30 years ago, opening day of deer season here in Wisconsin started with rain. As I stood in my tree stand in the big woods of public land, it changed to freezing rain, to sleet and then to a raging blizzard. Back then it was my practice to sit all day on opening day on that large area of public land, with the hopes that other hunters would move deer when they moved. Problem was, visibility was so limited, that most deer were just brown blurs in a white background. By noon it was apparent by the lack of deer movement that everyone else was out of the woods and the deer were hunkered down in the storm. Just as it was getting dark, the snow let up and across the swamp I saw a buck and a doe cross. couldn't get a shot, but now kinda figured where their bedroom was. The walk out was almost impossible because snow was over knee deep and the weight of the snowed had bent over many of the small trees to the ground. It was like walking a maze. Every time you touched a tree, you got dumped on. I knew tho, that the walk in the next morning all I would have to do was follow my trail. What I didn't figure on, was the exertion of the walk in. The morning, like many after a blizzard was bitter cold, so I dressed warm. Too warm for the exertion. Add to it the amount of snow falling down my neck as I waded thru the snow to my stand. Time I got there my pants were froze solid above my knees and I was soaking wet on the inside of my long johns. Needless to say, Standing for long was not an option. Two hours after daylight, I had had enough. Decided to try and "sneak" hunt before the snow became crunchy. Didn't take me long to realize by the many large areas the deer had cleared looking for food, that they were targeting wintergreen. Acorns had been scarce that year so the deer went to their backup food. Knowing where the best wintergreen areas were, I kept my "sneak" to the edges of the swamps. About an hour into the "sneak", as I was threading my way thru the bent over oak scrub at the edge of a tamarack swamp, I catch the movement of a deer's horn, not 20 yards away. The heavy snow cover in the trees and the sound of snow falling from said trees had covered my approach as the buck was facing upwind and I was approaching from downwind. I had to drop to my knees in the snow to see him and all I could see of the deer was it's head and neck above the snow...but at 20 yards, and the ol' ought-six, I didn't need anymore. Being careful to make as little movement as possible, I took off the safety, raised to ol' sporterized M1917, put the crosshairs on the neck below the head and pulled the trigger. Nuttin' happened. I thought, 'ell, did I not put in a shell? Slowly and as quietly as I could, I worked the bolt enough to see I had indeed loaded the gun. Again, I was able to carefully raise the gun again without being made and pulled the trigger. Again.....nuttin'. The I remembered my grandfather talking about the bolts of their M1917s in France during WWI constantly freezing when they would get wet and how they would urinate on them to thaw them. (One reason so many of those rifles had stains on the stocks around the receiver). I considered trying to pee on it but knew there was no way I could get away with it at this distance from an alert deer. You could tell he now was alert to something. Knowing the when the bolt is cocked on my M1917, that the pin protrudes from the back of the bolt, I figured I would try and hold the gun up with my left hand, while pulling the trigger and pushing on the back of the firing pin at the same time, with my right. Wasn't an easy thing to do, and it was a total surprise when the gun went off. At the shot the buck jumped up along with two does I had never seen. To this day, I still do not understand how I got away with all that I did at that distance from three alert deer. The buck was an easy track and he did not go far. The drag back was a different story. Between the distance to my original stand and the distance covered in my "sneak", I was a good mile from the truck and dragging a mature buck thru knee deep snow and the maze in the woods form the snowstorm was not an easy task. Along the way I peeled of most of my outer clothing and would carry it and my rifle a hundred yards and then go back and get the buck. This was repeated I don't know how many times. Last 1/4 mile I would lay down on top the buck and take a break to catch my wind. As I got closer to the truck and where I knew my two brothers probably were, I would shout and fire my gun hoping they would hear. Nope....they were inside the warm truck, listening to the Packer game and eating sammies. Was not the biggest buck I ever shot(basket 8), but the most memorable. BTW....Wisconsin extended the gun deer season that year because of the lack of hunting opportunities on opening weekend die to the blizzard. Only time I ever remember them doing that.
He said he laid there for like 20 minutes in the freezing cold, stunned, next to the deer. (He couldn’t stop laughing telling me this story, in case anyone was worried he got hurt!)
