I hit the woods last weekend during the early muzzleloader season. I went out Friday evening with little expectations. I got in the woods later than I wanted to due to my work schedule.
I got in and settled in around 5:00 pm Friday afternoon. I hadn't been in the woods more than 20 minutes and I saw a fawn walking along the hillside across from me about 150 yards away in the thicket. I watched her then another doe with her walk along hillside of course where I can't shoot. They finally came down the hill and crossed the creek where I needed them to go for me to shoot. They were about 10 yards from clearing the thicket so I could get any kind of shot at either of them. Just before they came out in the clearing they stopped, looked all around for a minute and turned around and headed back into the dense thicket where I can't shoot this time of year.
Later the fawn actually came up behind me in the woods between me and the property owners house, I cannot shoot that direction but it was fun to watch her as she was only 10 yards and didn't have a clue I was there. She finally wondered off in the opposite direction and was gone.
Now it was getting late, must have been 6 - 6:15 and the sun was pretty much gone and it was getting darker than I would want in this bottom I was hunting. All of sudden I saw a flick of a tail down by the creek. I threw my muzzleloader up and quickly realized there was buck walking along this thicket. I could only see his head and occasionally his tail. I saw it was a good 8 point buck, and I was ready to and fallowing him as he was talking. He steady walked along this hedge row of thicket and kept his body on the wrong side of it. Between his steady walking and the fact that he stayed in the thicket I was never able to get a shot at him period. He came and was gone in matter of two minutes. As fast as I saw him he was gone off into the field on the farm across the hill.
That was the end of the evening as it quickly got dark....
The next morning I was hoping to catch those same deer and hopefully that 8 point buck coming off the farm and headed to bedding for the day. Well I was in the woods nice and early and as it got light I saw lots of squirrels and birds, but no deer. 8am, then 9am, nothing not even a sign of a deer and didn't hear any shots. I finally called it a morning and headed out. Bummer, but that's life.
A good hunt and a boring hunt... There is never such a thing as a bad hunt as hunting is always better than working! 🙂
Bow hunting is next as rut gets cranked up here as we just passed the full moon. Bow Hunting is my passion but my work schedule has put a serious crimp in getting into the woods this year.
I also have my annual hunting trip to the eastern shore coming up in a couple short weeks!
Anyone had any success in the first couple months of hunting season?
