A story that begins 22 years ago

When I was 14 years old, my dad brought me to a piece of woods in Stratham, NH that his boss owned to help him cut fire wood. It turned out that the area held quite a few deer and some really nice bucks (one of which is still the biggest buck I have ever seen in the woods.) His boss said that we could hunt there anytime we wanted but because it was behind other property and we had to use the right-of-way to access it, we had to make sure we drove up into the woods to park.

This little gem turned out to be one of the best kept secrets on the seacoast for many years. I have harvested the majority of my deer in this area. My Dad has harvested several deer there and my best friend harvested his first deer there and a few since.

The land was eventually sold and the new landowner gave me permission to keep hunting there.

About five years ago I saw a guy hunting out there (we'll call him DB.) He lived in one of the houses that the right-of-way ran between. At first things seemed fine, we spoke and I asked where he was hunting out there. He told me and for two seasons I made sure that myself and anyone that hunted with me stayed well away from the area he said he was hunting.

Then I started running into him in the areas I was hunting (and had hunted for 20 years.) Around the same time my climbing tree stand that my dad bought me was stolen. I had harvested my first deer with my bow and in the excitement, forgot to lock the stand to the tree. Two days after the opening of muzzleloader season I went to use it and discovered it gone. At first I attributed it to some opportunistic hunter who stumbled onto it and decided he would steal it. That summer, my best friend and his family bought me a new climber. I couldn't have been happier. The weird thing was though, the following bow season DB started climbing the same tree with his climber that my climber was stolen from. Still not being someone who likes to accuse anyone of stealing, I brushed it into the back of my mind. Then one night I was at another stand location on the edge of the same swamp. My girlfriend tagged along to observe. When we were coming out we witnessed DB removing the limblights I had hung to mark the quietest route to and from my stand tree (for those of you who don't know, limblights are reflective twist ties.) He was cursing an swearing. The following evening I harvested a doe with my muzzleloader from my climber in that very tree. I dressed the deer, brought my gun to my truck and went back in to get the deer and found the limblights balled up beind a tree. I had started my guides business that year and was a bit perterbed. However, I consider myself very tolerent and I avoid confrontation with other hunters in the woods so I let it go and chaulked it up to jealousy.

One evening I harvested a 4 point buck that came into doe-in-estrous scent. The buck was going to walk by DB and then got jumped into the swamp by joggers, circled around behind me, and came out trying to find the doe he thought he could smell. It turns out, I had walked right by DB to get to where I was sitting. He seemed upset, gave me a little attitude, but congratulated me and walked away without offering to help me drag it out. I figured, not everyone would, and didn't sweat it too much.

Let me start this next part by saying that the swamp I hunt the edge of is a huge bedding area. If left alone, deer will continue to come and go from it all season no matter what happens outside of it. I never used to go into that swamp until the last week of the firearm season if at all and only if needed. Last season I discovered two stands in the swamp during the last week of firearm season. Both are about 30 yards inside the swamp and both are right in front of my stands. The deer movement outside the swamp came to a screeching halt. The worst part is, DB will walk right by my stand whether I am in it or not, to get to his.

I have officially had enough. This season I have resorted to pushing the swamp and will continue to until DB decides he would like to share the woods.

Stay tuned because I'm sure there will be stories that include DB.