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.
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