A Hoot and a Holler!

Getting the daylights pounded out of you in a deer stand with a pitch black sky and totally oblivious to what or who is the aggressor, is exactly what happened to Joe Schweigert from Tremont on Saturday morning.

First and foremost, my condolences go out to Joe and his family as his father passed away Friday night. Unable to sleep and a lot on his mind, his wife agreed it would be therapeutic for him to spend some alone time in the deer stand the next morning, so off he went. After gathering up his gear and making the drive to his hunting spot, Joe climbs his preselected spot and plays the waiting game for the sun to come up. By Joe’s own description, a perfectly quite morning in which he could hear the deer moving freely from some distance, wind calm and nothing out of the ordinary….until this happened!

“Imagine a pillow full of nails sticking out and someone swinging that pillow with full force at the back of your head”, says Joe! 

Bending over and grasping his head, not sure of what just happened, Joe lifts his head up only to see a pair of eyeballs just seconds before his lip is ripped open and his face is gashed just below his eye. Still completely confused, he sees an owl perched on a tree limb winding up for a third run at him. This time he ducks below the metal rail that is attached to his stand for protection and avoids the attack with just a brush of its wing. From there on, hootie decides to move on to bigger and better things. It’s all over but the bleeding.

With a face full of blood and several war wounds as evidence, Joe weathers out the morning before making it back home. Now that’s what I call a hunt!