November 13 has notoriously been one of my best days in the woods if you take a snapshot of my hunting career. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen today. It was slow for all of us.
After yesterday’s excitement, it would have been hard to experience anything that could stack up against it. We had to hunt the same area again because I had to see if I could find the arrow I shot last night.
After sitting for a while and observing a handful of does, a spike and an 8-pointer that we call G-3, I got out of the tree. When I got to where the deer was standing when I shot, I was excited to see brown and white hair. After further examination, I couldn’t find the arrow. I called Dad to come help me look for it.
Between the time I called him and the time it took him to get there, I discovered that the hair was mere coincidence. A rabbit had been killed in the same place. Looking a little beyond the hair, I saw my arrow lying harmlessly in the leaves. There was one speck of blood on the end of the broadhead and a tiny piece of white hair under one blade. It was a clean miss. Although I was disappointed, I was happy that I didn’t wound the deer.
The entire day was slow. It was23 degrees when we went into the woods and about 43 when we came out. It took a while for the fog to lift today, and I figured the deer would really move afterward. My guess was wrong. They didn’t move the rest of the day.
I can see the end in sight right now, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen this year. Although I had two opportunities to get it done yesterday, neither opportunity was really good. I’d like to be able to get a good shot at one. That definitely makes it easier. Everything can change in a minute, but with the way the movement has been, it’s going to be really hard to get it done.
It’s supposed to be warm tonight and not get below 43 degrees. It will be the warmest day we’ve had yet. I’m thinking that’s not going to help matters.