I was surprisingly warm and comfortable sitting on a climbing stand fifteen feet up a tree. It’s a pitch black morning and I have no idea where I am - just walked a little ways into the dark woods and put my stand on the first straight tree I found. This is going to be one of those “luck of the draw” hunts because I sure don’t remember ever hunting this area before. Man, it's so DARK that I have to check the prime in my .54 Great Plans flintlock by feel. As the first gray light of dawn begins to give me a look at my surroundings I couldn’t be more pleased. Dang, is that a persimmon tree over there? YES!!! And there’s a scrape under that wild cherry tree not 40 yards out. Rubs all over the place. How lucky can you get?

MOVEMENT!!! There’s a deer in that briar patch just at the edge of my vision, I’m sure if it. Come on baby, daddy needs the meat. Come on out, come on out. Wait, are those horns? Eight points at least. beep beep No, he’s a ten for sure. beep beep What the heck is that beeping noise? Are the loggers coming in a cutter/skidder with one of those beeping back-up alarms? beep beep DANG! HE’S GOT DROP TINES TOO!!! beep beep He’s facing me head on – only about sixty yards out. beep beep Turn baby, turn, before those dang loggers get any closer. beep beep GONE!!! Just disappeared like a ghost! BEEP BEEP “Please turn off that damn alarm clock” my wife says. MY WIFE?? What the heck is she doing in my climbing stand. BEEP BEEP - Groggy - I hit the off button on the alarm with quite a bit more force than necessary. What a dream. I hate that alarm clock.

That was excellent.......i cant wait till hunting season.

Well I am sure a lot of us have had similar dreams. And it is true, that opening morning alarm clock is a PITA, but normally I wake fifteen minutes before it goes off.

semi, good one! I still can't sleep the night before, I am told to go in the LR by the other guys in the Bunk Room. I been hunting 45 years now!

Cool story! This last 8 days before opening day are going to be miserable....