Jeffro
10-17-2005, 08:34 PM
Please allow me to share an experience...
I've posted this on another site as well. Hopefully you don't end up reading it twice.
Early Sunday morning finds me in one of my stands on the 15 acres I have permission to hunt. Stars, calm weather, being in the woods, all-in-all a good morning. About 7:20 I hear a noise to my left. About 35 yards through the trees/bushes I see the body. Sunlight off the antlers indicates a buck. With no shot opportunity, I start hoping he'll come my way. Sure enough, he starts working his way down the same trail I came in on 2 hours earlier. A 1 1/2 year old fork horn. Now I'm thinking to myself whether or not I want to harvest him (early in the season, 1 buck rule, etc). I decide to watch him. For 10 minutes he continues to wander near my stand even to the point of standing right below me smelling the steps of my ladder! Throughout this, he even looked at me 3 times with NO CLUE what I was. Finally, he wanders away.
About 9:30 a doe & fawn work their way to 10 yards of my stand and proceed to eat acorns for the next 15 minutes. Again, they have no idea I'm setting right there.
When I came home I was so happy my wife figures I shot a deer. I told her the story (the long drawn out version, of course) and made the statement that I have never been so excited after a hunt where I did not harvest an animal.
I mentioned this to a couple of guys at work that know I hunt. No one seemed to get it. They were all fixated on the fact that I did not shoot anything. They are not hunters and just don't get it. Then again, I must admit that this is something I could not have understood in my early days of hunting either. I'm sure some of you can relate to and appreciate this sentiment.
Good luck. Have fun.
Jeff
I've posted this on another site as well. Hopefully you don't end up reading it twice.
Early Sunday morning finds me in one of my stands on the 15 acres I have permission to hunt. Stars, calm weather, being in the woods, all-in-all a good morning. About 7:20 I hear a noise to my left. About 35 yards through the trees/bushes I see the body. Sunlight off the antlers indicates a buck. With no shot opportunity, I start hoping he'll come my way. Sure enough, he starts working his way down the same trail I came in on 2 hours earlier. A 1 1/2 year old fork horn. Now I'm thinking to myself whether or not I want to harvest him (early in the season, 1 buck rule, etc). I decide to watch him. For 10 minutes he continues to wander near my stand even to the point of standing right below me smelling the steps of my ladder! Throughout this, he even looked at me 3 times with NO CLUE what I was. Finally, he wanders away.
About 9:30 a doe & fawn work their way to 10 yards of my stand and proceed to eat acorns for the next 15 minutes. Again, they have no idea I'm setting right there.
When I came home I was so happy my wife figures I shot a deer. I told her the story (the long drawn out version, of course) and made the statement that I have never been so excited after a hunt where I did not harvest an animal.
I mentioned this to a couple of guys at work that know I hunt. No one seemed to get it. They were all fixated on the fact that I did not shoot anything. They are not hunters and just don't get it. Then again, I must admit that this is something I could not have understood in my early days of hunting either. I'm sure some of you can relate to and appreciate this sentiment.
Good luck. Have fun.
Jeff