Thinking back over the years I have so many great memories of hunting, going back to when I was little. My earliest memories are being in the hardwoods of Paulding County with Daddy. I remember taking our four wheelers up to what was then the Paulding County Sportsmen's Club (now Paulding Forest WMA) to ride the dirt roads and building, or rebuilding, wooden tree stands. Back then each spot had a name, including 'Old Reliable', 'Old Faithful', 'Honey Hole', and 'Scott's Stand' just to name a few. These were the settings of stories I heard from Daddy about his hunting adventures with Uncle Scott, Ricky, and Kit-wit when he was younger, and the settings of my earliest hunting memories. To this day when I walk into a hardwood forest with high ridges and deep hollows it reminds me of Paulding County and the great memories that were made there.
As I got older I remember going to the Buckarama in Atlanta near the end of the summer, and shooting our bows at archery tournaments to earn trophys. I looked forward to it being time to head up to the woods to check all our spots and do some scouting. For me the best part was getting to put on my camouflage, wearing a knife on my belt, and loading up my fourwheeler. I remember one particular time we took a break at a stream to cut open some watermelon. I think Daddy's friend Ricky brought the watermelon, and it seems like I remember the watermelon being orange inside and Jason and I didn't like it very much.
Another memory I have is Daddy, me, Jason, and Hailey all going hunting one morning at the "Honey Hole." I was probably about 10 or 11, Jason would've been between 8-9, and Hailey would have been about 5 or 6 years old. It was so cold, probably in November, and we were all bundled up with several layers of clothes. We all followed Daddy down into the hollow and sat in a little dip on the side of the ridge overlooking the stream. I don't know why that particular memory stands out, but I could even today I could walk you to that exact spot on the side of the ridge.
I don't remember seeing a lot of deer hunting in Paulding County in the late 1980s, but it sure was exciting when we did. In my first years of hunting Daddy and I would climb trees next to each other, and as I got older he would walk me to my stand and watch me climb up and get settled before he walked a little further to his spot. When it was time to get down he would come back to where I was and I would climb down out of the tree. This was way back before there were cell phones so if we shot at something our signal was to shoot 2 or 3 times in a row to give the signal that it was us. While I shot at several deer in those woods growing up, I never did actually harvest a deer there. But there were many memories created that we can look back on and remember fondly, memories that helped shaped who I am, and memories that I want to be able to provide for my children as they are growing up.
Now that Gracie (9) and Walker (6) are a little older and I am really excited about creating new memories with them, and Daddy, whiletail deer hunting.
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