A Dewberry Sawmill Hunt

Bob coming out of woods on a TRACTOR!

I named this one the "Outhouse" deer stand...the one Bob should have hunted out of!

Rooster at work marking lumber (Senior Lumber Inspector)

Left of the stand

Right of the stand

Front of the stand

Bob and I were invited to some friends home for Thanksgiving and a deer hunt in Houston, MS. Gerald "Rooster", told us that since he had to work at the sawmill on Wednesday, that he would take us to work with him and we could hunt the 100 acres behind the mill. The mill is located in Maben, MS. We got up early and took the Natchez Trace Parkway to work. Rooster put Bob on a deer stand and used Charlie's new go-cart. Well, a light rain was falling and this go-cart is not a 4-wheeler. Charlie had just bought it a week ago and was using it to get around the mill for himself. Anyway, while taking me to my stand, we were sliding all over the place trying to get up and down a hill. Got to my stand and it was about 6 ft. off the ground, but had a hard time getting into it. Rooster had to shove me up in it. (Rooster is well over 6 ft. tall) After I got situated I enjoyed the hunt since it was a beautiful spot and had 3 shooting lanes. I sat there thinking about how in the world I'm going to get out of this thing. Saw no deer and Rooster came and picked me up about 11:30. I could not for the life of me get out of it. I told him to go back to the mill and get a ladder. I was afraid that I would fall getting out of it. I really had nothing to hold on to. My stand has rails that I can grip and this did not. At 66 you don't want to fall out of a deer stand and the older you get the harder it is to manage. Rooster had an idea....he got back in the go-cart and backed it up against the stand and I was able to hold on to the roof and get down. We laughed so hard after it was over with. When I feel uncomfortable or have a fear, I try not to get into it, but I did this time. On the afternoon hunt I used a boxed stand on the ground. Actually, we should have put Bob in it to begin with. The stand he was in was about 5 ft. off the ground also, but was plastic molded and he had to have help also. Anyway, after all this commotion we did not see a deer at all. I took Bob to his stand that afternoon and on the way out the go-cart got stuck in the mud and had to walk back to the mill to get help. Through all the commotion of getting Bob to his stand, he forgot his hunting bag and I had to walk back into the woods while Rooster and Charlie got the go-cart unstuck. What a mess! Rooster said now I have to figure out a way to get Bob out of the woods at dark thirty -BINGO - A TRACTOR! When you have to get help getting into a deer stand and get a tractor to get you out....maybe it's time to hang it up or not. Rooster said he wanted to put him Bob where he thought he could get a deer. For the record, a go-cart is out of the question in the winter in the woods. You need a 4-wheeler not a go-cart. What an experience! We can laugh about it now, but at the time, it was very stressful and not so funny!