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So I was ground hunting the woods of a sweet little WMA in Maryland Eastern Shore. It's a mature hardwood forest that gifted in 1926 for wildlife management. The trees are enormous skycrapers, many so big you can't get your arms around them. I found a great little cluster of trees with an umbrella-like canopy that dropped down around me, so I pressed my back into the trunk. The branches masked me well and provided me with nearly 180 bow-shootable degrees. I wasn't much worried about what was behind me because there was a strong breeze blowing my stink that way. I figured I'd be scent-busted anywhere in that direction. I scrapped away the leaf litter on the ground to provide a silent "pad" for me to stand and pivot on... and I waited. I love the moment when the forest forgets you're there and the critters and crickets start singing again. Aside from spotting a deer, this is my favorite moment in the woods. And I waited. About an hour later, directly behind me, (in the neglected zone) I am startled by a loud, deep sounding snort. It was close, sounding like mere feet away. I didn't move a muscle, just sat there motionless for a solid 2 minutes. I didn't hear anything take off running, so I figured he's still behind me. Ever so slowly, I rotate at the head and waist to locate him. I see nothing, so I slowly turn completely around. There's no buck, no sign of a buck, and I never heard a single twig snap or a single hoof hit the ground. All I heard was that magical snort, and like a ninja he disappeared. I'm amazed how silently deer can move through dry leaf litter and fallen twigs/branches.

I'm not at all dissappointed by this. Today, that buck was the better man, and he let me know it. My hat's off to him and I hope he gets all the doe he can handle.

KyleCulwell

This is what hunting is all about! Great post!