Bow opener: Waiting a day makes big difference

On Monday, Jimmy Howell woke up three hours earlier than most workdays. He didn’t even need an alarm clock.

“I set it, but you know how it is on the first day of deer season, I was up long before the alarm was set,” said Howell, 33, of Brandon. “I haven’t missed an opening day since I first picked up a bow when I was 13, and I wasn’t going to miss it. Today was my 20th straight opening day.”

Howell, an accountant, also kept another record alive — he has never taken a deer on opening day of archery season.

“Twenty years, and I haven’t even taken a shot,” he said. “I’m still an o-fer. It’s not like I’m not trying. I have always planned on taking a doe or a shooter buck if I get a chance, but it has never worked out. I limit out most seasons, but I just can’t get that opening day monkey off my back. I’m not gonna quit trying, no matter how miserable it is.”

While Howell was steadfast to his streak, Tim Taylor of Ridgeland proved that patience is sometimes prudent. He delayed his “opening day” because of the weather and found success on Day 2.

“I couldn’t do the rain,” Taylor said on Tuesday, shortly after killing a doe on the season’s second day at this camp in Holmes County. “Today was ideal — perfect wind, perfect temperature… perfect everything.

“I’ve been bow hunting for 27 years and I’ve killed about five deer on the first day over that time, but funny thing about this one is that I killed a doe last year on the first day from the same tree with both deer eating acorns from the same white oak stand. I probably wasn’t in the tree 15 minutes when I turned around and saw her. She must have slipped in on me because I never heard her. She was just standing there eating acorns and never knew I was there. I was able to unhook and adjust my safety harness to I could shoot, turn and make a perfect 18-yard heart shot. She didn’t go 30 yards.”

Howell’s story includes deer, but no dead ones.

At 3:30 Monday morning, Howell’s feet hit the floor. He turned on the coffee pot that he’d readied just six hours earlier, looked out the back door on his patio to see if the rain had ever stopped — it hadn’t — and then hit the shower.Twenty minutes later, he was dressed in camo, finishing his second cup of strong black coffee and laughing at himself.

“It dawned on me, I had nearly two hours to kill,” Howell said laughing. “I had everything ready when I’d gone to bed. My gear was all in the truck already, my bow, my possibles bag, my camo rain suit, my Thermocell… everything. I turned on the TV and caught up on all the football and weather.

“I can’t help it, I still get excited on opening day and I hope it never ends. It’s like I’m a kid at Christmas, but I just never get a present to unwap.”

Howell’s first morning in the woods, on private land about 10 miles from his home in Rankin County, was not very user friendly.

“It was so wet, and muddy,” he said. “We had like three inches of rain Sunday and it was as muddy as you’d think. I walked the 250 yards in from the road, and had to stop three times to knock mud off my boots.

“It was cool, about 60 degrees, drizzling rain, but so humid and I was soaking wet with sweat by the time I got to my tree. I got there about 5:45, and was up in the ladder stand, 15 feet high, 10 minutes later.”

Sunrise was at 6:55 a.m., and legal hours for shooting 6:25. Realistically, with the dark overcast morning, Howell couldn’t see anything until sunrise.

On his short drive to the woods, Howell said he decided to use his 15-foot ladder stand instead of his pre-hung climber.

“I had to be at work at 9 and knew I was going to need a shower, plus I don’t like climbing in the rain on wet trees and my climber was hung on a tree where I would need to go at least 25 feet up,” Howell said. “Both were in good places. I put the ladder on a heavily used trail 30 yards from a producing white oak, which are in short supply at my property this year. The climber was further in on the same trail nearer a bedding area.”

Howell said he never saw the first few deer to pass, even in legal hours.

“Too dark, but I could hear them sloshing through the mud,” he said. “Some were tipping along, others were just plodding through making all kind of racket. I made out a couple of white flags (tails) on deer that nearly walked right under me. It was overcast so it stayed dark a lot longer.

“Once I could see, I had two spikes came and ate a few acorns before moving on. About 20 minutes later, I had a doe and two yearlings walk right under me. I passed on the doe because the yearlings were very, very small. I couldn’t tell but I bet they had spots. That’s not the first time I’ve had to make that decision on opening day, but it’s the right thing to do.”

Howell said he saw about six other deer this morning, including a couple of single does that just didn’t get into range.

“I only had about an hour and a half, but those 90 minutes mean everything to me,” he said. “As for not getting a shot, I’m OK with that. Heck, I’m used to it. The important thing is that for the next four months, I know I can go if I want to. The season is open, and I’ll have meat in the refrigerator soon enough.”