Now that we have a slight understanding of the basic principles of deer hunting, and some of its many problems, why don't you, in fancy, come along up to the Maine wilderness?where the bucks are big and the bears are black'on a little deer hunting trip? I will be your guide?the best guide in six-teen counties?but don't let it get around ?cause if you do I will be so busy guiding that I will have no time for hunting, and I like to hunt. We will have to hoof it into camp from the highway. It's just a little hike, but we had better hurry to make it before dark. Not that there is anything to worry about, but the steaks will be cold unless we're there to eat them. Hear that noise in the distance?



Another of those bobcats starting out for his evening hunting. We may hear an owl before dark, but they usually keep quiet until later. Hold it! See that bull moose? No, not there. Over there by those willows down by the edge of the bog. Big one, ain't he? Don't try to shoot one of those fellows. They're protected, but I am afraid that it will not do much good. They've got moose sickness and until the biologists can find some way to prevent that, the moose haven't much chance of making a comeback here in Maine.

Well! There's the camp. And there's our host, waiting to greet us. You know what he will say? "Welcome to the camp. You should have been here last week. The conditions were perfect then and the deer were everywhere. Now it's not so good." That's the standard approach. It sets up an alibi. If you don't get a deer, that lets him out. It ain't his fault, but the weather's. All of you who have ever hunted or fished or are married men, know the value of a good reason for not bringing home the bacon, or delivering the goods. He happens to be right this time and conditions don't look good for tomorrow. But never mind, conditions can change overnight here in Maine.

Well, here we are back in camp. No deer today. That dry, hard, frozen ground, covered with frozen leaves and sticks, was so noisy that we spooked every deer within miles of camp and when we tried to drive one to a stand, they all ran the wrong way. We all feel better now as we gather in the living room with our bellies full of steaks cut from the deer I killed a week ago. Sure it's illegal to eat it, but who is there among us who doesn't think forbidden fruit the sweetest, and besides, the game warden is quite a ways from

here.

Things look better for tomorrow. There was a circle around the moon last night. A snow bank in the south west this afternoon. The scent of snow has been in my nose for the last two hours and the wind is beginning to act kind of shifty. Hear that owl? Notice how hollow he sounds? Yep! Snow before morning and that means a deer before night. So drag your chairs up to the fireplace, see that there's a full bottle on the table?remember that now is the only time that a bottle has any place on a hunting trip?and I will tell you of a hunt that occurred a while back.

It is always better for hunters to check which animal which is protected and which one that they can shoot.