The first evening on stand was uneventful and I retired to bed with a bit of disappointment. The Bandit had pulled a fast one on me. Examination of my stand site in the morning light revealed that The Bandit had indeed passed by, just later than I had been on stand.
The next evening I settled down for another long wait. I had lower expectations this time, and I was able to sit quietly waiting for my prey. On stand with me was my brother, his job being to assist in tracking if I was successful.
Now there came a moment on stand where I was just about to slip into a stupor. The wait was taking a toll on my nerves and the sun was slipping behind the hills far too quickly. In the last few minutes of dusk, just before pitch black struck, I heard The Bandit. His jowls were popping and crunching on the dog food which was a mere 7 yards from the screen less window of my house. The coon was stealing a meal from my poor, beleaguered puppy! I rose silently from my chair and hit full draw but all I could see was the black mass of the coon just off the back deck. "Now" I whispered to my brother, who flipped the light switch on and flooded the yard with light.