When I woke up this morning I quickly went outside to see what the sky looked like. I saw a quite a few stars and a few passing clouds. The temperature was 40 degrees and it was relatively calm.
As I headed up the road I didn’t make it too far before the rain started coming down. The sky didn’t indicate any rain a half hour earlier so I figured it would pass.
When I started walking up the mountain I changed my orginal plans and decided to sit under a hemlock tree (which would keep me more protected from the rain) instead of on a knob out in the open.
The rain pitter-patted off the leaves until it became background noise. Around 8:30 a stick snapped behind me. I could see movement in my peripheral vision so I slowly turned my head. To my amazement it was a guy walking down the hill. After a closer look I realized that it was Miner.
I was sitting just above the rock and he was headed to one of his old haunts down below the rock. We talked for a few minutes and caught up on some old news. He had jumped three does a few minutes earlier.
After we got done talking he continued down the hill. I got up and decided to still-hunt for the rest of the morning since the woods were so wet. I found some good buck sign which has been the norm for this year up to this point.
Right before I got to my truck I jumped a deer. I couldn’t tell what it was.
In the afternoon I wanted to go back and sit near the buck sign that I found. When I drove down the road something inside of me changed at the last second. Since the wind was blowing so hard I figured I would go down and pull the card out of my camera and possible see some deer.
When I got to the camera I took the card out and put it in my pocket-camera. I moved the camera from where I got all of the pictures a few weeks ago. I only had six pictures this time. The good part was 3 were of the same doe and the other few were of a decent buck. I don’t think that this is Tank but you guys can guess just as I am. This buck’s rack looks different to me, but the side shot might be the part that fools me. I also don’t think this deer’s body is as big.
After I looked at the pictures I once again decided to move the camera. I got it all set up and went on my way. I sat about a hundred yards from the camera in a spot that I could overlook a different area. The longer I sat there the more I thought about setting up the camera. I couldn’t remember turning it on after I set it up. With the rut coming and the deer on the move I didn’t want to leave it off. I quickly packed up my stuff and went back to turn it on.
I had it attached to a small tree on the to of a sloping rock. I couldn’t lean my gun against the rock while I took the cover off and turned the camera on because I figured it might fall and bang the scope up. Therefore I spotted a tree about two yards to my left. I took a few steps and leaned my gun on that tree. Something in my head told me to hang onto my gun, but I didn’t listen. The sad part is that I heard the voice loud and clear and it was my own voice “Don’t leave your gun there.” I looked all over the woods and didn’t see anything. I knew that the ordeal with the camera would only take a few seconds.
I stepped back to the tree that the camera was hanging on. As I bent over and looked at the switch to ensure that it was on or off I quickly realized that I had left it off as I orginally thought. I clicked it on and picked my head up.
Right on the knob in front of me I saw a shooter standing under an overhanging branch while he was putting some scent on it. He was totally consumed with what he was doing, but I had a solid 2 steps to get back to my gun. I couldn’t figure out where he came from or how he get there in the bat of an eye, but I was pretty sure he wasn’t going much further.
As I took the few step to get my gun he spotted me. While he was looking directly at me I grabbed the gun with my left hand and pulled the hammer back (I was using my Thompson Center Encore 30-06). Then, he took off. He didn’t bolt. Rather, he took a few bounds and walked away. I never got a shot.
I sat there and swore at myself for a few minutes. It was the first opportunity I’ve had at a good Adirondack buck in the last few years. It has been tough to hunt the Adirondacks when I’m out of state hunting so much. When I saw him I instantly knew he was a shooter. After he was gone I was still shaking so I know he was a good one. The best thing about it was that I do not have this buck on film. This buck appeared to be an 8-pointer and his rack was really high unlike the bucks in the pictures.
When I went up closer to see what he was doing and where he came from I was amazed to find that he had been laying right there the whole time. It appears that he was getting up and stretching right when I saw him. I don’t think he ever saw me before he got up. Once he was up he was working a little scrape right next to his bed. It was a great experience. I’m hoping that I didn’t miss the only opportunity I might get this year at a good Adirondack buck. Time is the only thing that will have the answer for me.
I’ve attached a picture I took of myself while setting the camera up. The picture was taken exactly an hour before the events unfolded. If you look at the picture you’ll see a small hemlock tree in the background just above my head. That’s where the buck was when I saw him. He was putting scent on the hemlock branch. He was laying down right in front of it.
I’ve also attached a few pictures of the buck. You be the judge. Is it Tank or is it a buck that we have to give a name to? All I need now is a picture of the one that got away. It appears that he has been camera shy so far.
Buck was right here an hour later
Buck's on the Move
It Might Be Tank but I don't think so.