The One That Got Away
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Sometimes when you hunt the wiley deer,
Buck fever sets in and your nerves they do tear,
This poem describes how this affects your shooting
And ‘the one that got away’ just a scooting.
The One That Got Away
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My brother Craig and I were members of a deer hunting club
In New Mexico mesa country with lots of cedar scrubs.
We had 20,000 acres of hunting area from which to choose.
There was a cabin on top where we cooked and did snooze.
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Craig and I arrived first and the Buffalo came later in the day.
We settled in, had a beer, and decided where to hunt on our stay.
Of the three of us, Buffalo was by far the biggest and heaviest.
So he laid out a full hunting plan that for him was the easiest.
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Craig and I were to go down on the side of the Mesa slope,
And work the 5 miles around the slope working at a fast lope.
Buffalo was to drive around on top and then look over the side.
If he saw a deer, he could shoot it and watch just where it died.
Craig and I looked at each other thinking what the hell,
Buffalo has us walking miles to flush the deer, do tell,
As he rides around sipping beer, what a good Buffalo deal.
We said that sounds good, if you cook all the meals.
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We agreed with the plan because we were both in good shape.
Buffalo cooked a breakfast which included a good sirloin steak.
We ate the whole thing and Craig and I washed the dirty dishes.
We grabbed our gear with thoughts of large deer in our wishes.
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Buffalo dropped us off at the start of the path down the slope.
The slope sides were real rough, but we were able to cope.
I went down the slope just about thirty yards from the top.
Craig went down below about 60 yards then he was to stop.
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Craig and I started working round the slope parallel to each other.
We had been working around, but I still couldn’t see my brother.
I heard noises that sounded like deer feet on the loose rocks.
Then I saw a deer heading up the slope and my rifle I did cock.
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The antlered deer was running fast but he stopped above me.
He turned sideways a hundred yards up hill just perfect you see.
I was standing and buck fever set in as I shot just under him.
I took a deep breath and adjusted, and fired while shaking within.
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I had adjusted too much and the deer ran like a bat out of hell.
Before I could recover, he was clear out of sight over the hill.
Craig had heard the shots and yelled ..did you kill the big deer.
I said ..no I had a bad case of buck fever and was full of fear.
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Buffalo drove to the side to see if one of us had a deer scored.
He had seen nothing and was getting just a little bit bored.
As he looked over, he saw a spike buck and he shot him dead.
We made a harness, and pulled him to the top by his head.
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So we walked for miles and came away with no deer to show.
The Buffalo drives around in his blazer and shoots one below.
We asked him why he shot that baby deer barely a year old,
Buffalo Bob said you had your shots, and you missed them cold.
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By Bill
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Thanks for reading The One That Got Away again,
Bill