I wasn't sure there was going to be a Part 3 this year, but I've got the time and have enjoyed (most of) my time on the stand this year.
It has also been a crazy couple of days at work leading up to Thanksgiving. Basically more than a week's worth of work needed to be done in three days. At least it was pay week.
So after getting to a good (enough) stopping point at work, I snuck out a bit early. A storm had come through bringing some rain, and behind the rain was heinous wind with gusts in excess of 50MPH. This is a terrible time to go hunting since deer don't move much under these conditions. So I went hunting. Actually, I just really wanted to get my stand set up so I'd have to go out on Thanksgiving morning. Plus, not many other people would be hunting on such a blustery day.
I set up my stand and walked back into the ravine. With the high winds, I really didn't want to get into a tree, so I used my camo bucket and set myself up in a thicket of honeysuckle. I absolutely loath honeysuckle, but it does make good impromptu ground blinds.
The afternoon was one of sitting on a fairly uncomfortable bucket, listening to the wind roar overhead and watching crap blow all over the place. Predictably, nothing was moving except one wild grape vine which looked suspiciously like a deer out of the corner of my eye. By the time it was dark, I was ready to head home.
______________________________
Thanksgiving morning came and I was up early. I watched some morning-news TV (ugh) with the dogs before taking a quick shower and getting ready to head out. Temperatures were near freezing and the wind was still significant. I got to Mike's and was glad that I had set up my stand the previous afternoon since I'm about 97% sure I wouldn't have gone out otherwise.
As it started to get light, I heard a tremendous racket above me as a turkey which had roosted above me in a nearby tree took off. I'm surprised it didn't bolt when I climbed into my stand. Throughout the morning I heard turkeys as they made their way around the woods. Seeing and hearing turkeys on Thanksgiving morning made me smile. I also couldn't help but think of all the things to be thankful about on Thanksgiving morning - among those things are that I have a nice place to hunt and have a doe in the freezer. That and the new roof on the house as I thought about the previous day's ugly wind.
As it started to get light out I kept my eyes open looking for any deer. The squirrels were in overdrive, running all over making a ruckus doing squirrel stuff. Other than squirrels, not much else was moving. With the wind and temperatures, I was surprised I remained comfortable, if cool. But not cold.
I second-guessed leaving my stand set up in my usual "2-tree," but I never know if Mike's neighbor is going to be hunting, and setting up in a tree in the ravine risks putting me very close to him. Overthinking this gives me something to do during the slow times.
Around the time I started to think I might as well head home, I looked off to my left and saw a deer right on the ridge. I brought my gun up, but there was brush in the way; I saw her pass through a clear hole before going down toward the ravine. A second doe came up behind her, I almost shot as she crossed the hole that I now knew was in the brush, but hesitated too long. Second guessing myself, a whole mess of deer came out in the same area. I only briefly had a clear shot at one small doe before they moved in a slightly different direction. As they did, I saw one was a small buck and not one that I think I've seen previously. Holding off shooting was probably the right thing to do. I don't like shooting over the ridge - but probably would have if I hadn't already gotten one. I guess the deer have something to be thankful for as well.
I briefly saw another deer directly across from me in the ravine (far too far to shoot with lots of brush in the way). Based on where it came from and went to, I'm pretty sure it wasn't one of the ~8 I saw to my left. I also noted it probably went very close to where I had been sitting the previous afternoon.
Seeing all the small bucks made me wonder why I don't see more that are at least moderately interesting. Not THAT many people hunt this area, so presumably most of the small bucks will live for at least another year. I'm reminded of my hunting guide in Wyoming during my mule deer hunt in 2017, "I just want one that is a nickel better. But I think and say that every year."
I waited for another 45 minutes to see if the deer would double back - I've seen this happen enough over the years. But the cold was starting to get to me and there was a turkey at home to get in the smoker.
______________________________
No crazy Black Friday shopping for me. After watching the PBS Show Nova about human violence, I was out the door for another morning at Mike's.
Getting to my treestand, I unlocked it and started to climb. As I did so, it started to sprinkle - no worries (right?), the forecast and radar said a slight chance of a few sprinkles. Once sitting comfortably, the sprinkles turned into a shower. Rain came and went most of the morning; It got bad enough that I wished I had had my rain gear on and waterproof cover for my gun.
Other than the rain, it was a nice morning. Cool temperatures, cloudy skies and basically no wind at all. Maybe the rain was a godsend since it allowed some noise with the calm conditions.
And it was a slow morning. No turkeys. No deer. At least the squirrels were running their fool heads off which was at least something to keep my damp self company.
There are still a few days left in the season, but Saturday looks ferociously wet and I have other obligations. And going out on the last day of the gun season wreaks of desperation when I have a deer in the freezer. Still - there is still the muzzle loader season...
I am slightly (if pleasantly) surprised how much I've enjoyed the post-opening day hunting ... for the time just being in the woods and on the stand. In many ways, this has been one of the most enjoyable deer hunting seasons for at least a few years.
When I first started hunting so many years ago, even seeing a deer was a near cause for celebration. Days like this remind me how good I have it now. As a primarily meat hunter, plump deer are plentiful. These days when I don't at least see one are rare, and I won't get too upset at the reminder.
Friday, November 29, 2019
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
2019 Deer Hunt Part 2 - Being Picky
With a deer in the freezer and a few more days of vacation, I couldn't think of a reason not to head out again. I have quite a bit of bear meat left as well, so I was (probably) going to hold out for a deer with interesting headgear or nothing. Probably...
Monday started slow at home, with a lot of napping with the beagles and even a quick walk before heading out to Mike's again. With warmer temperatures I was back in my "normal" deer hunting clothes and it just felt so much more right. Setting up the treestand in the full light of afternoon is also much more enjoyable.
Soon enough I was comfortably in my spot. Sadly, the quiet solitude that I so enjoy about hunting was not to be as there was an obnoxious, flatulent tractor plowing a nearby field. Round and round it went ... all afternoon. It would tease me from time to time, making me think plowing was done, only to hear it throttle up again and keep going. I suppose that agriculture is what gives us these plentiful and large deer, but may I suggest a look into no-till farming? Or perhaps I could buy you a muffler?
Not much was moving and it was hard to hear anything. Squirrels were running around as they always do. I caught some movement behind me and to the west - it was the turkeys again (or another group of turkeys?). Regardless, I've seen more turkeys than deer by this point.
Time passed at a reasonable pace and I caught more movement behind me. Taking time to look, I saw at least one deer at the far south end of the property. It was too far away and through too much brush to tell if it was a buck or a doe. And it was headed nowhere near me anyway.
It started to get dark very early as the clouds and thickened considerably. The clouds gave up their liquid in the form of a mist or light drizzle. A noise behind me that clearly wasn't more squirrels made me carefully look behind me again as I saw a small buck walk behind me, working around next to me. It was was quite small, almost certainly a six-point, although possibly an eight. Its short main beam was almost palmated and the tines were really short. Definitely not a shooter, but he may look quite interesting next year if he lives.
Darkness came and I climbed out of my treestand, locking it to the tree overnight. I walked away from the tractor as it continued its flatulence. After packing up my gun in my truck, I left in a heavy drizzle toward home.
_____________
Tuesday ended up being one of those days where state-of-mind and opportunity meet in a rare and amazing way. It ranks as one of my top deer hunting days in years - no trigger pull required. It was good to have a day like that, since it reminds me of the real reason of why I continue hunting.
I was out the door early before SO left for work. As I drove to Mike's, it was quite foggy in spots and I wasn't sure what it might look like in the woods.
I got to Mike's and with enough light to see, made my way to my treestand. Up comfortably in the stand, the sky above me was partially clear, but the fog hugged the ground in patches all around me. It moved slowly with the wooded ridges - almost like it was alive itself. Two owls were hooting behind me. It was absolutely magical. As the sun came up the fog slowly ascended, eventually dissipating into nothing as the sun burned it away. Wow...
With the moderate temperatures and the now mostly sunny skies, the squirrels were really active. They are fun to watch.
Hearing a non-squirrel noise, I looked ahead and saw a doe pop out in front of me, then another and another until 5 of them were right in front of me. They were following the trail that originally made me choose this stand site - even though I don't see it used near as much as I used to. After walking in front of me they turned around and headed back in front of me again, before making their way beside me and to the south. I calmly watched them as they meandered away.
I saw more movement, and four more does were walking behind me to the east. For the longest time the two groups of deer stopped and just stared at each other. I stared at all of them. I guess they decided all was OK because the mingled together before heading away to the east in one spread-out group.
I sometimes wonder if my scent control is enough, but when I can have five deer within 30 yards of me for an extended period of time, it gives me some confidence.
Shortly after the deer left I saw turkeys on the next ridge to the east. They made their way out of the ravine and toward the south. It has been a turkey-ful year.
More time passed as I just enjoyed sitting in the stand on the wonderful morning when two more does walked out right near where the group of five did earlier. They were quickly followed by a small six-point buck. I watched them for 10-15 minutes while they made their way around me. At one point the buck looked right at me - a little confused or nervous for sure. But he just side-stepped a little bit and kept on going.
The weather continued to improve as the day got even more gorgeous, with bluebird skies, little wind and pleasant temperatures. I was thinking of making Tuesday be my last day to hunt, but with as much as I enjoyed the morning, I decided to take one more day.
The tractor heard the previous afternoon started its flatulence about 15 minutes before I was planning on heading home. That told me it was time for an amazing day of hunting to end.
Even though I didn't shoot anything, seeing 12 deer was great - especially 12 deer that were almost completely calm only a few days after the mayhem of opening day.
It rained that afternoon and evening. It wouldn't have been enough to make hunting miserable but would have been enough to be very uncomfortable - especially with how long it lasted. I was hoping the cushion in my treestand wasn't going to be soaked.
_____________
Wednesday came and I had a little less energy to go out. The rain had stopped overnight, but the air was still quite heavy. Temperatures were a near-balmy 42F.
I got to Mike's but the clouds were so thick I actually needed my flashlight to get to my stand. Thankfully the treestand cushion was only damp and I made my way up.
Once up in the treestand, it was unbelievably still. There was basically no wind and nothing was moving. A coyote howled very close to the west with the oddest howl I've ever heard. I love hearing that sound while sitting in the darkness.
Daylight slowly grew but everything remained still. I guess the morning's low energy wasn't just me since not even the squirrels were running around very early. Wind remained negligible so it was hard to not feel like I was making tons of noise every time I moved. Intuitively, I knew I wasn't.
I spent much of the early time in the stand trying to decide if I should take another deer that wasn't a big buck. I'm not hurting for meat, but it always seems to get eaten - and deer does seem to last much longer than things like wild hog. I sort of said I was going to stick to my original plan and only shoot a big one. Probably. Maybe.
Unlike the previous day, the morning passed s l o w l y . V e r y s l o w l y.
Through the first half of the morning, the only thing remotely exciting was when a squirrel fell out of a tree right behind me, breaking branches and crashing to the ground with a thud. It chattered and headed back up the tree quickly.
Shortly after this a buck walked behind me from the west to the east. It was another small buck and not one that I'd previously seen. There was some brush between me and him and I wasn't going to shoot a small buck. Sadly, that was the only deer I saw all day. I guess my questioning what I was going to do wasn't really relevant.
Clouds remained thick and temperatures barely budged. I was waiting for my time to leave, and as it approached I heard thudding off to the west. It was obviously the sound of the rocks in the mostly-dry creek bed. But what was making it was a mystery. It wasn't something walking down the creek bed, and there was no indication any people were around. The best I could figure is it must have been a raccoon flipping rocks over looking for a meal - I thought I had seen a raccoon earlier in the morning. Weird.
None too soon, it was time to go. I walked to the south end of the property but didn't see anything. I did think about about a couple trees I could use on a future hunt.
So Wednesday wasn't quite the magic that Tuesday was. That is how hunting works. I did remind myself that hunting was preventing me from going to some work meetings that I wasn't too upset to be missing. But that really isn't even a fair comparison.
Monday started slow at home, with a lot of napping with the beagles and even a quick walk before heading out to Mike's again. With warmer temperatures I was back in my "normal" deer hunting clothes and it just felt so much more right. Setting up the treestand in the full light of afternoon is also much more enjoyable.
Soon enough I was comfortably in my spot. Sadly, the quiet solitude that I so enjoy about hunting was not to be as there was an obnoxious, flatulent tractor plowing a nearby field. Round and round it went ... all afternoon. It would tease me from time to time, making me think plowing was done, only to hear it throttle up again and keep going. I suppose that agriculture is what gives us these plentiful and large deer, but may I suggest a look into no-till farming? Or perhaps I could buy you a muffler?
Not much was moving and it was hard to hear anything. Squirrels were running around as they always do. I caught some movement behind me and to the west - it was the turkeys again (or another group of turkeys?). Regardless, I've seen more turkeys than deer by this point.
Time passed at a reasonable pace and I caught more movement behind me. Taking time to look, I saw at least one deer at the far south end of the property. It was too far away and through too much brush to tell if it was a buck or a doe. And it was headed nowhere near me anyway.
It started to get dark very early as the clouds and thickened considerably. The clouds gave up their liquid in the form of a mist or light drizzle. A noise behind me that clearly wasn't more squirrels made me carefully look behind me again as I saw a small buck walk behind me, working around next to me. It was was quite small, almost certainly a six-point, although possibly an eight. Its short main beam was almost palmated and the tines were really short. Definitely not a shooter, but he may look quite interesting next year if he lives.
Darkness came and I climbed out of my treestand, locking it to the tree overnight. I walked away from the tractor as it continued its flatulence. After packing up my gun in my truck, I left in a heavy drizzle toward home.
_____________
Tuesday ended up being one of those days where state-of-mind and opportunity meet in a rare and amazing way. It ranks as one of my top deer hunting days in years - no trigger pull required. It was good to have a day like that, since it reminds me of the real reason of why I continue hunting.
I was out the door early before SO left for work. As I drove to Mike's, it was quite foggy in spots and I wasn't sure what it might look like in the woods.
I got to Mike's and with enough light to see, made my way to my treestand. Up comfortably in the stand, the sky above me was partially clear, but the fog hugged the ground in patches all around me. It moved slowly with the wooded ridges - almost like it was alive itself. Two owls were hooting behind me. It was absolutely magical. As the sun came up the fog slowly ascended, eventually dissipating into nothing as the sun burned it away. Wow...
With the moderate temperatures and the now mostly sunny skies, the squirrels were really active. They are fun to watch.
Hearing a non-squirrel noise, I looked ahead and saw a doe pop out in front of me, then another and another until 5 of them were right in front of me. They were following the trail that originally made me choose this stand site - even though I don't see it used near as much as I used to. After walking in front of me they turned around and headed back in front of me again, before making their way beside me and to the south. I calmly watched them as they meandered away.
I saw more movement, and four more does were walking behind me to the east. For the longest time the two groups of deer stopped and just stared at each other. I stared at all of them. I guess they decided all was OK because the mingled together before heading away to the east in one spread-out group.
I sometimes wonder if my scent control is enough, but when I can have five deer within 30 yards of me for an extended period of time, it gives me some confidence.
Shortly after the deer left I saw turkeys on the next ridge to the east. They made their way out of the ravine and toward the south. It has been a turkey-ful year.
More time passed as I just enjoyed sitting in the stand on the wonderful morning when two more does walked out right near where the group of five did earlier. They were quickly followed by a small six-point buck. I watched them for 10-15 minutes while they made their way around me. At one point the buck looked right at me - a little confused or nervous for sure. But he just side-stepped a little bit and kept on going.
The weather continued to improve as the day got even more gorgeous, with bluebird skies, little wind and pleasant temperatures. I was thinking of making Tuesday be my last day to hunt, but with as much as I enjoyed the morning, I decided to take one more day.
The tractor heard the previous afternoon started its flatulence about 15 minutes before I was planning on heading home. That told me it was time for an amazing day of hunting to end.
Even though I didn't shoot anything, seeing 12 deer was great - especially 12 deer that were almost completely calm only a few days after the mayhem of opening day.
It rained that afternoon and evening. It wouldn't have been enough to make hunting miserable but would have been enough to be very uncomfortable - especially with how long it lasted. I was hoping the cushion in my treestand wasn't going to be soaked.
_____________
Wednesday came and I had a little less energy to go out. The rain had stopped overnight, but the air was still quite heavy. Temperatures were a near-balmy 42F.
I got to Mike's but the clouds were so thick I actually needed my flashlight to get to my stand. Thankfully the treestand cushion was only damp and I made my way up.
Once up in the treestand, it was unbelievably still. There was basically no wind and nothing was moving. A coyote howled very close to the west with the oddest howl I've ever heard. I love hearing that sound while sitting in the darkness.
Daylight slowly grew but everything remained still. I guess the morning's low energy wasn't just me since not even the squirrels were running around very early. Wind remained negligible so it was hard to not feel like I was making tons of noise every time I moved. Intuitively, I knew I wasn't.
I spent much of the early time in the stand trying to decide if I should take another deer that wasn't a big buck. I'm not hurting for meat, but it always seems to get eaten - and deer does seem to last much longer than things like wild hog. I sort of said I was going to stick to my original plan and only shoot a big one. Probably. Maybe.
Unlike the previous day, the morning passed s l o w l y . V e r y s l o w l y.
Through the first half of the morning, the only thing remotely exciting was when a squirrel fell out of a tree right behind me, breaking branches and crashing to the ground with a thud. It chattered and headed back up the tree quickly.
Shortly after this a buck walked behind me from the west to the east. It was another small buck and not one that I'd previously seen. There was some brush between me and him and I wasn't going to shoot a small buck. Sadly, that was the only deer I saw all day. I guess my questioning what I was going to do wasn't really relevant.
Clouds remained thick and temperatures barely budged. I was waiting for my time to leave, and as it approached I heard thudding off to the west. It was obviously the sound of the rocks in the mostly-dry creek bed. But what was making it was a mystery. It wasn't something walking down the creek bed, and there was no indication any people were around. The best I could figure is it must have been a raccoon flipping rocks over looking for a meal - I thought I had seen a raccoon earlier in the morning. Weird.
None too soon, it was time to go. I walked to the south end of the property but didn't see anything. I did think about about a couple trees I could use on a future hunt.
So Wednesday wasn't quite the magic that Tuesday was. That is how hunting works. I did remind myself that hunting was preventing me from going to some work meetings that I wasn't too upset to be missing. But that really isn't even a fair comparison.
Sunday, November 17, 2019
2019 Deer Hunt Part 1 - Every Year is Different
It has been an unusual weather year and that continued with a very early snowfall on the Monday preceding Indiana's deer gun season. I'm not sure if that is better or worse than the ice storm before the 2018 deer opener, but the temperature drop after this year's storm was brutally followed by temperatures in the single digits. The weather had moderated somewhat, but I was still obsessing about it since it was forecast to be much colder than usual. Granted, temperatures in the low to mid 20's are well within the normal range, but it has been a few years since I've had to do an all-day sit in that weather.
Friday came with a very stressful day at work. Several people have left the department this year and none have been replaced. This spreads the joy of the required, if painful and sometimes dull work, to everyone else. The longer I've worked, the harder it can be to get away, even for a few days, with a clean brain.
But none of that mattered by Saturday morning. Awake early, I tried to get back to sleep; I ended up watching the clock more than anything. I could hear the east wind blowing against the house. The cold temperatures are not too hard to deal with - wind is worse.
Eventually I got up and started to get ready. Everything was set to go so it was pretty easy and the dogs were cooperative. I was out the door shortly before 5:45. Temperatures were well below freezing and thankfully the wind had died down. On my drive to Mike's house I saw several other hunters getting ready to head out - this was in places I never see other people hunting. So either it was going to be a busy year for the deer, or people were parking in unusual spots.
I got to Mike's and finished getting ready at the truck. I realized my camo snowsuit - which I have never worn before for deer hunting - didn't have enough pockets for all my crap. I figured out how to make it work ... well enough.
I got to my usual "2-tree" spot and got my climber set up. No matter how quiet I try to do this I always end up sounding like a native banging gongs and pounding drums. It actually isn't that bad, but in the dark cold morning, it feels worse than it is. I was sitting comfortably a little less than 30 minutes before legal shooting light. I was also drenched in sweat...
Settling in, there was lots of light, with a fairly bright moon and some snow still on the ground. There was a constant din from grain driers which takes away a bit from the serenity of the beautiful, placid early morning. Something was walking slowly near me, I'm nearly certain it was a deer, but I never did actually see it.
As it got lighter, the shooting started. And there was a LOT of it this year. Mike's neighbor shot very early and he shot a few times through the morning. I'm pretty sure based on the various noises I heard that he shot at least two deer. The neighbor shooting wasn't unusual; what was unusual was how close some of the other shots sounded - and from nearly every direction.
While it must have been a good opening day for most people, it was slow for me. I typically see quite a few deer opening day, but I didn't see anything until around 8:30 when I saw two does walking at the extreme south of the property - far too far to shoot. This was followed a little while later by turkeys in the same area. I can't justify the out-of-state tag cost for turkeys in Indiana ... yet.
The morning wore on the shooting slowed. It got warmer and the wind picked up. Thankfully, while I had been a bit chilled, I never really got that cold. I cursed Mike's neighbor getting his deer with his 4-wheeler. But I'm sure he has cursed me a few times dragging my deer out when he is still hunting. So it goes.
Shortly after that, a doe went right past me running 100 miles-per-hour. By this point, with all the early shooting and mayhem in overdrive, I made the decision that any pickiness for opening day was gone. And if I got a gimme on anything reasonable, I'm going to take it.
Around 10:00 another doe came up quite close to me. She was nervous, but not panicky. She was also a gimme. Although it was a bit hard to find her in the scope, with her head looking away, I put the crosshairs on her boiler room and squeezed the trigger. At the shot she bolted. I said to myself, "I do not like the way she is running." I was worried that despite being close, I had duffed the shot. I marked the ridge where she cleared my view and climbed out of the tree. More shooting was heard in the direction she ran and I wondered if she had been subsequently shot by someone else; I knew she was no longer on Mike's property.
I found where she had been running where she crested the hill and found her only a few yards farther behind a deadfall. My shot was probably a bit low for the angle, but the bullet did its job. I drug her to an easy spot to find here back on Mike's property and packed out my stand. I changed into less clothes at the truck since wearing my winter woolins would be impossible for the drag. Back at my deer, I field dressed her and started to drag her out. That last hill to my truck seems to get a little harder every year.
Mike came out when I was loading her in the truck, we talked for a bit before he invited me in to at least wash my hands up a bit. For this (and lots of things) I am grateful.
I talked with Mike and Mary for a while before heading back to my truck to check in my deer and head home.
Back at home, I cleaned up a bit and strung up my doe. I was happy to have venison on the hook.
Sunday was spent butchering the deer and getting her in the freezer.
I have some meetings at work I'm avoiding so I'm still taking a few days off. I'll let the mayhem of opening weekend calm down at least a little bit and will head out again.
Friday came with a very stressful day at work. Several people have left the department this year and none have been replaced. This spreads the joy of the required, if painful and sometimes dull work, to everyone else. The longer I've worked, the harder it can be to get away, even for a few days, with a clean brain.
But none of that mattered by Saturday morning. Awake early, I tried to get back to sleep; I ended up watching the clock more than anything. I could hear the east wind blowing against the house. The cold temperatures are not too hard to deal with - wind is worse.
Eventually I got up and started to get ready. Everything was set to go so it was pretty easy and the dogs were cooperative. I was out the door shortly before 5:45. Temperatures were well below freezing and thankfully the wind had died down. On my drive to Mike's house I saw several other hunters getting ready to head out - this was in places I never see other people hunting. So either it was going to be a busy year for the deer, or people were parking in unusual spots.
I got to Mike's and finished getting ready at the truck. I realized my camo snowsuit - which I have never worn before for deer hunting - didn't have enough pockets for all my crap. I figured out how to make it work ... well enough.
I got to my usual "2-tree" spot and got my climber set up. No matter how quiet I try to do this I always end up sounding like a native banging gongs and pounding drums. It actually isn't that bad, but in the dark cold morning, it feels worse than it is. I was sitting comfortably a little less than 30 minutes before legal shooting light. I was also drenched in sweat...
Settling in, there was lots of light, with a fairly bright moon and some snow still on the ground. There was a constant din from grain driers which takes away a bit from the serenity of the beautiful, placid early morning. Something was walking slowly near me, I'm nearly certain it was a deer, but I never did actually see it.
As it got lighter, the shooting started. And there was a LOT of it this year. Mike's neighbor shot very early and he shot a few times through the morning. I'm pretty sure based on the various noises I heard that he shot at least two deer. The neighbor shooting wasn't unusual; what was unusual was how close some of the other shots sounded - and from nearly every direction.
While it must have been a good opening day for most people, it was slow for me. I typically see quite a few deer opening day, but I didn't see anything until around 8:30 when I saw two does walking at the extreme south of the property - far too far to shoot. This was followed a little while later by turkeys in the same area. I can't justify the out-of-state tag cost for turkeys in Indiana ... yet.
The morning wore on the shooting slowed. It got warmer and the wind picked up. Thankfully, while I had been a bit chilled, I never really got that cold. I cursed Mike's neighbor getting his deer with his 4-wheeler. But I'm sure he has cursed me a few times dragging my deer out when he is still hunting. So it goes.
Shortly after that, a doe went right past me running 100 miles-per-hour. By this point, with all the early shooting and mayhem in overdrive, I made the decision that any pickiness for opening day was gone. And if I got a gimme on anything reasonable, I'm going to take it.
Around 10:00 another doe came up quite close to me. She was nervous, but not panicky. She was also a gimme. Although it was a bit hard to find her in the scope, with her head looking away, I put the crosshairs on her boiler room and squeezed the trigger. At the shot she bolted. I said to myself, "I do not like the way she is running." I was worried that despite being close, I had duffed the shot. I marked the ridge where she cleared my view and climbed out of the tree. More shooting was heard in the direction she ran and I wondered if she had been subsequently shot by someone else; I knew she was no longer on Mike's property.
I found where she had been running where she crested the hill and found her only a few yards farther behind a deadfall. My shot was probably a bit low for the angle, but the bullet did its job. I drug her to an easy spot to find here back on Mike's property and packed out my stand. I changed into less clothes at the truck since wearing my winter woolins would be impossible for the drag. Back at my deer, I field dressed her and started to drag her out. That last hill to my truck seems to get a little harder every year.
Mike came out when I was loading her in the truck, we talked for a bit before he invited me in to at least wash my hands up a bit. For this (and lots of things) I am grateful.
I talked with Mike and Mary for a while before heading back to my truck to check in my deer and head home.
Back at home, I cleaned up a bit and strung up my doe. I was happy to have venison on the hook.
Sunday was spent butchering the deer and getting her in the freezer.
I have some meetings at work I'm avoiding so I'm still taking a few days off. I'll let the mayhem of opening weekend calm down at least a little bit and will head out again.
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