Late ML season ender

[VaRedneck]

NEW B&C Virginia record hanging in my garage!

Think you got your hunting ground all figured out? Think you know all there is to know about your local herd? Nothing left to learn? While I don't normally consider myself in those lines I have been guilty to an extent of thinking those very things. Then a day like today comes along and sets me back a bit....still a green horn kid with a lot to learn about this sport.

All my worry about getting into the woods in the dark went for naught this morning. I over slept 2.5 hrs today. Didn't climb into my stand till after 8a.m. Clear...cold...beautiful day...light breezes..mostly outa the NW...but would swing from the south too. The cold air in my nose had me reminiscing about similar times. Another thing had my mind wandering....squirrels usually raise an alarm when they so much as catch me moving in the stand. It didn't seem to bother them at all when I walked in full daylight and had a seat in their living room. They ran in circles up this tree down that one for the entire mornin. Females in "heat" now? Dunno sht about them tree rats...curious though.

Anyway...I kept coming back to last year...last day of ML season...had a buck still chasing does so I was hoping history would repeat.

About 12pm a doe come bust'n down Wolf creek. No way she smelled me..doubt I moved my head enough to cause that kind of reaction. Got me thinkin 'bout what mighta been pushin her. I threw a leg around the side of my stand and set sideways for a better view of the north. 20min later had movement in the pines....doe jumping the fence...heading right for me....another crossed the line but headed to my 3 o'clock and gone. The first one though kept on right to me...stopped 20yds shy and froze...she couldn't find me...but she picked her way on into the thick stuff with a lil more care.

A few more minutes passed and there was more movement from the north. I made 3 deer...does...looked like mature ones...headin my way...all right...who's pushing these ladies my way? They all crossed the fence and all started my way. The first two had been looking back as they crossed..the last one did not. They came on up from the creek and slowed 25yds from my stand. Almost button buck looking...but dang...not this big. I couldn't put buttons on them...but the hair on their heads looked funny. No further movement from the north so these ladies were it. Before I could swing the scope around to the biggest and lead doe...the first two had had enough trying to figure where I was and started toward the thick stuff...the third then would be it.

As I put my cross hairs on it's shoulder it took off...not fast...but wanting to keep up. The lead two had slowed before the trail crested so the third hung back...right under my scent dripper and a perfect lil clearing 50yds from my stand. Boom...all hell broke loose. The front two were gone...my doe headed right into the thickest mountain laurel in the hill side. I waited...it didn't make the creek so it was down. Time to unload all my camo and get the dog.

When I got the dog to the spot it didn't take him 5min to run through all that crap and find that deer. It woulda taken me the better part of a half hour to stumble and cuss my through that 50yds.



4th of Jan and all three of those bucks had shed their antlers...a first for me...and something I'll remember. Poor acorn harvest had a pretty dramatic affect. He dressed out at 165lbs. Not the ending to my season that I'd have liked...but I'll take it for the freezer just the same.

[skeet]

to be shedding their horns. They still got 'em out here in Wy. That was a nice write up of a great day in the woods. Good for you. Gonna taste mighty good in the months coming. Great story.

[wrenchman]

Its not to uncommon to see them drop in DEC in the u.p. here in Michigan I do no guys that have killed deer and they had dropped one horn or after shooting the deer a horn comes off in there hand when dragging.
Buy the way the u.p. deer take was down 20% and down 10% in the south.