O Deer

It is Friday night and I just got back from a hunt about four hours ago. I had more close encounters with deer tonight then I have ever had before. As all of you in central Indiana know, a pretty big storm moved through last night. This weather front caused the temperature to only be in the sixties today. As I said in a previous post, the prime time to hunt is right after a cold front. The deer become very active, making your chances of one walking by a lot better.

I climbed into my stand at 4:30 this evening. After waiting for about an hour, I was startled by a small buck running by at about fifteen yards. He was clearly in shooting range but he was too small for my standards. The buck looked very similar to the one pictured above.

I sat for about another hour thinking that buck was the only deer I was going to see all evening. Suddenly, I hear some sticks cracking behind me. As I look back I see three doe, a fawn, and a really young buck, that hasn’t developed antlers yet, appear in the field. The fawn and two smaller doe pick up a little of my scent and get curious. They walk toward me until they are directly underneath my stand. The big doe was standing about fifteen yards out. I drew back and took aim. I stood ready to fire but then I decided to let her go. The big bucks will be where the doe are later in the season so I want to keep them comfortable in my area. The four of the five deer went back into the woods about fifteen minutes later.

The really young buck was still curious. As I looked at him I noticed he was looking at something past where I was. I slowly turned my head and there stood a different fawn. Behind it was that small buck chasing a different doe about 20 yards away. I couldn’t believe it.

The doe ran right under my stand and into the woods. As the buck followed, he stopped when he got under my stand. He had picked up a little of my scent and was curious just like the other deer. This allowed me to get a closer look at his rack. He actually was a small seven pointer with a drop tine. This buck will be impressive in a couple of years. After about ten minutes of loitering under me, he disappeared into the woods.

After all that action, it was getting dark. I decided to climb out of my stand and call it a night. I had finally seen a buck in the 2007 deer season. I am going out hunting again in the morning and hopefully it will be even better then this evening.