Today was by far the best day I’ve ever experienced in Illinois. It was 36 degrees when I got out of my truck this morning, and the wind was calm. I saw a few deer crossing the road on my ride to the hunting place.
Shortly after daybreak, I saw two small bucks in the bean field out in front of me. They were cruising parallel to the road before jumping the fence on the opposite side of it and disappearing into the neighbor’s woods.
A short time later, a big buck chased a doe out of the woods and across the bean field into the same patch of woods. Ten minutes after they disappeared, I spotted two shooters in the thick brush behind the stand. Thinking one of them was going to come underneath me, I got ready in case a shot presented itself. Unfortunately, nothing happened.
As soon as the two bucks disappeared, a really nice 8-pointer with flyers off from both G-2s began chasing a doe through the woods in front of me. The chase went back and forth for about 20 minutes before they eventually disappeared.
When I searched to find them in my binoculars, some movement to my right caught my attention. Coming out of the woods was the Booner I have been trying to get a look at. He lazily made his way across the picked bean field toward the road. Standing there in awe, I lost my train of thought. When I realized he was going to be out of sight in a few minutes, I let a few grunts loose from my grunt call. He briefly turned around and took a few steps toward me but didn’t finish closing the distance. After he turned back around, I let out a snort wheeze, and I’ve never seen a deer beat feet like he did. He was gone in a matter of seconds. I figured I would never see him again, although I was unsure if I had spooked him. Was he afraid of a more dominant deer with smaller antlers? Had he been called to before? I’ll never know, but he definitely didn’t like the snort/wheeze.
A few minutes after he disappeared another 10-pointer came out, but he wasn’t a shooter. He was a much younger deer. When the morning headed into afternoon, I had seen about 10 bucks and a few does. It was a fantastic morning. The temperature got up to about 70 degrees by mid-afternoon. I saw two does and a fawn this evening.
Dad saw quite a few deer today, but nothing that made him draw his bow.
Brian did a lot of running around today and fixing stuff. He fixed the tires on the trailer and wheel bearings.
We’ll see what happens tomorrow. I moved the stand today, so I’m hoping that will be the trick. Six shooters have come out of the same place, but the wind is supposed to be from a different direction tomorrow. I’m playing with fire. Maybe I’ll get burned. It’s a chance worth taking.
Here’s a picture of the Booner I saw this morning. When I got pictures of him, I decided it was all or nothing. It’s not often that you’re in the woods where a Booner is living. I’ve decided that I will settle for nothing less than him.
