Opening Days
Larry Weishuhn
Sitting by a crackling campfire, in the inky darkness, savoring a steaming cup of cowboy coffee, I cast an eye skyward. Above the black, star-studded sky showed nary a hint of the coming Opening Morning of the 2025 Texas general whitetail deer hunting season. “The Hunter’s Moon” only a couple of days from being full, shone brightly just above the western horizon. I had trailed that moon around world numerous times in search of adventure.
“The Hunter’s Moon” brougt back memories when as a six-year old my dad told me to sit next to an ancient white oak before handing me my “deer rifle”, a Remington Model 33 .22 rimfire, single-shot rifle and two Long Rifle cartridges. “Be sure he’s got horns with at least three points. Shoot him right behind his front leg.” He hesitated the added, “Stay awake! I’ll be a little way down the trail in my tree stand, where you hunted with me last year.”
With that my dad disappeared into the darkness. It was black dark only twinkling stars shone above. “The Hunter’s Moon” had just gone down. A slight breeze blew out of the north. Mostly by feel, I slid a cartridge into my rifle’s chamber then closed the bolt. If I got a shot, I would have to pull back the “knurl” to cock my rifle. I had practiced doing so many times and hoped I could do so with a minimum of movement or noise.
Weeks earlier Dad and I had scouted Grandpa Weishuhn’s Stelzig Pasture for deer. We had found two sets of deer tracks. Back in the early 1950’s in our little German speaking Zimmerscheidt Community, between Houston and San Antonio, we had a few whitetail deer, but not many!
Dad believed in getting to the “deer stand” at least an hour before first light. In the graying light of pre-dawn, I watched bears and lions morph into small cedars and yaupon holly bushes. A mosquito buzzed near my right ear, but I made no movement to deter it from biting me in fear a deer might see me move.
I shivered, possibly from the cool of the November 16th morning, but most likely out of excitement and anticipation. During my early days of hunting the traditional opening day for the Texas whitetail deer season was November 16th. If that day fell during the week, there was school, but most of the teachers were absent as were many of the students, me included.
Wish I could tell you that first day my dad let me sit by myself I shot a deer, or, for that matter even saw one. But neither happened. I hunted every chance I had that year, never saw a deer. But that did not dampen my enthusiasm for hunting. I could hardly wait for next year’s opening day, or the next, or the next.
My first chance at shooting a whitetail did not happen until eight years later, even though I hunted every possible opportunity I could each fall. The rest of the year I roamed the woods looking for deer tracks, shed antlers always hoping to see a deer.
I have told and written the story of my first whitetail buck many times, including in at least three or four of my books (www.larryweishuhn.net). Even today every time I look up at the mount of that first whitetail which now looks like a large rat with spike antlers, I recall every minute detail of that opening morning in 1961.
During the late 1950’s screwworms were exterminated throughout Texas and other parts of southern USA. Once that happened whitetail deer populations blossomed and greatly increased. Seeing deer was no longer a problem, matter of fact there were more deer than the habitat could support. Spikes were declared legal, which is how I came to shoot my first whitetail, in 1961. Previously to be legal bucks needed to have at least 3 or more total points. During those years, while we still had screwworms very few bucks, other than yearling spikes, lived to be older than possibly two-years old.
Thanks to modern wildlife management techniques and practices, today deer herds across our continent are in much better shape composition and density wise.
For the past several years, once we moved closer to family land where I grew up, my daughter Theresa and her husband Lance, opened the Texas whitetail hunting season there. Each of us hunted a different part of the property, then met under an ancient oak late morning, where we prepared breakfast; cowboy coffee, fried bacon and eggs. Those opening day breakfasts were the most delicious I have ever tasted anywhere!
Sitting around our campfire we talked about the squirrels we had seen that morning, and occasionally a deer. One opening day we were having breakfast. At 10:30 a really nice buck ran across our hay meadow. All three of us jumped up, grabbed our rifles loaded with Hornady ammo and got into a solid rest shooting position. Then we noticed the buck had a 5-point antler on his right but was missing his entire left side. Had both beams been intact, no doubt we would have shot. Theresa, a deadly shot, would have had the first shot. With a missing antler he was safe.
On another occasion I had been hunting with my Taurus Raging Hunter .454 Casull handgun, loaded with 240-grain XTP Hornady Custom ammo. We were sitting around the campfire telling stories when a big wild boar, walked out of the brush about a hundred yards away. I reached for my handgun, handed it to Theresa and told her to get a solid rest and shoot the boar. I had it sighted-in to be dead-on at 100-yards.
Theresa walked over the ancient oak with its limbs that go all the way to the ground, found a convenient and solid rest. The boar started to run, but then for whatever reason stopped. When he did Theresa pulled the trigger. The near 200-pound boar dropped in his tracks!
Unfortunately, this most recent Texas opening day both Theresa and Lance away because of work. Rather than open the season by myself I headed north to hunt with Luke Clayton and Jeff Rice, fellow co-hosts of our “A Sportsman’s Life” digital TV show on CarbonTV.com and YouTube channel of the same title. I have been doing a weekly radio show segment with Luke since 2006, which we have turned into a weekly podcast “Catfish Radio with Luke Clayton and Friends” as well. It like my weekly “DSC’s Campfires with Larry Weishuhn” podcast can be accessed many places including Spotify, applepodcasts, outdooraction.com, and carbontv.com.
Luke, Jeff and I were guests of Luke’s long-time friend, Don Gresham. The hunt was a huge success in eating well, and spending time around the campfire, as well as hunting. Opening weekend was a huge success, in spite of neither of us pulling the trigger. This reinforced a statement I have made numerous times, “Success is not necessarily a four letter word when it comes to hunting!”
I trust your “opening day” was most enjoyable and left you looking forward to next year’s!