Monday, I knew I was going to get my buck. I could feel it in my bones. Winds were out of the North so I walked 1/2 mile East and then South to get to the doublewide stand. I had sprayed my chem suit with Deer Dander and smelled like a communal deer latrine. I crept ever so carefully stopping frequently to scan my 360 to make sure I wasn't getting busted without knowing it. The mile and half walk to the stand seemed to take forever, but that was because of the "knowledge" I was going to fill my tag. I finally made it to the stand and got set up. Buck and doe calls - CHECK. Doe in Estrus Urine - CHECK. Bino's - CHECK. Rattle Bag - CHECK. Deer Dander - CHECK. Bow - CHECK. Arrows - CHECK. Oh yeah baby, today's the day. At my age, I inevitiably leave something behind, but not today. I don't see any deer in any direction, but I know they are there. I constantly scan the campgrounds and fields while I begin my usual routine. Bleat - Tick - Tick - Tick. Bleat - Tick - Tick - Tick. I continue for another 15 minutes when the neighbor drives by in the field, waves and then turns eastward. "CRAP", I think did he just screw my chances of getting my deer? Bleat - Tick - Tick - Tick. After the neighbors truck passes a pine tree about 1/4 mile East, the monster jumps up from behind the pine and watches the truck! BLEAT - BLEAT - BLEAT, nothing. SNORT - SNORT, he looks my way. BLEAT - SNORT - TICK - TICK - TICK, he looks from me to the truck and back to me. Oh, I have got him! I got into an ensemble of different deer calls that would have made Mozart jealous. It sounded like a wildlife opera in D Minor. The monster is making his way slowly towards me and my adrenaline starts to rise. The monster is in no hurry, but as long as he keeps coming my way, I ain't in no hurry either. He closes about half the gap between him and me and he stops and looks North. I grab the bino's and there is another big buck chasing four does. The big ole boy decided that wasn't right and stomped once and then took off after the other buck like a missle. He chases the other buck off and then heads Northeast into the woods with the does. I know that there is no way I'll call that monster off of four does, so I decide to take a break.
I light up a cig and scan the horizon - nothing. I finish the cig, spray a few shots of Deer Dander and get ready to start all over again. A few calls and boom! Here comes that other buck the monster drove off. He's trotting right along till he gets a hundred yards out. He has so much drool coming from his mouth I can see it with the naked eye at this distance. Shoot he almost looks like he is rabid with all the drool and slobber! He stands there looking for the doe he has been hearing. I let out a soft bleat with the call aimed behind a pine tree. He jogs forward and stops behind the tree. I stand, draw the string back and wait for him to step out. He drops his head real low and pokes it out from behind the trees. Then slowly takes one step out. This boy ain't the monster, but holy crap is he big! He is a twelve pointer and it looks like his beams are touching each other at their bases! I keep telling myself "breathe slowly, he's just a deer. Breathe slowly, he is just a deer". He is now in full broadside view at 15 yards. I carefully aim at his vitals and let one rip. He jumps once and then bounds over the south fence. I see a dark spot on his side and feel good (I'm color blind and cannot see red and green). I wait until he is out of sight and get down to look at the arrow.
I find it and there isnt a drop of blood anywhere. I stand there swearing for a few moments and walk back to the house. When I get there, I pull out the practice target and put practice tips on my arrows. At 20 yards I let the first one fly, it goes 8" high. Second arrow, same result. And so on, and so on. My wife walks out and asks me why I am not hunting. I inform her that "somehow" my sights have gotten off kilter. She looks away and simply says "oh".
WARNING WARNING! After 27 years of marriage to this woman, I know whenever my wife has a response like that, she knows more than what she is telling me. I follow her into the house and ask if she knows why my sights would be off. She finally confesses that she was dusting in the family room and knocked the bow off the hanger. She didn't tell me because she thought I'd get mad. I don't want to escalate this, so I just tell her that accidents happen and next time tell me so I don't shoot a deer with a shot that will take it a long time to die. I gave her a hug and a kiss and then resighted the bow and returned to the stand. I was out there from 10:00 AM until 6:00 PM without seeing another deer all day.
Yesterday morning I woke up feeling kinda crappy. By noon, I was running a fever of 103. Today, I am sitting at the kitchen table typing this while pushing liquids and medicine.As I type, Iam watching a buck walk along the far bank of my big pond.Hopefully, Friday I will be feeling well enough to get back out there.