The SO is sick. And on Friday I was starting to feel the beginnings of illness come on - or I was just really tired; I couldn't be sure. As I got out of my truck at Mike's house in the cold morning, my throat and head were still telling me that some virus or bacteria had invaded, and my white blood cells were likely in a heated war to keep me healthy. This could affect my deer hunting...
The temperature was in the mid 20's as I walked down the small trail into Mike's woods. The sky was nearly cloudless, showing lots of stars, but there was almost no moon so it was dark enough that I needed a light this year to find my way to my stand. Looking around as I got near the "2-tree" that marks the turn to where my usual stand location is, I couldn't find my white flagging cloth I put up just before heading up to Wisconsin. I still find it surprising that only two weeks before deer hunting I was on a motorcycle trip north. Later in the day I found remnants of the flagging cloth, partially eaten by something. Perhaps I should find something less tasty than cotton next year.
I had my tree stand set up and was comfortably sitting about 45 minutes before shooting light. I was able to get up without sweating too much, but it was cold, still and, very quiet - exactly how I like early hunting mornings to be. I had heard one deer wheeze and bolt as I was walking to my stand, but the deer here are relatively used to people walking around so I wasn't too worried about this. As I sat there in the dark, I heard something walking west to east. It was far too dark to see, even though it was only a couple tens of yards away. It stopped for quite a while near the main trail and continued in front of me. I'm completely sure this was a deer, only a few moments after I was quietly in my stand.
As it started to get light, the shooting also started. Some was relatively close, other shooting was in the distance. A doe came from the west and went behind me. I didn't hear or see her until she was already to my right, and she was moving pretty fast, so I just watched her head off to the northeast.
She was followed by a really nice buck. Probably an eight point which didn't look real wide, but his rack stretched far forward. I tried to get the scope on him and might have been able to take an ethical shot, but he was to my right and with his speed and the painful angle, I let him walk which was the right thing to do. He followed the doe's trail for only a little bit before heading more northward toward where Mike's neighbor usually sits. I heard shooting a short time later, and I couldn't help wonder if that was the end of that buck.
As it got lighter and warmer, I heard and saw at least two turkeys come off their roost in the deep ravine in front of me. I am encouraged that turkeys seem to becoming more prevalent in this area. Maybe in a couple more years I can justify the cost of the out of state Indiana turkey license.
I saw another doe sneaking through the ravine a short time after the turkeys. She was too far away through too much brush to even think about shooting, but the deer were moving on this opening morning.
As it got later, the squirrels started coming out and making all the crazy noise that they do. This often means the end of consistent deer movement for the morning, but the plan was to sit in the stand all day. On opening day, anything can happen.
At some point, my spidey sense was telling me the noise behind me was not a squirrel. Looking behind me to my right, I saw a buck walking almost directly north. He was not as big as the earlier buck. But with memories of years where deer dried up shortly after opening morning and with sickness potentially closing in, 2015 was not a year to be picky (even with lots of vacation time to hunt).
The shot was awkward, to my right when I'm right handed, but I was able to get turned and get the cross hairs on him. Pulling the trigger, he ran ahead and towards my left as I stood and reloaded my single shot Thompson Pro Hunter. I saw a tuft of fur on his side which suggested a hit, but when he stopped, he wasn't acting like he was hit hard. After a follow-up shot, he dropped shortly.
I got out of my treestand, and walked over to him. He was an average sized deer with a moderate 7-point rack, with the three point side stretched out much farther than the 4 point side. I only saw one bullet entrance and exit so one of my shots missed. My first shot was deliberate, but from and awkward angle; my second was offhand and somewhat rushed. I'm a little curious about which was the miss? But there will be 2015 venison in the freezer shortly.
After shooting, the real work begins with field dressing, and dragging the animal down into and across the ravine before going up the long steep hill behind Mike's house. By the time he was in my truck, I was sore and nearly drenched in sweat.
I got him home and let Fairbanks smell the deer. For as much as she gets excited about deer, she doesn't seem to really care once they are dead - no chase. Before hanging him for the day, I cut off his antlers. Cursing myself later, I'm not sure why I didn't get a picture first. No he isn't a whopper of a deer, but I enjoy deer hunting for deer hunting. And regardless of antler size, or even if it has antlers, I'm happy to have the opportunity to deer hunt and put meat in the freezer.
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Sunday came with more feelings of sickness. Hunting wasn't on the agenda though as there was a deer to be cut up and frozen - temperatures were forecast to be in the middle to upper 60's with sun, so it was best not to wait any longer.
I skinned the deer which gave me a chance to see the bullet path(s) more clearly. I'm even more baffled as to what happened. The entry wound(s) was huge. There was an exit hole, BUT I recovered nearly a full slug (68% weight retention) from the deer as well. I can't be sure what happened, if I missed one shot, or if both bullets entered near the same spot (hence the large entry), with one exiting and the other remaining inside. The animal was down quickly - it is best not to over analyze these things.
Even with two shots, there was almost no meat ruined. The deer was completely deboned, with the loins and backstraps frozen for steaks, and the entire rest of the deer ground into burger. It takes a long time to grind up an entire deer, but I am very thankful for the electric meat grinder my dad gave me several years ago. For an inexpensive grinder, it does a fantastic job.
It still remains to be seen whether I'll go out again. I can't tell if my sickness is getting better, worse, or just lingering. It doesn't make sense to sit in a treestand while hacking out a lung.
I have several vacation days, so I guess I have time to decide before indecision makes the decision for me.
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