Thursday, December 6, 2007

Synopsis of Shotgun Season One

Day 2 - B-R-R-R...Not in a hurry to get outside. I did get all ready and out the door. Reaching the end of the house I heard a gun go off in my north pasture...then another shot close to the same area. The shots belonged to my mentor/neighbor. Hubby and I found out later he had gotten a doe and a buck. We helped him get them loaded into his pickup. Here is a picture of a savvy hunter and his buck for this season. Later in the day he came back and got another doe.
I spent 2 1/2 hours total sitting in below zero wind chills,no close activity. Time to go in and try to get warmed up. My prize for the day was to see the success of my mentor/neighbor. Day 3 - Didn't head out the door until the afternoon, was out for 4 hours. Mentor/neighbor showed up again was between me and the deer in that particular location . He shot at one at 4:40 p.m., figured everything was said and done at that point so I came into the house . Day 4 - Spent time on the south side of our property. My all the fresh tracks in the slush. Did some tracking of the human kind. I did find one set of boot tracks headed south from our middle ravine, definitely not mine. Melting and re-freezing puts the impressions made between Sunday or Monday, when extra close gunshots were heard. Sent the deer scurrying to the north , where they like to congregate behind the garden. Arriving back to the house was the cue for them to take off at a gallop as I opened the pick-up door. Sat for a while close to the back where the deer were earlier. Saw four does, but my movement was detected by the first, "About Face -Forward RUNNNNNNN!" Golly gee...I would have been a happy hunter if the shot had hit just one. I'm thinking about one of those ground blinds Dana over at The Wild WoodsWoman has been talking about. A way to be concealed out of the elements, almost a home away from home. Last Day - Went out before sunrise. Scared a couple of shapes away from their grazing spaces. After daylight as I was trying to move to stay warm I saw a doe turn and run, an awesome buck that didn't want to stick around for more attention...I packed it up and went back to the house. I continued to watch out the windows and doors, sighting deer after 11:00 - got dressed and ready to sneak again. Spent time watching them gather out of range and running as fast as they could go to elude the enemy after being pursued for so long. While I was out I heard the elusive turkey calls ringing through the ravine valley...5 days after their season ended. Didn't remain outside. I needed to do other things to get ready for bad weather coming. Don't want to be out on the road running errands when it has the possibility of repeating last weekend. The days end was beautiful, ending the same way as last year. Wind had died down, the sun was setting, and a few deer were seen in a distance... with none finding their way into our freezer.
Onto season 2 !

7 comments:

Editor said...

it sounds like you had an ordeal chasing after those tricksy deerses.

CDGardens said...

Editor - I think I just need to be a picture taker. Then the pressure will be off and the deerses will hop in front of my gun by mistake next time around. ;)

I'm sticking with the motto...Never Give Up, Never Give In, Keep on moving on. It's back out there I go weather allowing.

SimplyOutdoors said...

Sounds like an excellent time all the way around. Enjoy it and eventually you'll knock something down!

CDGardens said...

Arthur - You are right! All in all things were pretty good even if I didn't shoot a deer.

No one said...

Stick to it, and you'll be in the right spot at the right time soon! You might like to try a blind like you said. My blind really was my home away from home this year. I had a big warm sleeping bag thing that I sat in, my swivel chair, packed lunch, book, phone, hand warmers - it was the best! I could take little cat naps when needed even! I know it's not to the level of a heated permanent stand like some people, but was pretty darn comfy!

CDGardens said...

Dana - Sounds wonderful to me...the best of both worlds! Place to relax,
open up the hatch and get a deer.

I too believe , no matter what - the right time will arrive for me.

Othmar Vohringer said...

Your story sounds very much like mine. I had seen many deer during our hunting season here in British Columbia but somehow never got a shot at any of them.

My wife on the other hand shot mule deer, mountain rams, a black bear and black-tail-deer, with her camera.

I like you motto, NEVER give up! The alaways will be next hunting season.

-ov-