The time changed last night, so it took a bit to get going this morning. We ended up a tad late to where we hunted, but we were still in the tree before daylight. I went in blind and climbed a tree in an area Brian had found a few days earlier.
At daybreak, I spotted a small buck making its way up the hill past me. A short time later, I saw a man park his vehicle on the side of the road and carry his climber and crossbow to a nearby tree. I coughed at him so he would see me, which he did. Then, he proceeded to climb the tree and set up. He faced directly at me at about 50 yards, so he would be shooting at me if anything went between us.
I wanted to get out of the tree and move, but there were limited places I could go, and I had never been to the place in my life, so I stayed put. An hour later, a doe and fawn made their way past me, and another doe with two fawns trotted by the stand.
Eventually, the guy climbed down and made his way back to his truck. He left his stand latched to the tree and left after sitting for two hours. Shortly after he left, another deer crossed the main road and trotted by me. Every deer I saw came across the road from the private property.
We spent the afternoon scouting a new area. In the beginning, I thought it was going to be a dud as we walked along a streambed. There was absolutely no sign. Then, we decided to venture to the top of some big ridges. When we got up there, I started seeing sign instantly. We found a double scrape, and I marked it for Jim. I think he can kill a good one there.
As we continued on our journey, I began seeing a lot of scrapes and rubs. Then, out of nowhere, I spotted an oasis in the forest. A big waterhole was in some pines, and it was loaded with deer tracks. I found an abundance of sign around it and marked a tree to sit in.
The temps are still in the mid 70s. It hasn’t been much fun so far due to the high heat. We will see what tomorrow brings.