Well, I've done it again. After not deer hunting since '98 I decided to put a little time in, and it paid off.

My Father got me permission on private land, so I invested in a rifle (I'd always bowhunted before), and put some time in at the range. I scouted, put up a stand in what I concidered a high percentage area, and then missed a spike on the second day of the season. Actually I missed him twice. Don't ask... [:'(] Anyway, After that I didn't see many deer, and concidered moving my stand, but never did because I was confident the deer would come by. They were coming through my area, but just not regularly.
Well, Monday was the last day I would be able to hunt, and I was off to a bad start, getting to my stand late. I would only be hunting the afternoon. I climbed in at 1:50, and was ready to go. A short time later I heard the loud snap of a branch breaking to my right in the woodlot next to the overgrown field I was sitting over. I looked in that direction listening for about 5 minutes, but there appeared to be nothing. Looking back across the field I saw something strange about 100yds out to the left. There was a strange looking white thing out where there had been nothing. The weather was a bit nasty, a bit windy, with a light blowing snow fall, so focusing at a distance was difficult. Just as I was about to raise my binoculars to look a deer's head with antlers popped up in front of it. I had been looking at a tail.
The deer proceded to travel slowly from left to right across the field, maintaining and maybe even increasing the distance. I didn't want to shoot at that distance having missed days earlier at about 75yds. In addition I'm not using a scope, or a shooting rail on my tree stand. The buck ducked behind a small, thin stand of pine, and I could make out that he was going to jump the stone wall into the woodlot and be gone, so I grunted(using a tube). The buck stopped. Over the next 10-12 minutes I let out a grunt every 2-3 minutes, and that buck turned and came back.
This buck cut across the field diagonally from right to left, and seemed to be headed out the corner to my left. I had a spot picked out about 50 yds away where I wanted to take him, and for some reason that is exactly where he stopped, perfectly broadside. I took the shot, upon which he kicked his legs out and darted into the woodline. It was only 2:35pm. I waited 10 minutes before going to the spot where I shot him. There wasn't much blood, so I marked the spot, and took a walk for about 15 more minutes.
The tracking job was relatively easy. The blood trail from the spot he was shot to the woodline was faint, but once in the woods it increased and was rather heavy. I found him about 40 yds from the field. I had him dressed and on my truck before the sunset.
This wasn't a big buck by any standards, just a 5 pointer, but he was certainly a great way to cap the season after taking so many off.
Anyway, thanks for reading.

Congrats on the buck!! Good to hear your hunting again!!

Congrats......CT has some good hunting. I think it is the sleeper
state.

G