Ringing The Doorbell
10-26-2005, 07:41 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2005
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Posts: 55
Ringing The Doorbell
It was about mid-day on a brisk late October day and the time was just about right for me to venture in the woods knowing the beast was at ease comfortably lounging in his wooded living room in the thick stuff I cared not to venture in. My plan was to enter his domain and reveal some clues on how I'm going to surprise him one day with a wake up call he wont get up from.
Upon entering the forest you could just feel the presence of the unknown buck... lurking somewhere, probably fully aware of my presence. It's ok, I'm not here to play the game just yet. I am, however, looking forward to the time when it is in fact... "game on". In the meantime I'll be looking for traces of sign you left behind. There is no place to run, there is no place to hide because eventually... I will find you.
My intentions are set and I'm in the zone now. I find myself skirting the outside perimeter of an alfalfa field searching for the road he takes to into it. Hmm... looks like the road comes out here... where he goes back home from his late night snack. I've now got a start. As I follow this trail back into the woods I feel a sense come over me as if I'm the buck who walked down it. Looking around I see areas that open up making me quite visible to the rest of the woods, a sense of insecurity if you will and I veer off the path as if I were him avoiding such a potentially dangerous spot. There's a feint trail coming off the one I was on and I'm thinking that's where I need to go.
This trail leads me to an area laden with blow downs and tangle-brush filtered with Cedar and underbrush... perfect for the timid buck to move through in hopes of staying "concealed". And then there it is! A nice marking pole telling all the others where he's been and where his home is. "This was his doorbell, a rub that was strategically placed at his front door of his residence. Any good buck stopping by would go through this front door and rub this tree as if it were ringing the doorbell." You knew he wanted it to be seen... just not by me.
I am enthused as my inner predator within me starts to take over. "Where are you going?" I say to myself looking around at all the potential ways in which this bruiser could go. In typical fashion this trail leading to the rub faded away and left me puzzled as to what to look for next. He marked this tree for a reason but why? Was he just cruising through the area and decided to spontaneously mark this tree? I don't think so, I think this is something to further investigate.
So I filtrate through the small clearing in the thick surroundings and find a small, almost impenetrable, opening that leads to more open woods. I sneak through quietly and find a track in the mud that tells me... not only am I on the right path, but also the right buck, the one that makes your season! And there's another!! Yes, another nice rub leading into the hardwoods. And then I seen it... a line clearly laced in the woods of rubs that should have had a sign hanging from it "Place Stand Here!". About every 50 feet a sizable scrape would complement one of the rubs and at this point I'm no longer in the woods, I'm in HEAVEN!
Looking around I see rubs, scrapes, potential escape routes, higher ground for security and most importantly THE TREE! The one my climber will fit perfectly on and be within range of it all.
I know I've found his home, I know where I'll be the next time I'm here. His home is now my playing field and it's time to start suiting up. Did you hear that?? I think someone's at the door!
Upon entering the forest you could just feel the presence of the unknown buck... lurking somewhere, probably fully aware of my presence. It's ok, I'm not here to play the game just yet. I am, however, looking forward to the time when it is in fact... "game on". In the meantime I'll be looking for traces of sign you left behind. There is no place to run, there is no place to hide because eventually... I will find you.
My intentions are set and I'm in the zone now. I find myself skirting the outside perimeter of an alfalfa field searching for the road he takes to into it. Hmm... looks like the road comes out here... where he goes back home from his late night snack. I've now got a start. As I follow this trail back into the woods I feel a sense come over me as if I'm the buck who walked down it. Looking around I see areas that open up making me quite visible to the rest of the woods, a sense of insecurity if you will and I veer off the path as if I were him avoiding such a potentially dangerous spot. There's a feint trail coming off the one I was on and I'm thinking that's where I need to go.
This trail leads me to an area laden with blow downs and tangle-brush filtered with Cedar and underbrush... perfect for the timid buck to move through in hopes of staying "concealed". And then there it is! A nice marking pole telling all the others where he's been and where his home is. "This was his doorbell, a rub that was strategically placed at his front door of his residence. Any good buck stopping by would go through this front door and rub this tree as if it were ringing the doorbell." You knew he wanted it to be seen... just not by me.
I am enthused as my inner predator within me starts to take over. "Where are you going?" I say to myself looking around at all the potential ways in which this bruiser could go. In typical fashion this trail leading to the rub faded away and left me puzzled as to what to look for next. He marked this tree for a reason but why? Was he just cruising through the area and decided to spontaneously mark this tree? I don't think so, I think this is something to further investigate.
So I filtrate through the small clearing in the thick surroundings and find a small, almost impenetrable, opening that leads to more open woods. I sneak through quietly and find a track in the mud that tells me... not only am I on the right path, but also the right buck, the one that makes your season! And there's another!! Yes, another nice rub leading into the hardwoods. And then I seen it... a line clearly laced in the woods of rubs that should have had a sign hanging from it "Place Stand Here!". About every 50 feet a sizable scrape would complement one of the rubs and at this point I'm no longer in the woods, I'm in HEAVEN!
Looking around I see rubs, scrapes, potential escape routes, higher ground for security and most importantly THE TREE! The one my climber will fit perfectly on and be within range of it all.
I know I've found his home, I know where I'll be the next time I'm here. His home is now my playing field and it's time to start suiting up. Did you hear that?? I think someone's at the door!
