Indiana’s 2022 gun season for deer hunting has come to an end. In Indiana, there are only 16 days out of the year in which hunters are allowed to hunt for deer with firearms. Opening day was Saturday, November 12, and the last day was Sunday, November 27. However, the archery season for deer hunting is much longer. It opened on October 1 and will continue until New Year’s Day.

Gibson Southern has many students who enjoy hunting in their free time, and most of them hunt using a firearm. Therefore, their deer season is over. While the firearms season is closed, the stories of the hunts from this year are still circulating among hunters.

“I woke up at about 4:30 a.m. and made me some breakfast and watched a little TV,” senior Brock Fauquher said. “I got dressed with all my hunting clothes I have, so that I will be decent for the deer so they don’t smell me. Then, I got my rifle and headed to the truck. I went to the woods and got in the stand. After a while of sitting there, a doe came in at about 70 yards and she turned broadside and I took the shot. She fell after going but 20 yards, if that. I waited a little longer and nothing else came in, so I got down, went and gutted the deer, then took it home and hung it to drain all the blood.”

The excitement of the hunt is part of what fuels hunters. However, there are those who enjoy being in nature, away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Hunting is an escape for them.

“My favorite part about hunting is going out in the morning and watching the woods wake up,” senior Ethan Ziliak said. “I like hearing all the birds and seeing all the animals start to get up and search for food. When I am in the woods, I don’t have anything to worry about besides a deer peeking out. I feel free.”

Ziliak shot an eight-point buck this year.

However, not every hunting story is a success. Junior Ian Rexing came up empty handed this year. 

“I woke up at 4:30 a.m. and put my camo on and grabbed my gun,” Rexing said. “I went to a tree stand which is on a tree line on some of our ground. It’s a long, cold walk up to the tree stand. Once we got in the tree stand, we were really quiet and we just had to watch for deer. Around 5:45 a.m. we saw two does walking out of the woods. They walked along a ditch about 100 yards from our stand, but we were waiting on a buck that we had seen on a trail cam. We didn’t see anything after that, so we walked the tree line as a last resort to try and find the buck. But, with no luck, we left. We were very hungry, so we went home and ate some breakfast around 8 a.m., hoping for better luck the next morning. But, we never ended up seeing him.”

Hunting is often a year-round activity when considering watching where herds of deer move and what is planted in fields that will attract them. As archery hunters continue to hang out in blinds or up in trees, they’ll stay alert for that trophy deer or for something that will put meat in the freezer. Hunting clothes will be stored away until next year, but the trail cams will roll and feed that buck fever until next November.