Shane Ullrich
Memories and stories are the traditions of hunting.
It could just be me, but I think that the memories that become stories truly get their longevity from unfortunate events.
It seems the more something goes wrong, the more you remember it; and the same goes for hunting stories. Having the barber shop gives me a place where I hear a lot of adventures, outings and some great stories; and yes, since we all are men of honor, they are all true.
I have heard stories about grown men shooting all of their bullets target practicing only to have a huge buck stand up 20 yards in front of them, only they’re now out of bullets. I have heard the adventures of an archery hunter who shot a buck, and the thing charged him. He bent the metal sight fixture burying it into the deer’s head to keep from getting gored.
I have had several unfortunate events happen to give me some real memories, which will become stories that I will tell the rest of my life.
I wasn’t crafty enough to get a mighty wapiti this year. I had a couple of chances and missed my opportunity. But it was extremely memorable. At one point, I had an entire herd surround me on a hillside, and by the time I figured out what was going on, the calves were kicking and running around like rats. The cows surrounded the bulls, giving me no shot, but it was one of the most exciting moments of my hunting experience and adventures.
I know I wasn’t the only one who didn’t fill my tag this year and I’ve given some thought to why that is. I don’t want to be the conspiracy theory guy, but I believe that the way Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is working the system it’s more about revenue than anything else.
For example, no offense to the archery hunters, but us rifle hunters get six days to fill our elk tag, and it’s bull only. That’s not even two weekends. When the season opens on Saturday and ends on Friday, it’s a short chance for the working man to get out. Then Weyerhaeuser is kind enough to open its gates but only on the weekend, so it is suicide alley in some areas on public land.
I’ve come to the conclusion that ODFW does not care about the number of tags sold versus the days to hunt, and ODFW officials really don’t care about the amount of land that can be accessed by hunters.
An older gentleman put it in laymen’s terms: They pay a lot more and fill their tags a lot less. Some have simply stopped buying tags.
But I will never stop.
To me, the problem is ODFW has forgotten what hunting is really about: putting food on the table for American families for almost 200 years. In the United States, hunting is about ready to become what it is in many other countries – all about money and status. It becomes strictly a rich man’s sport, where he who has the most money gets the biggest horns, destroying the tradition of giving a chance to those who could not afford the outrageous beef prices and need to supplement their food source by hunting the animals that free-grazed off the land, such as deer, elk and, as far as I know, buffalo back in the day.
As I continue to hunt in extreme conditions and regulations. I am sure that I will create more stories and have more adventures. That, to me, is where nothing can compare. Maybe as you get older, the memories and stories mean more than the size of the horn, or it’s just there’s a story becoming legend as your children, family or friends get to enjoy the spoils of hunting success.
By the way, so I set the record straight, archery hunters get about a month and a half.
Best of luck to all of you who will be like me and try to fill your buck deer tag before or after work before Friday and also to you archery hunters in the second season.
Remember, it’s perception that makes unfortunate events into memorable experiences, and keeps the hunting tradition going by taking from the field to the table.
Shane Ullrich writes twice a month on the oudoors for The New Era. Contact him at the American Barbershop, 1121 Main St., or call 367-8086.