Drive to the Basement

by Dave Kristofic

11/05 Butler, Pa
Normally on the weekends Andrew, Grace, and I eat breakfast while watching something other than Bob the Builder or Strawberry Shortcake on TV. I am unable to count the number of fishing and hunting shows we watched. Andrew (4) and Grace (2) love to watch these shows. Andrew always asks question after question about the animals seen on these TV hunting/fishing shows. You can image the conversations we have had. They normally begin with “Dad, is that what you see when you hunt? My response is “No, I wish.” Dad, why do these animals rub their horns on trees? Have you ever seen a deer do that Dad”? No Andrew we drive deer. Deer never just stand around they are always running. Lets not forget about Grace with her 2 year old questions. Why this why that? In my best Dad’s voice, “Kids things like this only happen on TV, I can only hope they happen to me.”

I have been hunting with the Lippert's for the past ten years. We have put on hundreds of drives and most of them have developed names over the years. There are several drives that always produce deer,” The Stony Patch”, “The Beckman’s”, “The Other Side of the Lake”, and The Drive to the Basement.” The Drive to the Basement has always been the fondness of them all and not only because it has produced a number of deer, most notably Brian’s 8 point, but most importantly because it signifies the end of a long hard day of driving. Let’s not forget the keg of beer in Popeye’s basement.

What I have been telling Andrew and Grace about the hunting situations we seen on TV and them only happening on TV has turned out to be a lie. It was the last drive of the day “The Drive to the Basement.” I was on watch standing in front of a cherry tree maybe 200 yards from the road watching a corner of woods that opened up into a field. I was hoping like I always do to see something, anything. I was listening for the crunching of leaves like I normally do but instead I heard the clanging of branches. Not the sound of branches on branches you normally hear when it’s windy but something different. I raised my gun and took off the safe for a few seconds and then I heard it. The crunching of the leaves. What I saw coming out of the corner of woods was a high racked prancing buck heading directly towards me. I immediately looked for a body shot, I never looked at the horns again. The once prancing, head tall buck had started to slow down he must have winded me. As he lowered his head he stopped just on the edge of a brush pile less than a hundred yards away. The buck was perfectly still and looking directly at me through some golden rods. I knew I had to take the shoot through the golden rods or I would have to wait for a running shot at 200 yards. I decided to pull the trigger.

I took one shot with my Winchester 30-6. The gun was once owned by Dave Lippert and he passed it on to me along with the gun’s nick name, Death Wind. Death Wind had shot over a 100 deer before I bought it. As the deer fell to the ground I remember thinking I know the buck had a tall rack but I sure hope there are 4 points on one side. From my position at the cherry tree I could see the rack. With all of the driving experience I could surely cover 80 yards in a heartbeat. The walk felt like it took forever my senses were on overload. I could hear my heart beat, the pounding of my steps, the crisp cold air in my lungs, and then I saw it up close and personal. All of my fears about shooting another boarder line buck were over. What once only happened on TV had happened to me. I stood there in awe of what I saw; a monster 11 point buck was lying at my feet. The green score was in the mid 170's.

Needless to say this is one drive to the basement I will remember.

Dave Kristofic