Use of ranch may be deer hunter's last

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Use of ranch may be deer hunter's lastBy BRENT FRAZEE - The Kansas City StarDate: 11/10/01 22:15CAMDENTON, Mo. -- When the 2001 Missouri deer season dawned Saturday, Jim Redman couldn't help but feel a bit sentimental. For 18 years, he has welcomed the firearms hunt from a special vantage point -- in a tree stand on a ranch near Lake of the Ozarks, overlooking some of the best deer habitat you'll ever see. But when Redman climbed into that stand Saturday morning, he knew that it might be the last time. The land on which he hunts is for sale. And Redman knows full well that he might soon be looking for another place to hunt. That's why he was embracing every part of tradition when he went into the woods Saturday -- the friends and family who always join him, the stories about past openers, the excitement that always wells up on the first day of the season, and the special view he has from his tree stand. "This is like a traffic corner for the deer," Redman said as he scanned the woods. " This is an intersection. The deer always travel through this area from the valley up into the field behind me. "I've taken a lot of deer in this spot." But none was more memorable than the one he took on opening weekend last year. Sitting in a clump of cedars, he watched a big buck suddenly walk into the pasture, its nose down, sniffing for does. Redman got a clear shot at the buck and later discovered that he had taken a 12-point trophy -- his biggest ever. And he took a big doe there Friday, shooting it with his bow only a day before the rifle season started. True to form, he saw plenty of deer there Saturday, too. Sitting in his portable stand and scanning the endless timber in front of him, Redman watched five does walk past. But he resisted the urge to shoot. It was too early in the season. He was waiting for something bigger to come by -- and hoping that he could spend as much time in the woods as possible in what might be his last deer season on the ranch. "We have more than 1,200 acres to hunt on here," Redman said. "It's perfect deer habitat for the Ozarks. It's about half timber, and half openings, pastures and water. "It's loaded with deer. When the locals want to go sightseeing for deer, they'll stop on the road out here and just park. The other day, I came down here in the evening and I counted 36 deer walk out." Redman laughs when he tells the story about how he got permission to hunt the land. He did chores on the ranch for two years, tending to the cattle and helping pick up rocks from the fields before the landowner finally granted him hunting access. Today, Redman is the caretaker of the place. But even the hunters he invites in have to pay their dues before they can hunt. "They have to work or they don't get to hunt," Redman said with a laugh. Redman and his group of hunters were unsuccessful early Saturday morning, listening as shots echoed from neighboring farms but not pulling the trigger themselves. One of the hunters who did shoot was Hilde Bare. She was hunting with her husband Charlie on a friend's farm not far from their home in Camdenton. Her opening-day hunt lasted only three minutes. That's how long it took her to spot a small buck and shoot it. "We had just gotten out of the vehicle and I saw a deer walking through a field in front of us," she said. "I just got lucky." But then, good luck seems to follow Bare around on the deer opener. Two years ago she came in with a 10-point buck on the first day of the season. "When we brought it to the check station, everyone thought my husband had taken it," she said. "I guess they didn't think a woman could take a deer like that. But I did." Bare is no newcomer to deer hunting. She hunted deer when she lived in Germany and she continued to hunt when she moved to the Ozarks with her husband. "In Germany, deer hunting isn't the same," she said. "The deer are about the size of Dobermans. And the hunting is very controlled. It's expensive and the opportunities aren't as great. "Here, there are lots of deer and lots of places to hunt them." Brian Thraller, who lives near Macks Creek, Mo., won't argue. He moved from Michigan to the Ozarks several years ago and made it a priority to find a good place to hunt. He bought about 40 acres of forested land earlier this year -- and it immediately paid off in his first deer season there. He took a seven-point buck on opening day. "I hunted deer when I lived in Michigan and took some big ones," he said. "The Ozarks are totally different. The land is much more rugged, with all the hills and rocky areas. "But there are a lot of deer here, too. I think this new land I bought is going to work out real well." Meanwhile, Redman plans to hunt every day of the firearms season at the ranch that is so special to him, until he fills his tags. Then he may say goodbye to a special place. "I'm going to hate to lose this place, if it happens," he said. "It will be hard to replace. "I've had a lot of good hunts here over the years http://www.kcstar.com/item/pages/sports.pat,sports/3acd20b3.b10,.html