I listened to the rain pitter-patter off the roof this morning and knew I should stay in bed to give my body a chance to recover from this illness I’ve been battling. It has set me back to about 60% full capacity, which isn’t helping my chances of catching up to the buck I’m looking for.
I got out of bed and decided to hunt. Brian and I wanted to cover some ground to see what we could find, especially since the weather conditions were better for walking than they were for sitting.
On our walk in the darkness to start the day, Brian dry-heaved and battled a fever, whereas I battled my ego to keep going. Neither one of us is feeling well, but we don’t know well enough to give it a break. Hunting season is fleeting, and I don’t want to miss any opportunity to hunt, especially when I’m on vacation.
When it got light out, we were both worn out, cold, wet and miserable. Since we didn’t have the ability to cover much ground we chose to sit for an hour or two to recover. The rain and snow came down with fury. I took it on the chin but recalled many similar days on which I killed big bucks.
As my mind wandered, I glanced to the right and caught some movement. I got a quick look at a big buck going through a hole. I pulled up and couldn’t see him. He was gone quicker than he had appeared. It was a dandy of a buck, and I was highly disappointed that I never caught up to him the rest of the day. I chased him around but his testosterone got the best of me. He went from one doe group to the next, and I never got another look at him. Brian only saw one doe today. Neither one of us is in good shape. I missed a golden opportunity today, one that I definitely should have capitalized on. It was a dandy buck that I saw. I should’ve been able to catch up to him. Brian and I weren’t familiar with the area, and that is what prevented us from knowing what the deer was going to do when it was walking from one place to the next. The knowledge of the landscape in front of you can do wonders for your chance of being successful.