Fred Bear taught me how. And he, like my father, sure as all git-out inspired me to live the life of a dedicated, ethical hunter, that's for sure. To this day, for hundreds of days each and every year, I feel the presence of the great men whenever my feet take me beyond the pavement in vital pursuit of the mighty Spirit of the Wild. And of course the rest of the year, Fred's song soars through my mind, body, heart and soul. Quite frankly, I don't know what my life would be like without this powerful connection that my natural hunting predatorship provides me that Fred Bear so powerfully enhanced. It most certainly would pale in comparison to the exciting times, experiences and dynamic feelings that all my hunting adventures deliver. I owe Fred much, so I do all I can to spread his goodword and educate people to what a brilliant visionary he was. In the wind, he's still alive.
In fact, in Marion, Michigan, he is still alive, for there resides another grand SpiritWild gentleman by the name of Claude Pollington, who without question, is carrying on Fred's dream and vision like no other. Claude has earned a reputation as one of the most respected naturalists, conservationist, game specialist, sportsman, archer, rifleman and hunter in the world today. Operating his legendary BuckPole Archery and DeerCamp, he has now purchased the Oneida Labs bow company and has moved the entire manufacturing plant, lock, stock and barrel, from upstate New York to his lifelong home in Michigan. People travel from all across America to this small northern farming community to get the masterful hands-on expertise that Claude so generously offers to all who visit. Once a hunter is set up with equipment and direction from Claude, they have not only leapfrogged a dozen years of painful trial and error, but have been guided down a wild trail of better understanding of what it takes to be a good hunter, bow or gun. Claude may very well be the top expert in the nation today. I think so.
Since I first stumbled onto my first Oneida Eagle bow and introduced Claude to this innovative Oneida bow design back around 1980, he has been the driving force in the progressive technology behind this most efficient piece of archery equipment. Renown for its stability, efficiency, tuning simplicity, torque free and vibration free design, Claude continues to improve the Oneida bow to provide the most enjoyable, pleasant archery experience for bowhunters around the world. Combined with his customized electronic red dot sighting system, it is a one-two archery punch that is hard to beat for a confidence building bowhunting experience.
It was on my annual return recently to Claude's famous BuckPole DeerCamp this November that reminded me how fortunate I am to have hunted with some of the greatest hunters of alltimes. Along with my uncle John, George Nicholls, Marv Leslie, Ron Chamberlain, Dick Mauch, Bob Munger, Bob Foulkrod, Richard P. Smith, George Faerber and a few others, this old guitar player feels absolutely privileged to have shared campfires with such masters of the wild. How lucky can a guy get? When in the presence of such wisdom, I become an information sponge, taking it all in so as to optimize my own education about wildthings. It is always fascinating and I deeply appreciate it.
Claude's operation includes over one thousand acres of prime mid-Michigan wildlife habitat. His intensely managed wildground provides maximum encounters with ring necked pheasant, rabbits, ruff grouse, woodcock, coyotes, bobcat, fox, hawks, owls, eagles, songbirds of every description, and of course, an amazing abundance of the majestic whitetail deer. And big ones! Claude knows that besides genetics and nutrition, the most important ingredient for mature, trophy, huge whitetail bucks is time. Years. Growth. And it takes your average whitetail buck at least three, preferably four or five years to develop into a magnificent monster book buck. With his crack team of guides and biologists, Claude has all the goods for a true world-class deer hunting experience right here in America's Great Lakes HeartLand.
With the rut winding down but not completely over, I greeted a heavy fog shrouded morning with giddy anticipation. With ace Spirit of the Wild cameraman Jim Lawson over my shoulder, we wallowed deep in yet another soul stirring deerhunting dawn. But alas, even at a deer Mecca like the BuckPole, hunting is always hunting, and though we saw and heard nearly every indigenous Michigan critter, our long four hour vigil came to an impatient close with nary a sighting of a deer. So goes the hunt, and thank God for every one.
But the day was young, and over Ruth Pollington's delicious brunch of hot coffee, scrumptious backstraps, eggs and flapjacks, grand strategy was barnstormed for a good old traditional midday deer drive. With the solid south wind and overcast skies in our favor, chief guides Leighton Mustard and Ross Richards positioned themselves crossing the blustering wind while Claude positioned Jim and I in a mobile, wagon-wheeled ground blind at the edge of a vast huckleberry marsh. My trusty old .243 Remington 788 Sniper at the ready, Jim rolled tape of the beautiful setting for our award winning Spirit of the Wild TV show, and things got real interesting real fast.
Not only did the ominous sky make for great video, but before long, a group of six big does came sneaking along the line of thick tag alders where they merged with swaying golden sawgrass against a framework of white birch trees. It was beautiful to say the least. The venison sixpack came and went with our adrenalin percolating more and more with each moment. A half hour passed before another deer showed up, and this lone critter was well worth the wait and one hell of a beast to behold.
I saw horns flowing above the sea of broken, colorful puckerbrush first, then a huge grey and brown head showed clear in my Tasco binoculars. Jim kept tape a rolling and I slid the sniper onto the narrow ledge of the blind's shooting port. At two hundred yards the huge buck stopped and looked over his shoulder, and my right thumb instinctively snicked off the safety, ready to shoot. But producing a TV show and hoping to share the whole gitdown on tape makes a hunter do strange things, and I snapped the safety back on, hoping for more footage of the buck approaching before I took the shot. Now my easy stationery target exploded into a lurching fulltilt run, and I was startled. He was only 200 yards away from ultra thick cover that would gobble up my buck and make a shot impossible. And now I was faced with the most difficult rifleshot there is. Fortunately, in my hands was a rifle that was an extension of my being. A rifle that I shot year round on everything from vermin, to big game, to competition, to multiple backups on my many guided hunts. This personal familiarity with my rifle was about to come to the ultimate test in the next few seconds, for it was now or never, do or die, hit or miss, make it or break it. Showtime. Pressure City. One-way ticket to heaven or hell.
And thar he blows, absolutely haulin' ass. No shot at 100 yards, too much brush. No shot at 150 yards, he's below my line of sight. Tracking the now frantically fleeing beast in my old straight 8 power Leupold scope was getting dicier all the time, but I swung as smooth as possible like I do so many times throughout the year, and just a split second before the wall of impenetrable puckerbrush was about to engulf the scrambling monarch, my duplex crosshairs X'd the shoulder at the apex of a mighty leap and the little sniper ignited. My ears welcomed the most beautiful WHOMP an old guitarboy could dream for. Just as the beast disappeared, his waiving white flag slammed down hard onto his rump and I knew backstraps were mine. At least I hoped and prayed all these signs were accurate. I sighed an immense sigh of relief and slumped down into my chair, leaned my head way back and closed my eyes. WOW!! Torture, joy, fear, fascination, hope, confusion and enough adrenalin to choke a goat. I chambered another round, re-engaged the safety, reloaded my magazine to full battery and looked to Jim for a sign. Did we or did we not? He was pale too. We waited, fingers crossed, hearts a flutter.
Patience is not my strong point, but I have learned the essentiality of waiting after hitting game, and thirty minutes later Ross appeared along the dense treeline and we reviewed the outrageously exciting event of encounter. I climbed high into an old maple tree and signaled Ross to the last spot my buck had run. Within minutes the most beautiful three words that have ever been put together rang out in the huckleberry marsh; "here he is!!" And with a whoop and a dance, Jim and I ran to the beast for an emotional recovery, the likes of which I truly hope my fellow man experiences at least once in their lives. It is absolutely amazing. He was truly the granddaddy of the forest. At over 230 pounds off the hoof, his mature 11-point nontypical crown of horns was a thang of beauty. We reveled in his dynamo and exposed a couple of rolls of film, taking the moment deep into our hearts for all it was worth. And it was priceless.
I'll take lucky over good anytime I can stumble into it, and though this day began slow and unlucky, it was growing into a day of infamy. For as we took care of this wonderful trophy specimen, little did we know what the storm-threatening afternoon held in store for us. Fred bear was there a few hours before dark when an even bigger mature trophy buck skulked down a windswept ridgeline within 46 yards of a towering Michigan whitepine that Jim and I just happened to be perched 30 feet up in. But when my everloving mystical flight of the arrow arched across the good earth that separated us, the concept of "two season hunter" that Fred had created 40 years earlier struck a powerful return chord within me. As we gutted this 2nd buck of the day, my spirit soared on high. But that's another whole wonderful story unto itself that I will share with you at a later date, I promise. One thing for sure; in the wind he's still alive."
For more SpiritWild Nugent Hunt storys, order Ted & Shemane Nugent's book, "KLL IT & GRILL IT" at 800-343-4868 or at www.tednugent.com