Although the temperature has been hanging around 70 during the day, I decided to give it a whirl again tonight. I enjoy the evenings when the wind is relatively calm and the air becomes still shortly before daylight fades.
I spent the entire day thinking about last night’s missed opportunity. I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t see my pins last night, but I answered that question quickly when I returned to the same place this evening. There wasn’t enough light behind the deer, and the pin got engulfed by everything in the area. The leaves and brush made the pins blend in with them, and the heavy canopy above me made it extremely dark. It’s still disappointing, but I feel better knowing what happened. I fixed the problem before going out to hunt today, putting a light on the sight to use if I run into the same problem again.
I took a different route to the place I wanted to sit than I took yesterday. As I was getting closer to the area, I noticed a lot of fresh rubs. Instantly, I knew the buck I saw last night was the one making them. As you can see in this picture, his antler tips hit the tree behind the one he was rubbing. That’s usually a good sign. He doesn’t have a big rack, but I’d still like to get a crack at him.
When I nestled into the blowdown, I wasn’t feeling “it.” I just didn’t feel like I was going to see anything. Some days, I’m beaming with confidence, and this day was not one of those days. Although I wasn’t feeling overly optimistic, I still thought something might happen if I hung tight. I seemed fidgety and couldn’t get comfortable even though I was standing. This is where I’ve been standing. I back into the V in the blowdown and stand there. I’m well protected on the backside, and have great shooting out the front. As you can see in the picture after this one, the deer come from the left, and I can draw my bow before they come into the shooting lane. I have perfect cover, and that’s exactly what the buck did last night. If he does it again, I’ll be ready.
Around 6:00, I felt like something was watching me. Scanning to the right, I spotted a small buck looking directly at me. I had been caught moving, and the deer was less than 20 yards away. I remained still, and the deer put its head down and began feeding on some acorns. It never felt at ease and eventually wandered off. It didn’t spook, but I could tell that it felt a bit jumpy.
Unsure if it was the same small buck as last night, I hoped the big buck might show up after that one walked away. I stayed until shooting light disappeared, then headed home. On my walk out of the woods, I saw another small buck that had a high rack. It was a good-looking deer.
It’s starting to feel pretty good being out in the woods regularly. It hasn’t felt like hunting season until now. Today, all of my medical records were forwarded to an orthopedic surgeon in Albany. He’s supposed to be one of the best in the country, and I will be seeing him when he schedules my appointment after looking at the data from my previous surgeries. Hopefully, he can save my shoulder and get me back on the right track.
I received the pockets for my Kuiu pack today. I ordered them a few days ago, and they went on it as slick as a mitten. I’m glad I ordered them. It will give me a perfect place to store some of the little things that can be bothersome to put in the main compartment. Here’s a picture of one of them.
