Morning of Opening Day: Gun season
I wanted to hunt a deep public spot that had usually produced a lot of deer sightings on opening morning. Almost 1.5 miles each way, lots of elevation gain, carrying a heavy pack. It's a lot of work to get in there. I got in pretty clean, but the wind was some of the worst I had ever hunted in. It would gust, and constantly switch directions. Had we gotten the W wind that was predicted, I would have been fine. But it swirled a ton, and a deer coming from my north winded me when the wind swirled at the wrong time. That was the only deer sighted.
I ran into another hunter on my way out who had kayaked in for access, and he never saw a deer. Not sure if it was the windy conditions or what, but deer were not moving well.
Afternoon
In the PM, I went to a friend's place who wanted me to shoot a doe, if possible. I was "green lighted" on a couple of bucks, but a doe was the focus. Of course, the first deer that shows is a solid 3.5 year old buck on the no-go list. I had to let him walk inside 20 yards.
I also passed a BB shortly after. I only ended up seeing 2 does (I think they were does), but the swirling wind got me again at dusk when the westerly wind shifted almost straight out of the south. I knew when they came into the field where they did I was toast. I at least stayed warm. That battery heated vest is something I wish I had bought years ago.
I wanted to hunt a deep public spot that had usually produced a lot of deer sightings on opening morning. Almost 1.5 miles each way, lots of elevation gain, carrying a heavy pack. It's a lot of work to get in there. I got in pretty clean, but the wind was some of the worst I had ever hunted in. It would gust, and constantly switch directions. Had we gotten the W wind that was predicted, I would have been fine. But it swirled a ton, and a deer coming from my north winded me when the wind swirled at the wrong time. That was the only deer sighted.
I ran into another hunter on my way out who had kayaked in for access, and he never saw a deer. Not sure if it was the windy conditions or what, but deer were not moving well.
Afternoon
In the PM, I went to a friend's place who wanted me to shoot a doe, if possible. I was "green lighted" on a couple of bucks, but a doe was the focus. Of course, the first deer that shows is a solid 3.5 year old buck on the no-go list. I had to let him walk inside 20 yards.
I also passed a BB shortly after. I only ended up seeing 2 does (I think they were does), but the swirling wind got me again at dusk when the westerly wind shifted almost straight out of the south. I knew when they came into the field where they did I was toast. I at least stayed warm. That battery heated vest is something I wish I had bought years ago.
