A morning in the deer woods with a cold

[Smoke4320]

So I have been waiting all year for deer season. Today was opening day for Black Powder.. Its a 2 week season
two days ago I get a terrible cold .. There goes 4 or 5 days .. Could not sleep last night
Partly from coughing partly mad about being sick ..
about 5AM I decide what the heck I'm going hunting .. At least I can sit in the woods ..

6:30 I am in the stand ...
6:35 I hacking away ..
Daylights at 7AM ..
7:10 I am down going to the 4 wheeler to pick up the 120 Lb doe I just shot

Go figure .. All the times I have shifted my weight and deer run off .
today I sound like a on off John Deere with a bad carburetor and 2 does out about 65 yds away
score another one for the CVA Optima 50 cal

[bremraf]

That's awesome man! Maybe the deer were having pity on ya' since you weren't up to par. I've killed a couple deer by walking up on them, but when you sit in the stand and have a small sneeze the whole world explodes! Go figure. I once had a huge buck walk right up to me and I was able to go from sitting to kneeling with him looking my direction, but as soon as I drew my bow poof! He ran out of there like he was on fire. Glad you got one. I'll have my chance in 3 weeks.

[OnHoPr]

I have had the coughing God my whole life that's is why I really prefer fields, slightly older clear cuts, power lines, more open hardwood ridges, watching ridges around 10 to 40 acre lakes, select cuts, etc. Most of the deer in the past eight years as well as most of my life has been shot from 75 to 200 yds even with the 30-30 or muzzleloader. Though, a few have dropped in between coughing like what happened for you closer and bow hunting.

Bravo and enjoy the backstraps, burger, and jerky.

PS Don't let the greenies find out about using PC boolits, they will need to take scientific studies and come up with 4,000 pages of data on toxic tendencies in venison of the PC system in about 24 hours.:dung_hits_fan::evil::veryconfu

[4719dave]

good job ..putting order in for jerky lol

[shaune1022]

Thats par for the course sometimes. I can't count how many times my buddy and I were having a lunch break, not trying to be quiet, and have had deer walk past us with in 15 yards or less. The whole morning we were sneaking around the mountains and couldn't get within shooting distance. Good job on getting one in the freezer.

[crowbuster]

Good job smoke. Id rather be lucky than good.

[CastingFool]

Fresh venison is always good. congrats on the 120lb doe. Sometimes, it just works out that way. I remember once I just didn't feel like getting up to go deer hunting, it was like the 3rd or 4th day of getting up early. I scolded myself saying I couldn't let an opportunity to go hunting get away, so I got up and went. Came home with a nice doe. All the aches and pains were completely forgotten.

[tdoyka]

way to go!!!!

[richhodg66]

You made the right call. There have been times when I almost didn't go because something wasn't right (I had that bad cough last January on our extended antlerless season it was the night I got a nice doe). It's a proven fact that you won't kill a deer if you aren't in the woods. I try to get out every chance I can get, it may be the time.

Good going on the doe. I have gotten to where I like venison better than store bought beef or pork and try to eat it all year. Most years I kill two, the past two years only one each year. I already have one down this year, gonna try for at least two more.

[petroid]

Be miserable at home or get some hunting in. Sounds like you made the right choice

[missionary5155]

Good morning and Congratulations !
Deer hunting is like fishing and finding a $10 dollar bill blowing along in the wind. You can do every thing right and sometimes very wrong. But in the end when we are walking over to collect what we have been blessed with we can say "Thank you" and be grateful.
Mike in Peru

[WRideout]

I made it out for the last day of ML doe season here in PA. The woods were full of pheasant hunters, working the feed plots for birds. I didn't see a deer; shoot, I even took a leak, which usually brings them running, but not this time.

Wayne

[44man]

Good for you.
A funny story, I had a huge bowl of deer chilly. I was lifting my self off the stand. Had a herd walk by, just out of bow range. They bedded and one would get up to feed, lay down as another got up. I sounded like a bullhorn and they never looked my way. They were down wind too. A maggot would have died.

[atr]

hey Smoke,,,you shooting deaf deer? ....shame on you

[Smoke4320]

hey Smoke,,,you shooting deaf deer? ....shame on you
Careful....They (the deer) prefer hearing challenged
For me I prefer deer cube steaks :)

[nagantguy]

Your powder seems to make my boolits into a death ray, guess it works for you as well. I was just at a Halloween party last night and saw a distant quasi relative, we talked about all the hunts/times where we thought we'd blown it for sure and still got a deer, my biggest was squatted down "releaving" myself at an old dump, Carharrts around the ankles when a buck ran buy at about 10 yards, grabbed the hawkin, didn't lead him enough and hit him far back in the ribs sort of a straight away raking shot found him around noon, at that point it was the nicest buck I'd taken with a muzzle loader a perfect high and wide 6 point.

[44man]

Crazy and I made extra effort to get the dreaded racing stripes. The more I have learned about deer the easier it has come to kill them until I feel like a cheat. So much does not bother them at all, got a branch in the way, just break it off and toss to the ground. Watch your gun and the safety or cocking a hammer. Does not sit well with them. A Ruger or BFR can be cocked slow but a Colt action with all the clicks when a deer is close will set them alert or make them bolt.
Once I had deer bedded just out of bow range. I took an arrow with a rabbit head and popped it in the air to fall through the trees and land right in between them. No reaction at all. I learned the deer to make them come to me. A gunshot will not harm your hunting, shoot the fox and sit tight.
My friend shot a deer, close to me, he got down to gut and a deer came in for me. I shot it and scared hell out of Don.
I had a place in PA that the deer were always there at my tree so I never seen any. My stand was a chain in so one morning I banged the chain on the wood all the way in. As I climbed the tree to set it I kept banging the stand until I was seated. Soon a buck walked under me and took my arrow at 20 yards. I am one crazy SOB and do all wrong so go read the rags. Buy a hundred bottles of expensive scent killer or lures from the store. Dang I could have been rich from fools.
I pee out of the stand all the time too. Never had a deer pay any mind to it. Spit backy juice all day too.
Once I did not want a deer so I let my bow down on the rope. Had a herd come in and eat paw paw fruit under my stand. They all bumped my bow.
Quick, go buy scent killer, what a joke. I can count deer scenting me on one finger. When you are in the center of 17 deer on the ground, feeding without ever looking at you, you have not got it right. Deer are super easy. You can't hide from them at all. So what do you do? You become another deer.
My mistakes for a year with freezing and trying to hide was stupid. Oh yeah, freeze, good luck, scares hell out of deer. Took one season to learn what deer are about.
Deer can't see good and even at dark when they walk a field there will be white tails up to follow and the last deer keeps the tail down. Looks like bowling pins waving.
Go buy the dark camo to alert deer like no other. Best any time is snow camo or blase orange.
Orange is the very best and you don't need stripes through it.
I know deer and feel bad to kill so easy.

[popper]

Just had to look it up. 152327 Their hearing is ~100 times worse than ours - in the range we hear good.

[Lloyd Smale]

biggest buck I ever shot was shot when I was sicker then a dog. It was the first season after I got out of the service and I was real sick. dad called and talked me into going. He dropped me off and I think I made it about 50 yards before I said screw it and plopped down with my back up against a stump in a field we never see deer it. I was sleeping in seconds. Woke up about an hour later with a 12 point buck staring at me about 40 yards away right in the middle of the field. I didn't know what to do so said screw it and just shoulder then gun. The deer didn't more and I shot him and he dropped right on the spot. I figured id drag it to the road where dad would come and pick me up. I couldn't even gut the thing. I just sat down and used the deer for a pillow and nodded back off. My dad had heard the shot and knowing I was in sad shape came back for me and found me sleeping on the deer. He allways tells people that he thought hed have to drag me out of the woods after he drug the deer out. That set of horns is hanging in camp with a Nyquil bottle stuck on one of the horns.

[Area Man]

Good job smoke. Id rather be lucky than good.

True. I'm a firm believer in luck and the harder I work the luckier I am.

[Smoke4320]

True. I'm a firm believer in luck and the harder I work the luckier I am.

I think you are close to right .. you make most of your own luck

[ArcticGoose]

Well done! Sometimes being tough and going out anyway pays off.