So this entire week I am between jobs. I currenly am living in Keene, NH and start my new job in Albany, NY next week on Monday. I don't actually move to the new place till 10/27 so I decided that I would spend this entire week in the woods mentally preparing myself for the new job and out of state move.

I started hunting Saturday. Some of you probably recall that I shot a 121lb doe on 10/3, the first sunday of the season. I have another tag that is good for another doe or buck, but I have been trying to be selective. There are loads of rubs in the area I am hunting, so I have been hoping to see him, I caught a glimpse of him pre season, and he was definately a dandy. Saturday and Sunday, lots of does coming towards the mountain from the fields in the morning. I passed them all. Monday, I had a dandy buck under my stand, but I couldn't see the damn pins on my bow, it was too early. By time it was light enough to shoot, he was about 60 yards away, too far for me. He was at least a nice 16" 6 pointer (thats big for VT) and if he had brow tines he was an 8. Unfortunately he didn't even acknowledge my grunts and headed up the mountain to his bed. [:@] Tuesday I saw 3 more does all in the same group, but passed them up again hoping for something with antlers. Wednesday came, and I decided that I would shoot anything but a fawn just so I had more meat in the freezer, since Thursday was supposed to be my last day of my hunt, I had plans to go home and pack for the move on Friday. I didn't want to go home with an empty tag and freezer space. Well first light came despite all the damn wind, and sure enough the does came through just a little later than usual. Unfortunately when the does came through, I was watching a flock of turkeys behind me since there was on big old tom in there and I had a tag. When I saw the doe out of the corner of my eye, she was only 40 yards away. I turned as slowly as I could and pulled my bow off the hook it was on, and managed to get positioned without her seeing me (thank god for all the wind and moving trees). Behind her were more deer, so I waited to see if any had horns, which none did. The second was the biggest so she was the one I picked out. When I thought she was at around 30 yards, I let out a bleat with my mouth to stop her, and unfortunately she stopped with her head exposed and vitals behind a tree looking strait at me....damn....eventually she took the one step I needed and I let one go. Unfortunately it was further than I thought, about 38 yards when I paced it off, and my bow is awfully slow so it went just under her chest behind her front legs. [:@]

Tonight I went out again this afternoon. This morning I slept in for the first time since last Thursday (I stayed up too late last night watching those damn yanks kicking my Red Sox's butts). I sat till just before dark, and decided to get out of my tree about 1/2 an hour before usual. I had seen 2 does come off the mountain in the same spot every evening for 3 days, and a few days before I had built a ground blind there in case I got the desire to sit there as a last resort for some extra meat. Well just before dark tonight I was sitting there and down came the does making one hell of a racket. The first one came down, and I put my pin on her and let one go. I sat there for about 20 minutes listening for a crash in the direction she headed in, but I didn't hear anything. At that point it was too dark to see much in the timber, so I pulled out my flashlight and looked for the arrow.........nothing. I was in waist high ferns though, so I am sure it is in there somewhere. I will be out there first thing tomorrow morning to find her, I am sure she isn't far. It was only about a 15 yard shot, so I am pretty sure I hit her but didn't want to push her tonight if it was a marginal hit. I must say, I never arrowed or even shot at a deer from the ground and it seems pretty exciting to do it from ground level. I will post up tomorrow when I get back from looking.