It’s been mighty cold, my friends. Obviously enough, I don’t need to tell any of y’all, but it did seem about the most convenient way to introduce my train of thought. I just got in from a long stint overlooking a scrape line, and I’m feeling colder than a mother-in-law’s hug.
I didn’t dress for it. I hadn’t planned on hunting today, but other plans had fallen through, so I grabbed my rifle and set out. Despite the severe hypothermia that has enveloped me, I had a great time. I watched three small bucks and several does visit the scrapes, each one depositing their own scent communication.
A scrape is like a bulletin board of whitetail gossip. A buck will paw out a space beneath an overhanging limb and deposit his personal scent message. All other interested deer are then welcome to visit the site and add their own little message to the buck. Generally concerning the breeding activities going on.
It was a wonderful spot to be…. If my fat little fingers hadn’t frozen as solid as I thawed fish sticks. I was shivering so badly that I knew that at any moment, the deer would spot my movement, but I got lucky. I just touched it out and left at dark.
Now, I’m reading Mr Weatherman’s report that tomorrow morning it will be cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey! And, I reckon I’ll be right back out on the scrape line waiting on an old and mature buck. Nuts, right? That 28⁰ won’t be an issue so long as I’m prepared. Let me walk you through my preparation.
First, I look out for my feet, so I’ll wear two pairs of socks. I have a pair of satin-like dress socks, which will go on first, then a pair of medium-thickness ratwool socks over them, ready to stuff into my Redhead snake boots.
Second, I’ll put on a pair of light sweatpants, then step into my insulated camo overalls. I layer up on shirts. Long sleeve base layer, heavy T-shirt, then a thick camo hoodie. I’ve got a heavy wool hunt cap that covers my ears, then a hoodie hood over that.
Sounds extreme, I know. But this fat old man gets cold in this sort of weather. Unfortunately, I have to avoid coffee on these frozen mornings. The hardest part of the hunt would be trying to dig through six inches of clothing to find four inches of…. Well, I don’t want to have to get up and go pee during the hunt.
Then, after the morning hunt, I always go thaw out to Bree’s Riverside Restaurant in Nobleton. Sure hope y’all come see me there for lunch sometime. It’s always a beautiful experience! As always, friends, give me a shout at [email protected]. God Bless, and good hunting!
Toby Benoit is a best selling novelist and professional outdoors-man with thirty-five years of experience guiding and outfitting for big game all across America. Toby is a renowned archer and turkey hunting expert who manufactures custom game calls and is a regular judge at NWTF sanctioned turkey calling events across the Southeast.
