Dawn breaks through the trees as the forest awakes. The sun’s rays split the darkness, causing mottled shades of gray to burst into green.

High in the canopy, an uninvited visitor waits, indistinguishable from the tree he is in. The figure has been there for hours, watching and waiting for just the right moment.

Now, the herd arrives, stepping into the clearing with a practiced caution. The oldest of the bunch raises her head toward the canopy, but continues to browse. A young doe steps into range, and time is suspended for a moment as the trigger is pulled.

A shot rings out, echoing off the trees, and the herd scatters. The doe sprints 200 yards and drops to the ground.

The hunter has found his dinner.

Deer Hunting

Tim Ward, a senior in fisheries and wildlife sciences, said hunting is more of a family tradition and a lifestyle than a sport.

“I don’t hunt for trophies,” he said. “I hunt for what I can [eat.]”

Ward, who shot his first deer around age 15 with a .35-caliber Marlin, said he mostly bow hunts in Raleigh.

“I’ve got two properties here off Trailwood [where I hunt,] and one off Yates Mill Pond … I pretty much see deer every time I go,” he said.

Bow hunting is more challenging than using a rifle because the deer must be closer in order to make a clean shot, according to Ward. He said one similarity between the two is the deer often run the same distance when shot.

“A deer shot with a bow [can run] just as far or further than [one shot] with a rifle … all four of my deer [this year] have run 50 to 200 yards.”

Ward said he doesn’t fault the people on campus who don’t understand his love of the hunt.

“A lot of people really aren’t against hunting. They just hadn’t been brought up around [it,]” Ward said.

Duck Hunting

According to Max Weaver, who is in his second year at the Agricultural Institute, duck hunters are a rare breed. In addition to bagging some birds, Weaver’s other goal for hunting excursions is to come back with a good story.

“When it’s 20 degrees [out] and you can’t feel your hands and you think ‘Why am I out here?’ but you keep doing it, that’s when you know you’re crazy,” he said.

Once, while on a duck hunting trip in the Pamilico Sound, Weaver said his pursuit of the birds could have ended with dire consequences. He and three friends were out in a 16 foot boat when the wind started blowing around 30 knots, 35 mph, and the water started getting very choppy.

“There was water coming over the bow … [and] people putting on life jackets … it was pretty bad,” he said.

Weaver’s sometimes harrowing adventures in the blind, a structure designed to conceal a hunter from the ducks’ sight, are what keeps him going back to duck hunting.

While he’s been deer hunting before, Ward said duck hunting has always been his favorite. He said he only hunts deer when he can’t hunt ducks.

“Duck hunting has more action … you’re calling them all the time … it’s more ‘run and gun,'” Weaver said.

Although he has hunted as far away as Texas, Weaver said his favorite place to hunt is Camp Bryan in Craven County, where his grandfather took him on his first hunt as a young boy. That old childhood interest has flourished into a way of life.

Weaver’s Raleigh townhouse is a testament to his dedication, for in addition to albums filled with sport-fishing photos and the occasional dead deer, the overwhelming majority of decoration is related to ducks.

He said his room back home in Goldsboro has a variety of mounts, but he doesn’t want to take the trouble to bring them to school.

During duck season, however, Weaver said it would be unlikely to find him anywhere other than in a blind.

“Every weekend, every holiday, any free weekday … people call me a ghost during hunting season because I’m never around,” he said.

Coon Hunting

Unlike ducks and deer hunting, Trevor Johnson, a second-year turfgrass management student, said raccoon –“coon”– hunting is all about the dogs. He said the main difference between ‘coon and deer hunting is there are many different ways to hunt deer, but only one way to hunt ‘coons.

Johnson said he rarely shoots the ‘coons his dogs tree, but prefers to just “let the dogs run.” If he does decide to shoot one, instead of eating it, he’ll “skin ’em out and train puppies” with the skin. That is to say, he’ll take out the bones and entrails and drag the skin through the woods for young dogs to get practice tracking.

Johnson said while “you could [just] walk through the woods in the middle of the night” instead of using dogs to find the ‘coons, “that’s not the fun of it.”

Since it takes place at night, the gear required for ‘coon hunting can get expensive. In addition to buying dogs, which can sell for thousands of dollars, ‘coon hunters also have to pay for briar-proof hip boots, high-powered spotlights, tracking collars and radio equipment to keep the dogs from getting lost in the woods.

Johnson said the expense is definitely worth the payoff when his dogs tree a ‘coon. He said the only time a ‘coon dog is supposed to bark is when it “strikes,” or first smells a ‘coon.

He said the dogs will “run the [scent trail] and bark, and then they’ll stop and locate [the ‘coon].” Johnson said once the dogs tree a ‘coon they will bark a pattern until the hunter arrives, sometimes barking for hours.

According to Johnson, anyone can run his dogs at any time of the year, regardless of whether it’s ‘coon season.

But like Ward and Weaver, Johnson said at the end of the day it doesn’t matter if the bag limit is reached as long as he can walk out of the woods with great friends and a good story.