Are We Over-reliant on Tech?

Are We Over-Reliant

on Tech?

By Gary Roberson

Because the author prefers to spot-and-stalk or rattle for whitetail bucks, he wants a lightweight, balanced rifle that shoulders quickly.

Keep in mind that I’m the 68-year-old redneck whose last article gave a detailed account of how he and a buddy knocked down a big buck, dragged the deer over 100 yards to a fence and let him get away. Perhaps if I had been equipped with some of the modern equipment of today, that would not have happened.

Truth is, technology is a wonderful thing and the proper use of it can increase your chances of killing that trophy buck this season. Because I’m in the hunting industry, me and many of my best friends make our living developing the “newest and greatest” equipment that will help transform a Nimrod into Daniel Boone. While most of this “high tech” equipment is great, is it replacing the hunting skills that defined outdoorsmen for generations? After 60 years of chasing deer, I find myself wanting to get back to the basics and depend less on technology.

One of the greatest inventions of the last several decades has been trail cameras. Trail cams have not only helped pattern certain animals for hunting, they’ve been invaluable tools for management. Most hunters have a game camera on every feeder and waterhole on the ranch. If a critter is present, chances are it has been photographed or videoed. My problem is, I really don’t want to know what’s on a particular ranch. I love the excitement on opening day of waiting for daylight to see what’s out there. It’s the closest

Matt Martinez, the author’s friend and Tex-Mex chef, once went low-tech to hunt the thickest cover on a big ranch in Terrell County.

This fall, the author plans to exercise his woodsmanship and depend less on technology. He plans to hunt more with his .44 Magnum rifle topped with a Trijicon 1-4X24 Huron riflescope.

thing to waking up on Christmas morning to find unidentifiable presents under the tree. What would be more disheartening than having cameras out all year and not finding one buck that you would want to shoot?

Another great tool I own is a rangefinder. If a hunter shoots at ranges over 300 yards or is an archery hunter, this is a “must have.” But most Texas deer hunters shoot from blinds to feeders placed within comfortable shooting distances when using modern centerfire rifles. I strongly believe when the buck you want to kill shows up, go to the gun rather than the rangefinder because the distance won’t be critical on where you hold. Big bucks have a habit of not staying around very long, so the sooner you can acquire the target and take the shot, the greater your chances of hanging him on the meat pole.

Suppressors. Here’s a relatively new piece of hunting equipment that has skyrocketed to the list of “must haves,” almost to the level of, “How did we ever kill anything without it?” Suppressors are a great tool for herd management, especially when you find you need to remove dozens of does from your ranch. While there’s no doubt that an old whitetail buck can become almost impossible to find, I believe a mature doe that knows you’re hunting her is only more difficult to kill. I think suppressors help to reduce fear at the report of a rifle when much of the sound gets muffled. The problem I have with suppressors is they add length and weight to my barrel, causing it to handle less nimbly. Since I prefer to spotand-stalk or rattle for whitetail bucks, I want a rifle that’s lighter in weight, balanced and shoulders quickly.

Are we over magnified? It seems in this day, bigger is better and that is certainly the case when it comes to magnification on riflescopes. My newest scope is a Trijicon Credo 2.5-15X42 I plan to mount on a 6.5 Creedmoor that I can use for long range shooting on mule deer. While this magnification should improve my accuracy at long ranges, 12- to 15-power is way more than I need to hunt whitetails in South Texas or the

Hill Country. Making a clean shot on a whitetail buck running in at 20 yards when rattling can be a difficult task when using 12-power. This fall my plan is get back to nature, exercise the woodsmanship I have learned over many years and depend less on technology. Arthritis in my shoulder keeps me from pulling a bow, so I’m going to hunt more with my .44 Magnum rifle topped with the Trijicon 1-4X24 Huron riflescope. I haven’t had any cameras out, so I really don’t know what to expect on the new ranch. It was a good spring and antlers appear to be above average in Menard County. Years ago, my great friend and famous Tex-Mex chef, Matt Martinez, and I were hunting on a big After 60 years of ranch in Terrell County where chasing deer, the you could see long distances. I author wants to thought Matt was crazy when he get back to basics put down his .308 and grabbed a and depend less .357 Magnum with a peep sight on technology. and hunted the thickest cover on the ranch. Hmmm—maybe he wasn’t that crazy after all.

STORY

The author's niece, Briley, with her first trophy buck. Seven years earlier, her uncle had taken her on her first hunt.

It’s been a little more than seven years since I took my niece, Briley, on her first hunting outing, and Texas Trophy Hunters Association was kind enough to publish that story in its September/October 2014 issue. Now only a few months away from getting her driver’s license, her father, Mike, had invited me to his parents’ ranch for the 2020 October youth weekend so Briley could go after her first deer. For the last few years, we had been trying to get her out there for a hunt, but between school and cheerleading, the timing just never seemed to work out during hunting season. For the first part of October, Mike and I had spent most weekends out there with our bows in pursuit of some four-legged customers to express airmail our broadheads to, but mainly to do some scouting in preparation for the fast-approaching youth weekend. Despite our best efforts, our archery sits had been as uneventful as the buck activity the trail camera had been reporting all summer. But we remained optimistic for youth weekend.

Shiftwork doesn’t always allow for the most convenient timing, and especially so during hunting season, but there was no way I would miss the opportunity to be there when Briley knocks down her first deer. Normally the drive to the property is relatively short, but this time it seemed to take hours longer as I played out all the hopeful scenarios in my head. I finally made it to the ranch Friday evening before youth weekend and met up with the father/daughter duo, along with Mike’s parents, Cindy and Curt, otherwise known to the grandkids as Nana and Pop, who likewise could not be kept from attending the occasion. While relaxing and visiting with some of my favorite people in the 100-year-old ranch house, we reviewed trail camera pictures from the location we would be hunting the next couple days and identified a few notable candidates that would make a great first deer for anyone. But no mature bachelor bucks had been showing up on camera on any routine basis within the last couple weeks. Only time would tell if the stars would align for the young protégé to have an opportunity at a shooter buck.

Finally, after much planning and anticipation, the morning of the first hunt had finally arrived. Although she did her best not to show it, the excitement and anticipation in the young huntress’ eyes was unmistakable. As much as I had wanted to accompany Mike and Briley into the blind for the first morning hunt, I opted to stay at the ranch house to finish resting up from a very long workday and pick up breakfast for the household from a local taqueria. Fitting all three of us in a 4x6 blind would have made everyone feel slightly cramped.

With all the gear and passengers loaded up in the buggy, I would deliver them directly to the blind so they would not have to park and hike the distance to the blind in the predawn darkness, while carrying all that gear by themselves. Despite cell reception being spotty at best where the blind is located, we could get simple text messages through, so they could keep myself and the rest of the spectators up to date on the news we all anxiously waited to hear. After providing everyone “curbside service” and putting out a few strategically placed corn piles, I returned to the house to partake in some much-needed caffeine and to make good on my promise of procuring breakfast tacos. With a full belly and an uncontrollable urge to constantly check my phone for new texts, it was hard not to notice the morning passed without any promising news from the blind. Finally, the wait became too much to bear. I reached out for an update just before 9 a.m., to which Mike replied they had only seen a handful of deer, most of which were does, yearlings and young bucks. He went on to say the morning hunt was pretty much over, and I could come get them whenever I was ready. But for good measure, I decided to give them about 30 more minutes before heading out, just to give any critters that may still be on their feet a chance to pass in front of her crosshairs. Although slightly disheartened having not heard the news we were all waiting for, plenty of opportunity remained. She still had three more hunts available before having to return home. Approaching the blind, I had to scratch my head as Mike climbed out and began walking, not towards me, but to the gate that leads to the bottom pasture where the feeders are located. After inquiring as to why he wanted to go into the bottom

Briley with her Uncle James.

pasture, I thought it a little strange when he replied he wanted to check the cards in the trail cameras, especially since it had been barely 12 hours since putting the fresh cards in the night before. Not giving much more thought to the matter, the two of them climbed into the buggy and off we went.

After retrieving the first card, we passed by a small clump of trees and bushes on our way to the second camera, when suddenly Briley said, “What’s that?” as she pointed into the brush beneath the trees. There, on the ground mere feet away, was a buck that had gone to meet its maker. Surprised and confused, I proclaimed, “There’s a dang buck right there!” as I immediately thought the buck must have found his way onto the ranch after receiving an acute dose of lead poisoning on a neighboring property. I looked at Briley, who up to this point had never been very good at keeping a straight face when playing practical jokes, could no longer hide the grin on her face. Realizing that I’d been had, all I could do was grin ear to ear, congratulate her, and give her the biggest hug I could.

With a handsome nine-point buck down, and one heck of a first deer at that, it was time for the real work to begin, but not before posing for the photo op. Although she was less than pleased about it, she wore the crimson mark of a new hunter on her cheeks with pride as she smiled for the camera. On the ride back to the house, after loading up her trophy, I told Briley to be prepared for Nana to start crying when she sees what her grandbaby had to show her. Already outside the house as we rolled back up, Curt approached the buggy as Briley did her best to keep a straight face as she tried to convince him of the “uneventful” morning hunt.

Nobody’s fool, Curt simply replied with a smirk of knowing better, until she could no longer hold back her pride and excitement as she revealed her accomplishment to Pop. And just as predicted, when Briley collected Cindy from inside, tears of joy saturated Nana’s cheeks as she laid eyes on what Briley had to surprise her with, and on their ranch no less, which called for another round of photos with Nana and Pop.

Hopeful that Briley would want to continue in the sport, we were all filled with excitement when she later asked to return to the blind. Only a few weeks later, on Thanksgiving, she took a big mature doe as her second deer ever. This time I did join them on the hunt, and somehow managed to squeeze into the blind with them and recorded video footage of Briley delivering the 178-grain .308 to its final destination. With her first successful hunts under her belt, I can only hope these trips have inspired her to further pursue and challenge herself with new and different hunting adventures. It’s funny as the older we get, we become less concerned with our own endeavors and more so with the success of our loved ones, especially the kids in our lives. I have no doubt that Briley will have a long and rewarding hunting career. No one knows what the future holds and unfortunately, all of our sand eventually runs out. But what matters the most are the precious memories we make, which last forever. I am blessed for all the memories made during this hunting season and smile. I can only imagine all the memories that have yet to be made afield with my newest official hunting buddy. Just as long as it doesn’t take another seven years.

Briley's uncle hopes it doesn't take another seven years for her to get another buck.