I'm not a big fan of hunting in 60 plus temperatures so I did not hunt opening weekend. But last weekend the morning temps were down into the upper 30s, cold enough to knock out almost all of the mosquitoes, at least during the morning hunt.
My stand is over 6/10 of a mile from the parking lot, so I have the advantage of being away from most of the other hunters, as there aren't too many who want to walk that far.
It was a beautiful morning, calm and still and 38 degrees. Had not seen anything except a pair of Tom turkeys which I didn't have a shot at, but they hung around in the field in front of my treeline for about 20 minutes.
About an hour and 10 minutes after legal, I had to make a donation to the Gatorade bottle. Unfortunately, I dropped my gloves in the process. I debated whether to retrieve them or not. I decided to make a quick descent down the ladder to grab them. About half way down I thought I heard something, and should have listened to my gut instinct. I quickly got down to the bottom of the ladder and grabbed my gloves when I heard a twig snap. Looked over my shoulder and about 15 yards behind me, right on the tree line where the woods open into the field, there were two bucks. One small 4-point, and one very nice 8 or possibly 10 point, with a body that made the 4-point look small. I stayed down and didn't move until they were gone, probably about 15 minutes. The wind was in my favor so they never picked up on my scent and never spooked, never acted like they knew I was there.
I'm guessing the bigger of the two deer would have dressed out around 165 give or take a few. I know they get a little nicer than that on state land, but not often, and not that much nicer. So if I see him again, I'm going to stick him if I have my way. Hind sight is always 20-20, but lesson learned, always keep a spare set of gloves, and don't risk leaving the cover of the stand during prime hunting time. That was a rookie mistake and I should have known better. That was the BAD part.
Besides from the frustration of not being ready, the GOOD part was the gratification and excitement of seeing a pair of bucks in front of my stand in the first 90 minutes of the first hunt of the year. I'm just outside a marsh, and the bucks were making their way out of the marsh for the day when I saw them. I'm hoping to see that bad boy again, or maybe his big brother.
My stand is over 6/10 of a mile from the parking lot, so I have the advantage of being away from most of the other hunters, as there aren't too many who want to walk that far.
It was a beautiful morning, calm and still and 38 degrees. Had not seen anything except a pair of Tom turkeys which I didn't have a shot at, but they hung around in the field in front of my treeline for about 20 minutes.
About an hour and 10 minutes after legal, I had to make a donation to the Gatorade bottle. Unfortunately, I dropped my gloves in the process. I debated whether to retrieve them or not. I decided to make a quick descent down the ladder to grab them. About half way down I thought I heard something, and should have listened to my gut instinct. I quickly got down to the bottom of the ladder and grabbed my gloves when I heard a twig snap. Looked over my shoulder and about 15 yards behind me, right on the tree line where the woods open into the field, there were two bucks. One small 4-point, and one very nice 8 or possibly 10 point, with a body that made the 4-point look small. I stayed down and didn't move until they were gone, probably about 15 minutes. The wind was in my favor so they never picked up on my scent and never spooked, never acted like they knew I was there.
I'm guessing the bigger of the two deer would have dressed out around 165 give or take a few. I know they get a little nicer than that on state land, but not often, and not that much nicer. So if I see him again, I'm going to stick him if I have my way. Hind sight is always 20-20, but lesson learned, always keep a spare set of gloves, and don't risk leaving the cover of the stand during prime hunting time. That was a rookie mistake and I should have known better. That was the BAD part.
Besides from the frustration of not being ready, the GOOD part was the gratification and excitement of seeing a pair of bucks in front of my stand in the first 90 minutes of the first hunt of the year. I'm just outside a marsh, and the bucks were making their way out of the marsh for the day when I saw them. I'm hoping to see that bad boy again, or maybe his big brother.
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