My 2nd buck tag is now open!
 

After complaining for the last week about the weather--specifically the heat, the rain arrived this morning . . . I was out in it.

I elected not to hunt yesterday afternoon because it' s been so hot, but I did go to a hunting area I haven' t visited yet this year. All of my former stand trees had been blocked by blowndown trees from hurricane Isabel and no trails now came near them. I found one good spot in a funnel between two fields and hung my stand in a tree. When I saw that I had no shots, I removed it and hung it again in the only other possible tree. Having forgotten my pruning shears, I hoped for the best. After stinking up the area for so long, I didn' t figure I' d see anything--after all I had only seen one deer since the doe I took last Tuesday.

I sneaked back there early this morning and, not long after daylight was looking at one trail wondering how I would be able to shoot at a deer if one were on it when one suddenly materialized at the exact spot I was looking at! Needing a 2nd doe to open up my remaining buck tag, I quickly saw that she was a nice doe and slowly retrieved my bow from it' s hook.

I only had a tiny window to shoot through since my arrow would need to just miss another trunk of the tree I was in and clear the branches on my side of the deer. I drew and quickly placed my 20 yard pin a little high just behind her shoulder and squeezed my release. As with all of my deer this year, I didn' t see the arrow hit her, so I didn' t know where, or if, she was hit.

She ran back out in the field, did a semi-circle and came back in the thick stuff immediately being swallowed up by it. Then the rain picked up. I decided to give her plenty of time, just in case and waited for nearly 2 1/2 hour before taking up the trail. I never found a single drop of blood or my arrow--which was a pass-thru, but I found her not that far away already stiffening. I hit the lungs and caught the liver too.

Other than the doe and one squirrel, I didn' t see anything else this morning that drew a breath as the temps climbed back to 80 for the 5th straight day. But now she' s already in my freezer and my last buck tag is begging me to hold out for a biggun' ! :D

RE: My 2nd buck tag is now open!
 

Congrats Dave. Any pics? :D

RE: My 2nd buck tag is now open!
 

I forgot to mention two strange things about this deer. Her tail was very small--only a few inches long and very narrow too.

And her right rear foot . . . the outside " half" of the hoof was doubled. That is, two outside halves, and they were crossed like you would cross your fingers. Wasn' t lucky enough for her, but I' m keeping it if I can figure out a way to preserve it.

RE: My 2nd buck tag is now open!
 

congrats....any pics?