Well, what a weekend it turned out to be for the wife and I. Figured I might as well make one long ass post and bore everyone all at once! So bear with me…
Neither one of us slept Friday night as I was worried about oversleeping and in the process, my tossing and turning kept Tracie awake most of the night. A sleepless night always makes for a lovely 5AM wake up call, especially when my wife is involved!
We managed to fight through the sleep deprivation and make it to the blind right as the first bits of light were cracking the horizon. Due in part to my success on opening day last year, and with the comfort level it provides, I decided we would start the 2010-2011 season by hunting the platform blind behind my parent’s house. By 7:30, I had my first look at the food plot we planted back in August in almost a month and it sure looked good! Add in the acorns that were falling by the second, and we had the makings for a great opener.
As the morning wore on, we watched the squirrels entertain themselves for a while and then laughed at a flock of a dozen turkeys as they ran back and forth along the ridge above us. Around 8:45, Tracie says: “There’s one.” A look through the Bushnells confirmed a nice mature doe was headed our way and her fawn was in tow. The doe took her time covering the 80 yards between as she followed the same trail we used to reach the blind. By the time she made it to the food plot, she was fairly relaxed and started to groom her fawn. By this point, Tracie was shaking like an epileptic throwing a fit and I was doing the same! (I was cold since I only had on a light Under Armour shirt, but I was also excited as hell that we were about to have ourselves a show down! Between the cold and excitement, I was shaking like it was my first deer hunt!!!)
I was trying to will the doe to walk down the middle of the plot and as if on cue, she made a break straight down the middle of the plot. By this point, I already had Tracie up and in position to draw and shoot. As the doe neared a small patch of brush that would allow Tracie to draw undetected, the doe locked up and turned to face the blind at 18 yards. It was as if she sensed something was up. She didn’t stomp. She didn’t snort, nor did she test the air with her nose. She just stood there trying to “sense” what was wrong. The whole time this is going on, I could not see the doe because of a 2”x6” on the railing of the blind and Tracie was in a stare down with the doe. With tension on the string and wanting to draw, poor Tracie was waiting for me to give the next move and here I had no clue what the doe was doing! Eventually, she turned and walked back out of the plot the way she came in leaving no chance for a shot. She started to circle the food plot and looked as if she would give Tracie a 25 yard shot. But once again, a mere two steps shy of the shooting lane; the doe silhouetted Tracie in the blind and made a break for safety.
Although we left empty handed, we had one hell of a good time in the blind. Tracie has killed 6 deer, including one with a crossbow, but this was the first deer she has ever had in bow range with a compound in her hands. She was so excited and it was truly an experience for me to see that excitement from her. I left the blind knowing our opening day was already a success and I had no idea of what was ahead of me…
Tracie says: “She was RIGHT there!!!”
Neither one of us slept Friday night as I was worried about oversleeping and in the process, my tossing and turning kept Tracie awake most of the night. A sleepless night always makes for a lovely 5AM wake up call, especially when my wife is involved!
We managed to fight through the sleep deprivation and make it to the blind right as the first bits of light were cracking the horizon. Due in part to my success on opening day last year, and with the comfort level it provides, I decided we would start the 2010-2011 season by hunting the platform blind behind my parent’s house. By 7:30, I had my first look at the food plot we planted back in August in almost a month and it sure looked good! Add in the acorns that were falling by the second, and we had the makings for a great opener.As the morning wore on, we watched the squirrels entertain themselves for a while and then laughed at a flock of a dozen turkeys as they ran back and forth along the ridge above us. Around 8:45, Tracie says: “There’s one.” A look through the Bushnells confirmed a nice mature doe was headed our way and her fawn was in tow. The doe took her time covering the 80 yards between as she followed the same trail we used to reach the blind. By the time she made it to the food plot, she was fairly relaxed and started to groom her fawn. By this point, Tracie was shaking like an epileptic throwing a fit and I was doing the same! (I was cold since I only had on a light Under Armour shirt, but I was also excited as hell that we were about to have ourselves a show down! Between the cold and excitement, I was shaking like it was my first deer hunt!!!)
I was trying to will the doe to walk down the middle of the plot and as if on cue, she made a break straight down the middle of the plot. By this point, I already had Tracie up and in position to draw and shoot. As the doe neared a small patch of brush that would allow Tracie to draw undetected, the doe locked up and turned to face the blind at 18 yards. It was as if she sensed something was up. She didn’t stomp. She didn’t snort, nor did she test the air with her nose. She just stood there trying to “sense” what was wrong. The whole time this is going on, I could not see the doe because of a 2”x6” on the railing of the blind and Tracie was in a stare down with the doe. With tension on the string and wanting to draw, poor Tracie was waiting for me to give the next move and here I had no clue what the doe was doing! Eventually, she turned and walked back out of the plot the way she came in leaving no chance for a shot. She started to circle the food plot and looked as if she would give Tracie a 25 yard shot. But once again, a mere two steps shy of the shooting lane; the doe silhouetted Tracie in the blind and made a break for safety.
Although we left empty handed, we had one hell of a good time in the blind. Tracie has killed 6 deer, including one with a crossbow, but this was the first deer she has ever had in bow range with a compound in her hands. She was so excited and it was truly an experience for me to see that excitement from her. I left the blind knowing our opening day was already a success and I had no idea of what was ahead of me…
Tracie says: “She was RIGHT there!!!”
