Dating in the Deer Stand

By Chris Erwin

It’s true that Kentucky is a state that loves the outdoors. Our rivers, lakes, streams and woods are teeming with game and there is no shortage of people that enjoy all of the above. However, today I want to tell you about two people I recently met.

Chris Witten and Dana Patton of Flatwoods, Ky. are in love with each other but they also share a love for hunting, fishing and almost anything related to the outdoors.

I first met Chris when he donated his boat and time to help with the Military Appreciation Tournament during Poage Landing Days. When I was told he got his deer, I knew I wanted to tell his story. What I didn’t know was that Chris’s girlfriend also got her deer.

Both deer were 10-point bucks — not too shabby in anyone’s book, so I had to meet them both and find out more about this deer stand dating couple.

I contacted Chris and told him I’d like to do a story on him and his girlfriend, so we met at a local restaurant, and I listened to both recount their story.

Chris got his deer Oct. 31 using his bow while hunting from a tree stand. His 10-point buck came to his stand in the first hour of the day. His arrow hit home and after a short wait, Chris claimed his deer.

Then Dana started telling me about her deer. It came a few days later as the modern gun season got under way. She was packing a .243 as her story began. It was just a few minutes into her story that I realized they both were in the same stand! I said “Whoa! Hold on a minute, you both were in this stand”? Then they told me of about the tree stan, roof and all. It was located on their farm just outside of Flatwoods.

This was a deer they had been watching for three months, and it was Dana’s turn to get her trophy. At this point, I asked her how much Chris had taught her to hunt. They were both quick to say Dana had been harvesting deer long before they became a couple and she didn’t need any lessons to get her deer. However, their love of hunting and fishing has brought them even closer together.

As the daylight began to win the battle over darkness the second day of gun season, a doe shot across the field and under their stand. They watched intently knowing the next deer may be tracking the doe that had just passed under them.

Like a magic act, there it was, smoke rolling from its nose, as it came into range with its head-down tracking the doe. Dana took aim as the adrenaline rushed through her body. Like Chris, her aim was true. The .243 gave a blistering crack; the buck took only a few more steps and hit the ground.

At this point, I could see them reliving the hunt. Their smiles found one another as they shared their story with me.

I asked them, “Do you guys like to eat deer,” and like two back-up singers in harmony, they both said, “Yes, we love it!! Some weeks have it four or five days in a row.”

I want to thank Chris and Dana for sharing their story with all of us and I wish them a happy life together.