Ben G. Outdoors: My most Frustrating deer hunting season yet (part 4)

Saturday, November 20, 2010

My most Frustrating deer hunting season yet (part 4)

2:00 PM | Posted by Ben G. | Edit Post

image credit Sharpy70

After cutting up the deer we all headed back out to the parking lot, so we could get back out to the woods for the afternoon/evening hunt. At this point I had the idea to move my stand. I thought what better place than where I heard all of the deer cross the small stream.

I arrived at my stand, took it down, and went for the short 400 yard walk to the stream. I was looking up scanning the trees when I saw her, the perfect tree in the perfect spot. It was just off of a deer highway and on the south side of the small stream.

I placed my scent wicks and pulled my drag along the trail going from the north of the stream past my tree to the south and back again. It was a bit warm, so I leisurely set up my stand. I didn’t want to get all sweaty and stinky because we all know what that leads too. (When you get sweaty you get cold after the sun goes down, and when you get stinky the deer avoid the area.)

When I got up in the tree and glanced around I realized the spot was even better than I had projected it would be. Not only did I have a first-rate view of the trail and the stream, but I also had a terrific view into the swamp, and out into the field I just walked through. To top it all off I even had an arm rest in the form of a branch at precisely the right height.

The evening went by relatively fast and there was only about an hour and a half left of shooting time (prime time) when my phone started to vibrate. I’m thinking to myself , ”who the heck is calling me everyone knows I’m out deer hunting.” It was my wife and she hadn’t called me when I’m out hunting since before the kids were born. I knew something had to be wrong. Every time I tried to answer my phone it would cut out because my reception was very poor. Finally after about 20 minutes of trying to answer the phone and texts that weren’t working I figured out what was wrong.

Wyatt had gotten his hand slammed in the sliding glass patio door. Amber was sure all of his fingers were broken. His hand was purple and he couldn’t move any of his fingers. “Here we go” I thought. I had to get down and out of my tree as fast as I could. I also had to take my stand down because you can’t leave them out in the woods other than at lunch time. Last time I left my sand out in the woods it was stolen. I took my stand out of the tree in a hurry, what I didn’t realize was how speedily I took it down. It only took me about 10 minutes (a new personal best).

As I was walking out of the woods I received another text from Amber. It said Wyatt is okay you don’t need to come home.

I had a few different options. I could’ve tried to set my stand back up, but there was no way any deer would come back to that spot after all of the noise I had just made. I could go stand back on the edge of the oak woods, or find a place to stand on the way back. My choice was to walk back and stop in a location where I saw deer in the past.

I found a nice place to stand hidden behind a small oak tree. I stood for about 20 minutes and right after legal shooting I swore I saw a doe cross the field about 200 yards out, but I could have been my imagination.

Well I guess I get to sit in my perfect tree next weekend right?

Ben G.