...because I missed a chance at taking a 10 pointer yesterday at noon. [:' (]
There is a draw that I' ve been hunting for a while in Frederick, Md. I' ve seen plenty of deer sign, and more importantly, I have identified an area where the deer have been entering and exiting the draw.
Yesterday morning I climbed 30 feet up in a tree with my Summit. I was superbly positioned on the edge, and in the middle of a 40 degree slope into the draw. I had another tree in front of me about 3 feet away, which broke up my silhouette, and I would have the afternoon sun behind my back. I was able to view the bottom of the draw, where 50 yards away, a stream bubbled at the bottom through it. This part of the stream is where I' ve seen deer ford previously, and then they would come up the slope where I was situated.
I saw nothing from 0900 to 1200 hours. So I broke out 2 sandwiches and then as I just finished, I heard the familiar " crunch, crunch" of a deer walking through the leaves to my right. I looked down and to the right and saw a HUGE rack of horns slowly walking a trail and getting ready to pass in front of me!
I stood up and began to draw as I turned and attempted to aim downwards towards the buck. He kept walking slowly and then started to turn to his right immediately in front of me and began to descend the slope. I was able to put my pin on him but it was no good. At this point, I only had a rear shot at him, and I didn' t want to do him " Texas Style" . I feverishly tried to get a better shot at him as he descended the slope, but the damn tree that I positioned myself behind of would not afford me the angle that I needed to shoot! [:@] I kept trying to shoot from both sides of the tree and couldn' t get the right angle to shoot from! He was walking away and was now out of my self-imposed range which was 20 yards. I grabbed my grunter and blew, but he kept walking, now in the middle of the stream. I used my dow estrus bleat but he didn' t respond. Either he was deaf, he didn' t care, or the stream was bubbling to loudly for him to hear. He turned to the right and walked straight down the middle of the stream and then slowly out of sight.
I was momentarily overcome with such a feeling of anguish and self pity for not being able to get off this shot! [:' (] Not to mention that I was still shaking from the adrenaline rush too. How could I have not gotten a good pin on this beast? [:@] I thought that I was positioned correctly! It was just my misfortune (and pure luck for the buck) that the exact path that he took down the slope was DIRECTLY in front of the tree that masked me (and the ability for me to get off a direct shot).
I can' t stop thinking of this missed encounter and opportunity. Harvesting this trophy buck would of effectively ended my season for my longings of a nice buck to take home. I' m going out next Friday to see if I can bag him again, but I' m probably deluding myself. Firearm season starts next Saturday, and that buck probably will be harvested shortly thereafter.
This is what drives me and what I live for during deer hunting season; the long hours of preparation, and the long, uncomfortable hours of being stuck in a tree; in order to get a glimpse and the chance of taking home such a magnificent animal....
It will take a long time for the ache in me to soften and go away from this encounter. To those whom hunt, I think that you know what I' m feeling. To those of you that don' t, I' ve tried to describe it.
It' s the exact opposite worse feeling that you can have, as compared to the exhilaration and happiness of a successful hunt..... [X(]
Kindest regards,
-Will in Maryland