New York State has decided to allow a “Holiday Deer Hunt” (seriously).
Seems like a great way to promote the great outdoors, alfresco Nativity and peace & goodwill to all.
If you’re not a hunter,
looking forward to some family time and a walk in the winter wonderland,
a snowmobile jaunt, a cross-country ski trek
we have some new slogans:
Not just Icy, Pretty Dicey!
See Some Wildlife? Duck!
Nothing says holiday cheer like shooting a deer.
And here’s an old Chuck Berry tune for the new festivity.
“RUN RUDOLPH RUN”
Billboard’s S’Hot 100, Number Six with a Bullet
Out of all the reindeers you know you are the mastermind
But run, run Rudolph, hunters ain’t too far behind
Run, run Rudolph, Santa’s gotta make it to town
Santa, wear an orange vest and you’d better keep your head well down.
Run, run Rudolph ’cause they’re loaded up and shootin’ all around
Said Santa to a boy child, “What have you been longin’ for?”
“All I want for Christmas is a semi-auto BAR.”
And then away went Rudolph whizzin’ like a shootin’ star
Run, run Rudolph, you’re called fair game in this town
Santa, make him hurry, we don’t want your sled shot down
Run, run Rudolph, I just heard a .30-06 round
Run, run Rudolph, the Grinch has got a compound
Bow.
Santa, make him hurry, tell him we all got guns and beer,
Run, run Rudolph, I’m strappin’ on my bandolier.
Said Santa to a girl child, “What would please you most to get?”
“A little baby doll with crossbow or Barbie with a bayonet”
And then away went Rudolph, zippin’ up his Kevlar vest
‘Cause we leave the house without a rifle, we just feel undressed.
Run, run Rudolph, gotta make it to town
Santa, make him hurry, tell him he better stay in the mall
Run, run Rudolph we don’t want your antlers on the wall.
apologies to Chuck Berry
NY is not only allowing deer hunting until New Year’s, they’re also allowing hunting for a half-hour after sundown – – Rudolph, with your nose so bright, you’re sure to be in someone’s sights by night.
The old Xmas postcard is from the Library of Congress
UpState & Away - - - - Waterlooseneca.com 
This hasn’t been on the news in Texas. An article from New York makes it seem as if the hunters and snowmobilers are having a shootout:
https://www.newyorkupstate.com/outdoors/2022/12/1-year-after-ny-allowed-christmastime-hunting-some-cny-lawmakers-want-to-let-counties-ban-it.html
I don’t think any of the counties in the Southern Tier banned it, not sure they will.
I think there’s over a million deer in the state, so reducing the population before winter is understandable, but it’s going to discourage a lot of non-hunting folks from getting out and enjoying the outdoors.
So from what you’re saying, hunters need to take careful aim to avoid having any people in the Southern Tier shed a southern tear.
haha, good pun
The family holiday hunt’s a bit of a tradition here in Texas. Plenty of people I know make plans to hunt deer — or dove, or whatever — between Christmas and New Year’s days. Some of the most popular places for non-hunters, like Brazos Bend State Park, publicize the days they’ll be closed to everyone but licensed hunters. They have an announcement on their site now that the entire park will be closed from 2 p.m. Dec. 12 to 8 a.m. Dec. 16,
and only permitted hunters will be allowed in the park.
Various refuges and wildlife management areas, like Brazoria, also allow hunting on all or a portion of their land, but keep some areas restricted to non-hunters. The hunting period, from one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset, is standard for all seasons.
As for the rest of it? The land that’s just ‘there’ and not regulated, or open to mixed use? That’s exactly what the orange jacket and bright orange hat in my closet are meant for. Besides, the most dangerous hunters are the dudes who hunt from the road in the middle of the night, and I’m not going to run into them anyway.
Your parody’s great, but I wouldn’t worry too much about Rudolph. The old, smart deer seem to know exactly when the season starts, and they fade away into the woods — to more than a few hunters’ frustration. Rudolph’s one of the oldest and smartest. He’ll be fine!
Hi Linda – I think of hunting kind of like driving – the vast majority are being careful, it’s the small number of goofballs that worry me. And I’ve felt a bit more worried since more hunters have switched from shotguns to rifles – a bullet from a 30/30 can fly quite a distance, much less these guys with 7mm/08, etc. I don’t hunt or know much about it, but just looking at the hunters I run across, seems like there’s fewer bolt-action and more semi-autos out there, so it must be tempting to snap off a second or third shot when the first one misses. There’s always a few dozen folk wounded every year and a couple fatalities. Although letting 12-yr-olds out there with rifles hasn’t been a problem so far, as far as I know.
But this is all pretty serious-sounding and I really just wanted to post another lightweight song parody that popped into my head. There’s some preserves that only allow bow-hunting so I’ll be walking there w/orange vest and no worries.
Happy Hunting Season for New York!
Thank you Peter!
Hi, Robert. I’m certain that Chuck would have loved your lyrics.
Thank you Neil, appreciate it. His lyrics showed a great sense of humor .
Good song, lol.
My dad hasn’t been out since opening week of deer season because he dropped a piece of firewood on his foot (mostly a nuisance injury, getting better) so the deer are safer in the woods behind them. I went for a walk back to their woods during thanksgiving week and there were two new deer blinds on the adjacent woodlot, next to their land. I asked my dad about them and he just shook his head. people down in the more populated southern parts of the state pay to build and lease blinds up north (which is funny because my mom and dad aren’t really what’s thought of as “up north” for the lower peninsula), the people who own that land are newer to the neighborhood and do things like shoot guns off their back porch so it’s no surprise they don’t mind three deer blinds right behind them . i think my dad’s pretty glad is hunting days are mostly behind him. Once he gets a deer so he and my mom can have venison in the freezer, he generally quits for the season
Sometimes in the small nature preserves near my hometown, there’ll be blinds one foot over the line on private land., so you don’t really feel 100% safe walking on the non-hunting area.
When I used to zigzag back home from Lake Ontario, sometimes I’d drive past a huge private hunting preserve “Savannah Dhu” a big real estate developer set up, with miles of really high fences, 4,000 acres I think. And the Oneida Nation (the same tribe that’s been in Green Bay since 1830’s), has a 3,000 acre hunting area in Madison Co. (NY) they rent out, not far from their NY casino.
Keep that Kevlar vest handy, Robert!
We need a Kevlar and goose down combination with flashing lights.
I saw a small dog with a red flashing light on its collar yesterday. The dog was being walked at dusk near a road so I guess that made sense but it did give me pause. Not paws.
I think Chuck would have sung that with pride.
Thanks, George. Some radio stations have been playing Xmas music for a couple of weeks, I actually enjoy the old pop stuff, Nat King Cole, Perry Como, etc in controlled doses
Yes, me too.
Never thought of this as a seasonal hunting song before, but I will from now on. 🙂
Thanks Cecelia I hadn’t thought of it that way but love it. 😊🦌
Maybe the reason Grandma got run over by a reindeer was they saw the 30-06 cannon she was carrying…
Oh no they got Granny? She’s been sleighed?
Ouch. 😉 Or maybe I should say, “oh, deer me.”