Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023

 

  I went back to the place in which I feel the most confident. I figured I might catch lightning in a bottle. About 15 minutes after it got light, Brian texted me and said he just didn't feel "it" where he was sitting. I replied, "Be patient. It's November." 

  Five minutes later, he texted me, "I just shot one." 

  After a brief discussion, we decided to wait before getting on the track. Three hours later and about 400 yards into it, things weren't looking good. Then, all hell broke loose and the deer jumped up like a woodcock that's been flushed at your feet. Brian was a mere three steps from the bruiser when he jumped up and barely got going before stopping and turning back to look at his predator. 

  That's when we decided to not return until tomorrow. Before all of the action, I did have a decent morning hunt. I saw a doe and two fawns, but nothing followed them. I could hear them coming for a long way, and it got my heart racing.

  An hour after the excitement, a 3-pointer cruised by me looking for a doe. He didn't pay attention to much and was gone as fast as he appeared. 

  A short time later, I heard a branch break and looked over my shoulder. I could see a no-doubt shooter headed my way. I grabbed the bow off the hook and got ready. As it approached, I noticed it only had half a rack. The other side had a long piece of something that looked like solid velvet that hung down his face and onto his neck. At the base of that was a pancake looking thing that was under his chin. It was the most bizarre thing I've ever seen. Looking at it, I decided not to shoot. I just didn't want a half-rack, even with all the stuff he had to go along with it. 

  Tomorrow should be interesting. I'm going to hunt for a little while, and Brian is going to go look for the deer. I feel confident he will find it without my help. The only downfall is there was absolutely no blood on the trail when he kicked the deer up. Hopefully, the deer was sick enough to lay right back down after it could barely move when he jumped it. I'm sure the coyotes are a threat to, as there are coyotes everywhere. My face has gotten pretty tan with all of the warm days. It was about 75 today. 




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