My Cullers homeplace is in Mathias, WVA, on the road back to Lost River State Park. Years ago, I would buy my WVA license so I could go back and hunt for a few days with my dad. Not only did it give me an extra week to hunt, but the hunting was good, and the hearty breakfast made the trip well worthwhile. I don’t know if the smell of bacon and eggs spooked deer or drew them in.
With my WVA license, I also hunted in Camp Run and near Cow Knob, but my story this month occurred in the Hall Springs area. One day after an uneventful morning hunt, my friend and I decided to go scouting for new hunting territory. In the afternoon, we drove along the top of the Shenandoah mountain to Hall Springs and continued on the rough, rocky 4×4 road on the WVA side that comes out on Rt. 33. It was a slow, bumpy ride, and I was reasonably warm with the heater running full blast, even with the windows down.
We hadn’t gone very far until we began to notice fresh deer rubs along both sides of the road. A lot of fresh deer rubs! That will get a hunter’s attention in a hurry. Especially since some were in the 3-4” diameter range. Now it was a matter of finding a place to hunt. The VA side of the top of the mountain was heavily posted private land. The WVA side was National Forest land but dropped off sharply at the road into steep, rocky hollows, making it very difficult to hunt, much less get a deer out.
There was no place to get off the road to park, so we just kept on driving. Finally, we found a large ridge top that looked promising to hunt. The ridge formed a saddle and extended out through a short laurel flat to a steep drop off at the end of the ridge to the valley below. Just like the roadsides, there were a lot of rubs and even a few fresh scrapes. By then, it was late in the afternoon and not enough time to find a good stand, but at least we were able to get the lay of the land for another day. This was trophy buck country. We would be back.
We hunted that ridge top several times before the end of rifle season and gradually became more familiar with the terrain. One morning, I made my way through the saddle and the laurel flat toward the end of the ridge. The north side of the ridge was too thick and rough to hunt, so I dropped down the south side, found an open area, and got as comfortable as possible at the base of a big oak tree. It was cold, and I was glad for the bright sunshine that felt good as I cooled off from the walk in.
I had settled in for the morning when suddenly I heard a ruckus on the ridge above me. It was obviously deer running rapidly through the leaves. I could hear antlers clattering against the undergrowth as the noise got closer. The next thing I knew, two deer came tearing down the ridge. It was a huge buck chasing a doe. The doe stopped about 30-40 yards above me in the open and looked right at me. The buck stopped a little farther away behind a stand of small saplings. I knew the doe was nervous and would soon bolt, and the buck would follow. I had a clear view of the buck, but could I get a bullet through the saplings? Would there be another opportunity? Probably not. I decided it was now or never. I tried to ignore the antlers, as I found an open spot, put the crosshairs on its shoulder, and pulled the trigger. At the shot, both deer ran back up the ridge the way they came, with the noise of their retreat gradually fading away. I think the buck was oblivious to anything except the doe he was chasing.
The buck gave no indication of being hit, and after a thorough search of the ridge above, I could find no blood trail. I either missed or my bullet never made it through the saplings. I was very disappointed but glad the buck wasn’t hurt and could be hunted another day.
It’s hard to believe it’s the end of another year. I hope you have a safe and productive hunting season. And wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
R.D. Cullers
Graduate of Bergton Elementary (Class of ’65)
