John Adams, Deer Hunter

John has been raised in the deer hunter tradition like almost all of his fellow residents of this area. The men, women, boys and girls of this area go hunting from an early age and continue to old age. I have seen news articles about children under ten shooting their first deer. I estimate that John has shot several hundred deer in his life. The three heads in his garage that I photographed and posted in a recent blog were shot over about a week. He was keeping them to impress his daughter and son in law who shoot at his lease and were due here soon.

Deer hunting is really a big thing here in North Louisiana. The area is mostly wooded. It is full of deer leases, deer feeders, deer stands, and people in camouflage clothes with guns. At the Jefferson Corners Chevron Station where I have morning coffee you can see dozens of hunters passing through early. They want to get to their deer lease and up in their deer stands before daylight.

Most hunters take their deer to a processing plant. The plant that John uses in Arcadia processes 3000 deer per season. There is a plant the other side of Ruston that processes 7000 deer per season. And the woods are still full of deer. People fill their freezers with venison, deer sausage, and ground venison. Several members of the Jefferson Corners Liars Club drive to Jackson, Mississippi to have gourmet deer sausage made.

Deer hunting is highly regarded here and has many dedicated devotees. I shudder to think would would happen to the woods and to the deer if there were no deer hunting.