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NUGENT IN THE WILD by Ted Nugent

Hail the Mighty Whitetail

G od, family, country and the mighty whitetail deer! If that isn’t life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness I don’t know what is.

Sure, there are sundry derivative priorities that go hand in hand with those prime categories for quality of life, like freedom, work, health, laughter, and of course killer guitar music, but I think we can all agree here in the pages of Texas Fish & Game that there is something deeply powerful about the role of this fascinating herbivore that stirs our souls like no other.

From the time I could walk the majestic forests of Northern Michigan to this very day 69 years later in the spectacular wilds of my home on Texas, I could not then and still cannot today wait for my next encounter with these beautiful creatures for reasons far beyond the here and now.

There is no wonder why our ancestors drew crude images of majestic stags on cave walls in homage to the beasts that gave us life. That primal instinct, thank God, remains alive and well in millions of hunting families across America even in this modern, twisted world of illogic and soulless political correctness.

In fact, as critical to life itself the deer were for food, clothing, shelter, tools, weapons, medicine and faith to the survival of our own species for time immemorial, I am here to tell you that the spiritual powers of whitetail deer perform an even more impacting role in our lives today for those of us smart enough to remain in touch with God’s miraculous creation as hands-on conservation participants.

If nature heals, the mighty whitetail deer fortifies and invigorates a primal scream more essential to survival today than the beasts of a million years ago.

You know it and I know it, that we don’t even have to kill a deer, or even be anywhere near the deerwoods to feel that urge to connect, to learn, to better understand our pure, natural predator/prey bond with the beasts.

We can be deep in the throngs of a critical business deal or dancing like an animal possessed deep within the flames of a firebreathing rock-n-roll concert moment far, far removed from the hunting season, and still the eye candy and stimulating aura of our brother the deer penetrates the otherwise impenetrable.

On the historical knotty pine wall of our Northwoods wilderness Michigan cabin are the small shoulder mounts of a button buck and a yearling doe. Yes, that is correct, I hired a professional taxidermist to lovingly and respectfully mount a button buck and scrawny yearling doe, my first rifle kill and my first bow kill more than fifty years ago.

Having hunted side by side with my father from the earliest of age, my relationship with whitetail deer was forever relegated to the rare flash of a rapidly departing white flag disappearing into the distant forest or the occasional prolonged and much appreciated study of tracks and droppings.

So on those magical moments after many, many years of diligent trying, when the planets finally aligned and I was able to put it all together and squeeze the trigger and release that arrow, those kills had absolutely nothing to do with bragging rights, antler score, age, size or anything other than the moment!

Me and the deer. No politics, no fear, no pain, no suffering, no wars, no political correctness, no nuthin!

Ain’t it wonderful! Ain’t it grand! Ain’t it perfect every time!

So look to the heavens my backstrap addicted BloodBrothers, and thank the Good Lord every day for such a phenomenal creation that includes the embodiment of life, liberty and the ultimate pursuit of happiness in the manifestation of grace, beauty, fun, sport, meat, trophy, challenge and life itself on four legs.

May your bullets, arrows and spirit fly true this magical November 2017, and may the mighty whitetail deer continue to cleanse our souls in every way conceivable every day of our lives.

Spiritual protein is good for the soul.

Aim small miss small but think, live and hunt big!

Email Ted Nugent at tnugent@fishgame.com

 

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