BRISTOL, Vt. (WCAX) – Robert Bedell and his wife own Green Mountain Trails End in Bristol, a shop where hunters can find all things hunting and fishing. They’re one of many big game reporting stations across Vermont during hunting season.
“It’s a heritage it’s passed down I mean I was out in the woods following my dad my brothers and I when we were 10,” Bedell said.
Bedell helps with weighing the deer while his wife types in all the stats. The shop has been open for 20 years, and the owners say their favorite part of hunting season is hearing the different stories.
“Because everything is different one gentleman will say the deer was standing in the meadow all alone and then you got other people saying the deer were being chased, the bucks were chasing the does,” Bedell said.
The story he heard Saturday was from a family bringing in two bucks. Duilan Hill-Quintin of Bristol missed last year’s season but was pleased to get a four-point buck on his first day back.
“The best I could ask for on the first day,” Hill-Quintin said.
He described watching a doe come out just before 7 o’clock and observing it for 10 to 15 minutes before the buck appeared about 20 feet to his right.
“The doe coming out just before 7 o’clock and getting to watch it for about 10 to 15 minutes and then this guy popping out about 20 feet next to me to the right and then getting to watch him for a bit until I got the right shot,” Hill-Quintin said.
Even though he’s been hunting for years, Hill-Quintin said the adrenaline stays the same.
“It could be really quick or it could feel like forever but it’s just the excitement there’s nothing like it,” he said.
Bedell said rifle hunting offers a peaceful experience despite the occasional gunshots.
“Rifle hunting — you can hear shots here and there but still on the mountain it’s so calm and quiet,” Bedell said.
He particularly enjoys seeing children come in with game.
“Love the children here they’re a big part of what’s to come,” Bedell said.
Hunters this season can take no more than four deer, and only one may be a legal buck.
