Hunting In The Woods: Ed Courtemanche's Life

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The sun disappeared behind the trees in the west as we sat in sloped tan lawn chairs. The weathered wood of the house matched the brown and gray of the trees from which it came. A stream rushed through the trees behind the house, sounding off the mountain. We looked into the woods where his memories came to life so clearly.

He slouched into his chair as he recalled his experiences in the woods. He is a short, heavy built man, hands and body worn from years of work. His gray hair expressed wisdom and knowledge of the woods and hunting. He remembered when his passion sparked and took life, nearly five decades ago.

Ed Courtemanche started hunting when he was 12 years old. He grew upon a farm in Vermont. For the first years of his life he learned …show more content…

They learned a few things about gun control from their dad and took a version of hunter’s safety course from a man they knew who lived down the road.

Now, 53 years later, he still enjoys hunting. But unlike many hunters who go hunting for the sole purpose of getting a deer, Mr. Courtemanche also enjoys getting way out into the woods where it is quiet and he can think and enjoy God’s creation. He also loves seeing and being around wildlife and learning more about the animals that live out in the woods. But of course there is nothing like seeing that big buck and taking that shot and watching it fall as you know that you have just killed a deer.

Hunting in Vermont is fun, but Mr. Courtemanche said that he would like to go hunting in Washington, Wyoming, or Montana. He wants hunt elk because they are such a big and amazing animal. He said he loves to see them in big herds because of how beautiful they are. While in the service, he hunted deer out in Washington where there were elk. He wished he had gotten an elk tag, because they were such a beautiful …show more content…

Courtemanche has learned how to track deer, which is his prefered way of hunting. He has learned how to figure out if a deer is male or female, and if it’s an old or new track. Mr. Courtemanche said, “I learned a lot of how to track from simply going out and doing it.” His father also knew a man who was arguably one of the best trackers in the United States, and he learned some tips and tricks from him on tracking.

Knowing how to track is not enough, you need to put it into action and have successful results. Tracking is Mr. Courtemanche’s prefered way of hunting. He enjoys being out in the woods slowly following after a deer and enjoying God’s creation while tracking. He likes it best when there is snow on the ground and he can walk slowly through the woods following a deer.

Over the years Mr. Courtemanche has hunted all over the green mountains, outside his back door, and in the northeast kingdom in a small town called Newark at his brothers camp. He has also been hunting in New Hampshire in the White mountains and he went to Maine for one season. He said that “Everytime I go to a new hunting spot I always seen to be the one who gets the a deer.” Whenever his brother takes him to a new hunting spot he always gets lucky enough to shoot a big deer, and sometimes that is the only deer that is killed in the group. His brother always jokes that he doesn’t know why he brings him to new hunting spots because Mr. Courtemanche always gets a big

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