Well it has been a long, almost dry season. I have had 2 almost shots and only 1 shot this year. Fortunately I connected with a young 7 ptr in rifle season. Since then, I have seen all of 3 deer. One doe I almost had a shot at, but just couldn't take it because she was in some brush. The other 2 I saw today.
I mostly hunt in the fields and woods around my house. Last year I shot 3 and passed up others. This year I got my wife a TC Encore to start hunting but the deer aren't here this year. She actually missed the buck I shot the evening before I shot him.
So this morning I get up and check the field and there were 2 deer crossing it. I grab the gun and head out after them. Turned out to be the best buck I have ever put my scope on. Not a monster, but pretty nice, bone white antlers. Long and tall main beam, but not heavy mass. My county has an Earn A Buck program where you have to shoot a doe before you can shoot a second buck so I had to pass.
Well this evening it is drizzling rain, breezy and cloudy. My wife was on the treadmill and I was up next. So I did the sensible thing and figured I might as well get my excercise in the woods.
I got my camo on, grabbed my pack and my wifes Encore and headed out. I get about 100 yards into the woods and jump the same 2 deer I saw this morning. Good thing I didn't get him in my scope a second time, never know what might have happened.
So I pick my way through the woods and find a large area where the deer have been feeding in the last day or two. It wasn't there Thursday because I was through there and there were a few tracks, but no messed up leaves. I hang out in the drizzle for a while and finally head out while I could still see. Once I got out of the woods, I made one more pass up the field with no luck.
Now I don't know about you, but I love the end of the day when hunting. You come out of the woods with a little light fading in the western sky. Maybe the moon or bright planet is visible in the sky. You soak in the cool air and enjoy the peaceful feeling of the end of the day.
Today was no different. I walked to the house very slowly. So slow in fact, you would think I was getting paid by the hour. I was mulling over the end of another season and the disappointment of seeing so few deer. At the same time, I was filled with hope from seeing a good buck in the scope today and the start of a new year and new season next fall.
I hope everyone else ends there season on a positive note and enjoys it the way I did today.
Beautiful end to a long, tough season..
