Deer Hunting Community Loses an Ally at Pope & Young

Fred Bear, left, and Erv are among our greatest conservationists and supporters of hunting.
Fred Bear, left, and Erv Wagner are among our greatest conservationists and supporters of hunting.

On bended knee, looking to the heavens, I thank God every day that I am so blessed with a wonderful loving family, good health, great friends and hunting buddies, this spectacularly rewarding hunting lifestyle, a killer band of supreme soulmusic masters and the American freedom dream to live my life as I wish and pursue the happiness of my desires.

I would have made a lousy Frenchman.

By Ted Nugent

As I type away at this, my 78th NugeBlog on deeranddeerhunting.com, my fireplace glows a warming glow on this otherwise frozen winter day and the words flow as if we are all gathered around the BloodBrother SpiritFire together sharing hunting stories.

I just resharpened a couple of nearly worn out Muzzy broadheads that have been pressed beyond their call to backstrap duty this season, and I am laying out my Mossy Oak ScentBlocker venison commando battle fatigues for just a few more glorious days of whitetail deerhunting here at home on our mystical SpiritWild Ranch sacred hunting grounds.

Following my always exciting morning ranch chores with my beloved Labrador Retrievers Gonzo and Happy, I stoked the fire and downed a great meal of singed backstraps and two eggs over easy with a hot mug of Sin-O-Man NugeJava.

I just now sent off another flurry of Nuge masterpieces of self-evident truth, irrefutable logic and commonsense to my editors at wnd.com, dailycaller.com and newsmax.com, performing my “we the people” duties to constantly raise hell and demand long overdue accountability from this damned government gone crazy, and now I wrap up my enjoyable task here.

Since my life is overwhelmed with unlimited positive joy, it is with a heavy heart that I dedicate this NugeBlog#78 to a heartbreaking and painful farewell to two BloodBrothers of our beloved sport/lifestyle.

It was at what we can call the ultimate deerhunting camp that I first met Erv Wagner. He and I had the supreme good fortune to shoot our bows and share a fire with his majesty, our hero Fred Bear.

Obsessed with the always mystical flight of the arrow and sharing our undying admiration for Fred, Erv and I became good friends and remained in touch on a pretty regular basis for the next 30 years or so.

Erv went to the big hunt with Fred this month at the age of 63, and he will be missed terribly by his wonderful family and bowhunting BloodBrothers at his Archery Field and Sports store in Des Moines Iowa and across the land.

We lost another dedicated sporter and BloodBrother after his heroic nine-month battle with cancer on Sunday, February 15, 2015.

Kevin Hisey
Kevin Hisey

Kevin Hisey was only 44 years old and Executive Secretary of his beloved the Pope & Young Club.

Like Erv Wagner, Kevin was a devoted and loving husband and father and a passionate bowhunter and conservationist, dedicated to preserving the history and heritage of bowhunting.

I don’t know every deerhunter in the world, but I believe we are all part of a serious and powerfully spiritual family who share our love of God’s miraculous creation and our moral and ethical responsibility to be conscientious stewards of His precious gifts.

I’m sure we have all had to say good-bye to loved ones and BloodBrothers, and though it is always difficult and trying, we can smile knowingly through the tears that they lived the life of their dreams and they lived every day with the certainty that each day mattered.

When I lost my mom, dad, Uncle John and Fred Bear, the words to my song brought some sense of soothing and healing, because, “in the wind, he’s still alive”.

“There I was, back in the wild again. I felt right at home where I belong. And I had that feeling coming over me again, just like it happened so many times before.”

“The spirit of the woods is like an old good friend, makes me feel warm and good inside. I knew his name and it was good to see him again, because in the wind he’s still alive!”

To our nomadic BloodBrothers, we wish you a fond farewell. As Ishi said to Saxton Pope and Art Young as he was about to go to the big hunt; “I go, you stay.”

We will see you at the Big Hunt before too long. Godspeed BloodBrothers. Godspeed.

Ted Nugent is an award-winning musician and writer, with numerous best-seller books including “Ted, White and Blue: The Nugent Manifesto,” “God, Guns and Rock ‘n Roll,” and “Kill It and Grill It: A Guide to Preparing and Cooking Wild Game and Fish” with his wife, Shemane, among other books. Be sure to check out his website here for more news on his latest music, thoughts and upcoming shows in 2015.

View More BlogsView More Ted Nugent Blog