Well the freezer is full and my wife officially declared "You're done hunting for the year... right?" I think that was a rhetorical question.
Anyway, my tags are punched, save one more doe tag. Best of all, I'm a content man.
I took these two deer two weeks ago today. I forgot to bring my camera so I had shoot cell phone pictures. Because my phone's a dinosaur, it took me a while to retrieve the photos. But... it was worth the effort.
The story of these deer is as follows. Last year I sat a stand near the river and watched some deer move through a willow thicket. I decided I needed to figure them out. This spring, a friend of mine and I snuck in and cleared a path with a chain saw to a small stand of cottonwoods in the middle of that nasty thicket. I know deer bed in there, but I figured if I left it until Nov. and I got the right wind, it would be a money stand.
Well it was. I saw probably 25 deer that morning and had 6 bucks milling and fighting around me. With no real slam dunk shots... I held out. Finally a small doe worked in slowly and I took out my frustrations on her. The shot was slightly forward but she died on a dead run crossing an irrigation ditch.
Now I settled in and felt better about my slow deer season. At least I had some great tender venison to go with the antelope and elk. Then low and behold... just as many bucks do...this three year old slipped in and appeared. He walked right in and made a perfect circle around me. Just as he was to get my wind... I took him through the heart at 12 yards.
A great end to another good year. He died after just 50 yards. As I sat and reflected, more and more deer filed past. I have to bone out these critters to get them across the river and back to my truck a mile away. Two was plenty! Besides my wife would really say "you're done" if I shot three.
Sitting in the willows (it was cold!)
the ditch doe
buck and Toelke Lynx
the shot
Jeff