well, to keep ya'll updated, like usual...my opening day of a special early doe archery season has ended. morning i sat in my orchard. sun came up, wind got gusty and i noticed a treestand hung IN the bedding area that wasnt there when i hung mine. dont know if it was the high winds or the fresh treestand(could been hung yesterday for all i know) but i didnt see anything. i will hunt there next saturday morning and im pulling the stand regaurdless...not going to hunt it in the regular season since that other guy WILL be and will definently screw things up..
evening hunt started about 3pm. went into the woods that finger into that same orchard. i been in there 100000 times before. it was where i went for walks after school as a kid. i know the area well. wind was perfect for a hunt on a point that i almost always see deer on in the early season. beautiful point covered in deer trails...acorns and another nut(think beech nuts) litter the ground. climbed up, settled in and waited.
6pm i had 6 turkeys come through at 15yds. always nice to see...turkey hunting is right up there with bowhunting for me. IMO they are the neatest animals to watch...funny how easily they pick you off in a treestand. everytime i see them i am picked off quickly. this time i seen them before they seen me and froze seeing if they still putt. sure enough the boss hen hit the clearing and looked right at me and putted a couple times. i dont know if they see the bright fletchings or a blob in the tree or what...it aint movement i know that.
anywho...7pm..sun starting to set...i stand up..wont lie i had to wizz like no other...couldnt get the zipper down and i caught movement to the left..knew it was a deer. forget wizzing bud! first deer sighting on stand for 07...i started breaking down quick. i think my heart stopped beating for a few beats, then tripled my RUNNING heart rate
... deer is 35yds away and its thick. i talk myself through it and calm myself down like a seasoned vet. got my draw and shot sequence all ironed into my head..calm..its gunna follow the trail...15yd shot in the lane the turkeys were in...still dont know if its even a buck or doe(cant shoot bucks yet but pretty sure it was a doe) watched it browse for about 2 minutes and watched it continue UP the hill...i guess it wanted to browse instead of eat nuts and followed the thick edge up the hill instead of around the point how deer are SUPPOSED to feed
i know of a sweet little ditch about 100yds in the direction the deer came from...i couldnt decide to hunt there or the point...i picked the point..the deer almost had to come through that little ditch..oh well...next time
felt GREAT to be on stand today. felt GREAT to see that first deer. boosted my confidence 100%...im not one to hunt unplanned. really, i wasnt planning on hunting the evening...but it was cold and i wasnt passin it up...i guess i been there 10000 times and its not really going in blind..but i havent been there for a year..just felt good for some reason..
will be back in there next weekend. cant wait. i wanna hunt that ditch and another ditch/oak ridge...depending on whats going on, i might squeeze in friday evening and saturday evening and saturday morning in the orchard...we will see...