Hunting Report from the Bolt Hole

Well, I blew my chance at a nice buck this morning. No, I didn't miss. I never even got the shot off.

I was walking up the jeep/snowmobile trail with the intent of stepping off to the north since that would put the wind in my face when I rounded a small curve just be fore the last hunter's camp and saw a big-assed deer bound away from the apple tree in the front of the cabin and head in to the woods.

I froze and the deer returned to see what the heck I was. At this point I reached up to adjust my glasses so I could use my x-ray vision better (HA!) and the deer spooked again. This time it took two or three leaps and then stopped to snort at me and then walked behind the cabin.

I moved forward to position myself behind a big maple tree on the corner of the property and the deer stepped out of the woods about 60-75 yards away taking two steps onto the grass where it stopped on the other side of the maple! I couldn't see it and it couldn't see me. I waited for it to take another step with the safety off on my muzzleloader. And I waited. Then I made a HUGE mistake. I inched my head to the left to peek around the tree trunk. That's when I noticed two things: 1) this deer had antlers! Six, seven or eight--I'm not sure how many points and 2) HE was looking right at me. Shit!

That's all she (or he, in this case) wrote. The buck took one look at my ugly mug and headed back into the woods with all due speed. Three or four leaps and he stopped, snorted in derision and then walked deeper into the woods.

I tried to figure out where he went but the leaves held their secret well. A walking deer will leave virtually no impression on the thick carpet of wet leaves littering the forest floor.

After kicking myself in the butt for forty-five minutes, I continued with my plan and walked the woods for three hours with not another sight of a tail let alone any more antlers.

*sigh*

There's always tomorrow. Which happens to be the start of the rifle season. And there are many, many more hunters in the camps for that. Perhaps they will kick something my way.

Let's just hope there are as many returning to their camps as there are going out tomorrow morning. That hasn't been the case the last two opening days. Each of the last two we've had a hunter perish due to a heart attack. Two yeas ago it took two days, a load of professionals and volunteers, and a helicopter to find the poor bastard. Last year he died on the jeep/snowmobile trail and was found by his buddies who were starting out about 15 minutes after he did.