Yesterday was the first day of archery season. And this archery season is the first ever for me. So I had my pop-up blind setup along a deer trail that led across a narrow stream. Once I was hidden inside the blind, I made a few doe calls and nothing happened. I tried a few more calls and.....still nothing. I then started reading a novel I had on me. Several hours passed.....and STILL NOTHING!!! At some point I dozed off, when I woke up again, hours more had passed, it was near sun down. Then I made a doe grunt with my caller. From far off I suddenly heard a distant rattle of antlers. I grabbed my long bow and notched in an arrow. Still hidden under the window of my blind, I made a doe call mimicking the act of rallying other does. Then I followed up with several different pitched doe grunts.

Immediately after the last call I made, I heard the antlers rattle again, following by snapping sounds of wood and faint grunts. Still hidden under the window of my camoflouged blind, I followed up with more doe grunts.....and the antler rattles became even louder and sharper. I thought that that each time I heard the rattle and the grunts, it seemed to be louder or closer than before. After about 10 minutes of this, I couldn't take it anymore, I raised my head above the window and glassed the surroundings of my blind with binoculars........and I saw absolutely NOTHING.

Then the antler rattle came again, lounder and closer than ever. I raised my tripod stool to it's maximum height and glassed my surroundings again....and still NOTHING. I couldn't see a damned thing expect for trees and more trees....but the antler noises were crisp and clear. After a few more minutes, I simply couldn't take it anymore.....I got out of my blind, bow and arrow ready, and slowly walked toward the sound. I was looking all around me for those 2 bucks that I knew were fighting it out close by. I made another doe call as I approached a big oak tree. As I was just walking by the moss covered oak tree, a sudden flicker of motion along the periphery of my field of vision made me look towards an area about 60 yards away. It was getting darker so I used my binoculars to focus on the spot.

Then the chills ran down my back.

There was motion....but it was motion out of nothingness. I saw 2 blurry things moving...but it was something and nothing at the same time. It was like as if the background image of the forrest was somehow blurring and moving and making antler noises. I was already nervous, and at that exact moment someone or something lightly touched me on my back.

Simultaneously, I dropped the bow, jumped 2 feet into the air and let out a scream. I landed hard on all fours. I immediately got back up and realized that the rattle had stopped. I held my binoculars and looked at that area again. There was a faint glimmer.

It turned out that there was another hunter in full camo with a camo bow, in a camo tree stand, using a camo-rattle bag. He was less than 60 yards away and was looking at me through his binoculars. And the person/thing that touched my back turned out to be a couple of acorns that fell from the tree.....