from

THE ART OF HUNTING BIG GAME IN NORTH AMERICA

by jack o'connor

one thing the man who hunts the hills (or for that matter anywhere) should do is to learn to point out game to someone else.

typical conversation:

1st hunter: i see a big buck.
2nd hunter (excitedly): where?
1st hunter: by that big rock.
2nd hunter: for heaven's sake! this county is made of rocks! i can see 500. which rock?
1st hunter: by the tree...the rock by the tree! i can see him as plain as day. he's stading there looking at us. if i had a rifle with a scope like you do i could hit it.
2nd hunter (now frantic): i can't see him! there are rocks and trees all over the damned hillside! which rock? which tree?
1st hunter: oh hell, he;s moving off now.
the second hunter sees the buck for the first time just as it disappears....
to show someone else as animal he does not see, pick out the most conspicuous object in the general direction of the game. then tell the hunter exactly what direction the animal is from it and what reasonably conspicuous object is near, how far it is both from the most conspicuous object and the object close to the animal.

example:

i see a deer. i think it is a buck. i can see antlers now. it is a buck and a good one. see that big triangular rock about 300 yards away in the middle of the hillside, the big rock shaped like a pyramid and with green lichens growing on the left side? ok. now see the dead pinon tree about 100 yards to the right of the tree at 4 o'clock? just to the left of the dead pinon and a little below you;ll see a dirty white spot. that is the rump patch of the buck. he is browsing on a bush. you'll see his antlers when he lifts his head. see him? good!
the last example no doubt seems simple. it is--both simple and logical, but [there are] few hunters...who could quickly and clearly pinpoint an animal for someone who has not yet seen it!

When my wife tries to point something out, I can never find it. I don't think she understands the difference in 10 yds. and 1,000 yds. or a Pine Tree and an Oak tree. Also, her pointing finger was broken and grew back crooked as a dog's hind leg.

Her description would be, Look at that huge buck over there and point.

I ask where?

She replies, right there and points again.

sounds like my wife, god bless her! i'll ask her if she wants "choice a" or "choice b" and her answer will be "yes."

I find the best course of action is to get a quick compass reading on the buck. Then if ol' mossyhorns is 300 yards to the NE I suggest to my partner that he mosey down the ravine to the South because I think I just saw a monster go that way...

Jeff

The deleted or cancelled post is now on your cooking show about how to handle deer meat, which was impressive and shows your great knowledge of game meat...and somehow it got on this thread, probably cannucks or Saeeds fault as I know I could never make such an error ...