jeff congrats!! thats awesome!!!! i reallllllly need to get out of this state[:-]...i got a couple doe tags..but feel guilty taking does in alot of the areas i hunt...they are trying to do away with deer in PA...well i know the herd needs fixed...but man it makes things rough at times

this AM im perched in my tree...6am i hear one comin..stops broadside 5yds away. i can make out antlers and the body...but i know its all too early..though i know all too many guys woulda shot. then another one..couldnt see him but heard him. they were grunting back and forth all the while its dark milling around. it wasnt a grunt likea grunt call it was a really low key..im 98% sure it was them making the noise. the only way i can describe the noise is putting a badly scratched CD into a CD player..listening to it try to read it..it was a wierd noise but it had to be them making it. soon as i could see the woods were silent. scanned the area hard core and couldnt find them. had to goto the redbrush/jagar field directly behind me. 1040ish i heard dogs barking..definently a good noise..they bark at deer. 1045ish...crunch crunch crunch...here they come. directly to my right. its thick underbursh and close pine trees all together. i cant pull off a left handed shot..i just wasnt comfortable with it and couldnt get my head low enough. they are just sneaking through lookin for a place to hide it looked like. so they were behind trees so i stood up..the top of my viper slid down..they didnt care or look. (i forgot the strap it off..the strap was hanging from the stand all day and i never noticed) trying to make sure the big one was legal and get a shot off..couldnt..he wouldnt stop and it was too thick. the big one was nice. im pretty sure hes the one i shot with my bow. i couldnt get a good look but seen 3 on top and a good 16+ or so spread..but couldnt see the other side or brows..me being me i wanted to know he was legal. (4pts to a side) i could got a solid shot off but between tryin to count points and pick a shooting lane through the tangle he was gone. the other one...i dont know what he was. i just seen antlers comin..they stood straight up and were THICK and pretty danged tall. i never scoped him i was tryin to get a shot at the other one.....they werent in a hurry and im almost sure they laid down just out of sight. had my group come push the area about an hour later and both bucks were nowhere to be found. they pushed the brush field and the 100yd strip of woods and anything in there should came out.....im stumped..i should seen them or someone else should have...i dont know where they coulda went...i pushed the rest of the day...i pushed a kid his first deer(yearling doe)..pushed one of the farmers daughters a nice little 6. and pushed another guy a decint 8pt. not a bad day....i should had mine though. im too law abiding..if i was like alot of other PA hunters id shoot first and count later. if i didnt care about points(i shouldnt been i know it was him but had to make sure) i could killed him...oh well...hopefully he made it...and make it till friday coz ill be back.....

good luck all......keep at it