I Shot My First Buck on the Run, During a Low-Country Deer Drive

I Shot My First Buck on the Run, During a Low-Country Deer Drive

This story, “A Blooding in the Swamp,” first appeared in the January 1981 issue of Outdoor Life. The November moon was in the half-cocked position, and the black sky was salted with stars. The Santee River was to my left, maybe 50 yards, and I could hear the water passing and the overhanging willow limbs that kept slapping it. There was no other noise in the Santee swamp in the South Carolina low country. I scratched my back against the gum tree…