quickly appeared and walked steadily in an old trail heading in my direction. Everything seemed like it happened in a matter of seconds. My heart wildly raced as I tried to get my scope on the deer. I never imagined how difficult that is to do when an overly cautious buck is within a few yards. I was so excited that it was hard to hold still. I had to stop, take a deep breath and tell myself to concentrate.

Finally I had the buck in my scope. He was about 15 yards away when I squeezed the trigger. He sprinted for 30 yards and dropped. I used to make fun of the reactions of people on hunting videos when I saw them jump up and down after a successful shot. Now there I was jumping up and down in my stand with tears running down my face. I was so excited that I could hardly contain myself in the tree stand. As happy as I was I knew that it still wasn't with my bow. In my mind I was already preparing for next season. That's when I realized I was hooked.

All year round my husband and I, along with our two children, practice shooting bow. After hours and hours of enjoyable practice, it wasn't long before I had built up a lot of confidence in my archery skill. I knew I had to have that self-assurance in order to release an arrow from my bow on a deer. We both honed our skills as members of an indoor league over the winter as well as the spring and also took part in some 3-D shoots on weekends. I wanted to make sure that come next archery season I could have 100% confident in my shooting.

Before I knew it, the 2001 archery season was upon us. I think that Mike was as excited about the possibility of his student getting a buck as I was. So he decided to let me go out the first day in the woods behind our house while he stayed home with the kids. To this day I still don't think I've thanked him enough for that. The goal was for me to shoot a doe with my bow. We had been seeing 4 doe continuously at the edge of our woods two weeks prior to archery season.

As I got into my stand that morning I noticed a flashlight going up the valley 40 yards away from me. Shortly after the light disappeared about 80 yards from me in the other directions, I heard some crashing around 6:15. I was sure that it was someone setting up another tree stand. I sat there somewhat discouraged and frustrated by all of the distractions around me. Both sides of our property are private land. To our knowledge no one had permission to be there. At 6:30 it was starting to get daylight so I made sure I had everything ready and I could see my pins clearly on my sight. I leaned against the tree settling in for an enjoyable hunt. I took a deep breath of the cool morning air and rested my Mathews bow on my lap. I planned to sit till about 7:00 and then stand for a while. At 6:50, very much to my surprise, two deer approached from the direction in which I thought was a tree stand going up. All that noise had been made by two buck.

I never anticipated deer coming in that way. I had been focusing my attention on the other trails around me. Somehow I needed to find a way to stand up since I couldn’t pull my bowstring all the way back sitting down. By the time I had first spotted the deer they were only 25 yards from me. Getting up unnoticed was a challenge in itself with one set of eyes watching. I had two sets, now only 20 yards from me. My heart began to race the moment I saw the rack on the first buck. I knew it was at least a 6 point and definitely "shooter". He came exactly where I needed him to be for a perfect shot. If only I could get my bow into position.

The buck was 15 yards broadside when I pulled my bow back. It only came back halfway. I had to let up and try again. I couldn't believe that the two deer had not seen my movements. I pulled my bow back again with everything I had, placed the pin on my sight at his heart and released. He ran almost 30 yards when I heard him crash. I knew exactly where he went down. I remembered that Mike had told me I should wait 30 minutes before I approached the deer so that I wouldn't cause it to attempt to run further away. Waiting 30 minutes was going to be impossible and certainly torture. I knew I could get down to the house without pushing the deer. I climbed out of my stand, made my way quietly through the woods, and literally ran to the house.

I told Mike I had shot a buck. He was as excited as I was. We waited an extremely long 40 minutes till we went to find the deer. The buck was exactly where I thought he was. He was a beautiful 9 point with a double brow tine. I was in complete awe over the whole experience. Although that season only lasted 20 minutes for me , the memories and excitement will last a lifetime.

More and more women are entering into the world of hunting. I hope that my story can encourage someone who might be in the same situation I was in. I hope they accept the challenge that my grandfather made to me- It never hurts to try and you never know until you do.

Some of the most memorable hunts don't end with a keepsake you can display for others to see, just the personal joy and satisfaction of being an observer of the outdoors. Any hunter will tell you that it's not about the trophy on the wall; it's about the journeys that led you to that trophy. My experience has not been one of many years but of having good teachers to guide me and a willingness to learn something new. I have been blessed to find something that I truly enjoy and feel passionate about that I can share with others. Much to my surprise, hunting turned out to be a great passion to me. However, this story is only one of many yet to come.

Oh, one last thing. That daughter I mentioned earlier, have you guessed her name? Why it's "Hunter", of course!