I live in a very noisy environment. There's a lot of noise in the city where I live, and if you’ve ever been to a football game, you know the noise is really intense. So, when football season is over, I like to go one-on-one with nature. I enjoy being still and quiet and seeing the beauty that God has created in the outdoors. I guess the one thing I like the most about hunting is getting into the woods before daylight and watching the world wake up. I live in a highly-stressful, noisy, aggressive world with numbers of rules and restrictions and many other people. But in the woods, I still can be calm and do my own thing. So, hunting gives me an extreme change of pace from my job, which is blocking and trying to manhandle some of the best and biggest football players in the nation.
I took a really-nice 8-point buck in Iowa during shotgun season one year. This past year (the 2015 season), I had the opportunity to take a really, really nice buck. This was the first year I ever had hunted with a muzzleloader, and I had the chance to hunt some private land in Virginia. This nice 8-point buck came up behind me, and it should’ve been an easy shot. But when I shot, I forgot about all the smoke that comes out of a muzzleloader, and the deer vanished in that smoke. I got out of my stand and went to the spot where the deer had been standing. I studied the ground, and I walked in the direction the deer traveled after I shot it. Finally, I came to the conclusion that once again I had missed a really-nice buck. The deer just vanished. However, I had a great day of hunting. I got to take a shot, and the buck survived to be hunted another day. I guess the buck and I both won.
I shoot the Thompson/Center Triumph blackpowder rifle. One of the reasons I decided to start hunting with a muzzleloader is because one of my buddies had a muzzleloader. Our shotgun season in Iowa is usually over before football season ends. However, I may be able to muzzleloader hunt in Iowa during the late season muzzleloader hunts. I just really like getting back to my home state after football and spending time in the woods hunting deer and turkeys. I think muzzleloader hunting will give me an additional season and additional days to hunt that I won’t have if I don’t hunt with black powder.
Since I've been living here in Virginia, I've gotten to know some landowners who have given me permission to hunt their lands. I’ve been fortunate to take a couple of does with my bow, and I’ve had the opportunity to take a buck with my blackpowder rifle. However, we don’t get many off days during football season. So, I have to stay fairly close to home when I hunt during the season.
To keep up with Brandon Scherff during football season and hunting season, you can go to his Twitter account at https://twitter.com/bscherff68
Day 2: The Washington Redskins’ Brandon Scherff’s Biggest Buck
Tomorrow: The Washington Redskins’ Brandon Scherff Has a Hunting Dream Not Yet Realized
