Once again, we got going earlier than normal today. Dad wanted to be in the stand early. After seeing what I saw yesterday, I told him to go to the area where I had seen the nice buck. That area seemed to be getting a fair amount of action.
I decided to do some more exploring today. After putting on a lot of miles and not finding anything that made my heart race and imagination run wild, I made my way back to an area where I could wait for Dad.
Something in my gut told me he was going to shoot a deer. While resting my back against a tree, I stared at the ridge in front of me. Getting lost in the moment, the silence was quickly shattered when I heard two gunshots. I knew they came from my dad’s gun, so I clicked my radio on and waited for his voice.
When he came on the radio, he told me that he had killed what he thought was a wide 8 or a small 10. I didn’t waste any time, as it was already 3:30 p.m. I knew we had a lot of work in front of us before it got dark.
After we took care of the deer, I began dragging it. I wanted to get back to the place where I had been when he shot. I figured if we could get that far, I could get it out the rest of the way in the morning. With all of the health problems Dad has had this year, I didn’t want him to touch the deer.
I got it to the meeting place shortly after it got dark, and we headed out from there. I will go back in the morning and finish the job. This deer was the result of a lot of hard work. I’ve never been happier for my dad. I’m glad he was finally able to get it done. We had a great season, and I’m actually glad it’s finally over. It has been a true grind, and we put everything we had into it. I am worn out, both physically and mentally. This season has taken its toll on me.
