Deer Season 2009 Summary Letter

 

A GRIZZLY SEASON

Well, that just about sums it up right there. A grizzly season it was and in more ways than one, as you
will find out later. Some of you probably know where I am going with this, but don’t tell the rest of
them. Here I thought it was going to be a banner season and it was looking like it was going to be just
that, when “WHAM,” the warm weather hit. Nate and I were anxious for the season to start and the
weather was perfect near the end of Oct and first few days of Nov. But just after our hunters arrived it
took a dramatic turn for the worse, as far as deer hunting is concerned. The heat turned on, the wind
blew, and with it went the rut. The best that I could tell, it pretty much went nocturnal again from there
on out for the better part of the rut. I believe and a few others think that the peak of the rut was a bit
early, but who knows for sure what is happening out there once that sun goes down. I also think the
deer are just a bit smarter than we give them credit for. We all know that all across the country the
human traffic really picks up in the woods come October, November and December and I think those
critters pick up on that more than we think. Don’t you? So next year we have decided that we are not
going in the woods at all, until you guys get here. Then we will take each one of you out, one at a time,
with a stand, and you can help us put them up and then just climb in and start hunting. This will be more
of a “sneak-attack approach”, so to speak. If we get started as soon as you arrive, (around noon or
before, if possible) we will have you all set by dark. The first ones will get to hunt some that first
afternoon, if all goes as planned. Then you can set in that stand for the rest of the week because you will
know it is in a good place because you helped set it, and you wouldn’t put it in a bad place would you?
Then when the next group of guys gets here we will do the same thing with them, but in a different
place. This will definitely cut down on the traffic in the woods, don’t you think? And we believe you will
kill more and bigger bucks, just like Tiffany and Lee. OK, sounds like a plan. Bring your work clothes,
because you probably won’t want to do this in your hunting gear and then just change over right there
on the spot. Oh, and bring gloves, cause the hedge trees are nasty. I really think this will be the edge
that we need to bring those deer down to our level. It’s either that or put them all in a pair of cheap
sunglasses and then they won’t be able to see as well at night and it will force them to move more in the
daytime. Hey now, I think I’m on to something, yeah that’s the ticket…………………thanks ZZ Top for the
great idea……… Anybody else got any suggestions?? I’m all ears.

OK, ok, no, we are not going to do anything any different than we usually do, well maybe a couple
things. But overall it will be old school, scout the area, find where they are, find most traffic in the most
confined area and then set the stand. As each buck is different, so are the seasons. Some good, some
great and some grizzly, but still over all I think we have been pretty consistent with our kill rate.
Yes, this was a tough season, but not near as tough as our gun hunters. The weather seems to hold back
its anger until the gun hunters get here and then releases it’s furry upon them. It has been worse, but
not by much. I have got to hand it to those guys; they were for the most part, die-hards. I felt like they
were my prisoners and I was punishing them when I shoved them out the door of the pickup and said,
“go out there and don’t move until I come back to pick you up at dark. It was brutal out there most of
the time they were here. Cold, wind, rain, and one day it did all three. But for many of the guys it paid
off, unfortunately though for some, it did not. For as much as we try and want, we have never had a
100% kill with our hunters and realistically that probably will never happen.

Well, as the gun hunters showed up and I was introduced to them one by one, one guy in particular
caught my attention. He was a rather large man, burly, I would call it. They told me his name, but I like
to nick name people so I called him, Grizzly. The name fit him well because he reminded me of the old
TV show, “Grizzly Adams”. He was the mountain man type, I could tell, by his appearance. So Grizzly it
was and I really think it’s going to stick. Everyone around camp started calling him that and I think bro
Mike doesn’t even know his real name. Well Grizz was out here for one thing, get a buck as soon as
possible and then call his son in Colorado and have him come pick him up and then they were headed
back to the mountains for some snow skiing. Grizz had told Lizzy (our guide) that he was going to shoot
the first thing that had horns on it so he could head out. Grizz was a big ol’ boy but that didn’t stop him
from being afraid of heights and we could tell he was uncomfortable setting in a tree stand. After the
first day or so Grizz told us that the deer were all over in an area that was too far away for him to shoot
comfortably at and if we wouldn’t mind setting some hay bales out for him to set in and this way they
could cut that long shot in half. Really the shot was not as far as he thought and what he really needed
was a good set of range finders. Anyway they got the hay set and Grizz was in heaven with his feet on
the ground. He said he hadn’t set there more than a half hour when some deer came out in the corner
of the CRP field near the cedars. Like I said Grizz was ready to go west so when he saw horns he began
to shoot. He let a couple shots off to no prevail and the deer ran off. I’m not sure how long it was, but
soon after that he said another buck came running out of the cedars cutting across the CRP field in front
of him and right after that another buck came running across on the same trail, but this time Grizz saw
lots of antlers. He couldn’t believe his eyes. He stood up quickly in the blind and started yelling at the
buck in hopes it would stop, but it never even knew he was there. Up went the gun again and two shots
went off before the buck turned and ran into the cedars and disappeared. Now Grizzly does get a littleno
he gets a lot-excited and I can just see him trying to get that little phone out of his pocket to give
Lizzy a call. He told her all about it so then she called Mike to see what to do next. I was with Mike and
we were quite a ways away when she called so he told her to tell Grizz to wait there in the blind until
dark and not to shoot at anything unless that certain buck showed up again. Grizz was a good man and
set back to wait because even he was not sure if any of the shots connected. As darkness fell upon him
Miss Lizzy was waiting there to pick him up at the drop off point. He was still very excited about the turn
of events and I am sure told her every little detail. Meanwhile, back at the camp everyone was anxious
to hear his story as they were all so happy that he even got to see one, let alone shoot at it. They also
said that if any man deserved one it was him. That says a lot right there about buddies. Nate and Grizz
ate their dinner quickly and as I was pulling in they were heading out to go see if there was any sign of a
hit. Now by this time Grizz had talked himself out of the fact he might have hit the deer and was pretty
sure they would not find anything. Well about 20 minutes after they left Nate called. He said he went
one way and Grizz went the other around these cedars where Grizz had last seen the buck and he hadn’t
gone far when he found some blood. He then yelled at Grizz that he’d found blood but before Grizz
could get there he stepped around the big cedar tree and low and behold, there he was. This is the
moment when guiding is worth the hard work, the sacrifices that we make and the time it takes, all of
this is worth its weight in gold. Nate yelled at Grizz again, “here he is” and that is when the big hugs, maybe even kisses broke out. Hey, what happens in the woods stays in the woods. The next day Grizzly told me the whole story minute by minute, which was my reward, I love this part. Grizz said that he had dreamed of doing this for at least 20 years, going on a big hunt, far away, and coming home with a big buck and this was all coming from his heart, Absolutely PRICELESS. This is not the first time I have heard a story like this and God willing it won’t be the last, because this is what I live for, making people’s dreams come true. You really have no idea what this feels like unless you have done it yourself. Now you know that if I could control this I would have many more stories like this, but I can’t. There is only one in control and I hope you put your trust in Him too. As for Grizz, I may never see him again because like he said, this was a dream of his and he is a hard working man and things like this just aren’t in his schedule every year. And you know what, he is happy with that and will never forget the friends he made at Paradise and so am I. I know he will think of us often, because every time he looks at those massive 162 and 3/8ths inches of antlers hanging on his wall. And by the way, that was our biggest buck taken of the year. “The Grizzly Buck”, shot in full stride.

Not everybody’s dreams come true out here and there were many that I would have given my left arm to see them knock down a big buck, especially my new friends Daniel Mitacchione, Cody Call and my old buddy, Kevin Olson. These are the ones that my heart strings pull for just because of the different situations with each of them. See, not even my dreams all come true, but that doesn’t mean I give up. Heck no, I will be at it again next year with new dreams and with new and old friends, so if you can I hope you will choose Paradise Adventures and maybe we will help you catch your dream. And please don’t get me wrong, I always want each and every one of you to take back your dream of a big ol’ Kansas Buck; believe me, nothing would be better.
Well now it’s time to talk about the bow season. Man I hate to see people leave here with their hearts broken by not seeing or being able to shoot a buck. That is truly hard for me. I feel as if I have failed them in a way because I am pretty optimistic about them coming out and taking back a trophy. But reality sets in after seeing what happens year after year. Say that 25 people hunt with us, just like this season. If I had you all here at the same time and we lined you up on the deck and said for you to call out the numbers 1, 2, 3 as we went down the line. (I know you have all done this some time or another.) Now take the number 3 guy and tell him sorry but you will hunt hard but no matter where we put you are probably not going to see many deer and probably not going to even see a shooter. Then we take the number 2 guy and tell him that he will see deer and probably see a shooter or two, but not get a shot. Then we take Mr. 1 out and he sees it all, shoots at one and misses, sees another and kills him. Then about every other year we pull a name out of the hat and that guy kills an absolute monster. But then you have the guy that I really feel bad for. It’s the guy that sees the monster and then something happens. Maybe a first timer or maybe he has been here many times and that makes it even worse. These are some real true to life stories from my heart about people’s mishaps with monster bucks. I have seen grown men shed tears, which really breaks my heart. Stories like, I reached for my bow and clicked my release on the bow; GONE. I watched him come in and I tried twice to pull my bow back and I could NOT DO IT; GONE. We got it on film and I just grazed his brisket; GONE. He went behind us and caught a whiff; GONE. Reached for my bow; GONE. I hit him in the shoulder; GONE. And the latest, I watched my lighted knock go right over his back, maybe grazing him; GONE. Sorry guys, what can I say. Just don’t let it get to ya and by all means, don’t give up, get mad and get even with those critters. But now you see the whole picture and why I am optimistic about you getting a buck, because we don’t know who #1 is, or #2, or 3 and neither do you…

All in all we think we had a great year, everything went smoothly and we all had a great time. Whoops and Hollers were heard from a distant when man met beast face to face. In camp, laughter and stories that had no endings. Hugs, handshakes and smiles were everywhere as we parted for another year or maybe longer. I want to thank you all for coming out and spending your hard earned money with us and all I can hope for is that we reached your expectations of a good hunting camp. Like I tell most people, the bonus is taking back that trophy buck. The hunt is taking back good memories that last a life time. I also want to thank my Provider for the safety that He gave us during this season. He has blessed us here at Paradise Adventures with another Great Year, Thank you Jesus. I also want to thank Nate and Lizzy for all the hard work and I am sorry but Lizzy can’t guide all of you. Nate and Lizzy are the best and we got lots of remodeling done before you all arrived, plus we were able to remodel many of the stands for next year. I also want to let you know that we are building a bunch more ladder stands with back rests and are getting rid of the lock on stands and stick ladders. We feel that this is a move for safer hunting and stand placement. Also we are going to purchase many temporary huts or blinds for the gun hunters for the bad weather conditions that we seem to have at that time of the year. Comfort and safety is what we are striving for. And I don’t want to forget Zack Douglas for his help. He helped put up a lot of stands and did some guiding during the gun season, thanks Zack. I also want to thank my great cooks Rhonda and Debbie Walker for keeping us happy with that wonderful food. These ladies served us all together about 520 dinners and 400 meals were served during the lunch hour. These ladies deserve a big round of applause for that and every tip that you leave them. I also want to thank you that do leave gratuity money for my guides and cooks because they earn it for their hard work and sacrifice they take for this job out of their time. Of course I pay them, but this extra really helps them to know that they were appreciated. Thanks!

Happy Holidays to Every one!

A Friend Always,
kn

Written by: Kurt Nunnenkamp Date: 12 – 14/15 - 2009

Stats: Bow season: Big buck of the year; Claudio Facchini, with a 151 inch his first day and our first kill. 9 bucks were taken, 5 shots were taken with no prevail and we had 25 hunters. Gun season: Big Buck of the year; John (Grizzly) Giordano, 162 3/8 inch on the second day, I think. 12 bucks were taken out of 17. Our youth hunter hunted hard for a day and a half with no luck. Also my friend Kevin went home empty handed, for now, but we do have the doe season in Jan if the weather permits. Also I will furnish him with plenty of venison from the meat you guys left us. He won’t go hungry…. Take care, and until we meet again, keep smiling.