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A Buck Is Down In Wisconsin

     The Christian hunting team has its first harvested deer of the season. John Petras took down a nice 7 point buck on September 15. It had been a dozen years since John had shot a deer with a bow. As a matter of fact, John had gotten out of bow hunting completely. But with a little convincing from yours truly, I got him back into bow hunting and within no time John had buck fever.

     There are two lessons that we can learn from John. First, he made the right adjustments. John set up a stand, had a number of deer come through but the bucks that came in were out of range. Instead of wishing for the bucks to walk by his stand, he moved his stand to where they had been. He was rewarded the next time he got in his stand. In life, there are circumstances that require us to change if we desire a different result. Whether it be conquering sin, doing better in the classroom, becoming more productive in the work place, or anything else, change is a necessity.

     Lesson number two, John is a very busy man. He works two jobs, one as a bus driver, and he also is a personal trainer. He is a good example of "redeeming the time" (Ephesians 5:16). We all wish we had more time for things don't we? But it's easier to find and make time for things we enjoy, how ironic. John does not fall into this trap because anytime I need help with something he is there (and most of the time it involves lifting something heavy). It's not about making time for just our hobbies, it's about making time for each other. That's Gospel folks!

John Petras with his 7 point buck on September 15, 2013

2013 Bow Season Is At Hand

As the Lord said as He began His earthy ministry, " The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the gospel." The 2013 Wisconsin bow season is less than a month away. It is time for bow hunters to get their bows sighted in, their shooting paths cleared and their trail cameras set up. Whatever steps that are needed to be taken to ensure a successful hunting season must be taken. The 2013 hunting season is at hand.

Below are three deer that I am excited about and looking forward to seeing in the woods this year.

This is a nice 8 pointer. He has great potential and if he adds just a little more length from the time this picture was taken he will be a shooter.

This is a beautiful 11 pointer. His left brow tine is visible and it is long, great buck.

This is a monster 8 pointer that looks like he is growing a split brow on the right side.

The concept of repentance was to get people to stop what they were doing and focus on God. Jesus caught everyone's attention, He was unique, He spoke with authority, He preformed miracles. People would stop what they were doing to hear Him, or see Him. For a hunter, there is nothing that grabs our attention like a picture of a big buck. We want to see it, we will stop whatever we are doing to focus in on it. Here's to a blessed hunting season to everyone, and let us take the same desire that we have for hunting and have it for the one who created us.

It's Alive!

Just like when Frankenstein's monster came to life, it is equally exciting when a hunter sees a non typical monster in the woods. This happened to me for the first time last year. I had already shot my buck and a week later this gnarly buck comes up on camera. An absolute monster, he has a typical left side but each point on his right side comes out of his head separately except for two points that are forked together. I didn't see the buck this year and I suppose that there is a small chance that he is still out there somewhere, lurking around. I am just grateful that he came out for a pose and to this day is the coolest buck I've seen. We all have that one buck, this guy is that one buck for me. Maybe just maybe next year I'll get to exclaim as Frankenstein so famously did, "it's alive!"

Reminder

Remember, the end of the month is drawing near. You have a week and a half to submit your biggest trail camera picture or biggest buck taken. The winner receives a free camo Bible. Click on our monthly contest tab for more details.

There's Always More Fish In The Sea

The Hunt: 11/2/2010

Life is like hunting a new stand location for the first time, you never know what you're going to see! Apparently, I'm in the mood for using old adages today. But it's true, there is a certain kind of excitement/fear that accompanies hunting a new location for the first time. Even if you have had a lot of trail camera activity prior to setting up in the location, that does not mean you are guaranteed to see anything.

That brings us to my friend Dave Beck. Dave decided to hunt a new stand location for the first time. About an hour after first light, Dave spotted a nice 8 point at around 80 yards. After a few grunt calls, Dave almost had the buck within shooting range when our story takes a turn for the worse. The buck caught Dave's scent and left.

But there's always more fish in the sea, right? Or in this case, another monster buck in the forest! Only minutes after Dave's first encounter, Dave saw antlers moving in the distance. It wouldn't be long until the buck closed in within shooting range. No doubt the deer had heard Dave's grunt call from earlier and wanted to get in on the action. This buck was a 140' 10 pointer and Dave went to full draw with the deer being withing 20 yards. The rest is history!

Sometimes we do not understand why things happen the way they do. But I believe two things, God knows best, and He will find a way for it to work out in our (Christian's) best interest. Here are two verses that illustrate this point:

(Romans 8:28) - "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."

(Isaiah 55:9)- "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts."

Dave Beck serves as a deacon at the New Concord church of Christ and resides in Zanesville, Ohio.

My 2012 Ohio Hunt

November 5-10 marked vacation. What better way to spend vacation than visit  my parents and go hunt? It was a very enjoyable week. Saw four nice bucks during the week and shot the last of the four. The first big buck was certainly a Pope & Young caliber buck but I'm not sure what he would score because I didn't get a great look at him. The other three bucks were all very similar in size. All in all, I'm very happy with my deer and am very encouraged with all the deer activity that I saw. From all indications, next year should be very promising with a lot of 3 1/2 year old bucks roaming around!

First picture of my deer and inspection: Turns out he was a 9 pointer, I originally thought he was an 8.

Tag em' and load em' (literally I loaded him on the tractor bucket)