Outdoor Truths
Wednesday, August 6, 2014 2:27 pm
I had watched several bucks from the safe confines of a barn. They came out each evening and fed in a field that had only been planted about a month prior. Of the five bucks that were pretty consistent, there was one ten pointer that I kept my eye on even though he was not much bigger than one of the large six-pointers. When the season opened, I sat in my stand for two afternoons in a row only to watch the deer stay several yards below the reach of my bow. After the second day I determined to make a move further into the woods and try to make up the distance. Well, as it usually happens, guess where the deer showed up the next evening? You’re right. They were above me where my stand had previously been. They were milling right at the edge of the field and moving toward the center. I immediately figured my hunt was over except for three things that suddenly hit me. 1. It was still fairly early in the evening. 2. The wind was blowing, and 3. It was beginning to rain….. So stalk mode set in and everything changed. I got down out of my stand and eased my way back up the hill keeping one tree after another between me and the line of sight of these deer. When I got to the rolling field, these bucks had moved to a place that allowed me to crawl for about forty yards without being spotted. After those forty yards, there was a line of sunflowers and sorghum that I would have to filter through and then a stand of weeds that were about knee high that would have to be my last stop before shooting. After maneuvering through each obstacle, I finally settled in the weeds, both knees in the ground, drizzling rain running down my body, and ranging my buck at twenty-five yards away. I drew my bow and let the arrow go. Perfect shot! What a hunt! What an adventure! What a story! It truly is one I will never forget. Oh yeah, and then there was the buck. Gary Miller
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