Because of work and personal stuff I wasn't able to drive up to my property in Chenango County until the morning of the opener. I arrived around noon in a snow squall which allowed me to move up to my stand without making any noise. Almost worked too well as I surprised a spike while preparing to climb into my stand. I clean missed a 20 yard snap shot which did little to scare the buck because when I went to check where he was standing; I looked up and he was about 80 yards away. He just turned and trotted away not really bothered at all.
I decided to stay in my stand just to see what would happen. About 3:30 I spotted a real nice buck in thick brush along a creek. The only time he came into the open was on my neighbors property so I couldn't take a shot. With about 30 minutes of day light I caught a nice buck trailing a doe heading up the hill past my stand. Found a clear spot and dropped him trotting at about 120 yards (after missing a 20 standing shot; go figure). Not the biggest 8 point in the woods but dressed out at about 160. Getting too old to drag big deer like that out of the woods alone
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