About Me

Buck Buchanan

At age eight I used an old Model 97 Winchester 12 gauge on a treed squirrel.  I never liked that old gun it seemed bigger than me; It was a little taller. I couldn't hold it properly so it kicked the snot out of me.  But all that was forgotten when the squirrel, my first real game, tumbled out of the tree.  I saved that squirrels tail and the empty 12 gauge shell until I was well into my teens. 

Some of you old timers may have figured out that my first squirrel was a long time ago.  Clues were that kids in more recent times have guns that fit them and the "97" pump has long been out of production.  Yes! I've had lots of experiences since that first squirrel, I've learned a few things, but I'm still working at it.  A favorite hillbilly expression I picked up from a friend, "I'm sum dumb, but not plumb dumb!"

In those days we had very few whitetail in North East Texas. (Today you have to dodge them with your car.) We most often hunted quail, squirrel, and sometimes rabbit.  I never did any serious whitetail hunting until I was middle age.

You could say that I learned basic whitetail hunting more often learning what not to do.  Many would say that I still do things the hard way.  Yes! I respect the game and hunting enough not to take every easy shortcut to stuff my bag, freezer, or ego.  I eat the game, but I've never literally had to hunt for my supper.

I'm fearful that some of the current trends in "hunting" are eating away at our self-respect, traditions, honor... from the inside, like a cancer:

1. Feeding wildlife!  (That's manipulation, not hunting, not natural, and seldom done for the wildlife!)
2. Planting and growing crops to make bigger, better whitetail. (Sometimes it may be needed, but often is's only more manipulation!) 
3. Calling all rifles, shotguns, bows... 'weapons'! (That's ignorant and it makes the wrong impression.  A weapon is intended for war or defense. Baseball bats, golf clubs, shotguns, rifles... can be used as weapons, but that's a worst case situation, not their intended purpose.) 

This Blog will be about some of what I've learned in 50 + years of hunting and shooting; this blog's on Whitetail Hunting, Shooting, Guns, Optics, Bow Hunting, and Ethics.