MissouriWhitetails.com

"Flippin for Bucks"
By Ernie Wells   Pro Staff

Now before you think that this is some kind of very strange made up story---read all of this to the finish and then maybe you won’t flip out!

The year was 1986 and we had just finished building our hunting cabin which was sitting on 640 acres of good deer property. We had all planned to meet at the required time and place and make our trek north to ‘CAMP!” The day before opening of the Firearms season was always a holiday for all of us in camp and most all of us left early so as to do the normal chores around camp, get a good nights sleep and hit it early for the opener.

Well---on this warmer then normal day each person arrived in a staggered manner as some of the guys had 4 hours drive. I arrived second in line and found my hunting bud had already got lots of the stuff lined out and the fire pit dug out from our last bow hunting trip. We stood around chatting and talking the normal deer talk and were joined by the entire crew during the next 2 hours. The last fellow to arrive was the NEW guy in camp and being of the older generation-was kind of quiet. 

After all the hand-shakes and nods and welcoming jesters---we started unpacking vehicles. Our cabin was fixed up to sleep 5 with each person having their own room to crash out in and we had the entire ground level built into the kitchen, dining room, living room. There was plenty of room for everyone and lots of space to stretch out on a sofa and watch TV or just lookout over the back deck and enjoy the lake below. This is where things got interesting………..

The new guy was the last to bring gear in the cabin and we all noticed he was caring a 2-piece spinning rod and reel that appeared to have the back-bone of a flippin stick.. After mention was made and some little smart remarks were thrown out about the fishing gear----well he just kind of cracked a big smile and laughed. “Hunting Gear” was all he said with a smile. We knew immediately that he was not yanking anyone’s leg----yet!

After the unpacking was all done and we had gathered in the living room I just had to open my mouth about that fishing rig. I started out with the normal inquire about just what was he going to use it for as it pertained to hunting. He told me to bring it over to the middle of the living room and he would show me just how he used it for hunting. Tied to the end of the line was what appeared to be about a 4 oz sinker that had been wrapped real tight with what appeared to be burlap. It was tied real tight with some very thin but tough looking cord. WE gathered around and all eyes and ears were ready for the big laugh that we all knew was coming. I figured what a good way to make a real nice entrance into a bunch of guys that you don’t know real well then with a real good prank. Boy was I ever wrong---as was every other guy that was there that year……..

After opening his tackle box and spreading out a pretty good arsenal of scents and things I was beginning to think that maybe this fellow was serious about this. He explained about his infatuation with scents and how they applied to hunting. He said that after he did some scouting around the area that he had been assigned, he would determine which scent to bait up with. He now had my attention as well as all the other guys.

He explained it kind of like this:

His approach to his deer stand (Permanent which was already built) would be from an off position and not thru or down any shooting lanes. He would approach the stand and determine which direction he was going to lay a scent trail based on the winds during the opening time of the season. The scent would be applied onto the sinker which was soaked in the scent of his choice. After climbing into his stand he would then more or less flip the sinker into the path or tail and then retrieve it back to the stand---hence laying down a scent trail that had no human contamination in or around it.

It was at this point that we could not decide if this fellow was a total wacko or was maybe onto something that none of us had ever heard about. Tomorrow we would all watch and see if he really did this or was building a gag to end all gags…….We hit the sack after a great supper and a couple of round of cards……….

The alarm sounded promptly at 3:30 and we each headed for the kitchen and some good hot coffee to start the day. Not much was said about the flipping stick but those usual rounds of “GOOD LUCK”, “SAFE HUNT”, HOLLER IF YA NEED ANY HELP”, were all exchanged. I was hunting a very close stand and I knew that my walk would take me less then 10 min and I would be on my stand and ready. I watched each of the guys leave out and I noticed that when the new fellow left he reached over and grabbed that fishing rig and placed a sack of scents into his hunting belt. He then disappeared out into the darkness of early morning. 

I had make some maps for each person to use and have and we all knew were each other would be hunting. At 7:10 I heard a shot-yep-stand “3” had fired off one round and then the woods grew very quiet from an otherwise very active morning. It seemed like a very long time and then I observed a person walking towards the cabin in one of our travel paths. The new guy was heading back to grab a 4wheeler and retrieve his deer. I simply could stand it any longer and headed for the cabin myself to meet him and see if he needed any help. He stated that he had watched a pretty nice small buck pick up one of his scent trails and follow it right towards where he had decided for that deer to be for a great shot. I jumped on the 4 wheeler and he grabbed a seat on the rear rack and off we went. To our amazement, as we approached stand 3, all the guys were standing around his field dressed deer and chatting away. It took three of us to load that small buck onto the rack of the 4 wheeler. We decided it was time for some breakfast and off we all headed for the cabin.

After the buck was hung and photos were taken and the buck weighted-we all realized that this very well be the largest deer that had ever been killed from our hunting grounds. The deer weighted in at 176 field dressed and was a perfect 12 pointer. This was and still is a very good deer for that area of Missouri. After he had the deer measured and scored he told us that it scored 158………His biggest deer in his life time.

So---was he pulling the gag to end all gags on us guys == “You be the judge”.

But now if someone shows up at your deer camp with a flipping stick and a smile---you will know what they are up to.

Good and Safe hunting your way….

Ernie
PMan